July 19, 2007
Ball Girl
On many weekday mornings, Lydia and I leave our home for a few hours either to do errands, go to the Friday playgroup, or to visit people. The reasons why I bring Lydia out in the morning instead of the afternoon are many. First, Lydia has more energy in the morning than in the afternoon. Second, Lydia loves going to places outside our home. Third, SiowFong and I are trying to get Lydia adjusted to the idea of taking only one nap per day. Without a moderately stimulating activity like participating in an outing in the morning, Lydia will try to fall asleep around 9:00 AM. This pattern would not be problematic if Lydia were not going to day care three days a week beginning in September. The day care’s schedule for toddlers allows just one two-hour nap each day that occurs in the early afternoon from about 12:15 PM until 2:15 PM.
The reason for this morning’s trip was to visit our good friends from church, Al and Florence Crane. Both Al and Florence, who are active seniors in their 80s, enjoy seeing Lydia, and as our car rolled into their driveway around 10:00 AM, Al was already outside waiting for our arrival. During the visit, I played ping pong with Al and Florence, and our four games lasted an hour. During those sixty minutes, Lydia was not content to merely be a spectator. As someone who likes playing with balls, Lydia followed the movement of the brown ping pong ball during the games, and whenever it landed on the floor, she tracked it down and picked it up. As she briskly walked to retrieve the ball, Lydia had a big smile on her face, and she occasionally laughed as she did her job. Once she grabbed the ball, she would give it to the nearest adult.
With all of this activity, Lydia was tired by the time we returned home around noon. After drinking 10 ounces of formula and eating some crackers and string cheese, she fell asleep in her highchair. I wiped her face and hands, changed her diaper, and placed her in her crib, and she slept soundly this afternoon from 1:00 PM until 3:45 PM.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Photo: Malaysia, Nilai Columbarium and Tribute Note
DSC_0019(left to right): Ma Wee, Lydia, Tom, SiowFong, and MayLee
Pa Wee's ashes are located in the compartment just to the left of Tom's head and just above
SiowFong's head and MayLee's head
Pa Wee: October 3, 1925 - March 11, 2006
Nilai Columbarium in Nilai, Malaysia
June 13, 2007
Photographer: Bernard Wee
SiowFong's Tribute to Pa Wee
Here we are, Pa Wee. I have brought Lydia to visit you at the Nilai Colabarium. Lydia is your 11th grandchild whom you had so very much wanted to see before you went to be with Jesus. Your last and final words to me when I saw you last were all about Lydia as you wanted so very much to see her, but God had better plans for you. Lydia was born on January 8th 2006 and you went to be with Jesus on March 11, 2006. Lydia’s referral letter came to us on Nov 4th 2006. We believe that you had a ‘sneak preview’ of Lydia in heaven even before we saw her in China on January 4th 2007.
I will tell Lydia all about you when she is old enough to understand who her maternal grandfather was. I will tell her of your generosity: about your sacrificial and unconditioned love to us, your family members, as well as your compassion to others who are less fortunate. We pray that Lydia will have some of those attributes when she grows up and will live her life to the fullest, like you did. We know that you are always looking down at her from Heaven…
Bye Pa Wee, until we meet again at the golden shore in Heaven. Oh, how I miss your presence on earth, and your warm smile. From your daughter, SiowFong.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
One of Lydia's Favorite Books
July 17, 2007
One of Lydia’s Favorite Books
Lydia has about two dozen books, most of which she received as presents. Owl Babies, one of her favorites which is written by Martin Waddell, is such a gift from our longtime friends, the Armisteads (Scott and JoAnn, who have three school-aged sons (Jared, Noah, and Seth). Not a week goes by that Lydia does not ask one or both of us to read it to her, and she usually enjoys listening to the story and seeing the pictures a few times each week.
Tonight she asked me to read it to her after dinner, and a few minutes later, she approached her mother with the same request. By shrugging her shoulders, extending her arms, opening the palms of her hand, and saying “Mama?”, Lydia demonstrates to us that she knows the gist of the story, which can be summarized with the question, “Where’s Mommy?” Tonight, for the first time, Lydia also connected the brown mother owl described in the book to her mom, SiowFong, as she pointed first to SiowFong and then to the front entrance door to tell us that mom leaves home each morning (to go to work).
When SiowFong informed Lydia that she was like an owl baby, Lydia pointed to herself.
