Play time

I'm happy with these from yesterday -

Counting with Eva

One . . . two . . . three . . . SEVEN!

The Caninity

Who would play the voices of Guffman and Duncan in a movie about our lives?

Stuff Christians Like

Huh, knock me over with a feather. Something that's actually funny.

Thanks, Tim and Brandy.

Eva's first piece of mail

She loved it, and the stickers immediately went all over her and papa.

Thanks, Annie, Jacob, and Truman!

Chillaxin'

This is pretty much what life is like around the Rankin house nowadays.

FeH

Stayed up late on iChat with a friend the other night talking about the periodic table and looking for elements that have Facebook profiles. There are a few, but none of them have accepted my friend request yet. Also, there is an application on FB where you can take a quiz to find out what element you are. Apparently I'm hydrogen and he's iron. You can also combine with friends to make reactions. I'm not sure if iron hydride is a real compound or not. I think I'll go Google it.

You've got to have friends like that.

One down, one to go

No title needed

Thanks to Sarah for the awesome shot of Eva Prathibha at the bed & breakfast in Delhi on July 8, 2008.

Delhi II

Deja vu this morning - same nice breakfast at the B&B, pick-up by Mr. Singh for the ride to the embassy, security check-in at the embassy, more window 17 and forms and rifling through the paperwork we brought. We had to turn in the medical exam and pictures we got yesterday as well as a bunch of the forms and personal information we had brought with us, pay the fee, and fill out the visa application. This was different from the likely process that we were given by our adoption agency, so we were hoping everything was still ok to get done today. After we turned in the application, we had to wait for a while (maybe an hour) while they processed it. Then we had a short interview with an official (very nice) at window 14, who told us after the interview that everything would be completed today. I will go back at 3:30 today to get her visa, and the embassy stuff will be done! It went very smoothly.

We got out of the embassy at about 10:30, so we had Mr. Singh take us to the India Gate, which is a large impressive monument that also has beautiful parks surrounding it. In the park area is a large children's play park with several different sections of playground equipment. We thought Eva would be interested in some active play, climbing, etc., but she didn't want to leave physical contact with me. She is very clingy to me, and is often only comforted by me. I am enjoying it, but mom is getting the short end of the love. We think this makes sense with the chaotic life we have these few days - zeroing in on one person for security amidst ever-changing and foreign circumstances. In and out of the embassy, up and down streets, in and out of Mr. Singh's car, wild dogs roaming the streets (Eva is afraid of dogs). I keep telling her that this is not our real life, and things will stabilize soon. After the India Gate and the non-playground, we wanted to pick up lunch on the way home and kind of wanted American, so we decided on McDonald's. It is true that they don't serve beef, but they had good veggie burgers and chicken burgers, and the fries were the same. We got back to the B&B for lunch, and Eva and mommy are having nap time now.

Vonda is feeling much better (see yesterday's post about the doctor's visit and medication we got). She was greatly improved today, hopefully that will continue. It is very hot and humid; hydration is very important.


By the time Eva wakes up from her nap and I/we get back from the embassy, it will be well into the afternoon (4:30-ish) and probably no time or desire for sightseeing or shopping. Down time in the afternoon has been awesome after busy mornings. Eva is doing super great with everything, but the busy mornings being yanked around Delhi have been semi-stressful for her at times. With a whole day tomorrow with no plans, and Vonda feeling better, we are hoping to check out some shopping based on David and Sofi's recommendations, and whatever else we feel up for.

I'll comment again on all of your emails and blog comments - you have no idea the difference it makes for us to feel the support of our community of friends and family back home.

Delhi

This morning we did the first part of the U.S. embassy stuff in Delhi. We tried to squeeze in some breakfast before Mr. Singh picked us up at 8:00 am and we made it to the embassy a little after 8:30. Driving in Delhi is very different from, say, Hudson, and we are glad we do not have to do it ourselves. Everything went smoothly and we were back to the B&B shortly after noon. It's amazing how long you prepare for something, and how long you look forward to it, and how much paperwork it takes to make it happen, and then it's over like that. We were out of the embassy by 10:00, and went to do the visa photos and visa medical exam, which both went off without a hitch. The Indian man at the photo place heartily wished us well and made a point of telling me that he thought that adoption is the greatest, most noble thing one can do, including reference to close friends or relatives that had adopted years ago and it had turned out really well for the children.

