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"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west." - Isaiah 43:5

5/28/2006


How Great is Our God! We had a wonderful time at church this morning. Our guide, Angela, took the four AGCI families to Shamian Christ Church. It meant so much to us for Dayna’s first trip to church to be in China. It doesn’t matter what language you speak when you are worshiping the same God! We were reminded of our “All God’s Children” song by the Newsboys (it’s really called “He Reigns”). The first part of the song goes:

It’s the song of the redeemed
Rising from the African plain
It’s the song of the forgiven
Drowning out the Amazon rain
The song of Asian believers
Filled with God’s holy fire
It’s every tribe, every tongue, every nation
A love song born of a grateful choir

It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

After church, Dayna was ready for a nap. While Alaina was going through the bedtime ritual and singing her bedtime song over and over (Jesus Loves Me), Dan fell fast asleep by the third time through; Dayna, meanwhile continued playing with her toes, reluctant to fall asleep. She finally did, and woke up ready to play in the pool. Today was the first day we’ve seen the sunshine, and may possibly be the last. Dayna was too cute in her swimsuit, hat and sunglasses! Unfortunately, it was overcast again by the time we got to the pool, but we had a good time, anyway. Our friends, the Bitz family, were there, and their little Blaise was enjoying the pool as well.

It’s amazing how much we have in common with our new friends, Jim and Jackie Bitz. Last night we discovered that we were married on the same day, five years apart. It has been wonderful sharing this journey with each other, both before China, here now, and we’re sure for a lifetime once we go home.

Our families went out for Thai food for dinner. It was actually pretty good. Toward the end of the meal, Dayna was getting fussy, so we left. By now it was raining pretty hard again, so Dan & Dayna went back to the room while Alaina picked up the laundry. It was so nice, all the clothes were washed, pressed and sealed in plastic bags. Altogether, we paid about $15 US. No more clothes in the sink for us! While in the shop, Alaina did a little browsing. There are so many shops here on Shamian Island…we’re going to have to buy an extra suitcase to get all our souvenirs home (and a few gifts for friends and family as well.)

If you don’t mind indulging us, we have one more cute Dayna story. While waiting to meet for church, we were walking Dayna around the lobby in the stroller. We passed a wall of mirrors. Dayna was quite infatuated with the cutie pie she was seeing and kept reaching out to the wall to play with her new “friend.”

Dayna’s getting a little better about going down for bed; going to sleep seems to be our biggest struggle at this point. But she’s snoozing away now, which means Mommy & Daddy can get to sleep as well. With that, we’ll sign off.

Blessings to you all,
Dan, Alaina & Dayna



In my Sunday best
Playing with Daddy in the Swan Room
Dayna's new friend
Praising God in China!
Lullabies do work!
Bathing beauty
With the Bitz family
(Dayna is hiding)
Alphabet Soup
 

5/28/2006





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