So now that Mia is officially our daughter, we are ready to be home!! But...unfortunately we still have days of appointments and governmental paperwork. So we try to make the most of each day!!
Today ended up having no adoption related appointments so we slept in. Boy did we sleep last night. For the first time we all slept through the night from about 9pm thru 7am! We needed that!
Breakfast was great again and little by little our sweet Mia is opening up to us. Although she understands most of our English, she is a very quiet and shy little lady. Every little word she chooses to share with us warms our hearts. She’s especially opening up with Sophia. They are so precious together.
One big slumber party. That’s how Jonathan describes this adventure. Sophia and Mia are constantly hugging and giggling and being silly. We spent the morning giggling away through crafts and game time together before heading to “Monkey Mountain.”
Monkey Mountain is really called Qianling Mountain Park. Can you say, “Planet of the Apes”?!?! Monkeys everywhere. Wild. Free. Roaming. Occasionally aggressive. This is a beautiful place but made Brittney a little uneasy!
The park involves a beautiful but challenging trail of steps up the mountain. Along the way monkeys are on the path, in the roads, on the railings, in the trees, dangling above you. The monkeys want food and water. If you have it, and they see it, they are coming for it. We came here in 2014 and experienced monkey anxiety. We saw people ignore the warnings of the guides and get their bottles or food stolen. Not much has changed lol.
Our guide Dolores shared with us about her monkey anxiety when she had been kicked in the gut by a monkey while taking a photo. What!?!? So as we were adventuring in the midst of the most crowded section of monkeys Dolores decided to buy food. First we thought it was for herself. But apparently it was monkey food and the vendor promised her that the monkeys were kind and would not steal her food. Guess what happened? Wish we got it on video. Within seconds of her opening up the food pouch...she had a monkey scrambling up her legs and climbing onto her arms to get the food. A coordinated attack. Dolores screamed in panic and threw the food. Other monkeys, in a well rehearsed scenario, stood ready nearby and scrambled to collect the thrown foodstuffs. Our guide, though traumatized, continued on while muttering about the vendors lies about the kind monkeys. We all just laughed!
At the top of the ascent lies the most significant Buddhist temple in Guizhou, the Hongfu Temple. Sad. Empty. Hollow. False worship. So many bought incense. Clouds of incense streamed up the paths and across the temple. Dozens of statues filled the temple buildings. It reminded Jonathan of Paul in Athens at the Areopagus (Acts 17:16-34) where he is grieved by the many false gods and idols. But Paul was given an opportunity to share so he explained that the God that was “unknown” to them was Jesus.
Back at Hongfu Temple...guess what happened? An elderly monk grabbed Jonathan’s hand and wanted to talk religion. So a mini-Areopagus moment arose. Unfortunately the monk didn’t come to believe, but he heard the Truth 🙂 and so did others! May the Lord grow the Gospel seeds that were sown! While Jonathan was sharing with the monk, Brittney walked around with the girls and stayed just enough back that Mia opened up and said more words to Sophia. They were pointing out different things on the statues and saying words for what they saw. It was beautiful to see and hear even though Mia was very shy and not wanting Brittney to see or hear.
After the temple we ventured down the beautiful lake and the girls voted for a paddle boat ride. So we rented a paddle boat for about $5 and crossed over to the furthest side and back. So peaceful and serene. A great time with our girls. After finishing we took a tunnel path under the mountain back to the other side. There we saw badminton players, top spinners, and Chinese line dancing (older ladies mostly). So Brittney and Sophia danced in their public debut in China! So fun!
On our way back to the hotel we grabbed a few groceries so Mia had some familiar snacks. Outside the park we met a man with a profound tumor across his entire face to where he could barely see or breathe. It was a stark reminder of the physical differences found in many orphanages where kids who age out may have a very difficult and dark future.
Back at the hotel our guide helped us order some Pizza Hut again and after dinner we had another fun night at the pool. The girls were worn out from the hiking and swimming and crashed shortly after they laid down in bed. So although we’d rather be headed home (9 days to go), it was a sweet day of bonding together with our amazing Mia 🙂
God is so good and it’s neat to see with each passing day...hugs are a little tighter, there are a few more spoken words and there is a brighter glow in eyes that have gone through so much. Brittney made a comment today about how she would love to just be able to enter Mia’s mind for a few moments to know the tough journey she has endured! What a brave young lady we are now blessed to call our daughter!
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