Vonda felt pretty bad early this morning and wasn't even sure she was going to be able to go out, but it subsided a little by the time we had to leave and she barely found what she needed in order to do our errands with us. After Eva's visa medical exam appointment, Vonda also got an exam and some prescriptions from the same doctor. For about $25, she got an exam and a bunch of medicine that hopefully will make her feel better. I think she got: electrolyte powder mix to add to water to combat dehydration, antibiotic, something for parasites, something for nausea, and something for heartburn/stomach acid. Also, no more Indian food. That may be tricky, since we are in India! Hopefully all that will nuke whatever she has. We still have 2 (hopefully minimally demanding) days left in Delhi, but the trip home is not going to be fun for her if she's sick.

We are now back at the B&B and had some Italian food delivered from a nearby establishment (with a h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s. menu). The Italian was pretty iffy, but sufficed. Eva and mommy are having their naps, and all is right with the world. We are laying low at the B&B for the rest of today. Agenda: play, dinner, bed.

We will do the embassy again tomorrow, but it will be even easier. It should just be one stop at the embassy, and no doctor or photos or anything else. Then, if everyone is feeling up to it, we can see some sights and/or do some shopping. We also have a whole 'nother day after that in Delhi as well. There is a zoo nearby; I wonder if it's any good?

We are hanging on each encouraging email or blog comment from all of you. The prayers, support, and sharing of our joy mean more than you know.

My New Life

She's so beautiful, everyone. You have no idea.

Oh boy, this entry got long. Earlier I had fantasized about giving regular updates on this trip via blog, but that didn't work too well. Internet wasn't as easy (or free) at the resort, and we didn't really have access at the orphanage. So now it's coming out all at once. I'll understand if you take it in shifts.

The journey to the other side of the world is a long one, as some of you know. We felt very fortunate to fly from Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Mumbai (Bombay) to Cochin on schedule and with all of our luggage and most of our sanity intact. We caught up with The Spiderwick Chronicles, Horton Hears a Who, and The Counterfeiters on the plane, and I even got a Mountain Dew at the Mumbai airport (I saved the can as a souvenir; it's from Dubai and is 300 ml instead of 355). We got to beautiful Cherai Beach Resort in Kerala without a hitch (except the driver from the resort wasn't at the Cochin airport to pick us up, so we had to give them a call). It was a really nice place to hang for a couple of days (and a half a day longer than we planned) to rest and relax. We slept a LOT. I've never been this jet-lagged. The setting is lush green palm forest and serene backwaters populated by simple fishing communities with a laid-back attitude. Kind of reminded me of Hawaii or the Caribbean or the South Pacific. I would love to convey in detail the beautiful surroundings, delightful people, and the excellent food and service of that place.

There happened to be a trucker's strike on the day we were supposed to get picked up at the resort, so when we called the orphanage to arrange it, we were disappointed to hear that we would probably be picked up the next day. During a strike, it is not safe to travel the roads, as people throw rocks or try to do other things to travelers. We ended up getting picked up later that same day (the day we were originally expecting) but got to the orphanage late that night and did not get to meet Prathibha. The drive to the orphanage was, I would say, a fairly adventurous 3-hour careen through small Indian villages and up into the Kerala hills. No motion sickness, thanks to our own hearty constitutions and a dose of Bonine. We were still very jet-lagged and fell into bed when we arrived there.

Elizabeth's and Rajan's house is beautiful. I hadn't properly gathered from the previous pictures and video we had seen, and I didn't realize it until we awoke the next morning and had coffee in the open-air courtyard in the middle of their house. They were very gracious hosts, especially considering that our visit happened to coincide with 1) a state-wide orphanage seminar that SKB was hosting and at which Elizabeth was scheduled to deliver multiple lectures, and 2) a visit from Elizabeth and Rajan's son, his wife, and their 16-month-old son. If we needed Elizabeth for anything we had to work around her schedule, but her team of maids and cooks prepared great meals for us, 3 meals a day. Steamed rice noodles with butter and sugar for breakfast, where have you been all my life?

