July 15
Sorry I wasn’t able to blog yesterday… it was a really busy day. We pretty much spent the whole day traveling, nonstop.
We had to take a 5 hour bus ride from Chenzhou to Changsha for the airport, where we’d take a 3 hour plane ride to Beijing. We were told the night before that we were going to leave fairly early (earlier than we’d planned) because of the weather conditions in Changsha because it was going to be rainy. Once we woke up in the morning and got down by the bus we weren’t able to leave because someone had stolen our bus’ battery. So, we ended up waking up early to leave late. Haha. Our bus ride was very interesting. Bumpy… and there was lots of weaving between lanes to get to our destination faster. It’s funny because you rarely see cars on the interstate, they’re mostly buses or large trucks carrying cargo. But I slept most of the way… it was a pretty uneventful ride. We stopped along the way for lunch, and it was not a very pleasant restaurant. The bathroom (or washroom as they call them here) was terrible… it was like three stalls (without the actual doors) in a row of squatty potties, and it didn’t smell too great. After the lunch we went to the airport and flew to Beijing.
Once we got to Beijing it was late, but none of us were hungry, so we just got situated in our room. Some of us went to the market (Elyssa, Charlie, Molli, Carissa, Lily and I) to look around and buy some stuff to hold us off the rest of the trip. The market was interesting, and we found some good snacks. We bought some really good oreos…. Some were filled with strawberry filling, some ice cream, some peanut butter/chocolate, and some were some green tea flavor… very interesting stuff. After the market we just went back to the hotel and went to bed.
This morning we decided that we’d go to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and a few markets. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the Forbidden City. We took a fairly quick tour… unfortunately it is very foggy here and cloudy because we had some light showers later on in the day… so pictures weren’t all that great. We drove over to Tiananmen Square and walked around a bit. Since the Olympics they put up screens playing some video right in front of Mao’s tomb… which is very strange. But we walked around the other side to see them. Right as we were leaving it started to rain, so that worked out perfectly for us.
We went and did some shopping in the Silk Market. When we told the salesmen that we were looking for bags they went and told us to come into their back room… and they had a bunch of stuff. Our guide found us later and she thought that it was the craziest thing…. like, she’d never seen that before and she’d been there tons of times. She was going crazy! Sadly enough she didn’t get the idea of bargaining, so she didn’t help us out much when it came to us trying to buy things. We quickly found out that Deena was a pro at it though, so we stuck close to her.
We went out to lunch for a quick bite, but after that we went back and did some shopping at a different market. It was insane all the bags and stuff they had at this market. All the sales people were so pushy though… some lady seriously grabbed my arm as hard as she could, and wouldn’t let go unless I looked at her stuff… Charlie had to come and pull me away from her. It sorta freaked me out. Haha. They are very persistent people. But soon Charlie, Elyssa, and I soon found ourselves becoming very good at bargaining… and it was actually pretty exciting to do it. We got some pretty good stuff today:).
After the market we came back to the hotel, played a few card games and then went out to eat dinner. We had Peking duck today, which made me very happy. I was hoping we’d be able to get some while we were there. We came back to the hotel and Deena, Katie, and Susan were going to go out and see the town with Susan’s friend Summer who she’d housed for a few years while she studied abroad in America. Elyssa came into our room and we hung out for a bit, then went and watched some movies in Carissa’s room.
We’ve been pretty laid back the past few days. Tomorrow we’re going to go to the Great Wall and the Jade Factory… and I think we’re all going to stay up (hopefully) all night so that we can sleep on the airplane the next day. We’ll see how that one turns out…. But it’s late now and we’re getting up bright and early to get to the Great Wall when it opens tomorrow, so I’m going to bed. Goodnight!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sad Goodbyes
July 13
Today Charlie and I both slept till 6:30, and were still exhausted when the alarm went off. Neither of us were ready to get up, which was a first on this trip.
After breakfast we left for the orphanage, and went upstairs to see the kids. They were all playing and watching tv and were very happy to see us. One of the little girls came up to me and started doing the chicken dance like she wanted to do it again. Unfortunately we didn’t bring our speakers or anything to do the dance with them. As I was about to go into the baby room the little 10 year old boy (we’ll call him Will) took my hand and brought me out to the elevator. We went down to the 1st floor and into their playroom and kind of hung out there for a bit… but the other kids started to come down there and he wanted to be alone so we went back upstairs and watched more tv… some Tom and Jerry and a show about the monkey king, which he really enjoyed. Charlie came into the room and we were watching the show when he suddenly looked at us and said he wanted to go down to the first floor. So we went down there, but once we got to the main area he looked at Charlie and started waving and saying “bye bye!” like he wanted her to leave, then took my hand and went back upstairs. It was pretty funny. We went back and watched some tv for a little more, but one of the nannies eventually told him he needed to go downstairs and play, so we went back to the playroom.