Owl Babies
The following is the entire story from the book, Owl Babies:
“Once there were three baby owls: Sarah and Percy and Bill. They lived in a hold in the trunk of a tree with their Owl Mother. The hole had twigs and leaves and owl feathers in it. It was their house.
One night they woke up and their Owl Mother was gone. ‘Where’s Mommy?’ asked Sarah. [This is a question Lydia has been posing often since our return from Malaysia, and she expresses it by saying “Mama…mama” throughout the day.] ‘Oh my goodness!’ said Percy. ‘I want my mommy!’ said Bill.
The baby owls thought (all owls think a lot) – ‘I think she’s gone hunting,’ said Sarah. ‘To get us our food!’ said Percy. ‘I want my mommy!’ said Bill.
But their Owl Mother didn’t come. The baby owls came out of their house, and they sat on the tree and waited.
A big branch for Sarah, a small branch for Percy, and an old piece of ivy for Bill. ‘She’ll be back,’ said Sarah. ‘Back soon!’ said Percy. ‘I want my mommy!’ said Bill.
It was dark in the wood and they had to be brave, for things moved all around them. ‘She’ll bring us mice and things that are nice,’ said Sarah. ‘I suppose so!’ said Percy. ‘I want my mommy!’ said Bill.
They sat and they thought (all owls think a lot) – ‘I think we should all sit on my branch,’ said Sarah. And they did, all three together.
‘Suppose she got lost,’ said Sarah. ‘Or a fox got her!’ said Percy. ‘I want my mommy!’ said Bill. And the baby owls closed their owl eyes and wished their Owl Mother would come.
And she came. Soft and silent, she swooped through the trees to Sarah and Percy and Bill.
‘Mommy!’ they cried, and they flapped and they danced, and they bounced up and down on their branch.’ [Lydia reacts similarly when she hears SiowFong’s car enter the driveway in the late afternoon. For example, during the last two days, Lydia turned her head towards the front door, immediately stopped eating her dinner, stood up in the high chair, tugged hard at her bib to try to remove it, and was ready to launch out of the chair and run towards the door.]
‘What’s all the fuss?’ their Owl Mother asked. ‘You knew I’d come back.’ The baby owls thought (all owls think a lot) – ‘I knew it,’ said Sarah. “And I knew it!’ said Percy. ‘I love my mommy!’ said Bill.”
(Source: Martin Waddell. Owl Babies. Candlewick Press. 1992.)
One of Lydia’s Favorite Books
Lydia has about two dozen books, most of which she received as presents. Owl Babies, one of her favorites which is written by Martin Waddell, is such a gift from our longtime friends, the Armisteads (Scott and JoAnn, who have three school-aged sons (Jared, Noah, and Seth). Not a week goes by that Lydia does not ask one or both of us to read it to her, and she usually enjoys listening to the story and seeing the pictures a few times each week.
Tonight she asked me to read it to her after dinner, and a few minutes later, she approached her mother with the same request. By shrugging her shoulders, extending her arms, opening the palms of her hand, and saying “Mama?”, Lydia demonstrates to us that she knows the gist of the story, which can be summarized with the question, “Where’s Mommy?” Tonight, for the first time, Lydia also connected the brown mother owl described in the book to her mom, SiowFong, as she pointed first to SiowFong and then to the front entrance door to tell us that mom leaves home each morning (to go to work).
When SiowFong informed Lydia that she was like an owl baby, Lydia pointed to herself.
Owl Babies
The following is the entire story from the book, Owl Babies:
“Once there were three baby owls: Sarah and Percy and Bill. They lived in a hold in the trunk of a tree with their Owl Mother. The hole had twigs and leaves and owl feathers in it. It was their house.
One night they woke up and their Owl Mother was gone. ‘Where’s Mommy?’ asked Sarah. [This is a question Lydia has been posing often since our return from Malaysia, and she expresses it by saying “Mama…mama” throughout the day.] ‘Oh my goodness!’ said Percy. ‘I want my mommy!’ said Bill.
The baby owls thought (all owls think a lot) – ‘I think she’s gone hunting,’ said Sarah. ‘To get us our food!’ said Percy. ‘I want my mommy!’ said Bill.
But their Owl Mother didn’t come. The baby owls came out of their house, and they sat on the tree and waited.
A big branch for Sarah, a small branch for Percy, and an old piece of ivy for Bill. ‘She’ll be back,’ said Sarah. ‘Back soon!’ said Percy. ‘I want my mommy!’ said Bill.