It was a big day for us - to meet and hang out with our daughter all day long. We walked the brick road from the house through the mango, coffee, vanilla, rubber, and other trees down to the orphanage and went to a small waiting area while they got Eva. When one of the women carried her in, she was crying and didn't want to come to us, which was consistent with the range of negative reactions that we were prepared for. What I was hardly prepared for, and hadn't dared let myself hope for, was that when the woman set Eva on the floor 10 seconds later and Vonda began revealing tantalizing morsels from a goodie bag, Eva immediately sought refuge in my lap and began interested inspection of the gifts. We played with her a little on the floor in that room and then continued after-breakfast play time with her upstairs in the play room with several other children. She was not afraid of us or shy with us at all. We are hoping this isn't an indiscrimancy behavior indicative of any attachment issues. We believe it is largely due to the preparation she has been given by her caregivers at the orphanage. Throughout our stay we learned from various individuals, including her favorite person, pre-school teacher/child care goddess Deepa, that they have been talking to her for many months about her mommy and daddy in conjunction with the pictures of us she has. Not only who we are and that we exist, but that she was going to leave the orphanage to come live with us. Deepa even told us how she would tell Eva that we would fly on an airplane and mommy would sit on one side and daddy would sit on the other side and Prathibha would sit in the middle! Contrary to the worst-case scenarios we had been warned may occur, she warmed to us quickly and enthusiastically played with us and showed us her world at the orphanage. During the times we would take her up to Elizabeth's house to play, she would point back down to the orphanage, telling us that she wanted to go back there. There were times that she became sad and cried a little; she knew she was leaving (thanks to the preparation by orphanage caregivers) and was processing it in her own way. After a lovely handing-over ceremony the next day and some office/paperwork stuff, it was time to leave.

Remember the adventurous 3-hour drive? Well, we had to do it again with our little girl after a big lunch. Actually, it was a little shorter drive from SKB to the Cochin airport than it was from the resort to SKB (I think we made it in 2 and a half hours), but the first part of the drive, out of the hills of Kerala, was the same winding and bumpy terrain. Eva contentedly looked out the window at the interesting sights passing by, and then tried to get as comfortable as she could on my lap (she didn't have her own seat) and get a little shut-eye as it was during her normal nap time. However, after being shaken and jostled for an hour, little Eva's lunch came up all over the front of me. The long-suffering driver, Ashraf, pulled over for a costume change (Eva and daddy) and clean-up as best we could. All-knowing and all-seeing mommy had Eva's change of clothes ready, towels to wipe off with, a plastic bag to put the pukey clothes and towels in, and another plastic bag to use for more sickness. Throughout the rest of the ride we kept a sickness bag handy, and it was needed a few other times. Eva seemed mildly annoyed at how urpy she was feeling, but other than that she didn't fuss, cry, or anything.

The car ride began our amazement at Eva's courage and resilience, and it continued at the Cochin airport and on the flight to Delhi. She was momentarily afraid of the big new strange place, clung to us, whimpered for a few seconds, and then was ok. As we got on the plane, we braced ourselves for her reaction to the new experience, including the seat belt. Other than one 20-minute fuss session related to her opinion about the seat belt (near the end of the flight, oddly enough), she took off, kept herself entertained for the 3-hour flight, and even landed with hardly pause or grimace. And that was after having been sick and with no nap. Hopefully this bodes well for the long flights at all hours that bring us home in a few days.

I am writing this from our bed and breakfast in New Delhi. We got here last night at 8:30-9:00 just in time for greeting and brief ropes from the earnest proprietor Ajay ("A.J.") before falling into bed. We all slept about 10 hours and awoke to a nice breakfast around 8:00. We spent all day today playing and cuddling and laughing together as a family. It was really great to have this day before the embassy red tape tomorrow.

We also saw a side of Eva that we hadn't yet experienced at SKB or on the trip to Delhi - hyper silliness! She hits a point (maybe sugary food related?) where she winds herself way up and laughs and makes faces and wants to play and cuddle in hyper mode. Like a kid. My kid. Even though it was sad to leave everyone she had known for a year at the orphanage, I think deep down she had been longing for the mommy and daddy that she had been told about, and had been needing the love and security that comes with, as all kids do. I think she is already beginning to suck up the love like a sponge, and she is also finding the security - clinging to us for comfort and protection in new or scary circumstances.

I can't express how in love with her I am. She is smart and beautiful and capable. She learns by example and emulation - she always wants to be shown how to do something, and then do it herself. She has very definite ideas about what she wants to play with during play time, but at the same time she is happy and content with her surroundings. Today she stood between my legs and looked at the screen for a half hour as I sat at the computer and typed part of this entry. When that got old, she told me to get her the plastic containers of coffee creamer and sugar packets from a shelf in the kitchen (where the computer is) and proceeded to count them and sort them and tell me all about what they were and her system for keeping track of them (I think).