All the kids were singing when we got there, and the nannies were teaching them things like their left, right, behind them, and front. Once they did that they all got some water and a snack, but Will wouldn’t go eat it for some reason. He just liked sitting and observing everyone. We didn’t bring any crafts to do in the morning, but I spent a good portion of the morning just playing with all the kids. The oldest girl and I played ball for awhile… she had a blast with that. Others would join in and play monkey in the middle sometimes, but she didn’t quite understand the concept.
Susan and Deena went with the orphanage director today and bought the donations for them. They were able to get a air conditioner, and they wanted to get the water heater… but the director very firmly insisted that they buy another tv for them… which we weren’t so crazy about, but they didn’t have much of a choice.
We went back to the hotel to eat lunch, and afterwards we went to the market to get some chocolate to leave with the nannies along with the other gifts we’d brought for them. Bliss also bought some shoes for some of the kids who were outgrowing theirs.
We met in the hotel lobby to go back after lunch and we had to wait for Lily because she was getting pictures developed for the kid’s frames we made earlier in the week. Katie ran down to a store and bought two pairs of shoes she’d wanted while we waited for her.
When we got back to the orphanage we went back to the baby room, but they didn’t have my favorite baby there because she was sleeping L I saw another one of my favorites though and we played for awhile and I got to feed her. When I went back downstairs they had already decorated the visors and they were all wearing them very proudly. We got the pictures out to put in the frames… Will’s picture was of me and him and he loved it when he saw itJ They hung all the frames up on the wall with stickers… they all loved the idea.
Susan and Katie brought out the face paints to do with the kids and they all thought it was funny. Katie was quite the artist with them. The kids laughed when they saw what they looked like, and while they were getting painted most of them thought it felt really weird. But the end result was fun for them.
While we were face painting a mother and her daughter from Chicago came in the room to see us. They were visiting the orphanage because the girl was adopted from Chenzhou in 2000, and they came to see what it looked like. There was a whole group of them traveling together to different orphanages from Chicago, but they came to CHenzhou by themselves to see the orphanage.
When 5 o’clock rolled around we went outside and lined the kids up on the steps and we took their pictures and we got our pictures with them and the orphanage directors. We said all of our goodbyes, and we were all very sad to leave. The director wanted to take us out to eat that was walking distance from the orphanage. We started to walk down the hill with them when the oldest girl and Will ran up behind us and held our hand and started walking with us. They ended up coming to dinner with us.
When we got there they were so eager to see everything. We walked in and the girl immediately looked at me and held her hands up to her face and made camera sounds like she wanted us to take pictures of the fancy room. They were both so excited to be there. While they ordered the kids played with Hannah and noticed every little detail they could. The tea came out and Will looked at me like he was very excited. We poured some and he drank it right down. Eventually we sat down at the table and they brought out Pepsi, and both the kids eyes got huge when they saw it! It was the cutest thing. Once it was poured they kept holding up their glasses to ours like they were giving us cheers. It was so funny. The food came and they were both eager to try all that was there. I don’t think Will stopped eating the whole time the food was out. Every time a new dish came out he quickly pointed to it like he wanted it. I felt like the little mother of them both (they both sat on either sides of me) because they kept asking me to get them food and I barely had time to eat myself! Will loved all the food… he literally ate like a king tonight. The little girl ran out of her Pepsi, so she pointed to the sprite they had there and said “Shui” (Chinese word for water) so I poured some for her… her face was priceless when she tried it and found out it wasn't water!
After we ate and were about to leave the director told us how grateful she was that we came all this way to play with the kids. She said that even though we had not been there very long, just a few days, she could see how the kids had changed. And she said that in China it is very strange for them to show their love, they are very reserved… so for us to come was very good because we showed the kids how to love. We told her how much we loved it, and we wished we could stay longer… and we wish we could just take them all home! But that we would be able to help them find a home, because we know all their personalities and tell the families how great they really are, especially the special needs kids. After we said that the director said that she was very thankful for that because they really want them to have good homes, and then she said that it would be okay for us to put pictures up on the internet so that families could see more than just the picture on the waiting child’s list, and could see how fun they are. So, with that being said, pictures will surely come when I get home! The director gave us all a silk hankerchief for coming which are very beautiful.
