Good-bye Guangzhou, we're on our way home!

This will be my last blog post from China and what a way to finish out
our last night here in Guangzhou. All 10 Holt families took a cruise
on the Pearl River through central Guangzhou and past the White Swan
Hotel. We had a great time and enjoyed some Papa John's pizza on board
our cruise (much safer than the food they serve on the boat!). Now
it's time to pack suitcases and make our way home. We pick up Leeya's
US Visa on Wednesday afternoon from the US Consulate and immediately
head to the train station to catch the train for a 2 hour train ride
to Hong Kong. After staying overnight in Hong Kong we catch an early
morning flight on Thursday through Tokyo and back to Portland. Here's
our flight details:

Thursday, December 10
Depart Hong Kong (HKG) 8:00 AM, Northwest Airlines, Flight 296
Arrive Tokyo (NRT) 1:05 PM
Depart Tokyo (NRT) 3:45 PM, Northwest Airlines, Flight 786
Arrive Portland (PDX) 7:50 AM (10 minutes before we departed Hong
Kong)

Please pray for safety and all of our train/flight connections over
the next 48 hours. At PDX all International Flights arrive down in
baggage claim next to Baggage Carousel 10. Hope to see some of you at
the airport. Thank you for praying throughout our journey. You don't
know how much a difference your prayers made. God heard your prayers
and honored your obedience to Him. May all the praise go to Jesus as
we have shared our experiences. See you at home in a couple of days!

The infamous red couch picture at the White Swan Hotel

Yes, it's a tradition for all Holt families to dress up their children
in traditional Chinese clothing for the infamous picture on the red
couches in the lobby of the White Swan Hotel. Here's some pictures
from today's festivities and a group photo in front of the Christmas
tree and waterfall inside the hotel. Praise God that our visa
paperwork made it to the US Consulate today with no problems. On
Tuesday afternoon Leeya and I head to the US Consulate to take the
Oath of Citizenship. Our time in Guangzhou is winding down quickly. I
probably will get in only a couple more blog postings before Leeya and
I head to Hong Kong on Wednesday evening. Please keep praying for the
rest of our time here and our travels to Hong Kong on Wednesday. I'll
be by myself with Leeya on the train since the rest of the Holt group
doesn't receive their visas until later in the week. I'll post travel
details in my final blog post later in the week.

A family day of worship, playing, and Italian food!

Sunday was family day for everyone here in Guangzhou. If there is one
thing I have to say about Chinese families is that at least one day a
week is set aside for families to be together for the entire day and
that day is typically Sunday. We Amercians could learn a lot from our
Chinese friends as our culture at home appears to be continuing its
downward spiral from pursuing selfish desires where Sunday is just
like any other day and family values are something that is mocked by
the popular culture. Leeya and I started out the day worshiping with
the Christ Church Shamian congregation just down the street from the
White Swan Hotel. They hold a dual language Mandarin & English service
at 11:00 AM every Sunday and about 90% of the congregation are Chinese
while only about 10% are foreigners staying on Shamian Island. I was
surprised by how evangelical the service was. The congregation sang
contemporary English and traditional Chinese hymns alternating in
Mandarin & English many with hands raised in the air giving praise to
God. The Chinese pastor gave a great message based on Philippians
3:13-14. We need to pray for our Chinese brothers and sisters in
Christ. While I'm sure this church is officially sanctioned by the
Chinese government we know there are many others who don't have the
freedom to gather and worship freely in other parts of the country.
After a quick lunch and nap it was time for a stroll around Shamian
Island just to watch all of the families enjoying themselves on a
beautiful day. Then in the evening all of the Holt families went out
to dinner at a local Italian restaurant for some good food and ice
cream (yummy!). Monday is our visa appointment at the US Consulate.
Please pray that all of our paperwork is in order. Leeya and I won't
need to go the US Consulate on Monday as a Holt staff member will drop
off our paperwork across town. On both Tuesday and Wednesday we will
be at the US Consulate for Leeya's Oath of Citizenship and to pick up
her visa before we take the train to Hong Kong on Wednesday night.
Enjoy the pictures from church this morning and our stroll around
Shamian Island on family day.

It's nice to have friends with you when you're halfway around the world!

Today was a good day all around. Went to the medical clinic this
morning to have Leeya's TB test checked and she tested negative. She's
also not having any adverse reactions to the 5 vaccinations she had on
Friday--just a little sluggish and tired today as would be expected. I
didn't see our friends Marc & Jennifer Skipper at breakfast this
morning so I figured they might have slept in from getting here so
late the night before. After Leeya and I stopped by the medical clinic
late this morning I had a hunch they might be at Starbucks. Sure
enough who do I run into at Starbucks but Marc, Jennifer, and their
beautiful little girl Meili from Shaanxi Province. We sat down for
some coffee and exchanged stories from the past week while our little
girls eyed one another. Then it was back to the hotel for naps and
finalizing our US Visa paperwork that goes to the US Consulate next
week. We finished off the evening with a stroll along the Pearl River
and dinner at the German restaurant on Shamian Island as evidenced by
the pictures attached to this blog entry. Praise God that he used His
timing to bring friends alongside Leeya and myself to help us through
these last few days before we come home! We'll be doing a few group
activities with the 10 different Holt families in Guangzhou over the
next couple of days culminating with a nighttime cruise of the Pearl
River the night before Leeya and I pick up her US Visa and make our
way to Hong Kong to catch our flight back home. These are excitiing
times! Please don't stop praying for all the remaining details and
Leeya's health. I pray that all of you find something to give praise
to God for this weekend as you are out and about or in church on
Sunday.