It was dark in the wood and they had to be brave, for things moved all around them. ‘She’ll bring us mice and things that are nice,’ said Sarah. ‘I suppose so!’ said Percy. ‘I want my mommy!’ said Bill.
They sat and they thought (all owls think a lot) – ‘I think we should all sit on my branch,’ said Sarah. And they did, all three together.
‘Suppose she got lost,’ said Sarah. ‘Or a fox got her!’ said Percy. ‘I want my mommy!’ said Bill. And the baby owls closed their owl eyes and wished their Owl Mother would come.
And she came. Soft and silent, she swooped through the trees to Sarah and Percy and Bill.
‘Mommy!’ they cried, and they flapped and they danced, and they bounced up and down on their branch.’ [Lydia reacts similarly when she hears SiowFong’s car enter the driveway in the late afternoon. For example, during the last two days, Lydia turned her head towards the front door, immediately stopped eating her dinner, stood up in the high chair, tugged hard at her bib to try to remove it, and was ready to launch out of the chair and run towards the door.]
‘What’s all the fuss?’ their Owl Mother asked. ‘You knew I’d come back.’ The baby owls thought (all owls think a lot) – ‘I knew it,’ said Sarah. “And I knew it!’ said Percy. ‘I love my mommy!’ said Bill.”
(Source: Martin Waddell. Owl Babies. Candlewick Press. 1992.)
Photos: Malaysia, Oddities
DSC_0154(left to right): fish seller, Lydia, SiowFong
Fish seller coming to sell fish to the people living on Ma Wee's street in Batu Pahat, Malaysia
June 19, 2007
P6220142_largeLydia is resting in the arms of Ronald McDonald at a McDonald's restaurant at a mall in Malacca, Malaysia. Lin Li, her cousin, brought her there so that she could play in the restaurant's playplace (she did not anything at the restaurant).
June 22, 2007
Photographer: Lin Li Yap (with his Olympus digital point and shoot camera)
P6240144Lydia driving an antique red car
Front porch of Lin Li's home in Malacca, Malaysia
June 24, 2007
Photographer: Lin Li Yap (with his Olympus digital point and shoot camera)
A Heart for China and the Far East
July 17, 2007
A Heart for China and the Far East
We just received in today’s mail the July 2007 newsletter from Samaritan’s Purse, the well-respected charity known for its work in international disaster relief and development. (We love the work that this organization does, and we have been supporting it with prayer and donations for many years.)
Franklin Graham, Billy Graham’s son who is the President of Samaritan’s Purse, dedicated this issue entitled “Ruth Bell Graham: Mama’s Heart for China and the Far East” to his mother who passed away last week.
He begins as follows:
“Dear Friend,
I want to say thank you to everyone who lifted my family up in prayer during the passing of my mother, Ruth Bell Graham [who died on June 14, 2007 from pneumonia].
My mother’s life overflowed with the hope of the Gospel, and her passion for evangelism was every bit as strong as my father’s. In particular, Mama always had a heart for the multitudes living in spiritual darkness in China, where she was born and raised as the daughter of a missionary doctor [who served in China for 25 years at an old Presbyterian Hospital in northern China]. Before meeting my father at Wheaton College, she wanted to be a missionary to Tibet, a region so remote and rugged that it exemplifies ‘the uttermost part of the earth’ (Acts 1:8b, KJV).
As doors opened in China in recent years, Samaritan’s Purse has had opportunities to provide Bible training and other assistance for a large number of pastors and house church leaders. We have sent shoe box gifts for children through Operation Christmas Child, as well as doctors through World Medical Mission. The founding of World Medical Mission nearly 30 years ago was greatly influenced by my mother, who had grown up seeing how the Great Physician [Jesus] could use missionary doctors like her father, L. Nelson Bell, to advance His kingdom.
God has also enabled Samaritan’s Purse to provide medical assistance in Mongolia, a country that was part of China for hundreds of years. Since 2000, our Children’s Heart Project has brought 127 Mongolian children to North America for life-giving cardiac surgery. Many of these boys and girls were close to death when we found them, but now they are able to lead normal, healthy lives. We have also furnished tons of medical supplies and equipment, including a cardiac bypass machine, an echocardiograph, ICU monitors, and much more. Through our Children’s Heart Project and other medical ministries in Mongolia, we have seen dozens of people pray to receive Christ as Savior, and house churches are springing up in the midst of this Buddhist stronghold.
