Sunday in Beijing....

Today was our last full day in China. It started off with a bang at Beijing International Christian Fellowship. This is a church for foreigners only that meets in the theater of a hotel. This is the third time we've visited this church, and it is always wonderful to worship with other believers from around the world. It feels like a little taste of heaven.

We then went on a Hutong tour, which is a rickshaw ride (see our "James Bond" driver in shades) through the old part of Beijing that is preserved. It was originally inhabited by the Mongolians, where one extended family would live around a courtyard, according to Feng Shui beliefs. Now the courtyard is gone, and four different families will live in each area. We got to stop at one of the homes, where the husband and wife (pictured below) served us tea and cherry tomatoes, and answered questions we posed about their life. It was very interesting.

We then visited a silk factory, then shopped at a local market where you barter your prices. This is always an interesting experience, but can be a bit stressful. The highlight of the evening was the acrobat show. It is amazing what the people in this show could do to their bodies. I was in pain just watching them:) Mike and Ying chose not to go to the show, so instead, walked around the area where they snapped this photo of the CCTV building that is under construction. They have the most fascinating architecture here in China. The sign in the forefront has the "One World, One Dream" slogan for the upcoming Olympics.

Tonight we had our last supper and our last devotional as a team. I think we are all ready for home, but it is amazing how we have all bonded as a group, and really gotten along well. It's not easy to throw 12 people together, who don't even all know one another, yet keep the focus on our mission. We are His hands and feet, and we are all taking this back home with us to continue walking out. If you haven't read Fields of the Fatherless by Tom Davis, that is what we have been having our devotions on, and I highly recommend it. It will speak to you in what role you may play in caring for the orphans, as the Bible instructs us to do.

This will be my last post from China (unless I am bored and their is wireless in the Beijing airport!). I will follow up when back in the states and feeling human again though. Thanks for following this journey and the prayers and support for our mission.

Another busy day....

Today we started the day by going to the Philip Hayden Foster Home, otherwise known as Shepherd's Field Children's Village, in the Tianjin province. It was around an hour drive through lush farmland. It was another example of the wonderful care that some places are able to provide for the children in China. It was very encouraging to see this type of facility. Again, we got to spend time just loving on the kids, plus got a tour of the growing facility. We also got to do a little shopping there, to support their mission work:) Since this facility was actually in a different province, we had to go through a checkpoint before we could re-enter Beijing. Security in Beijing has really tightened with the upcoming Olympics. That's part of the reason that our cribs did not make it to Chaoyang in time. Trucks cannot drive through Beijing and the surrounding area until after the Olympics, so the driver had to take a ferry across the bay (I'm too tired to remember the name of it right now). As you can see in the picture, our bus was asked to pull over and they checked all our passports. I snuck this picture from inside the bus.

In the afternoon, five of us, three which had never been to the wall, got a private van to drive us to a section of the wall that I had never been to before. It was an awesome experience! As we got closer to the wall, the drive was lined with beautiful trees with views of mountains and a reservoir. This area of the wall is much less populous than my three previous trips, and an easier climb. Most of the climb was also in the shade, which was a blessing since it was extremely warm and humid. The view from the top was breathtaking, but even better yet was the fact that we got to tobaggan down! Each person rode their own tobaggan, and you could control your speed. Well, at least you were suppose to be able to. Mine was the slowest in the group, and the guy behind me caught up with me a couple times. He even got out and pushed me once, which I appreciated. If you ever find yourself in China, I highly recommend this area of the wall.

We joined back up with the rest of the group at a dumpling restaurant. It was good, but I don't think we made a dent in the 120 dumplings our guide ordered for us! We drove by the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square to see it lit up at night. Actually, you can see it from our hotel room too, but not everyone has as good as a view as us. The square was actually closed off tonight. They are starting to set up for the Olympics, so some things are unaccessible.

Back to Beijing....

We had to be up early today for an 8:40 flight to Beijing, only to find it was about 3 hours late. We entertained ourselves by playing Catchphrase and played with the Praying Mantis we found.. The sweet girls that came to work in the orphanage got up at the crack of dawn to go with us to the airport. One girl told me that she liked me, so she wanted to give me her hairclip. It was so sweet. She was crying when she left us to go to school.

This airport is only open once a week, and you can tell they have too much time on their hands. They made us open all our luggage and took any flammables we had. Mind you, this is our checked luggage, not our carryons. I have to go the rest of the trip without my Bedhead Mousse! What will I ever do???The flight to Beijing was just under an hour, and thankfully everyone had a seat this time. We immediately found a store and shopped for the two foster homes we would be visiting. We then had lunch at Subway, which has never tasted so good to all of us:) It was about a 1/2 hour drive to the Hope Foster Home, which was a wonderful experience. They take in sick babies from many orphanages all around China, while providing a family environment. The nanny to baby ratio is 1:2. It was obvious to us that the babies were flourishing in this environment.

Tomorrow is an early morning as we are off to the Philip Hayden Foster Home. It is about an hour from Beijing. In the afternoon we will be doing some touristy things around the city. Unfortunately it is much hotter here than in Chaoyang.

Church...

