Saturday 1/16/16

Today was quite the workout! With a high of 30 degrees, cloudy turned into snow flurries while hiking up the Juyongguan pass of the Great Wall of China at 9am. Yes, I had on two pair of pants and never got too hot. Our water bottles had ice in them by the time we got back down to the bottom. A friend's phone said we climbed 96 flights of stairs! My legs will be jello tomorrow! It was definitely hard on the body but the views were breathtaking. Then we enjoyed local cuisine and shopping at the jade market. Jade is one of China's national treasures. This afternoon we watched an amazing acrobatic show. Oh how I wish Elijah could enjoy the sights of his great nation with us. One day you can come back Elijah, and see the majestic wonders we witnessed today.

We ended the evening by watching a bit of the awards banquet in our hotel ballroom. Such beautiful attire and talented dancing!

During our time traveling on the bus today, our CCAI rep George told us about his family. He has three older brothers and an older sister. His mother had her tubes tied but ended up pregnant with him eight years later. When she visited the doctor, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and given treatment. She didn't realize she was pregnant until she about 4 1/2 months along. At that point, she figured the baby was probably unhealthy and decided to abort. The medicine from the doctor didn't work, so she tried medicine from the hospital too. After two failed abortion attempts, she decided that this baby was meant to be and gave birth to George. After becoming an adult and working with adoptive parents, his mother said George was predestined for that job. I believe God definitely had a plan for his life! Although I don't like to think of my boys growing up, it will be amazing one day to see what they've become!