November 5, 2009 (continued): Our understanding is that the oldest religion in China is Taoism. Part of that religion required the Emperor to perform an elaborate ceremony, 3 times a year, at the Temple in his capital. The current Temple seems to have been built (and rebuilt/restored many times) around 1420 in Beijing. We have many pictures of this glorious building, but were unable to go inside. The tour guide was very helpful and friendly, and her English was very good. We returned to the hotel around 3:30, shared our pictures of home and you with her, then went to visit Bryan and Kathy.

Bryan and Kathy, along with their 3 children, live in the northern part of Beijing. The taxi ride, in rush hour, took over an hour, but only cost about 11 dollars. We had no idea where we were going, but had Bryan talk to the taxi driver twice using the cell phone we rented in China. Their apartment was very pretty, and they had dinner for us. We got to visit their newest baby, Trevor, and play with their 5 year old (Jeannie) and 3 year old (Darren). The return home was much quicker, and we got to bed after emailing many of our family and friends back home.

I was planning to post to my blog, or post to my page on Facebook, but China restricts access to those pages. Therefore, I had to send emails, and pictures, to folks. Tomorrow, on to the Great Wall of China!

Here is what I would have posted had I been able to...

November 5, 2009

Had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, then met a guide named Nancy for a tour of the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven. The trip to the summer palace took about half an hour, through a very crowded and foggy/smoggy city. We are amazed at how many people live in Beijing (approx. 17 million). The Summer Palace is where the Chinese Emperor and his family moved in the heat of the summer. Originally outside the city, the area is still an oasis of parkland and beauty in this city. The longest corridor in the world, over ½ mile long, was originally built so that the Emperor, or his concubines, could walk along the edge of the lake, sheltered from the elements. Every post and beam is individually hand-painted with images, including 999 separate images of cranes. We also saw beautiful statues, rocks, and buildings, and a 100-meter-long marble boat built by the last Empress of China.
We “enjoyed” lunch at a restaurant meant to replicate the Chinese Emperor’s palace. It was included in the tour, but the food was unremarkable, the plates were inexpensive plastic, and the décor seemed a bit overdone. Anyway, on to the Temple of Heaven.

Back from China

We're back with Moriah Elisabeth Ao Hui Pockras. It was quite an adventure, and I will post more later. She is quite the girl. The transition was easy, and she has been a joy. God has richly blessed our family!

Leaving tomorrow for China. I guess that is why I am posting at 4:00 a.m....too excited to sleep. Keep us in prayer for a safe journey and a peaceful, joyful, and loving meeting with our daughter. We will be with her for 12 nights in China before we return home. God blesses adoption; Jesus was adopted by Joseph, and it is by God's grace that all of us are adopted into His family.

Thanks for all the support, gifts, advice, and love. We have less than a week before our "forever family" is united. Words from the Methodist hymnal come to mind:

"This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
This is my song O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for their land and for mine."

You don't have to go to New England to see beautiful fall images. These are from Ross County, Ohio, and were shot last week. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the colors that God gives us here in south central Ohio.

We got our new baby furniture in today! The crib is ready to go (once we get bedding), and we got a dresser/changing table and a bookcase.

Sorry, but I have to post a letter to the editor that the Columbus Dispatch and Circleville Herald will not print. If you want to skip the politics, just start reading next posting. Health care reform...

Dear Editor,

Is the government efficient? Is the government the place to whom we should turn to “fix” the problems of today? However many folks die because of inadequate health care, it is too many. I cannot believe, though, that allowing the government to take over the system will make it more efficient. Is the Post Office more efficient than Federal Express? Was FEMA efficient and caring when evacuating New Orleans? Are highways quickly and efficiently repaired? Is government the source of new, innovative products or solutions to every-day problems? Has the Energy Department solved our energy problems in the last 30 years? What value does the federal Department of Education add to the lives of your children or grandchildren?

We have read that Medicare is efficient because it only charges 3% administrative costs, where the money-grubbing, inefficient, profit-loving insurance companies have 20% overhead. This may come as a shock to some, but the government defines “costs” differently than the private sector. They exclude “minor” things such as rent, utilities, marketing, collections and fraud from their costs. The private sector has to pay taxes at the federal and state level that are included in their overhead, as well as all of these other costs and, yes, a profit.

