At 2:00pm we headed to the US Consulate Office to take an oath. This was a simple procedure, though we have no photos we can share since all cameras are forbidden in the building. We just were asked to raise our right hand and swear to take care of and never abuse our daughters. After the few short sentences everyone clapped that it was official, she was on US soil (In China), the interesting thing is the locals who were waiting in the office, not sure what they were there for also joined in the appalause! They are so happy for these little ones to be getting a new start in America.
We went back to visit one special store before leaving, where we met the woman who ran it for her mother. While I was doing some price negotiations at another store, Bane tried to keep Lyndsay busy and met her earlier in the week. They began a conversation and Bane said before he knew it she was telling him that she was going to go to church on Sunday and she proudly announced that she was a Christian, then showed him her English/Chinese Bible. Wow, it was so neat to see someone so exicited and hungry for the Word. She had so many questions about the Bible and didn't know where to begin, so Bane shared some simple guidelines about reading the gospels, etc. We wish we had more time because she had so many questions that we could have answered, but just not enough time to really thoroughly explain so she could understand. I did at least remember that I had taken some teaching CDs with me to try to listen to on the plane, but never did, so we decided to leave them with her to help with her understanding. I'm sure now that it was not by accident that I had packed them.
We pray that they will bless her and give her a greater understanding of how good God is and how much he loves her.
Our group ended the day at a local Thai restaurant called the Cow and Bridge. Most all of the food was very spicy, but I found something that I could eat and Bane ordered the Sweet and Sour chicken, which he really enjoyed. After such a long day, poor Lyndsay fell asleep in her highchair before they brought out her eggs, and she slept through the entire meal. We didn't have the heart to wake her after such a long day. When we returned to the room we readied her for bed, attempted to feed her again to no avail, and got her to bed.....just in time to begin packing! Yippeee, we're heading home tomorrow. Our lugguage will be collected at 6am, and those who know me, realize that if the packing does not get done tonight, it won't be ready. It was a very LONG night, after a very long day, but I got nearly all of it done tonight, then dropped into bed literally. We ended up leaving China with an extra bag of lugguage then we started out with, I guess this shows the success of our shopping excursions, though they were limited. Bane says.....Good Thing!