Tonight we got to experience church in China. It was actually a youth Bible study at the church, which was rather large. Jake shared with them who we were, and then we listened to the message, which was based on forgiveness. They then had an organized dance/motions to a song, which we joined in. They then wanted us to perform for them, so one of the girls on our team played the piano while we sang. We sang "God of Wonders" first, then "Lord we lift your name on high" when they insisted on another. They asked for just "one more," but Angela didn't know any others by heart. It was way cool.

Happy Birthday....

Can you guess what this is??? If you guessed scorpions at our lunch restaurant, then you were right!

Today was our final day with the kiddos. This morning was spent playing and snuggling with the kiddos, which is easy to do. Saying goodbye is not. A couple of the babies have been sick and running fevers. Today the little boy with the unrepaired cleft palate and lip received an IV. A few of the team members were a bit freaked by the IV in the head, but that is typically how they give it to the babies here. We convinced them to take the nine day old to the hospital this afternoon, as his tummy is quite swollen and hard. He has some severe issues, so please keep him in your prayers. This was the first day they let anyone hold him, and Tracie received the honors. I'm not sure we would've notice his change for the worse if we hadn't been allowed to hold him. Also, the four newbies to our team got to add their handprints to the vine we created last year. Underneath each handprint is the team members' name in English and Chinese.

One really special thing that happened today is that two girls we met on the streets last night actually showed up to help at the orphanage today (pictured with us below)! Can you believe that? Again, they had no idea something like this even existed when Anna explained it to them last night. They were so sweet with the kids, and say they plan on coming back regularly and emailing us update. The more locals that know about these kids, the better. The girls are even coming with us to church tonight. Yep, that's right, we're going to a youth Bible study tonight. I won't be posting until Beijing tomorrow, so check back for an update.

This afternoon was the birthday party we throw for the kids. The nannies decorated the room and we provided the cakes. They also brought all kinds of fruits and all kinds of party favors. The kids had a great time and were stuffed. Then came the goodbyes, which was warm, along with a few tears. One nanny even gave all us women a pair of jelly shoes. They are such giving people here. We also all received a framed jade picture, which is representative of the area.

Sadly, the cribs did not arrive today, but the director will send us photos when they do. We did present them with 20 quilts for the new beds that one sweet lady made back in the states. We really appreciate all who supported this effort, and are disappointed we weren't able to get photos of the kiddos in them, but that is the way things go here in China. Things are not always predictable!

We have an early flight tomorrow. The airport in Chaoyang is only open one day a week, so should be interesting. Stayed tuned for details of the experience....

Amusement Park and more...

Got your attention???

So this morning was a huge outing for the kids, as they got to ride on a bus to go to an amusement park with us. It is called the People's Park, and it is filled with antique county fair rides:) It's not about us though, and the joy on the kids' faces is priceless! Not only is it good for the kids to get out, but the exposure to the people of China is important. One man in particular came up to one of our team members and wanted to know where "these children" came from. Jake told them that these were local kids, and explained what an orphan is. The man was so moved that he pulled out money to give towards the orphans. Jake told him that they didn't need his money, but what they did need was his time. Jake pulled out the orphanages address and shared it with him. It was a special moment to watch, and I hope that it sparked something in this man.

This afternoon was lots of play time. The sidewalk chalk was a hit, but it was quite toasty outside, so you could only stay outside in small increments of time. Today we also purchased a refrigerator for the orphanage, as well as a printer/fax machine for the paperwork that they have to do for the children. We made sure our guide explained that this was to be used to register more children for forever families. We also found out today that three children have already been matched with their families, with a couple going to European countries. That was wonderful news.

Tonight we went back to the pagoda area where some of our team members sang on a microphone for a huge crowd. It was hysterical! The younger girls sang a dramatic version of a song from The Little Mermaid and the people loved it. They then were asked to go over to the ballroom dancing area where they proceeded to perform the Electric Slide, and even convinced some locals to dance with them. Again, it was hysterical, but something the girls will take with them for the rest of their lives. I think many photos are probably being posted of them on Chinese MySpace tonight!

We also learned today that the cribs are on a truck about 4 hrs. from here. It would be wonderful if they would arrive in the morning so that we could put them together before our big birthday party in the afternoon. That is our big finale with the kids, so we don't want to be spending time with the cribs in the afternoon. Please keep the prayers for this coming~

Halfway point....

It is so much fun to be able to be a big kid for 6-7 hours each day! Today it was cool enough to take the kids outside to play. We played with the parachute, took walks in the garden, played on the playground, made crafts, and played a little volleyball with one of the nannies (who was one of the orphans last year, but is now employed here). Needless to say, I got my exercise today (as did the kids...see tired boy below), topped off by another evening of walking around the city. We went back to the pagoda, which is teaming with action. While there we observed chinese writing on the sidewalk with a big broom, buddhists chanting, ballroom dancing, a form of hacky-sacking, and several forms of kung fu. And all of this for free! Better than any show we could've paid for.

Please pray the cribs to make it to Chaoyang before we leave Friday. Our guide offered the driver a big tip if he can get them here, and we really want to see them and help put them together. The mattresses are here already, and we have 20 handmade quilts ready to tuck the kids in. Although, in this heat, I don't think they will want to use them right now!