In North Korea, where my mother went to high school in the 1930s, Samaritan’s Purse has provided medical equipment and other aid to hospitals, tuberculosis treatment centers, and mobile clinics through World Medical Mission. We are also talking with official there about other areas of assistance. As one of the few Christians organizations that have access to North Korea, Samaritan’s Purse is working to earn a hearing for the Gospel in one of the most closed countries on earth.
Later this year, I will be preaching in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was reunited with China ten years ago. I’ll never forget going there in 1975 with Bob Pierce, the founder of Samaritan’s Purse. We stood at a military checkpoint looking into mainland China, which was still going through the Cultural Revolution and was closed to outsiders. ‘I will probably not live to go back o that country I love so much, Dr. Bob told me. ‘But Buddy, some day you will go. The Christians in China need our help.’
Next year, the eyes of the world will be on China, as the 2008 Summer Olympics are held in Beijing. This could bring unprecedented opportunities and challenges for the Christians in China. Pray that their faith may shine.”
Ways You Can Help
The monthly newsletter always concludes with practical ways that people can help those who are in need. This issue includes the following:
“Prayer
Praise God for what He is doing to establish His Church in places such as China. . .Pray for persecuted Christians around the world and for the ministry of Samaritan’s Purse in support of those who risk their lives to spread the Gospel.
China Projects
As fast as the Church in China is growing, there are not nearly enough Bible schools to train pastors and evangelists. For as little as $ 15, we can help provide a dedicated believer with training, Gospel materials, or other resources that will make it possible to reach many others with the Good News of Christ.
Medical Equipment and Supplies
“Our ability to provide critically needed medical aid has opened doors for ministry in Mongolia, North Korea, and many other countries. For an average of $ 60, we can ship $ 1,000 worth of donated medical equipment and supplies.
Children’s Heart Project
“A round trip ticket to a North American hospital costs an average of $ 2,200. A hundred people giving just $ 22 can give a suffering child a new lease on life while introducing the patient’s family to the matchless love of Jesus Christ.”
Contact Information
Samaritan’s Purse
P. O. Box 3000
Boone, NC 28607
800-665-2843
www.samaritanspurse.org
Notes: “All gifts are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. . .Our Board-approved policy is that all gifts designated for a specific project be applied to that project, with up to ten percent used for administrative and fundraising expenses.”
A Heart for China and the Far East
We just received in today’s mail the July 2007 newsletter from Samaritan’s Purse, the well-respected charity known for its work in international disaster relief and development. (We love the work that this organization does, and we have been supporting it with prayer and donations for many years.)
Franklin Graham, Billy Graham’s son who is the President of Samaritan’s Purse, dedicated this issue entitled “Ruth Bell Graham: Mama’s Heart for China and the Far East” to his mother who passed away last week.
He begins as follows:
“Dear Friend,
I want to say thank you to everyone who lifted my family up in prayer during the passing of my mother, Ruth Bell Graham [who died on June 14, 2007 from pneumonia].
My mother’s life overflowed with the hope of the Gospel, and her passion for evangelism was every bit as strong as my father’s. In particular, Mama always had a heart for the multitudes living in spiritual darkness in China, where she was born and raised as the daughter of a missionary doctor [who served in China for 25 years at an old Presbyterian Hospital in northern China]. Before meeting my father at Wheaton College, she wanted to be a missionary to Tibet, a region so remote and rugged that it exemplifies ‘the uttermost part of the earth’ (Acts 1:8b, KJV).
As doors opened in China in recent years, Samaritan’s Purse has had opportunities to provide Bible training and other assistance for a large number of pastors and house church leaders. We have sent shoe box gifts for children through Operation Christmas Child, as well as doctors through World Medical Mission. The founding of World Medical Mission nearly 30 years ago was greatly influenced by my mother, who had grown up seeing how the Great Physician [Jesus] could use missionary doctors like her father, L. Nelson Bell, to advance His kingdom.
God has also enabled Samaritan’s Purse to provide medical assistance in Mongolia, a country that was part of China for hundreds of years. Since 2000, our Children’s Heart Project has brought 127 Mongolian children to North America for life-giving cardiac surgery. Many of these boys and girls were close to death when we found them, but now they are able to lead normal, healthy lives. We have also furnished tons of medical supplies and equipment, including a cardiac bypass machine, an echocardiograph, ICU monitors, and much more. Through our Children’s Heart Project and other medical ministries in Mongolia, we have seen dozens of people pray to receive Christ as Savior, and house churches are springing up in the midst of this Buddhist stronghold.
