Last blog from Chongqing

Hello friends!

Today was our last full day in Chongqing (Chong-ching). I will use this blog to summarize our stay and place a few comments about the city and its country. The next blog will be from Guangzhou (Gwang-jo). Thus, this may be a hefty one.

I (Marc) feel so blessed and full of joy. I am so proud of my family for their endurance and great attitudes. Coming all the way to Chongqing to get Malea is indeed a trip of a lifetime and is an incredible family journey.

There are many things that have made this journey so amazingly special. Of course, there is Malea. Each day she is becoming more secure in her surroundings and is coming out of her shell. It is so rewarding to see her flourish under the love she is constantly getting. She now plays on her own, she laughs, and she even crawled for the first time. She is a strong little bugger. In fact, if she continues to flourish at this pace, we may be in for a wild 18 years!

I am surprised at another aspect of this trip, however; one that has proved rewarding beyond words. That aspect is Kiersten and Madison. I knew they would be good, but those two kids are absolutely incredible. Not once have their attitudes gone south. Not once have they complained despite the long days, no peace and quiet, weird food, lousy but long anticipated swimming pools (we can't swim in them), colds, throwing up (both of them), and the list goes on. They have bonded with Malea right away and are super helpful with her. They entertain themselves when need be and take part when need be. They have endured getting swarmed by myriads of people for pictures with "blond American girls" and have not gotten scared. It brings such joy to our hearts to have them on this trip and to see them take part so much. As a father, I am filled with pride yet am humbled at the Lord's work in their lives. I don't know how I got such awesome kids.

As far as Chongqing goes, this city will hold a special place in our hearts forever for obvious reasons. However, Malea is definitely the bright beacon of our experience here. I have not quite put my finger on it, but something exists that feels like a burden in this city; it's a type of oppression. Maybe it is the communist government though I'd be hard pressed to come up with more than three direct examples based on my brief experience if asked. Maybe it is the constant noise of people, horns, and music 24 hours a day; constant stimulation is exhausting. Maybe it is simply the millions of people packing the streets 28 floors below our hotel window. Maybe it is the darkness of the underground tunnels and intermittent escalators and electrically powered facilities due to the tight regulation on cherished electricity. Or, it could be the everlasting smog that blankets the city. The city still burns unregulated fossil fuels creating a pollution that limits visibility to half a mile 365 days a year and blocks the sun, moon, stars, and clouds from view. When I asked our guide, she told me many people in Chongqing have never seen the stars and rarely the sun. This picture is a normal day. The smog is hard to believe and is most likely the culprit for my congestion and sore throat.

As I think about Chongqing, I will not miss it. And, I speak for all of my family on this one. Our reason for adopting is not to save a child from this lifestyle. We feel the Lord gave our family more love to give and He led us to Malea; she happens to be in China. But now that we have visited here and have seen where she was born and the life she would have fallen into, it makes us feel good that as we board that plane tomorrow Malea is one step closer to seeing stars. She is closer to a loving home where she will feel green grass between her toes, see the sunshine (and tan in it with Abby as her mother!), climb mountains, drink safe tap water, hear silence, pet Denali (our lab), swim in a lake, drive a car, get a good education, live in a home with her own bed, and breath clean air. She will get love every second of her life.

I sincerely hope Malea will one day have respect for her home town, its people, and her heritage. Malea is a "Spear" now, but her life began right here in Chongqing, China and it is important she understands that at some point. Perhaps the remembrance items we have purchased to give to her over the years will help foster that appreciation.

As I sit here in the darkness beside a dim lamp and hear the horns and taxis down below, Malea and Abby sleep comfortably (and I assume the same is true for Connie and the girls next door). I am in awe of the Lord's blessings. Why He has allowed me to be on this trip I do not know but I will be eternally grateful.

To lighten it up a little, the bonding thing with Malea seems to be going great. As for she and I, she pooped on me three times so I figure that's progress. Abby is the master at putting her down for naps; she calms right down for Ab. In a nutshell, things are great (some of our friends are not so fortunate).

We are sick and tired of the food and a little paranoid about sickness. Take a look at our last supper in Chongqing - chips, nuts, and snickers!

So, tomorrow we board the plane to Guangzhou and we'll be there for three days. Then, the 24 hour trip back home.

Thanks for your prayers. We still pray for good health - we could get nailed with the stomach thing at any time. Kiersten is back up to speed and we are thankful.

Sleepless in Chongqing but just took NyQuil,

Marc on behalf of the whole family

PS - check out our new friends and our expanded families....