I hope no one is offended by this post as it is meant to discuss religion in a lighthearted manner, and is not mocking or making fun of any religion at all. I just thought my interaction with my son today was a bit humorous.

Caleb has been immersed in our family's religion by jumping in with both feet since the second week he was home. We have scriptures for him in Simplified Chinese, (not that he wants to read them yet), many church videos in Mandarin, children's church music in Mandarin that he loves to sing and simple scripture stories in simplified Chinese that he actually loves to read. We pray as a family both morning and evening as well as at meal times and he loves to say the prayer, always pleading, "My turn!" even when it isn't. He has learned to say it in English while signing it for his brother's benefit at the same time.

However, since he isn't fluent in English and I can't speak Chinese, he hasn't been able to ask many questions about religion. We have had two people who came to help interpret for him on two different Sundays, but for a variety of reasons, have not been able to have interpreters for him on other Sundays.

Caleb told us through the first interpreter that he didn't even realize at first that he was in a church, not having been to church in China. I just assumed that he didn't know anything about religion before his exposure to Christianity in our home. Guess I need to quit assuming, as this little guy had 11 years of a life before he came to us.

Tonight, he took a bracelet with Chinese characters on it that belongs to Micheline. When we told him it was time to gather for family prayer, he said, "Mama, look...Jesus", and then began muttering under his breath as he closed his eyes and fingered the beads and held up his other hand as if he was praying.

Understand that we are not Catholic, so he has never seen anything like prayer beads in our home. I was a bit confused where he was getting this, but then he said, "China, Momma....Jesus...China"...muttered a bit more and then said, "No chicken, no fish, Mama, China."

I gave a startled look to Jeff and said, "Do Buddhist Monks not eat chicken or fish?" Jeff chuckled and told me they are vegetarians. I asked Caleb if he was talking about monks in China and gestured men, bald, praying, and he laughed and said, "Yes, Mama....China, man no hair, no chicken, no fish" and pretended to be praying again.

Guess it's time to get an interpreter and do a bit more explaining, as well as finding out what he learned while in China, because we seem to have a Christian Buddhist on our hands! :)