Sunday AM Update

Thanks to everyone who is praying for us. We have very limited internet access here so forgive us for delays. 

We are in Yantai (coastal city across from Koreas). It is home to Mercy's orphanage and school. We made this trip in hopes of connecting with Mercy on a deeper level. She could show us her school and orphanage. We could meet her friends and nannies. We spent much of the day yesterday doing all of that. It has been good. The director and a couple of the nannies took us out for dinner last night. It was quite the adventure- fish head dishes, lots of seafood and unique veggies. We did our best to try things. They were so gracious and ordered a TON of food. Mercy enjoyed it. She seems ready to keep pressing forward with us. We have learned more details about her life. It was worth all the effort to get here and share in this experience.

We are experiencing very intense heat on this trip. We don't have access to the same type of air conditioning we do at home. Wow, we feel spoiled rotten! We are missing the feeling of being cool and comfortable. S P O I L E D! Lord, help us to walk in this experience with contentment and joy. 

Please pray specifically for Jen's health. She is having a lot of swelling in her feet/ankles. We think it is due to the intense heat. Many of you know she has a history of blood clots. She is taking her blood thinners here. We spent elevating her legs and things seem much better this am (Sun). We are going to take it easy today and stay as cool as possible.

We will travel early tomorrow (Mon) am to Changsha. We will get Zoey by the afternoon. There are so many prayer requests here. We have prepped Mercy. She understands more than we expected she would. Obviously, she has seen a lot of kids come and go from her orphanage. It will be important for her to let us be the parents. She seems like helping with the kids. She may want to comfort Zoey and take on that role. Would you pray that she would take a more supportive role and let us parent Zoey? Pray that she would be able to share our attention and love with Zoey. 

We are feeling really ready to go home and we still have 2 weeks left in China. It is very difficult to have our family divided. Thank you to those who are praying for Meredith and kids at home. Thank you to those who are helping our family right now. It means so much to us. We are praising God for you. 

Lord, help us to reflect you and share your love right where we are at today. 

With love, 

Art, Jen and Mercy