Church in China

On Shamian Island in Guanzhou.

These observations belong to Andrew… Today we went to Shamian island, that is about 30 minutes from our hotel. We went shopping at a few different stores on the side of the road there. One of which is named Andy’s shop. I got a picture in front of the sign. The things I miss most of my everyday life includes playing Basketball in the driveway, playing basketball on the trampoline, just doing different things on the trampoline, and, kind of a weird one, the music I listen to… K-love and KVNE. Probably most of all, although even if I was in White Oak I still wouldn’t be able to participate in, is my Basketball team. Every day of the week I would look forward to our 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00 o clock games (but don’t mention the practices, I’m just joking, they were challenging but fun). The league just ended so I’m sure all of my friends/teammates are missing it to. The food isn’t that bad, but I do like dumplings better than noodles.The now Chinese/American,Andrew

CHURCH IN CHINA

We went to Shamian Island today in hopes that we could attend the same church we had attended on Jaiden’s adoption trip. Fortunately, they still meet there and provide a service that is in both Chinese and English. It was packed again. Although we did not hear the “gospel”, it had a good message and a good testimony by a lady who had become a believer. After the service we discovered a wonderful bookstore that the church apparently runs where we found several Chinese/English Bibles and books for way cheaper than we could in the US. Then we shopped some more and found a great deal on a Samsonite suitcase to help us take our extra Bibles and books home. J Shamian Island is definitely the place to buy luggage! We felt “at home” on Shamian Island because this is a little Island (just across the Pearl River from Guangzhou) that caters to adoptive families. This is where our hotel was on our 2 previous adoption trips, so we knew our way around fairly well. We came across a man that looked familiar and asked him if he was Andy (one of the shop owners). Instead, he was Jordan (another one of the shop owners that we had met on a previous trip.) You’ll never guess who recognized him! Amy…the one who can’t remember anything! He then led us to his shop to give the kids a free calligraphy picture of their name and meaning. We shopped at his shop and visited, and he helped teach the boys how to use one of his toys. We bought one and have enjoyed perfecting its use here in our hotel room. Fortunately, it hasn’t broken anything… yet! Jordan (the shop owner) is a Christian, so we had that in common too. Then we intentionally ate at Lucy’s, for old-time-sake, and picked up a few souvenirs before heading back to our hotel. Unfortunately, it was quite cool and rainy, so we aren’t warming up in Guangzhou like we thought we would be.