Is an emergency room physician more efficient because he doesn’t have to pay for collections (the hospital pays), rent (the hospital pays), office staff (the hospital pays), or marketing? That doesn’t make him more efficient, or more caring, than a family physician! It simply is a different way of calculating costs. So STOP USING THIS MISLEADING “STATISTIC”, please, to claim that Medicare is somehow better than private insurance!

The government has a habit of defining things differently for private industry than for themselves. Think about pension plans such as the city of Cincinnati, PERS/STRS, the State of Illinois or Social Security. If a private pension plan guaranteed benefits, but did not fund them, someone would lose their job or go to jail. Indeed, the Department of Labor has fined private industry $12 Billion in the last decade for mistakes or misdeeds when funding pensions. How many state or city government employees have been fired or jailed as public pensions are showing signs of failure? Public pension plans are a DISASTER. Why? Government makes laws, then ignores the law and blames the private sector…

The overall point is simply that government is necessary, but not efficient. It is effective at times, but not caring. As this administration and Congress seek ever more power over our lives, seeking to take over medical care, the financial system, allocation of energy resources, and a bigger share of our wallets, ask the following questions:

1) Was the government able to correctly predict the cost of Cash for Clunkers? (No, it tripled and they could not administer the program adequately.)

2. The government “fixed” the credit card problem. Did your credit lines get reduced, and your interest rate double? (Mine did. I’m not happy with that “fix”.)

3) The $787 Billion stimulus program was passed earlier this year. Does your neighbor, brother, wife, or friend have a new job?

4) Anyone see the real estate market turning around now that the Federal Government has taken over FNMA and “fixed” the housing problem at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars?

5) Is your country’s future more secure with massive debts piling up all over the world? This administration and Congress is spending money faster than water is going over Niagara Falls, and the problems we face are getting worse and worse.

President Obama, his administration, and the current Congress, now seem to believe they can “fix” the health care problem. How many times does Lucy have to tee up the football for Charlie Brown until he stops trying to kick it? How many broken promises from the government do we have to see until we stop trying to let government “fix” things?

Just got off a conference call with Holt International (our adoption agency). We are getting more excited by the day. We still have some shopping to do, and packing to accomplish. The paperwork is all done, and China is next week! Meanwhile, enjoy a photo from a wonderful garden in South Carolina we visited earlier this spring.

The first picture is Sugarloaf Mountain in Ross County, Ohio. The second picture is mountains close to Ruijin in China. Compare and contrast....

Not sure if the above is Ao Hui with her foster mother or a caregiver. We will land in Beijing on November 4, and stay in the Novotel Peace Hotel until the 8th. On the 8th, we fly to Nanchang, and Moriah is ours that afternoon. Our hotel in Nanchang is the Gloria Plaza Hotel. We have 5 days to get to know each other, then on to Guangzhou where we stay at the White Swan Hotel. It seems that all adoptive families stay in this same hotel. The 19th sees us getting our final clearances and the visa for Moriah Elisabeth Ao Hui Pockras, then we take a train to Hong Kong, spending the night there at the Regal Airport Hotel before boarding our flight home on the 20th. We should arrive home in Columbus the night of November 20.

Moriah Elisabeth Ao Hui Pockras

Debbie and I will be traveling to China on November 3 for the purpose of adopting Moriah Elisabeth Ao Hui Pockras. Our "gotcha" day is November 8. At 5:00 p.m. on that Sunday (5:00 a.m. if you are getting up early to go to church...), our daughter will be placed in our arms in Nanchang, China. By November 20, when we fly home, she will be ours forever and a U.S. citizen.

This has been a long journey, but we know that God is in control. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

She is 16 months old, and was abandoned by her birth-mother at about 7 days old. She has been in foster care since then, waiting for her mom and dad to come and get her. WE'RE COMING!

Kiss me once, then kiss me twice
Then kiss me once again.
It's been a long, long time.
Haven't felt like this, my dear
Since I can't remember when.
It's been a long, long time.

Words from a Bing Crosby tune. It's been a bit since we have posted...

