Hangzhou and Gotcha Day

December 22, 2008 Adoption Log
SUNDAY - A full day and a prayer request
Our family began the day by giving Samuel some Tylenol for a fever. He has not been himself and has not had a good appetite. We .attended the Beijing International Christian Fellowship, an expatriate ministry that has been in existence for about 25 years. They are renting theatre facilities at a hotel complex. It was an enjoyable experience of worship. Since it was the Sunday before Christmas they had a special program with the church children doing ballet to Christian music. It was beautiful. The pastor gave a three point message: the prophecies of Christ, the facts of Christ, the history of Christ and our experience in Christ.
After the church service we visited a jade factory - enjoyable! We then we had lunch. Afterwards we browsed through the friendship store where they had folks demonstrate cloisonné. We have been purchasing a few small items as gifts to bring back for family.
Then we visited the Great Wall of China at the Badaling Pass, northeast of Beijing. By that time Samuel was becoming feverish again and Holly stayed with him on the bus. It was very cold. We needed every article of warm clothing. Amy and I walked around and I must say that Amy was impressive, traversing those steep steps and inclines with her bad ankle and foot.
After dinner we had to be driven directly to the airport where we boarded China Air for a 2 hour flight to Hangzhou. It was around 10 PM when we arrived in Hangzhou and met up with Wendy our guide,. By that time, we saw Samuel’s condition begin to deteriorate. We needed some more fever reducing medicine. Wendy found us a late night pharmacy and we were able to purchase some Motrin. We’re worried that unless we can keep the fever under control he will slip into a seizure. Not good at all. Doctors have told us that we can control a fever by rotating between Motrin and Tylenol. I am not finding any Tylenol around here we did find some Chinese brand medicine but we don’t know if it is working. We are praying that the medicine will work.

Monday is Gotcha Day. Everyone slept through the night - finally. Though Samuel was burning up with fever this morning. W gave him more medicine and put him in a tepid bath to bring down the temperature. And of course we prayed. And he rallied enough to get the morning. Now he is asleep but is very flush.
Now about Steven Yu Fei. We met him a little after 9:30 at the Hangzhou Civil Affairs Office. The director and the Notary were both present. Picture a very long conference style room with extra chairs lining the perimeter of the room, an office copier in one corner. The room is cold and we are all wearing our coats. And then the orphanage director arrives with the head nanny for the orphanage. They both seem to be caring people and are thankful for the wonderful donations. Yu Fei came with his brand new coat, sweater, shirt, thermals, ultraman sneakers, and a backpack filled with another sweater and some special things, including a milk drink box, cookies, and things. He has an enjoyable disposition and a compliant attitude. He’s also spunky. He is able to keep track on tasks. It’s a shame that his walk is labored and so are his limbs but he has found creative ways to overcome these disabilities.. Steven is actually smaller than Samuel though he is developmentally ahead of him. He has immediately made eye contact with all of us and recognizes us as mama and baba, gi-gi and di di . He likes Samuel and Samuel has accepted him into his family. I think they will become good friends. Amy has enjoyed brushing up on her mandarin and is actually learning. Steven likes the fact that Amy knows some words in his language and they have been bantering phrases back and forth. He’s able to work with braiding yarn in a book puzzle. We’re impressed and I know Wendy likes him too. We took lots of pictures but are not yet able to access the internet. Sorry to all who are wanting to keep track of our progress. Please pray that we can find some Tylenol and that Samuel’s fever will break. We’ll try to get some photos uploaded.

Tuesday, December 23
Another filling buffet breakfast at the hotel and a two hour walk through the park around West Lake. It is warmer here than Beijing though all of China is experiencing a cold front.. I believe there will be no place to use our short sleeve clothes. Half of the time we carried the children and half of the time we let them walk. We even found a Starbucks and had English Breakfast tea, Caramel Macchiato’s and hot chocolates. (Expensive here - about 124 yuan - nearly $20 US) We are gaining a better grasp on Steven’s personality. He is constantly a chatterbox, a bit loud and noisy, and there is a bit of a naughty streak. However, he does desire to please and be helpful. He can put away his shoes. Communication is an issue and there are moments when I ask myself, “Are you crazy or what? Can I really love this child?” I remember asking the same thing when I met little Samuel. Now I can’t think of being without him. There will be some mimicking and also competitiveness with the boys. Steven can become a bit obnoxious but I must realize that he does not know how to really act in public, or in a restaurant. He is creative with his movements and limitations. When he falls, he rolls over and pushes himself up with his arms and splays his legs and then does a jumping motion to get his body on the legs. His knees are indeed stiff and immobile. He can grasp with his fingers though they are turned and fail to give him full movement and strength. I cannot even describe how he eats other than to say that you have to see for yourself, using one arm to prop up and support the other.
Yesterday we went to a Carrafour - like a very big supermarket (similar to Super Walmart). It has everything from clothing to electronics to food. We bought some fruit, cups of Raman noodle soups, bottled water and a Mountain Dew for Amy. Samuel still has a fever and cold symptoms but is not burning up as before. Thank the Lord for His blessings.
Expenses: Yesterday we paid $3,000 US to the orphanage, $400 RMB to the Notory. We will need to spend $4000 RMB for passport application and other needful adoption documents.
Orphanage director comments - We will revisit the orphanage director later on in Wenzhou (a one day trip?) to complete paperwork and to answer other questions we might have. They told us that Steven does not know how to apportion his food. He will continue to eat - perhaps gorge himself. We need to portion his food. We saw this at dinner last night. He had three helpings of Shrimp Wonton Soup, and bread. And then again at breakfast he had eggs, fruit, congee, bread. We were forewarned that we should only gradually move him from a bland diet to a western diet. He will be sensitive toward spicy foods. I think he has a giardia like Samuel did. It comes from the drinking water. The director also told us that she does not know how Steven came upon his head scars, if they were from birth or came from an earlier injury. She gave us his inoculation records - they seem a bit incomplete.
We have a 2:00 PM and a 4;00 P.M. at the Notary and Civil Affairs Office.

* One note: We got on the internet and posted a few days ago but it didn't go through for some reason. This is my first opportunity to bring you the news.