In North Korea, where my mother went to high school in the 1930s, Samaritan’s Purse has provided medical equipment and other aid to hospitals, tuberculosis treatment centers, and mobile clinics through World Medical Mission. We are also talking with official there about other areas of assistance. As one of the few Christians organizations that have access to North Korea, Samaritan’s Purse is working to earn a hearing for the Gospel in one of the most closed countries on earth.
Later this year, I will be preaching in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was reunited with China ten years ago. I’ll never forget going there in 1975 with Bob Pierce, the founder of Samaritan’s Purse. We stood at a military checkpoint looking into mainland China, which was still going through the Cultural Revolution and was closed to outsiders. ‘I will probably not live to go back o that country I love so much, Dr. Bob told me. ‘But Buddy, some day you will go. The Christians in China need our help.’
Next year, the eyes of the world will be on China, as the 2008 Summer Olympics are held in Beijing. This could bring unprecedented opportunities and challenges for the Christians in China. Pray that their faith may shine.”
Ways You Can Help
The monthly newsletter always concludes with practical ways that people can help those who are in need. This issue includes the following:
“Prayer
Praise God for what He is doing to establish His Church in places such as China. . .Pray for persecuted Christians around the world and for the ministry of Samaritan’s Purse in support of those who risk their lives to spread the Gospel.
China Projects
As fast as the Church in China is growing, there are not nearly enough Bible schools to train pastors and evangelists. For as little as $ 15, we can help provide a dedicated believer with training, Gospel materials, or other resources that will make it possible to reach many others with the Good News of Christ.
Medical Equipment and Supplies
“Our ability to provide critically needed medical aid has opened doors for ministry in Mongolia, North Korea, and many other countries. For an average of $ 60, we can ship $ 1,000 worth of donated medical equipment and supplies.
Children’s Heart Project
“A round trip ticket to a North American hospital costs an average of $ 2,200. A hundred people giving just $ 22 can give a suffering child a new lease on life while introducing the patient’s family to the matchless love of Jesus Christ.”
Contact Information
Samaritan’s Purse
P. O. Box 3000
Boone, NC 28607
800-665-2843
www.samaritanspurse.org
Notes: “All gifts are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. . .Our Board-approved policy is that all gifts designated for a specific project be applied to that project, with up to ten percent used for administrative and fundraising expenses.”
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Photos: Malaysia, Look at Me
DSC_0010Lydia laughing while sitting on the sofa
June 21, 2007
Living room of MayNah's and Yap's home in Malacca, Malaysia
DSC_0023Lydia next to a pile of stuffed animals
June 12, 2007
Living room of Bernard's and Choo's home in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
DSC_0079a_largeLydia imitating the wings of a bird in flight
June 15, 2007
Living room of Ma Wee's home in Batu Pahat, Malaysia
P6240160_large
Lydia playing with two small rattles
Photographer: Lin Li Yap
June 24, 2007
Living room of Bernard's and Choo's home in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
From China With Love
July 17, 2007
From China With Love
Lydia has three different places where she sleeps during each day. In the morning, she rests on a small blanket that is placed on the carpet of the living room; during the afternoon, she naps in her crib in her room; and at night, she sleeps in her playpen that sits alongside our bed on SiowFong’s side of the bed.
Because she only had a thirty minute nap this morning, she was extremely fatigued by 3:00 PM, which was the time when I carried her to her crib. To help her fall asleep, I pressed the play button on the CD on the clock radio, and the gentle melodies of a lullaby titled “All Night, All Day” filled the room, and within five minutes, she was snoozing. During those five minutes, I began reading a book I recently purchased called From China with Love. This autobiographical account chronicles the adoption journeys of Emily Buchanan, a journalist and producer for the British Broadcasting Company for over twenty years, and her husband, Gerald, as they adopted two daughters from China, Jade and Rose.
As I read the book’s preface, tears began to form in my eyes as I thought about our two-year adoption journey to Lydia and as I pondered how God has transformed our lives in the last six plus months because of her presence.
Let me share with you the following two excerpts from the book.