Musikgarten is on temporary hiatus. Debbie will continue to teach preschool music at several local schools, but we will be doing a lot of travel this fall, and she will not be able to offer public classes until January. Some of the travel involves a BIG STORY that will break in mid-October. STAY TUNED FOR MORE DETAILS!

Meanwhile, our life has gotten extremely hectic. First, preparing for the BIG STORY is a challenge. Second, my mother was involved in an extremely severe accident at her assisted-living facility in Cincinnati. Attempting to ride her scooter down a set of concrete stairs, she broke her neck (no paralysis), ended up with facial contusions, and severely lacerated her lower left leg. Why she had access to these stairs is anyone's guess. There was a fire door, but she managed to open that and enter the landing.... She is currently in Bethesda North hospital, and is not doing well. We were with her for two days after the accident, and Charles spent Thursday afternoon, night, and Friday with her as well. She has had a family member with her every day since the accident.

We found Monarch butterfly caterpillars eating our "Butterfly weed" - a kind of milkweed. Pretty blossoms, and very munchable for our winged friends. The caterpillars look pretty keen!
Otherwise, pretty blah in the garden. I really need to weed, but there are bigger things happening in our life...more info later.

Luna Moths

In past years, we have occasionally seen a Luna Moth. They lay their eggs on Black Walnut trees or sweetgums, both of which we have in our "yard". Yesterday, we had one on the kitchen window. Leaving for work, I showed Debbie that the moth was now on the porch. She then showed me a second, also on the porch. Going around the corner to feed our cat, we found a third, then a fourth! They are beautiful...

Another health care letter to the editor of the Chillicothe Gazette:
The AP had a story on Friday, July 17, with a headline of “House Bill Would Make Health Care a Right”. Many in this community may believe health care is a “right”. Health care is important, even critical in some situations. An acquaintance of mine tells a story about “Kevin” who suffered permanent heart damage because he was worried about the cost of health care and did not go to the hospital emergency room until it was almost too late.

That is my worry about making health care a “right”. By the time we realize all of the problems the proposed legislation in front of the Congress causes to our economy, the damage to our country may very well be permanent and irreversible. Look at the state of Ohio’s budget (or California…). Medicare and Medicaid are eating up so much of the budget that libraries (isn’t knowledge a right?), education (a right in our state constitution guaranteed to all children), transportation, public safety and various other programs are being cut to feed the “health care monster”. Governors, in both parties, oppose this legislation

The administration assures us this will solve our health care problems and insure the “50 million uninsured”. Isn’t this the same administration that assured us, if the Congress passed the stimulus program (emergency – do it right away or it will be a “catastrophe”!) that unemployment wouldn’t go above 8%? The same administration that said, months ago, that the stimulus program was “already working”? The administration that claims, if we don’t spend billions or trillions of dollars, right away, that climate change will end life as we know it? Haven’t we heard this song before? Why is everything always an emergency such that no one gets to read the bills before Congress passes them?

By the way, of that “50 million uninsured”, how many are citizens? I have a Christian desire to help the downtrodden, no matter where they live or to whom they pledge allegiance, but, as a US citizen, I really don’t want to cover any and all persons here illegally with my tax dollars. In addition, how many are young folks who could pay but choose not to? How many are temporarily without insurance because they are unemployed?

Food is a basic human need, as is shelter and clean water. The government, however, does not guarantee everyone the same food, shelter or water. They make services available to the poor (WIC, food stamps, section 8 housing, vouchers for heating assistance), but do not mandate that everyone eat the same food, live in the same kind of house, or pay the same bill for water.

What if we all had to pay a tax so that everyone could have a car? After all, in today’s society, you HAVE to have a car to get a job. It’s a necessity, so why shouldn’t everyone be given one by the government? The dream is that everyone would get a new Cadillac. The reality, however, is that we would all be driving used Yugos after a while. It’s just economics…

Let’s improve health care access for the deserving poor, the unemployed, the family beset by unexpected emergencies. Let’s not cripple the economy, though, by putting into law that health care is a “right” and forcing every man and woman into a system that takes away freedom and incentive, and replaces it with government mandates and rationing. Call your Senators and your Representative and STOP this dramatic restructuring of health care before the damage is permanent and crippling our economy.

