Saturday, July 10th-Part 2

As I was posting the last post Jia and Lillie Mei were playing in the bed. Shortly thereafter, Lillie Mei fell asleep and Jia began to cry again. She cried off and on for about an hour. We went for a walk as a distraction and she did OK. When we came back to the room we colored. I don't think she has much, if any, practice holding a crayon or marker. She didn't know what to do with it at first but once she figured it out she colored for quite a while.

Once Lillie Mei was up Jia was fine again. It's like she has a temporary bout of depression and when she comes out of it she is all smiles and giggles again. We had our guide talk to her about it and she said she missed her Mama, which is what she called one of the ladies at the orphanage. I showed her some pictures from the day we got her and she started talking a lot. I'm not sure if that helped or hurt the situation.

We went to dinner with several families who flew in yesterday. They will leave Beijing on Monday to go to their child's province. We will then meet back up with them on Saturday. After dinner we went to a supermarket and I found Pepsi Light in a can. It's not Diet Dr. Pepper but it's something! We then took the girls to McDonald's for ice cream. We paid 10 yuan for 4 ice cream cones, that equals about $1.75. I don't think Jia had ever eaten ice cream. She was shocked at how cold it was. The Chinese people generally do not even drink their drinks cold so I guess this was very different for her. She loved it!

While we were there several ladies stared at us (in a friendly way) and tried to talk to us. One of them spoke a little English. They asked us how old the girls are and then asked if we were Christians by making a cross with her fingers. We told her we were and that seemed to explain to her why we had the girls. She also told us she was a Christian. The younger girl was not a Christian and said she thought that Jesus was for America. Kirk tried in his very best Chinese accent to explain that Jesus loved everybody and she seemed to understand. Who knows what seed was planted? I am so thankful for my husband who will make sure everyone he encounters knows about the love of Christ.

On the way back to the hotel a tiny little dog ran near Jia in the stroller. She screamed a scream we have never heard before which terrified Lillie Mei who tried to climb up Kirk. It was quite the sight! I am not sure if Jia will care for Boomer, our dog! When we got back to the room the girls took a bath and Lillie Mei got in bed. Jia parked herself in the stroller and shook her head "No" when we asked her to get in bed. She looked like she might cry again. We decided just to let her sit there and in 10 minutes she was asleep. Kirk moved her to the bed and she is still asleep now at 6:00.

Today we visit the Summer Palace. I think it's supposed to rain again. Please pray that Jia understands just how much we love her and that we can comfort her as she grieves.