Hives, Clothespins, Strep, & a Chinese Talent Show

Today was our first day without any required activity.  It was a much needed 'free day.'

Things have been exciting every day so far, so why would today be any different?

When we woke up Joshua was still obviously not feeling up to snuff.  He just wanted me to hold him and his eyes would fill up with tears as he quietly started to cry when I attempted to go to put him down to go to the bathroom.  When he did venture away from me he just laid on the floor or bed.  Not typical 2 year old behavior.

We decided he would have to stay in the room instead of going to breakfast.  Kevin, Emma, & Lily went to eat while Joshua and I stayed in the room and watched Blue's Clues.  That's when I noticed that it looked like he had a new mosquito bite on his ring finger.  Odd.  No mosquitos in our room.

Shortly into my breakfast shift, Kevin sent Emma down with an SOS message...Joshua's hand was swelling up.

Sure enough, his hand was swollen and he had small welts on his legs, arms, stomach and back.  But he was acting more like himself.  With our guide's assistance, we were able to get some antihistamine in him and slowly the bumps went away.

Good news?  No more vomiting or diarrhea!

Next mission of the day was to hit the laundry.  It is very expensive here, unlike in Guangzhou, so we chose to send out only the thicker items for hotel laundry service (they will take forever to dry in the room).  The rest I did (and will continue to do tomorrow) in the tub.  Thanks to yesterday's events there was plenty to do.

By naptime, I decided that I should look at my now sore throat in a mirror.  I truly wish I was unfamiliar with what strep throat looks like, but alas it has become my specialty over the last 3 months with all of the kids having it at least once, a few of them twice and three times!  I found my self praying today that the Lord would wage war on the microscopic enemy named Strep as it has been our adversary these last weeks.  All that to say...I am now taking an antibiotic.

Next in the day?  Dinner at a Chinese restaurant recommended to us across the very busy street from our hotel.  At least we think it was the one recommended to us.  Who knows.  They had a picture menu.  Wish we had taken a picture of some of the pages!  Praise God for the picture menu or who knows what reptile we would have been served.  What we ordered was safe appearing and tasty and generous and MUCH cheaper than the hotel.

The funniest part of the day?  The Chinese Talent Show that was the dinner entertainment in the packed restaurant!  Oh, my!  That was soooooo worth it even if I didn't eat anything (which I did for the record).  It was absolutely hysterical!  Think kareoke meets 80s sequined clothing and a cheesy dance team with props.  What were the props you ask?  Either leeks or green onions.  It was hard to tell which from our distance.  I am not kidding...they were dancing with vegetables being used like pompoms!  The clapping and singing along and waving of the cell phones back in forth in the air (think concert cigarette lighters) capped it off.  Took eveything in me to hold it together.  Thought laughing uncontrollably would make us stand out even more than we already do. 

Getting back across the 8 lane intersection was a lot more difficult than it was on our way to dinner.  Not only do you have to dodge cars, buses, and vans...but also every version you can imagine of bike, motorcycle and electic scooter (the preferred mode of transportation for most...with at least 2 passengers...sometimes 4).  As we stood discussing our strategy, the father of a young Chinese family standing next to us spoke to us in very good English and coached us across.  We have found so many kind and thoughtful locals.

Thank you again for you prayers!

In Him,