Temples, Tea, and a Stroll in the Park

This morning, our guide Helen took us to the Golden Temple. Despite my hesitation in visiting a Buddhist temple and watching people bow down to false gods, we know it's important to learn the history and significance of this religion in Kunming, as well as in all of China. As a side note, anyone reading this who is not a believer in Christ is going to think my next statement is wacky. As I smelled the burning incense and watched several people praying to the Buddhist statues, I honestly felt a sense of spiritual oppression. I quickly prayed and asked God to be right there with us as we walked through the temples, and He seemed to say to me, "I'm guarding you." Another side note, Scott and I talked about how crazy it seems to pray to statues. But we also joked that they probably think Christians are wild to pray to an unseen God. The truth is, I've seen the Lord work in my life and speak things to me that could only be divine and come from a living God. If you know Him, He is very evident.










After the temple, Helen took us to a tea house called Dr. Tea. Tea is very popular in China, and the Yunnan province makes four different teas. One particular tea, the Puerh Tea, is famous around China and neighboring countries. And the older it is, the more valuable and costly the tea is - similar to the aging of wine. We tasted Jasmine & Green tea, Black Tea, Puerh Tea, and Oohlang (sp?) Tea. Each kind has special health benefits.

Men and women hold the tea cups differently. The man closes the fingers in to represent power, and the woman holds two fingers out to represent the phoenix and elegance.

Kunming has two names: the City of Eternal Spring (it's always spring-like
weather here) and the Flower City. The Cherry Blossom is one of the flowers
in bloom right now, and the city flower is the camellia.

You might be wondering why we're already here in Kunming when we won't meet our daughter until Monday. Our agency likes us to plan to arrive in the province by Saturday. If there's a delay, we'd still be here by Monday. And it also gives families a couple of nights to get over jet lag. It was much cheaper for us to get to Hong Kong on Thursday than on Friday, so that's why we left a day early and spent a night in Hong Kong before flying to Kunming.

My college friend, Joy, flew in today to spend the weekend with us. She and her family have been over here in China for a year.


We walked over the Green Lake Park, which is across from our hotel. There were tons of people walking around, stands filled with food and toys, and men and women singing or dancing for crowds. Very much like a festival atmosphere. We loved the trees and the lake, and I know we'll enjoy taking Grace over here in the afternoons to get some fresh air. The weather is beautiful!





To cap off the day, we strolled some streets lined with shops and enjoyed a delicious Western dinner at a place called Salvadors. We'll definitely be going back for more food this week!

I am pretty sure I'm going to be a crazy wreck tomorrow. My heart is already beating pretty fast all the time. I am so glad Joy is here to distract me or else I think the day would just creep by. Less than 48 hours until we see our baby girl! If only we could hold Carter in 48 hours too.