A Good Day- Thursday Update!

Hello Friends- Thanks so much for your faithful prayers & love. Today was improved. We did not have a guide so we had to navigate the city, the traffic, the meals or the activities without his help. Also, Mercy needed to stick with us and depend on us. It was hard for her but she was smiling by the end of the day. You have no idea what victory we see in all of these pics. She poked her head around the side of the boat to allow Mama to take a photo. It was precious. Later, she allowed us to take pics posing together IN PUBLIC! Wow, what great progress! 

We took a boat tour of the city moat in Jinan. We could not understand a word of Mandarin, but we certainly did enjoy the beautiful scenery. Most of all we enjoyed that precious face and smile poking around the side of the boat. 

We will separate from the other families tomorrow (Fri) and take a bus about 6 hrs to Yantai. This is the location of Mercy's orphanage and school. We have made special arrangements to take this side trip. Our desire to film as much as possible and have her share her life with us. So far, she is really excited. We will spend the weekend here and leave for Changsha on Monday. We suspect that leaving on Monday may be one of the  most difficult steps so far. She will not have usual guide anymore. She will not have friends anymore and she will be leaving the only home she has ever known. We really appreciate your prayers for this situation particularly. 

We have prepared Mercy to some degree for Zoey. She knows her special need. She knows she may be afraid. She knows it may be difficult. As far as we can tell, she is good with little ones and desires to be a help. This make take a lot of pressure off of Mercy and put much of the focus on Zoey. This might be a relief for her. Not sure.... but praying and trusting that once again.... HE has gone ahead of us. HE is meeting us every step of the way and we are so very grateful. 

In HIS tender care, 

Art, Jen & Mercy