First Day in Kunming

Without the help of a guide, today was an adventure. Lyle is currently out searching for a grocery store because the dinner we had was so spicy and so mysterious in nature that we ate very little. The menu was written only in Mandarin and no one at the restaurant spoke English. I think we're fairly bold eaters, but I do like to have some clue as to what I'm putting in my mouth. When we made our choices, I avoided pictures that showed anything with a head on it, but obviously my thinking was flawed because at least I know a chicken head from a snake head. What we got was definitely not chicken.

Cholita was struggling to keep her eyes open and then began crying because her tongue was on fire. Bruder sweat profusely as he plowed through what we believe was a potato/mixed meat dish. Perhaps we were feeling overly confident after a fantastic lunch. This beef stir fry knocked our socks off and there wasn't a scrap of food left on the table:

Earlier in the day we walked through Green Lake Park, right across from our hotel. The social groups in China, especially for the elderly, are impressive. They are out daily doing tai chi, playing chess, dancing, and I saw one woman who looked to be about 70 attempting a pull up on a tree branch. These dancers were from one of the many minorities that make their home in the Yunnan province:

Under a glorious blooming wisteria arbor, this man played a traditional Chinese instrument while his friend sang into a microphone. I believe it may be an acquired taste.

Bruder tried his hand at a Chinese instrument as well. It's nice that he has a talent at guitar.

And I don't think we could possibly make it through a Chinese day without the ever-present paparrazzi.

Tomorrow is the big day and I feel surprisingly calm. From the start of this process, we've had so many reassurances that we're doing the right thing. I just know that we're going to love this boy and that he'll eventually love us. Seeing our darling Cholita back in China has been somewhat surreal. She'll always be Chinese, and yet she's also not. When we first met her, I strongly felt the influence of the culture that she'd lived in for nearly a year, but more importantly than that, I saw in her eyes her indomitable spirit and that spirit wasn't born in China and it wasn't born in the United States.


Somewhere in this massive city a little boy is sleeping, completely unaware that his whole life is changing tomorrow. Please pray for Xi Yun Xi, that he'll be blessed with an extraordinary amount of courage and please pray for us that we'll feel an outpouring of love and empathy. We know that what God has started, He will finish.