Introduction
“It was one thing dreaming of a daughter. I had peered countless times at her picture, courtesy of the Chinese government: a small photography of a five-month-old baby girl from the remote desert plateau of Shaanxi Province. I had fingered and stroked it, searching for the personality behind the still, sad eyes and the pale, motionless, chubby face.
Now my two-year ‘bureaucratic’ pregnancy was about to end. This moment, which had once appeared like a distant star, was accelerating toward us.
I watched the flat yellow earth blanketed by hazy yellow air stretched out ahead. The engines roared as the aircraft banked in preparation to land, and I could feel the pit in my stomach grow. Gerald and I were flying into Xi’an, China’s ancient capital, to meet the child who would be ours, and panic was taking hold.
Our sharp-suited translator, with cropped hair, was there to greet us, bristling with efficiency. ‘You are going to meet your daughter this evening,’ she announced. ‘In two hours time she’ll be brought to your hotel.’
So this was it. I felt sick with anticipation. . .
How we’d wallowed in big ideas of East linking with West, of the beautiful symmetry of abandoned child meeting childless parents, of loving knowing no national boundaries. This miracle was perfect in the abstract, but the five-month-old baby in the photo was now eleven months’ worth of flesh and blood. She would be brought to us and there would be no going back. Mother, father and daughter. . .about to be bonded together as one family. . .
We arrived into the marbled calm of the Bell Tower Hotel and were ushered into our room where we hurriedly unpacked. I felt hopelessly disorganized, unzipping my suitcase and taking the baby things out one by one and putting them on the desk: bottle, milk formula, rattle, wipes, nappies, bibs – they were like strange foreign objects. I stuffed some T-shirts, shorts and little dresses into a drawer, baby clothes of various sizes in case the measurements we’d been given weren’t accurate. I remembered how buying these props had made me feel I was, if nothing else, playing the part of a mother-to-be. . .
Now, in this plain hotel room in Xi-an, a city that stood at the crossroads of the trade routes between Central Asia and eastern China, a place that was once at the very heart of Chinese civilization, we were about to meet our daughter for the first time.
We held hands tightly and waited. . .The traffic from the gridlocked roundabout below hooted and roared. The neon signs flashed red and green through the window. There were footsteps in the corridor, then a gentle knock at the door.”
(Source: Emily Buchanan. From China with Love: A Long Road to Motherhood. Wiley. 2006. pages ix to xii.)
Journey to Jade
“I rushed up and opened it. I scarcely noticed the four people from the Yulin Social Welfare Institute standing in the doorway. All I could see was our daughter, Lin Na. She was being held up by one young woman, who was chattering to her in Chinese. ‘Zhe shi ni mama, zhe shi ni baba’ – this is your Mummy and your Daddy.
Lin Na smiled, not sure at first if she wanted to be handed over, but gradually letting go and allowing herself to be put in my arms. She looked confident, and examined me with her piercing brown eyes. That moment seemed to last an eternity. I don’t think I had ever been look at so hard. She gazed at Gerald and he described it as being like a ‘laser beam of love’ passing between them. She went to him without protest. It was instantly obvious that she had been well looked after. She was much healthier, and much happier looking, than in her photograph and was far more outgoing that we had expected. I thought that she would be terrified of us as complete strangers and that she would be a traumatized little girl, but instead she seemed robust, confident and certainly well fed.
‘Lin Na, Jade, Lin Na, Jade,’ I hugged her and squeezed her, feeling her warm, solid body in my arms. She was so real, so present. It was hard to take in the realization that this little human being was now finally ours.”
(Source: Emily Buchanan. From China with Love: A Long Road to Motherhood. Wiley. 2006. pages 132-133.)
From China With Love
Lydia has three different places where she sleeps during each day. In the morning, she rests on a small blanket that is placed on the carpet of the living room; during the afternoon, she naps in her crib in her room; and at night, she sleeps in her playpen that sits alongside our bed on SiowFong’s side of the bed.
Because she only had a thirty minute nap this morning, she was extremely fatigued by 3:00 PM, which was the time when I carried her to her crib. To help her fall asleep, I pressed the play button on the CD on the clock radio, and the gentle melodies of a lullaby titled “All Night, All Day” filled the room, and within five minutes, she was snoozing. During those five minutes, I began reading a book I recently purchased called From China with Love. This autobiographical account chronicles the adoption journeys of Emily Buchanan, a journalist and producer for the British Broadcasting Company for over twenty years, and her husband, Gerald, as they adopted two daughters from China, Jade and Rose.
