Today, I felt like I had a glimpse of how the heart of God must feel. Sometimes, seeing and knowing things is very difficult. God knows and sees it all.

Gabrielle was up 3 or 4 times in the night. She seemed to feel much better physically today following a poop! She does not want to sleep at night unless Maxine or I are holding her. She seems to experience memories that are quite difficult for her. She has been through so much at 10 months of age and I admire her strength and determination. Through it all, she remains the sweetest, gentlest creature and Maxine and I love her so much. We can't wait to get home to Genesis and be a family.

Last night, our guide came to our room to talk to us. When everyone else received the translation of their birth note, she had indicated to us that ours was too difficult to immediately translate. In our room, she told us that the note left with Gabrielle was the most special she had ever seen. Most notes usually just indicate a birthdate but hers was very complex and detailed. It was written on thick, beautiful red parchment in antique language used prior to 1930 by well-educated individuals. The complex Chinese characters were not used or understood by the average person. Each one told a story. Our guide, Kiki, suspects the note was written by the mother's father. She also suspects that the girl's family used to be very rich and traditional. During the Cultural revolution, the poor took the riches of the rich and distributed them amongst the poor. The rich suffered. This family although now may be poor continues to hold the old values and be very traditional. The note started by speaking about their family book which is very important to Chinese people as they honour their ancestors. It acknowledges Gabrielle's place in this book in their family. The note indicates the year she was born according to the "Yellow Calendar" which is a calendar used to forecast the future. It indicates good fortune and luck for this child due to the smooth and not painful birth. It states that Heaven/God gave birth to this child. It indicates her birthday as June 11 according to the Chinese calendar which is July 27 to us. It says she was born at 2 AM. It says that after the birth, the mother recovered. It identifies the mother as single and having always lived with her parents. She was to be in an arranged marriage as a virgin and existed in her room. She lived a very traditional/reserved life. It was signed "With Respect". Kiki speculated that this traditional girl may have met a boy she could not marry. She called it a "romantic" story. She said that the very traditional family wanted to "save face" for their daughter. She said the father must have loved her very much and wanted to protect her. They did not want to abandon the baby but saw no other choice. They wanted to also bless the baby. She said it was the most touching note she had ever read and it was carefully written so that the baby would remember it forever due to its specialness. It is difficult for us to understand but to the Chinese this note is really a gift and a blessing to Gabrielle.