May Peace Prevail on Earth: one of the major tenets of the Buddhist way of life.

Above, we lit incense and I am kneeling and praying (with Willow) in front of the God of Mothers and Children (this God is sort of hidden behind the shutter-doors). We lit one extra stick of incense for Willow's birth mother. Being with Willow these last 7 days has made me intimately and sympathetically aware of her birth Mother's existence (before last Monday, when Willow joined our family, it was less emotional, more of an intellectual acknowledgment) and the sacrifice she made when she left her daughter outside the gate of the orphange. Willow was placed at Wuchuan Social Welfare Institute (orphange and senior care center) at approximately 3 weeks of age: this indicates, to us, that her birthmother most likely tried to care for Willow, but was unable to (perhaps because of her cleft). I wish so badly that I could tell her that Willow will now be loved, cherished, and honored.

We have been advised that a Monk is ready to bless Willow and our family. We are called up to kneel before the three Gods (each about 20 feet tall). There are many onlookers, each of who is praying themselves. Below (image), the Monk is chanting and occasionally drumming on a small instrument that sounds like hollow wood. Willow seemed to like the sounds. He finishes by sprinkling us with Holy water. We don't know what he said, or exactly what the chanting represents, but we felt very blessed and happy to bestow this upon Willow (P.S., when we get home, we plan to have Willow baptised at the little Lutheran Church in our town, as well as travel to the Twin Cities for a traditional Jewish naming-ceremony). Later on in the year, we will have an Adoption Welcoming Ceremony at our house (for Godparents, Guideparents, and Mentors--to welcome Willow into our family and community). It would be particularly wonderful if Willow's three big brothers with us (Jeremy, Matthew, and Gregory all live in Arizona) could all come at the same time.