Sights from Tuesday

Since we are finished with our official appointments in Fuzhou and simply waiting for Lottie's passport, we have a lot of free time over the next few days. Our guide has planned one outing for us each morning and then we are pretty much on our own the rest of the day and night.

 

Today we visited the Xi Chansi Temple of Fuzhou City which is one of the major Buddhist temples in the whole Fujian province. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being outside as we walked around. Some of the history was pretty interesting but the visit itself did not hold much meaning to us. Here are some of Chad's thoughts on the tour:

"We went to visit the largest Buddhist temple in Fuzhou. To be honest, it was heartbreaking. Our first sight was of a large pond filled with fish and turtles all given during the festivals to honor the Buddha. People come by to feed the fish and turtles hoping to receive good wishes and in order to please the Buddha. Our guide then pointed out a tower that was 15 stories tall. The legend is that Buddha died at this very sight- therefore this is a very famous temple. As we walked around and took pictures of the temple and the false gods our heart broke for these people. The stench of incense was all around us as we watched people light the sticks and walk throughout the different rooms waving the incense hoping to please these dead, immovable statues. Gloria and I found our minds filled with tunes that brought a healthy reminder to us. Gloria pointed out to me that she kept thinking of the lyrics to "Our God is Greater" while I kept thinking of "God of this city." You see, not only are these false gods dead, but our God is not. And even despite the thousands of people throughout this city that worship these false gods, it is best for us to remember that the one true God is God of this city and every other."

Lottie had another pretty good day. She got pretty fussy and cried a good bit this afternoon when it was nap time. Some of it I think was just typical toddler behavior of fighting sleep. She also seems to really like being out and about so all the time we are spending at the hotel is not her favorite. She is talking a good bit but obviously we cannot understand what she is wanting or asking for. Continue to pray that we can meet her needs and help her through times when she might be confused or upset about something we can't understand.