Bees and Blooms

Should I send these images to the magazine "Birds and Blooms"? If it was called "Bees and Blooms", I might be a winner...

Sitting on the Porch

Having walked around a bit this morning, I again glory in the creation that God has given us. The daylilies, coneflowers, herbs, hostas, and black-eyed Susans glory in the coolness of morning. My dog is enjoying his breakfast (as well as polishing off the remnants of the cat's), the barn swallows are swooping for theirs, and various other winged creatures are calling to each other from the safety of the woods. I did plant two lobelia last night, and I really need to apply Roundup to the driveway. It will wait, as the light drizzle continues to gently fall and I post on my laptop...

Father's Day 2009. A special day for many. We went to Lowe's, and I bought some hybrid of Black-Eyed Susans that have a white center and a white and yellow petal. Really spiffy. Planted it behind the garage. Also bought more herbs for the herb garden, and planted some Monarda out in the island. I had some young men spread some mulch for me yesterday, and, as only teenagers can do - it was done! (not well, but inexpensively).

The herb garden - planted

Planted sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, borage, fennel, dill, tarragon, marjoram, bee balm, jacob's ladder, salvia, lamb's ear, and maybe something else. Pictures to follow someday relatively soon. Off to West Virginia in the morning for a regional meeting...

I am a bit miffed about a letter to the letter published in a local paper. Here is my response:
In response to the editorial titled “What Would Jesus Do About Health Care” in our local paper on June 8, 2009, let me start by stating that I agree with Dr. Cotton; Jesus commands us to love one another, to heal the sick, clothe the naked and feed the hungry. I, too, believe that we are our brother’s keepers.

You are waiting for the “however”. Here it is: I see nowhere a commandment or expectation that GOVERNMENT be the caregiver. It is a personal demand, or a directive aimed at the church. Christ did NOT say that Rome should feed the hungry or heal the sick. Jesus said his followers should do it. Hence, I believe that Riverside United Methodist Hospital in Columbus, or Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, or the Red Cross are all appropriate venues to reach out to the sick. The federal government, even if “cost-efficient and compassionate” (words this author finds strange when describing any federal government program), is not the proper authority to be in charge of health care.

A “single-payer” system – “cost efficient and compassionate” – exists in Canada. I would suggest that one looks at Canada to see how this would work here. Their single-payer system almost killed my sister. She was at a routine visit to her optometrist who noted an abnormality on her retina. He thought it might be a rare form of cancer. The visit was paid for by the Canadian government. He referred her to a specialist (also paid for by the “compassionate” government). However, the specialist was not able to meet with her for 6 months! How would you feel – grateful that the “cost-efficient” system severely limits the number of specialists, or angry that you might have cancer and cannot visit a doctor for 6 months? Canada, though, has a safety valve – the USA! My sister was able to get an appointment with a specialist in Cincinnati THE NEXT WEEK, and he was able to burn the cancer out with a laser (this treatment also not available in Canada). In a single-payer system, my sister would either be blind or dead.

“50 million people Americans thrown overboard to drown with no health insurance at all…” Dr. Cotton, I believe you are a compassionate and loving physician. Can you show us these drowning men, women, and children? Have you, or any hospital you have been affiliated with, ever refused care to a sick person who showed up? If “Kevin” waited 3 days to come and get free care (because the emergency room cannot and will not refuse care, regardless of ability to pay), is that the fault of a callous, greedy, and “market-traded source of profit/loss” or just a poor choice made by this man?

Please show me a socialist government that has ever made mankind better or any government program today that is “cost-efficient and compassionate”. Even the early Christian church (Acts 2 & 3), a model of compassion and sharing, failed to maintain itself. Other churches were asked to donate to those in Jerusalem, as they were having trouble making ends meet..

Humankind is flawed. That is why the founders of our country set up a system of checks and balances. A single payer system has no checks or balance; nothing will stand in the way of a government-run medical plan with no appeals. How did the government do in helping the folks in New Orleans? We all need to eat – should the government own all the food and run the restaurants? We all need a home – should the government own all the housing and give it to those according to their need?

