Sunday in Taiwan

Each day continues to be a roller coaster of emotions. Today I think there were more ups than downs. This morning we took the MRT (Mass Rail Transit) to church all by ourselves.
We went to Grace Baptist Church. It was an English service and we knew all the songs! It was really wonderful. For me, it was a gentle reminder that this whole process is not about me. I knew this was going to be extremely difficult before we got here. But I also knew that we were being obedient to what the Lord was telling us to do. It was just so good to be worshipping with other believers and experiencing God's presence.
Pei Fang was really quite good in church. I don't think she is used to having to sit still and be quiet for that long.
After church we came back to the hotel and had a skype call with Jeremy. It was the first time he had gotten to see Pei Fang on the computer. He was doing all kinds of silly things and Pei Fang loved it. He had her laughing most of the time. It was good to see her being so responsive to him. After talking to Jeremy, we had a second skype call with Logan. It is so good to be able to see their faces and talk to them half way around the world!
This afternoon we went to Ulay (oo-lie). It is up in the mountains and it is famous for natural hot springs. We rented one of the indoor tubs for an hour. We didn't go to the outdoor tubs because it was raining. It was really quite enjoyable and I think both girls had fun. We then walked around for awhile looking in stores. I think we both agree that we have never seen so much food for sale anywhere. Everywhere you go there are restaurants and food carts. Even with the massive amount of people here, we can't believe they can eat that much food!
Pei Fang seems to have a stubborn side. There are certain things she wants to be in charge of. Most of the time she doesn't want anyone else touching her things. Perhaps she feels those are the only things in her life she can control right now.
She is consistently calling us BaBa and MaMa now. She also likes to help us with things that she can see are routine such as opening the hotel room door and helping us get the stoller up and down stairs. She is also making an effort at more English words every day. Much of the time she is happy and smiling. All of these things are outweighing the difficult moments. It is just that those difficult moments are so emotionally draining. She is continually testing the boundaries to see where they are. We feel it is very important to be consistant so she will know what to expect. But we also know she is in a grieving process and we need to be gentle and patient. It is a very tough balancing act for which we often feel ill-equipped.
Tomorrow we get to pack and get ready to go home. We really covet your continuing prayers, especially for our trip home. Thank you all again for your love and support. We will continue to need it for many months after we get home.