Vaccination update & Christmas at the White Swan Hotel

Thank you for praying for Leeya and myself concerning this morning's
medical check-up and vaccinations. It wasn't pretty but Leeya survived
getting her 5 vaccinations. Now I just have to keep an eye on her for
the next few days to make sure she doesn't spike a fever or some other
adverse reaction to the shots. Tonight 9 other families adopting
through Holt arrive from the various provinces that their children are
from to complete the US Visa process like I'm currently going through.
I'm looking forward to seeing our friends Marc & Jennifer Skipper with
their new daughter who are part of this Holt travel group. Leeya and I
probably won't see them until breakfast on Saturday morning since they
don't get to the White Swan Hotel until late tonight. We'll probably
have some group activities planned for the next few days like dinners
in the evening or a Pearl River cruise when we're not working on
paperwork. I have proof that I finally got Leeya to be happy in a
stroller and not throw a fit every time I try to strap her in. Take a
look at the pictures around the White Swan Hotel and how it is
decorated for Christmas. Also some more pictures from our stroll
around Shamian Island. One thing is for sure, Leeya and I are going to
freeze when we step off the plane at PDX on December 10th. It's a nice
break from winter weather to be in pants and short sleeve shirts
strolling around Guangzhou with our new daughter. Oh and by the way,
sorry Oregon State University fans. I caught the last quarter of the
Civil War streaming over the internet. Being a proud Washington Husky
graduate I can't say that I had a stake in the game either way but I
was kind of pulling for the Beavers since my family has some ties to
OSU. Better luck next year Beavs...someday in my lifetime you'll make
it back to the Rose Bowl..........maybe!

Would you like some vaccinations with your tall latte?

When you sit down for dinner with your family on Thursday night around
6:00 PM Pacific time, please be praying for Leeya and myself. That
will be the same time we'll be heading to the Shamian Island medical
clinic for Leeya's vaccinations which will be 10:00 AM Friday China
time. We went over her medical records today and she is scheduled to
receive 5 vaccinations only recently required by the US Government due
to the Hague Convention for International Adoption and our own US
Immigration Rules. Don't even get me started on this. All Amercian
families that are adopting here in China are outraged and you should
be too. Regardless how you feel concerning some questionable
vaccinations you don't stick a needle in a child 5 times in 1
appointment just to meet US Immigration Rules. Some children have had
to have 7 vaccinations in 1 setting and then, surprise, have a
negative reaction which delays their return to the US. This needs to
be brought to the attention of the US Congress. Call your Senator or
Representative and ask him or her why we are requiring these
vaccinations overseas when parents could sign a waiver for minor
dependants stating they will get the vaccinations in due time after
returning to the US. Oh wait a minute, the US Government doesn't
consider us guardians of our adopted children until we set foot on US
soil with them so we can't sign a waiver. This is ridiculous and needs
to be changed before more children and their parents suffer while
waiting to come home with their new sons and daughters. Ok, I'm off my
soapbox now. As you can see from the pictures, Starbucks reopened this
afternoon after their power was restored so Leeya and I decided to
head over there for a nice tall dark cherry mocha and a hot turkey
sandwich. Oh, and the White Swan Hotel is all decked out in Christmas
lights for the Americans who stay there. They do a nice job and I'll
have some more pictures from inside the hotel later in the week.
Having said that you should know that Christmas is not that big a
deal in China and you don't have to use too much of your imagination
to figure out why.

A little snapshot of Shamian Island...

Leeya's napping so here's my chance to post another update. I'm
located on Shamian Island which has a unique history here in
Guangzhou. Not that you can believe everything on Wikipedia but look
at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamian_Island for some background
information on the history of the island. The only downside of being
here at this time of year is it seems there is construction going on
everywhere on the island to restore the historical Western-style
buildings. Take a look at the photo out of my 17th floor window in the
White Swan Hotel and you can see many buildings surrounded by
scaffolding and green netting as they restore the exteriors of the
historic buildings. Many of the streets are torn up as well as they
rework the underground utilities. I walked by Starbucks today and
they're closed until 4:30 PM this afteroon because their power has
been cut until that time. At least I'm posting a picture of Leeya
outside of Starbucks on our stroll this morning. That Tall Mocha will
have to wait until this evening...

Nap time then off to apply for Leeya's Chinese passport

Yes, it's nap time and that's Leeya napping while I type
this blog entry. It's 12:45 PM on Wednesday Dec 2 China
time. We leave at 2:45 PM to head across town to apply for
Leeya's Chinese passport. She'll travel back to the US on
a US Immigrant Visa in her Chinese passport that will
instantly make her a US citizen when she sets foot on US
soil. The US Visa is the hardest and lengthiest part of
the process. We have a medical check-up and immunizations
on Friday and all our paperwork goes to the US Consulate
next Monday (Dec 7). Thanks for all your prayers as we
navigate through the process. Leeya is still a little bit
overwhelmed at everything when we're out in public as it's
her first time outside the walls of an orphanage. She does
like Starbucks however and that's a good thing! I'll see
if I can get a Starbucks picture posted later in the week.

For those of you complaining about winter weather...

Alright, I know many of you are already complaining about
the winter weather back in the US but I have to rub it
in...the weather is terrific here in Guangzhou. Low 70's
light breeze...actually a little cooler according to the
locals. It's usually in the low 80's even in December
since Guangzhou has a very tropical climate. Slowly
starting to see Leeya come out of her shell. Here's some
pictures from our stroll around Shamian Island today.