When it came time to leave we walked outside and said goodbye to the two kids. We all gave them hugs, and Lily talked to Will and he said he was very sad. I gave him a big squeeze and a kiss. It was so sad to leave….. I’m going to miss all of them so much, but especially him. We had become such good little buddies… By the time we left the restaurant I’m pretty sure we all were crying, or at least had tears in our eyes.
I really wish that we could stay longer. Life here isn’t that bad… I’ve gotten used to the food and I can live with sleeping on what feels like a piece of wood to stay with those precious kids. I’m going to miss seeing their smiley faces as we walk in the doors and when we give them the attention they need. I think we all figured we should do this again next year…. And there’s actually a trip in the fall to Chenzhou! Haha. I also think that we all have grown so close as a group, that even leaving everyone in Beijing is going to be hard. I’m going to miss having our breakfasts in the morning and joking around with everyone now that we know each other.
But… all things have to come to a close. Maybe someday we’ll come back and visit… hopefully in the near future! For now, I need to get some sleep because we have to leave for Beijing at 7 am tomorrow morning. Thank you all for your prayers today! They really meant a lot.
A little note for Ann T: I asked the nannies about your son today. Unfortunately blogger is blocked here (my mom has been posting on my blog) so I was not able to pull up pictures of him from your blog, otherwise I would have loved to show the pictures and I'm sure they would have loved to see them... But they all said they remember him being a good boy, but that he did not have just one nanny. They all sort of switch around with the kids. I noticed while I was there that they all had different jobs during the day... like one nanny would be up with the babies one day and the next playing with the older kids. They all sort of switch around what they do. They were very happy to hear that he is doing well though and is in a great home where he is loved. All the nannies smiled when I told them that he was doing great. :)
Today Charlie and I both slept till 6:30, and were still exhausted when the alarm went off. Neither of us were ready to get up, which was a first on this trip.
After breakfast we left for the orphanage, and went upstairs to see the kids. They were all playing and watching tv and were very happy to see us. One of the little girls came up to me and started doing the chicken dance like she wanted to do it again. Unfortunately we didn’t bring our speakers or anything to do the dance with them. As I was about to go into the baby room the little 10 year old boy (we’ll call him Will) took my hand and brought me out to the elevator. We went down to the 1st floor and into their playroom and kind of hung out there for a bit… but the other kids started to come down there and he wanted to be alone so we went back upstairs and watched more tv… some Tom and Jerry and a show about the monkey king, which he really enjoyed. Charlie came into the room and we were watching the show when he suddenly looked at us and said he wanted to go down to the first floor. So we went down there, but once we got to the main area he looked at Charlie and started waving and saying “bye bye!” like he wanted her to leave, then took my hand and went back upstairs. It was pretty funny. We went back and watched some tv for a little more, but one of the nannies eventually told him he needed to go downstairs and play, so we went back to the playroom.
All the kids were singing when we got there, and the nannies were teaching them things like their left, right, behind them, and front. Once they did that they all got some water and a snack, but Will wouldn’t go eat it for some reason. He just liked sitting and observing everyone. We didn’t bring any crafts to do in the morning, but I spent a good portion of the morning just playing with all the kids. The oldest girl and I played ball for awhile… she had a blast with that. Others would join in and play monkey in the middle sometimes, but she didn’t quite understand the concept.
Susan and Deena went with the orphanage director today and bought the donations for them. They were able to get a air conditioner, and they wanted to get the water heater… but the director very firmly insisted that they buy another tv for them… which we weren’t so crazy about, but they didn’t have much of a choice.
We went back to the hotel to eat lunch, and afterwards we went to the market to get some chocolate to leave with the nannies along with the other gifts we’d brought for them. Bliss also bought some shoes for some of the kids who were outgrowing theirs.
We met in the hotel lobby to go back after lunch and we had to wait for Lily because she was getting pictures developed for the kid’s frames we made earlier in the week. Katie ran down to a store and bought two pairs of shoes she’d wanted while we waited for her.
When we got back to the orphanage we went back to the baby room, but they didn’t have my favorite baby there because she was sleeping L I saw another one of my favorites though and we played for awhile and I got to feed her. When I went back downstairs they had already decorated the visors and they were all wearing them very proudly. We got the pictures out to put in the frames… Will’s picture was of me and him and he loved it when he saw itJ They hung all the frames up on the wall with stickers… they all loved the idea.
Susan and Katie brought out the face paints to do with the kids and they all thought it was funny. Katie was quite the artist with them. The kids laughed when they saw what they looked like, and while they were getting painted most of them thought it felt really weird. But the end result was fun for them.