Ask the folks in Great Britain – how do they like their single-payer system? Are people leaving the US to go to Canada for better care? The “50 million” more that have “slickly marketed underinsurance that guarantees only bankruptcy” – are they moving to Massachusetts where health care is guaranteed?

Again, I agree with Dr. Cotton that we are called to help the poor, feed the hungry, heal the sick and seek justice for the oppressed. I disagree with the thought that the government must do it, unchecked. The federal government is already trying to take over the banks, the automobile industry, the energy industry – now health care? Do we really want to live with faceless, nameless government employees – unelected and unaccountable – making all these decisions for us?

What would Jesus do about health care? He would, and did, make it a point to heal at every opportunity. He did not write letters to the editor, demonstrate on the courthouse steps, and spend His priceless time asking for the government to be “cost-efficient and compassionate”. He touched, healed, made the blind to see and the lame to walk. He raised Lazarus from the dead. His challenge to me, and to you, is to do the same. Don’t write President Obama, your congressman, or your Senator asking for government run health care – go help your neighbors as the Samaritan did!

Whew! Done with digging up the herb garden and amending the soil. My back still hurts. I have also dug some geraniums from near my sidewalk and moved them the the bed in the circular driveway, watered everything, and moved the salvia to a safe spot while Debbie designs the new herb bed.

Church was good this morning, but what happened after church was even better. We went to lunch with two friends whose ministry we help support. It was good to hear of their work in East Asia. What wonderful folks that they gave up so much here to move to Asia to spread the gospel!

With the help of my nephew, I have also changed the clock to reflect the correct time. Thanks, Isaac!

We have an herb garden next to the kitchen (see previous post where an inquisitive deer came looking for a snack). Save a lone salvia, "heeled in" earlier this spring and 3 monarda (Bee Balm) plants, it has been dormant for a year - waiting for some TLC (and soil amending). Yesterday, I went to it.

The shovel and I got real friendly yesterday. We dug up half the herb garden, getting rid of some clay and adding some top soil, compost, peat moss and vermiculite. My back hurts...

Today, the rest of the garden awaits. I have more topsoil, more compost, more peat moss, and some sand (my sister said herbs like sand). It might wait until tomorrow... I need to go take a shower and get ready for church.

By the way, the clock on this blog is wrong. I don't know how to change it (yet), but it must be set to Pacific time...

Deer in the Garden

Got home last night in the midst of a severe thunderstorm. Mac, our English Shepherd, was nowhere to be found. Yesterday morning, Mac had blown through our "Dog Watch" fence chasing two deer, and, evidently, they had come back to scope out the property again. So, in the midst of a tornado warning, I went out with a flashlight looking for my dog. Within 10 minutes, he finally arrived, terrified of the storm and covered with burrs.

This morning, I came downstairs to the kitchen. Looking out through the French doors, what do I see? Two deer, one by my bird feeder, and one within 15 feet of my kitchen door - eyeing the herb garden! They are either very bold creatures, or very stupid. Mac hit the door, and chased them away. This time, he was aware of the fence and stopped before being zapped.

We enjoyed a benefit concert, last night, for a fine arts center here in the county. It was the initial concert for both a local "wannabe" regional symphony and a local chorus. The concert was NOT well attended, but a promising start for a group promoting the arts.

A well-needed rain

At last. While northern Ohio has been a bit wet, it has been very dry here. Last night, a thunderstorm gave us well over an inch of rain. Great for the new hostas we got from my sister (she owns a shade-loving perennial farm http://www.amityfarm.com/) that were planted today, plus the dahlias that are beginning to sprout.

Debbie accompanied a young trumpet player today at a nearby church, while I served as liturgist at our home church. It was a glorious day, and we spent time remembering those who gave their lives in service to our country. God is good!

An evening in the garden

Watered, sprayed Round-up on the driveway, planted 12 salvia, 3 echinacea "Tomato Soup" and 3 echinacea "Tiki Torch". Until last year, I didn't realize how many different colors of coneflower were available. I now have purple, white, orange, red, and yellow. I enjoy working outside even if my 2 year old English Shepherd, Mac, wants to "help".

Day 1 of the blog

I have two nephews who do this quite well. I thought I should figure out how this all works, so we can communicate to many people at the same time if need be. So far...so good.