Day 4

Yesterday we said goodbye to the Warners, who live in Ohio relatively close to us!

 

 

 

Today Camellia and I said goodbye to the Metzger family as they set off on a new path that God has placed before them with Joy.

Camellia is really going to miss Joy; she was really sad to see her leave. The two girls had fun sharing snacks together.

 

 

 

Tomorrow, the Anderson family heads home with, as Dad put it, the very melodramatic Joel.

 

Although they were a week ahead of me in this journey, they took Camellia and me under their wing. I am extremely grateful for everything all of you did for us and you have touched me and my family. I look forward to seeing pictures of these wonderful kids and their families in the years to come.

 

Morning:

Camellia started this morning wanting Chinese for breakfast. So she began with some warm and yummy fish and peanut congee. She followed this up with some nice breakfast noodles. After feeding these wonderful delicacies to her, Daddy had somehow lost his appetite.

 

The thought of fish and peanuts mashed up with a warm rice paste is probably enough to make readers of this blog choke, but wait until you smell it. Nevertheless, Camellia ate a big bowl of it and then followed it up with noodles.

 

 

We finished breakfast and got ready to meet with Jack and the rest of the All God’s Children group to do some hiking and sightseeing at the Baiyun Mountain Scenic Area Tour Center (I only remember this because I took a picture of the sign). We experienced some wonderful views there and rode a cable car up the mountain. It was an exciting time if you are not afraid of heights.

 

 

The cable car ride was a lot of fun and I’m sure it was all built under strict Chinese quality assurance and safety standards, so no worries.

 

 Once at the top, we were greeted with a wonderful view of the forest, but it was too overcast today to really have any good views of the city.

 Architecturally, I am amazed by the structures and surroundings in China. There are many fascinating places that are beautiful to look at. However, each unique building, archway, painting, or carving seems to represent good fortune, good luck, or happiness. I see these things and find myself glad that I know the true meaning of happiness that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

 Ok, you may not have noticed yet, but in every one of the pictures so far, Camellia is holding this juice bottle. She drank the juice early in the trip, but she was happy to simply have the bottle and the cap the entire trip. This meant, Daddy probably rescued that bottle cap from the path about 40 times but it was worth it seeing that smile.

 I blame this next picture on the fact that she drank the juice in the bottle.

But then again, a trip to China isn’t complete without a picture of the Squatty Potty. We finished our hike down the mountain and headed back to the hotel where pretty much everyone was in need of a shower. The temperature wasn’t overly hot today, but the humidity along the hike made you sweat terribly. The Guangzhou province is primarily tropical and the temperature was in the upper 70’s today.

 

 Afternoon:

 

We returned around noon, and after a short 15 minute break, Camellia and I jumped into a cab to head to Shamian Island with the Metzgers, who wanted to get a few last gifts before heading home this afternoon. The place is a nice area of the city with many shops and gardens to walk around in. The cab ride was just as adventurous as every ride I have had while in China. Chinese have a completely different driving style that somehow doesn’t end up in road rage. Traffic flows around buggies, hand drawn carts ,and high end Porsche. As many tight corners as the cab and bus drivers take their vehicles into, I am totally amazed that none of them seem to have any sort of scratches on them. We arrived safely and started shopping. 

While at the island, I met a wonderful Chinese couple who ran this little gift shop. The husband asked me if I was a Christian. I said yes, and he then proceeded to show me his hidden Jade necklace that he wore around his neck. In addition, he showed me all sorts of other items he had in his shop. One of the things I was especially fond of was a Chinese/English NIV translation of the Bible, which I purchased as a first Bible for Camellia. He and his wife were so excited that they wanted me to get a picture with his wife (terrible photo of Camellia, I know, as she was blinking).

 

We only had time to visit one shop so we headed back to the hotel where Camellia, her new squeaky shoes, and I relaxed until dinner.

 

 

Evening:

I met up with the Andersons for dinner tonight, and we went to an authentic Mexican Chinese restaurant called Tekila. For the VHT readers, it is not Tres Potrillos, but it was a welcome change to have some fajitas. I ordered the fajitas figuring Camellia and I would share, and she could eat the chicken. When the food came out, she got REALLY excited. I thought to myself; wow, dad hit a home run on this one. She really seems to like it. So I cut up some chicken into little bites and gave her a plate. She ate pretty well but kept pointing at my plate which was full of green peppers and caramelized onions. Then I finally realized her excitement. Camellia, REALLY likes noodles. In the dim light of the restaurant, caramelized onions look just like noodles. So I did what every awesome dad would do. Let my daughter eat a plate of chicken and caramelized onions for dinner. She gobbled them up thinking they were noodles! I’m sure she thought they were the weirdest tasting noodles she had ever eaten, but she finished them off in no time! I just hope that I don’t end up paying for this wise choice in the morning.