While we were face painting a mother and her daughter from Chicago came in the room to see us. They were visiting the orphanage because the girl was adopted from Chenzhou in 2000, and they came to see what it looked like. There was a whole group of them traveling together to different orphanages from Chicago, but they came to CHenzhou by themselves to see the orphanage.
When 5 o’clock rolled around we went outside and lined the kids up on the steps and we took their pictures and we got our pictures with them and the orphanage directors. We said all of our goodbyes, and we were all very sad to leave. The director wanted to take us out to eat that was walking distance from the orphanage. We started to walk down the hill with them when the oldest girl and Will ran up behind us and held our hand and started walking with us. They ended up coming to dinner with us.
When we got there they were so eager to see everything. We walked in and the girl immediately looked at me and held her hands up to her face and made camera sounds like she wanted us to take pictures of the fancy room. They were both so excited to be there. While they ordered the kids played with Hannah and noticed every little detail they could. The tea came out and Will looked at me like he was very excited. We poured some and he drank it right down. Eventually we sat down at the table and they brought out Pepsi, and both the kids eyes got huge when they saw it! It was the cutest thing. Once it was poured they kept holding up their glasses to ours like they were giving us cheers. It was so funny. The food came and they were both eager to try all that was there. I don’t think Will stopped eating the whole time the food was out. Every time a new dish came out he quickly pointed to it like he wanted it. I felt like the little mother of them both (they both sat on either sides of me) because they kept asking me to get them food and I barely had time to eat myself! Will loved all the food… he literally ate like a king tonight. The little girl ran out of her Pepsi, so she pointed to the sprite they had there and said “Shui” (Chinese word for water) so I poured some for her… her face was priceless when she tried it and found out it wasn't water!
After we ate and were about to leave the director told us how grateful she was that we came all this way to play with the kids. She said that even though we had not been there very long, just a few days, she could see how the kids had changed. And she said that in China it is very strange for them to show their love, they are very reserved… so for us to come was very good because we showed the kids how to love. We told her how much we loved it, and we wished we could stay longer… and we wish we could just take them all home! But that we would be able to help them find a home, because we know all their personalities and tell the families how great they really are, especially the special needs kids. After we said that the director said that she was very thankful for that because they really want them to have good homes, and then she said that it would be okay for us to put pictures up on the internet so that families could see more than just the picture on the waiting child’s list, and could see how fun they are. So, with that being said, pictures will surely come when I get home! The director gave us all a silk hankerchief for coming which are very beautiful.
When it came time to leave we walked outside and said goodbye to the two kids. We all gave them hugs, and Lily talked to Will and he said he was very sad. I gave him a big squeeze and a kiss. It was so sad to leave….. I’m going to miss all of them so much, but especially him. We had become such good little buddies… By the time we left the restaurant I’m pretty sure we all were crying, or at least had tears in our eyes.
I really wish that we could stay longer. Life here isn’t that bad… I’ve gotten used to the food and I can live with sleeping on what feels like a piece of wood to stay with those precious kids. I’m going to miss seeing their smiley faces as we walk in the doors and when we give them the attention they need. I think we all figured we should do this again next year…. And there’s actually a trip in the fall to Chenzhou! Haha. I also think that we all have grown so close as a group, that even leaving everyone in Beijing is going to be hard. I’m going to miss having our breakfasts in the morning and joking around with everyone now that we know each other.
But… all things have to come to a close. Maybe someday we’ll come back and visit… hopefully in the near future! For now, I need to get some sleep because we have to leave for Beijing at 7 am tomorrow morning. Thank you all for your prayers today! They really meant a lot.
A little note for Ann T: I asked the nannies about your son today. Unfortunately blogger is blocked here (my mom has been posting on my blog) so I was not able to pull up pictures of him from your blog, otherwise I would have loved to show the pictures and I'm sure they would have loved to see them... But they all said they remember him being a good boy, but that he did not have just one nanny. They all sort of switch around with the kids. I noticed while I was there that they all had different jobs during the day... like one nanny would be up with the babies one day and the next playing with the older kids. They all sort of switch around what they do. They were very happy to hear that he is doing well though and is in a great home where he is loved. All the nannies smiled when I told them that he was doing great. :)
Monday, July 12, 2010
Loving Some Amazing Kids
Last night I made myself stay up until at least 9:30 so I could sleep till when I needed to wake up. So, I stayed up a little bit and watched the beginning of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I got really tired really fast though, so I ended up stopping halfway through.I slept all the way through the night till 6:30 though, so that was good. Charlie had apparently woken up at 4:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep. So she stayed up and blogged and such.
