Today we visited Ngong Ping village. Normally there is a cable car that you can take from Tung Chung (a place near our hotel) to Ngong Ping. Unfortunately, they are working on the cables and cars from January 2017 until June 2017, so we had to take a bus around the island. It was a very nice ride. The island is beautiful!! I'm glad we got to take a scenic tour of the island. We also got a chance to meet some great people from around the world (Charlie from London, a young man from Istanbul, and another gentleman from the UK).
As we got closer to Ngong Ping, you could see the huge Buddha on the hill far away. Once the bus dropped us off, you could see the Buddha looming over the hill. It was quite a hike up to the Buddha. Shan Chen did amazing climbing all 268 steps!! The view was phenomenal from the top. We could see the South China Sea and all the lush mountain sides. There were a few people there that stopped at the top of each 15 steps to pray and bow to the Buddha. This day totally made me think about what it was like for Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah when theu refused to bow down to the king's image (90 feet tall and 90 feet wide). The buddha we saw today is 112 feet tall. Just imagine something almost as tall as this statue, but in bright gold shimmering in the sun. It must have been impressive. I also contemplated the Israelites history of struggle between follwoing Yahway and setting up high places and worshiping the gods of the people around them. It breaks my heart to see these lost people fervently worshiping statues that cannot do anything for them. It reminds me of the time Elijah faced the Baal prophets (1 Kings 18). God revealed His power that day and showed the Israelites that He is the only one they should be following.
The boys were "cold" (when it was 70), so we gave them our light sweaters.
It just happened that my one clean shirt for today was a new t-shirt that I purchased from another family adopting from China. It says "God is love" in Mandarin. I had an interesting conversation with a man at the village restaurant we ate at for lunch. The boys had fund showing off how much Chinese they have taught me.
Shan Chen was a rock star on these stairs!!
This picture is seconds before our first break through with DJ. He fell down and started balling. He told me he wanted to go home to Shandong. I just hugged him and loved on him. After about 5 minutes, he started asking about going home to America. Each of these steps is important for the boys as they process all the is going on in their lives.
When we got back to our hotel, there were a bunch of ferrari cars parked out front. Those are one neat looking car!!
This evening we went swimming after we got back. I helped Shan Chen keep his ears out of the water, since he cannot get water in them. Keep praying for him tomorrow as he travels. I will have to put the drops in halfway through the flight, and he sobs every time. I'm pretty sure he has a blown ear drum, based on what we experienced the other day with drainage and pictures on line. We take him in Monday morning to our pediatrician. Meanwhile tomorrow as we fly, we will be giving him ibuprofen and sudafed to keep any extra fluid from causing pressure on his ears.
When we got out of the pool, DJ carried Shan Chen to the men's locker room since it was slippery and he was worried Shan Chen would slip as he hopped on his one good leg. What a sweet brother and great relationship they already have!! It makes my heart so happy to see them like this and to see how God has answered months of prayers for this to happen.
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