Monday, Oct. 1 - Our First Meeting

Today was the big day! We took a 20 min. taxi ride to Cathwel Service. We rang the doorbell and asked for Penny Wu. We waited in the lobby for a few minutes and were greeted by a very pleasant and cordial Penny. She took us directly to the second floor where we were met by Alex and his caretaker. He was so afraid and shy. He clung to his caretaker’s leg. They were speaking to him in Mandarin but I could tell they were encouraging him to greet his ma ma and ba ba. They had us remove our shoes and we went into the play area directly off the hallway. We all sat on the floor; Penny, Ann the social worker, the caretaker, Shao-Chun, and us. He sat like a wet noodle in his caretaker’s lap. He didn’t cry but he didn’t want to acknowledge us in any way.

So we talked a little about the paperwork and items that Shao-Chun would be bringing home. They took out his remote control car and he started playing. We took out the camera and began taking photos and showing them to him. What child doesn’t like to see their picture? It became a little easier at this point. They had me put his socks and shoes on and we went to see his room. The other children were off to school so we only saw where he slept. They had me help him with opening a liquid yogurt for him to drink. I believe these tasks were meant to help break the ice. Then we put our shoes on and returned to the lobby. As we waited for the taxi he returned to his shell. He wouldn’t look at anyone or even speak to anyone. It was a very quiet ride back to the hotel.

Once we were in our hotel room I brought out some toys. I brought out a Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle. This was a very good thing! He loves Thomas and he loves puzzles. We worked on the puzzle together. He is a very bright boy! Within 15 minutes we were all being silly and giggling. It was wonderful to see him relax and smile.

We took a trip to McDonald’s for lunch. He ate almost everything. We returned to our room and spent the rest of our day getting to know each other. He normally would take an afternoon nap but he didn’t seem interested. By the time 8pm came along, we were all exhausted. He fell asleep right away.

So overall, I’d say the first day went very well. I am very thankful. Please continue to pray for us.



P.S. We have been pronouncing his Chinese name wrong all this time. I had a feeling that might be the case.