Tomorrow and Tuesday we have the embassy/visa stuff to take care of, which is a fair bit of running around. We do have a driver all day who works with a lot of adopting families and knows what to do. I'll let you know how that went later, in a shorter entry.

The Truth Project

Something is going on, and I'm calling us on it. I know it's been going on for a while, but it's reaching a point that is alarming me. I'm past annoyed, and now I'm really concerned about this. It is exemplified by a blurb I just saw about something called Coral Ridge Ministries that did a survey in which 85% of respondents said that "Darwinism/evolution" is "very dangerous" to the spiritual health of America. We can't get enough of that false dichotomy that says that the theory of evolution is antithetical to God's creation, and we continue to tell each other and let ourselves be told that evolution is philosophically repugnant and must be fought against and proven wrong. I know this has been going on since the big trial in the 1920's, or before, or whatever, but I am now seeing really close-to-home ways that this is going to damage the church.

Focus on the Family is launching a curriculum called The Truth Project, which ambitiously tackles many aspects of worldview from a biblical perspective. This curriculum is going to be presented in a special seminar at our church this fall. One of the 12 modules is for science, and here is the summary from their website:

Science: What is True?

Science, the "systematic study of the natural world," brings to light innumerable evidences of Intelligent Design. But Darwinian theory transforms science from the honest investigation of nature into a vehicle for propagating a godless philosophy.

A careful examination of molecular biology and the fossil record demonstrates that evolution is not a "proven fact."

Meanwhile, history shows that ideas, including Darwinism as a social philosophy, have definite consequences – consequences that can turn ugly when God is left out of the picture.

Darwinian theory does not transform science into a vehicle for propagating a godless philosophy. Darwinian theory fits just fine in the "honest investigation of nature" category and provides a framework for scientists to understand the evidence about the development of life on earth that has been gathered by geologists, paleontologists, zoologists, and molecular biologists for the last century or more. Some scientists propagate a godless philosophy, which they feel is supported by the theory of evolution, but they are presenting their own philosophical viewpoints when they do that, not science. Logically, the fact that some scientists feel evolution supports their godless philosophy doesn't make the theory of evolution false for the same reason that Christianity is not made false by its misapplication by Adolf Hitler, the KKK, or Fred Phelps.

A careful examination of molecular biology and the fossil record demonstrates that evolution is the scientific theory of the development of life on earth that is best supported by the evidence. Nothing in science is "proven" 100.00%, and I suspect that in this section they are going to be playing with the definition of that word, and/or highlighting the imperfections in what the theory of evolution can (thus far) explain. Science doesn't work by rejecting a theory if it can't explain absolutely everything. Science works by accepting the theory that is best supported by the evidence until a better one comes along to replace it. So far, evolution has withstood the test of time for 150 years. (Though as a Christian I believe that the universe was intelligently designed by the God of the Bible, I don't count Intelligent Design as a competing scientific theory.)

Historical instances of using Darwinism as a social philosophy with ugly consequences when God is left out of the picture have little do with science or the real theory of evolution. Natural selection means that the organisms that are best fit for their niche in the natural environment will be the ones to survive and pass on their genes, not that we should exterminate the weak or infirm ones or the ones of a race we don't like. The latter does not necessarily follow from the former, unless through the filter of a deranged mind that already wants to do the latter anyway. And yet, it seems The Truth Project intends to make this connection as an integral part of their position.

Since the whole name of the curriculum is TRUTH, I am disconcerted by the false and/or misleading statements that appear on the website to summarize the curriculum as described above. I haven't seen the curriculum yet, so you can cry foul if you want, but I think it's safe to assume the content follows from the point of view shown in these summary statements. I wonder what's in the other 11 modules, and if it's true or not?

If you were, say, a diabolical spiritual being bent on destroying Christians and Christianity, wouldn't it be hilarious if Christians would enthusiastically advocate and insist on views that are 1) not necessary to the truths of Christianity, 2) false, and therefore incongruent with the ostensibly truth-rooted Christianity and with Christ, who declared himself to be The Truth (John 14:6), and 3) known by onlooking unbelievers to be false, and therefore cause them to reject the real Christian beliefs such as Christ and him crucified?