Lanzhou

Today was a very interesting day. We began the day visiting White Pagoda Mountain. We walked across the bridge that you see in the picture all the way to the top of the mountain where you see the pagoda. Adam did great. He walked a good deal of the way and was held quite a bit as well. On the journey up we passed a set of sculptures depicting the Chinese Zodiac. Adam (and Makayla) were born in the year of the ram. We also passed a Buddhist temple. At the top we had a beautiful view of the city. We bought a hand carved gourd that had a display of the Silk Road that passes through Gansu, and especially Zhangye (pronounced Jong –ya) where Adam lived.


After the trip down we had lunch at a Muslim restaurant. During the afternoon Jeremy and Jeff went to a music shop where Jeremy purchased a Papixian. This is a Chinese 4-stringed instrument that you play similar to a guitar, but it is held more upright. We had to wait for them to get one out of their storage unit. During the wait, they gave Jeremy a guitar to play, one of the store clerks played piano for us. Another, a university music professor played the Chinese 2-stringed instrument for us as well as an electric keyboard. It was quite a musical treat!



We were given directions earlier to a Pizza Hut that was supposedly in walking distance to the hotel. So we along with the Hewitts (the other adoptive family) set out in the evening for a pizza feast. Upon arriving at what should have been the destination, we realized a Pizza Hut was nowhere to be found. We also realized we were the center of attention. The streets of Lanzhou are very crowded with people. They rarely see Westerners, let alone ones with Chinese children. The Hewitts also have a 2 ½ year old daughter that reminds us very much of Mackenzie at that age. She attracts a crowd wherever she goes. You really can relate to the scripture that calls Christians alien and strangers in a world not their own. Well, no-one was able to give us directions, so we settled on KFC gain. Maybe tomorrow.

Adam is doing well. Jeremy and Adam are getting along great. We still have a language barrier, but trust is building up. Adam was given a jacket before he left the orphanage which he rarely parts with, along with his hat and Spiderman shoes. He hasn’t had much to call his own till now. We hope he’ll part with the jacket by Friday when the temperature in Guangzhou reaches 85 degrees.

We appreciate all your prayers. They are felt. God has truly blessed us. We got to talk to Makayla and Mackenzie today and they are doing well thanks to our friends Bev and Jerry. God is doing more than we could have asked or imagined (Eph 3:20).