Feb 13th-Forbidden city

Today was a very action packed day - especially when You factor in the fact of sleep deprevation since most of us are not quite on China time yet.

Our first stop of the day was to visit the Living Hope orphanage north of Beijing. Samual Feng the founder of Living HOpe was there & just shared his wonderful vision of his orginization. He revealed there are over 20 million orphans in China- deemed not adoptable. Many are so because they have living relatives that are just unable to care for them or sadly others have lost paperwork that make them unable to be adoped in to a loving family. They realize they can not change the lives of all these children- but one child at a time they can make a difference. Sam feels they can change the lives of a few & inspire them to become leaders. Then they in turn can give back & hopefully turn the tide of this injustice. They are all Christians at Living HOpe- but because of the culture & government- they do not advertise it- but one-on-one hearts can be turned.(Praise God for people like Sam!)

After the tour of the orphanage (Living Hopes' fourth) the children aged 11-16 performed several Chinese dances for us. They did such a wonderful job!! Their instructor was a former performer/instructor at the Chinese school of performong arts. I have tried to posted a video to let you see how well they do-but was unsuccesful-will add it in the states. Sam said they have even performed for TV when the newest center opened up.

We then toured the FOrbidden CIty & Tianneman square. The Forbidden City was the home of the Emperor from 1400's to 1914. It is composed of 9,999 rooms. Apparenly they believed heaven has 10,000 rooms so he they built the palace to be as close to heaven as they could. The emperor and his famly /workers where the only ones allowed there - the common Chinese people where forbidden to go inside- hence where it got its name. Mulan fans- this is the place in the vidoe where the HUns attack the Emperor. Not surprisingly the REAL Mulan story occurred 1,000 before this palace was built and the capitol was in another part of China.

The only time I have felt uncomfortable here so far is when we have been sightseeing. Lisa- our guide says its desired to be pale here. Women spend BIG bucks to lighten their skin - and to be told "You are very white!" is like saying you are very beautiful. Abbey drew a crowd wherever we were. People would stop & point at her & strike up a conversation with her. Some even asked to have a picture taken with her. Her pale skin & blond hair really stands out in a sea of black. It scared me to think someone might try to steal her. Please pray for her safety- being a kid she kept running ahead & got very angry when Mike and I kept yelling at her & told her she had to stay with the group.

A late supper was spent at a small cultural (local) chinese restaurant that speciallized in making Chinese dumplings- essentially various meats/fillings in pasta wrapped & steamed. (Called a potsticker in America) Some of us were even adventurist enough to try the donkey filled ones. Luckily no dog was served- I've memorized that chinese character since like many asian cultures- dog meat is a luxury. I am falling asleep- so TTFN!!