As I read the book’s preface, tears began to form in my eyes as I thought about our two-year adoption journey to Lydia and as I pondered how God has transformed our lives in the last six plus months because of her presence.
Let me share with you the following two excerpts from the book.
Introduction
“It was one thing dreaming of a daughter. I had peered countless times at her picture, courtesy of the Chinese government: a small photography of a five-month-old baby girl from the remote desert plateau of Shaanxi Province. I had fingered and stroked it, searching for the personality behind the still, sad eyes and the pale, motionless, chubby face.
Now my two-year ‘bureaucratic’ pregnancy was about to end. This moment, which had once appeared like a distant star, was accelerating toward us.
I watched the flat yellow earth blanketed by hazy yellow air stretched out ahead. The engines roared as the aircraft banked in preparation to land, and I could feel the pit in my stomach grow. Gerald and I were flying into Xi’an, China’s ancient capital, to meet the child who would be ours, and panic was taking hold.
Our sharp-suited translator, with cropped hair, was there to greet us, bristling with efficiency. ‘You are going to meet your daughter this evening,’ she announced. ‘In two hours time she’ll be brought to your hotel.’
So this was it. I felt sick with anticipation. . .
How we’d wallowed in big ideas of East linking with West, of the beautiful symmetry of abandoned child meeting childless parents, of loving knowing no national boundaries. This miracle was perfect in the abstract, but the five-month-old baby in the photo was now eleven months’ worth of flesh and blood. She would be brought to us and there would be no going back. Mother, father and daughter. . .about to be bonded together as one family. . .
We arrived into the marbled calm of the Bell Tower Hotel and were ushered into our room where we hurriedly unpacked. I felt hopelessly disorganized, unzipping my suitcase and taking the baby things out one by one and putting them on the desk: bottle, milk formula, rattle, wipes, nappies, bibs – they were like strange foreign objects. I stuffed some T-shirts, shorts and little dresses into a drawer, baby clothes of various sizes in case the measurements we’d been given weren’t accurate. I remembered how buying these props had made me feel I was, if nothing else, playing the part of a mother-to-be. . .
Now, in this plain hotel room in Xi-an, a city that stood at the crossroads of the trade routes between Central Asia and eastern China, a place that was once at the very heart of Chinese civilization, we were about to meet our daughter for the first time.
We held hands tightly and waited. . .The traffic from the gridlocked roundabout below hooted and roared. The neon signs flashed red and green through the window. There were footsteps in the corridor, then a gentle knock at the door.”
(Source: Emily Buchanan. From China with Love: A Long Road to Motherhood. Wiley. 2006. pages ix to xii.)
Journey to Jade
“I rushed up and opened it. I scarcely noticed the four people from the Yulin Social Welfare Institute standing in the doorway. All I could see was our daughter, Lin Na. She was being held up by one young woman, who was chattering to her in Chinese. ‘Zhe shi ni mama, zhe shi ni baba’ – this is your Mummy and your Daddy.
Lin Na smiled, not sure at first if she wanted to be handed over, but gradually letting go and allowing herself to be put in my arms. She looked confident, and examined me with her piercing brown eyes. That moment seemed to last an eternity. I don’t think I had ever been look at so hard. She gazed at Gerald and he described it as being like a ‘laser beam of love’ passing between them. She went to him without protest. It was instantly obvious that she had been well looked after. She was much healthier, and much happier looking, than in her photograph and was far more outgoing that we had expected. I thought that she would be terrified of us as complete strangers and that she would be a traumatized little girl, but instead she seemed robust, confident and certainly well fed.
‘Lin Na, Jade, Lin Na, Jade,’ I hugged her and squeezed her, feeling her warm, solid body in my arms. She was so real, so present. It was hard to take in the realization that this little human being was now finally ours.”
(Source: Emily Buchanan. From China with Love: A Long Road to Motherhood. Wiley. 2006. pages 132-133.)
Photos: Malaysia, Trishaw
DSC_0089A trishaw is essentially a rickshaw attached to a bicycle so that the driver can ride the bicycle to move the vehicle instead of walking and pulling the vehicle behind him. The trishaw drivers line up their vehicles for tourists in the historic section of Malacca, Malaysia, a city with much European influence from past colonization by the British, Dutch, and Portuguese.
DSC_0094(left to right): Feiling Yap, Lin Li ("Ali") Yap, and Lydia
Feiling and Lin Li are Lydia's cousins and two of the three children born to MayNah and Yap.
DSC_0103(left to right): SiowFong, Lydia, and Tom in their trishaw just before the half-hour tour began
Photographer: Lin Li Yap
Note: All of the above pictures were taken on June 23, 2007 shortly before 5:00 PM in the downtown, historic section of Malacca, Malaysia.
Photo tip: Even though these pictures are outdoor pictures, some (which means less than full power) direct flash was used to fill in the shadows. One of the keys to using flash for outdoor pictures as fill-in light is not to overdo it. In automatic mode, the flash output is usually too strong, resulting in a picture that has an obvious flash look because the amount of light emitted by the flash is greater than the ambient light. In these pictures, the flash power, which is by default set at zero was reduced by one to negative one.
Weekend Highlights
July 16, 2007
Weekend Highlights
On Saturday morning promptly at 10:00 AM, Silvia came to our home for an hour to play and to read with Lydia and to do all of that in Spanish. Silvia played ball with Lydia, taught her the names of some body parts, watched some nursery rhymes like “Old McDonald Had a Farm” and “A, B, Cs” in Spanish with Lydia, and conversed with Lydia. Lydia managed to maintain attention for about a half hour.
Sunday morning meant another first service nursery at the church for Lydia. Of the two morning services, the first tends to attract more of the older congregants, including a number of adults with grown children, so only three children were in the toddler nursery with Lydia. SiowFong tried unsuccessfully to leave twice from the nursery, but Lydia began crying each time; as a result, SiowFong spent nearly the entire service in the nursery with Lydia. By the time SiowFong entered the sanctuary with Lydia, Pastor Bob was concluding his sermon about the 23rd Psalm in the Old Testament of the Bible.
Sunday late afternoon and early evening found us at the Kaing / Li home for a wonderful homemade Chinese supper, which included menu items like herbal soup, stir-fried beef with lemongrass, stir-fried clams with green peppers, steamed eggs with pork and dried shrimp, watermelon, and grapes. Lydia and Kyvin played together, first on the plastic slide set on the back porch and then inside the home with various toys, including legos. As Matt and Mayfanna have a garden, they gave us some peas, which Matt harvested and then threw on the grass for Kyvin and Lydia to collect. The evening continued with a short walk to their neighborhood playground, where Lydia enjoyed her time on the swing set, slide, and seesaw. After a brief visit to the outdoor neighborhood pool, we strolled back to their home, where Kyvin and Lydia experienced blowing bubbles in the yard. Then it was 8:30 PM, which was time for us to return home.
Weekend Highlights
On Saturday morning promptly at 10:00 AM, Silvia came to our home for an hour to play and to read with Lydia and to do all of that in Spanish. Silvia played ball with Lydia, taught her the names of some body parts, watched some nursery rhymes like “Old McDonald Had a Farm” and “A, B, Cs” in Spanish with Lydia, and conversed with Lydia. Lydia managed to maintain attention for about a half hour.
Sunday morning meant another first service nursery at the church for Lydia. Of the two morning services, the first tends to attract more of the older congregants, including a number of adults with grown children, so only three children were in the toddler nursery with Lydia. SiowFong tried unsuccessfully to leave twice from the nursery, but Lydia began crying each time; as a result, SiowFong spent nearly the entire service in the nursery with Lydia. By the time SiowFong entered the sanctuary with Lydia, Pastor Bob was concluding his sermon about the 23rd Psalm in the Old Testament of the Bible.
Sunday late afternoon and early evening found us at the Kaing / Li home for a wonderful homemade Chinese supper, which included menu items like herbal soup, stir-fried beef with lemongrass, stir-fried clams with green peppers, steamed eggs with pork and dried shrimp, watermelon, and grapes. Lydia and Kyvin played together, first on the plastic slide set on the back porch and then inside the home with various toys, including legos. As Matt and Mayfanna have a garden, they gave us some peas, which Matt harvested and then threw on the grass for Kyvin and Lydia to collect. The evening continued with a short walk to their neighborhood playground, where Lydia enjoyed her time on the swing set, slide, and seesaw. After a brief visit to the outdoor neighborhood pool, we strolled back to their home, where Kyvin and Lydia experienced blowing bubbles in the yard. Then it was 8:30 PM, which was time for us to return home.
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