We went to the orphanage today and had a bunch of fun. All the kids know us now and get excited when we walk in. We went upstairs to where the big kids go in the morning (because its cooler) and played around. They were watching what looked like Tom and Jerry, but saw us and got excited. We took out the crayons and coloring pages and they had a blast with that. They liked to see all the different colors.
After coloring we went and visited the baby room and played with them. I found my favorite one… but I don’t know her name. She is just absolutely adorable! She’s pretty chubby and has big eyes, and she’s just always happy and smiley. She loves to get attention and to be played with.
I walked out into the hallway after playing with the babies and the 10 year old I talked about yesterday was there. Once he saw me he ran up to me and took my hand and pulled me along through the hallway. He took me to the elevator and we went down to the bottom floor, but he noticed I had my camera and tried to play with it but noticed it didn’t work (it was off) and stopped. A girl got back on and took us up to the top again, and he forgot what he wanted to show me. We went back into their room and he sat down with me and we watched some tv show that had something to do with the monkey king. He didn’t want any of the other kids to touch me or for me to give them any attention while I sat there; he wanted it all on him. He held my hands and if I took them off for something he would pull them back to him.
Halfway through the morning we went back to the big kids and took out the tutus and head bands. (it’s really funny because now they know that our bag is full of goodies for them, so whenever we go towards our bag they all crowd around to see what we have). They all just flipped when they saw Hannah (who was our model) put on the tutu and headband. They loved them so much! It was so cute to see them run around in them, and the ones that don’t have much hair or don’t have their hair done much loved the headbands. We took the music out that Charlie had brought (my iPod died) and did dances like the Chicken Dance, Tooty Ta, and other fun things and they all thought it was the funniest thing. I wish I were able to send pictures because their smiles are priceless! The nannies thought it was funny too and laughed at us. Bliss got some pretty good video of us doing it, so hopefully I’ll be able to get that for later. We made a bunch of tutus and we had some left over (and headbands) so we gave the rest to the nannies to keep and they seemed pretty excited about that.
While we did the dance and such Susan, Katie, and Deena went to the bank to exchange travelers checks for the orphanage donations that they’re buying. They said it was such a pain because the bank had never done cashed travelers checks before… Susan said that she basically had to sell her first and second born to get them exchanged. Unfortunately they weren’t able to get the water heater and AC units today because they need to do that with the director who was out, but they’re going to go back tomorrow and do that.
We met up with them downstairs after the music time and by then it was time for us to leave. So we went back to the hotel and ate some lunch. We actually got some watermelon today which was a big treat because we’ve all been craving some nice cold fruits! We went back to the room and I took a nap because I was exhausted.
We went back to the orphanage at 3 and went to see the babies. I found my little favorite one and played with her and I got to feed her. They have this really thick substance that they put in their bottles… it looks like really thickened formula and I think it may be a formula and congee or cereal mixture… but not very appetizing.
I walked down to the older kids and they were having watermelon for a snack. The 10 year old boy took me and sat me down next to him. He showed me his coloring book which he was very proud of. Molli took out her treats that she had brought for the kids which were pixy sticks and lollipops. Lily (our Chinese guide) tried the pixy sticks first to see what they tasted like and she gave a really disgusted sour face because they don’t like sweet stuff in China. The nannies thought they were interesting too, but the kids LOVED them (what’s not to like, right?).
We took out the parachute we brought and they thought it was fantastic. They bounced the ball they had around in it and we showed them how they could get underneath it kind of like a tent and hold the handles down and they thought it was really fun. Props to Mrs. Hammond and mom on that one!
We let them run around for a bit and they found their tattoos that we’d done with them yesterday and brought them to me, so we did more of that. They love those. I brought out the nail polish too and all the little girls thought it was so much fun. They even stayed still for us while we did it and after while it dried! They all walked around showing us how pretty their nails were, just like ours. ☺ Thank you nana for the nail polish! You brightened those precious kids' day☺.
By that time we had to leave, so we said our goodbyes and left. We went back to the hotel and kind of hung around. We got all of our gifts for the nannies ready in their bags to bring tomorrow. Susan said that she’s going to go down to the market tomorrow and buy some chocolate too for them. Today, being day 5, we’ve been craving some things from home… so we brought out the peanut butter and crackers and they tasted so good! I don’t remember peanut butter ever tasting that good. Hannah, Bliss, and Molli came into our room and talked a little bit and we got Hannah to eat some of our snack too, which was good because she hasn’t been eating much of the Chinese food here.
For dinner we went down to KFC, but it’s not the KFC we all know and love (well, some of us love…). They had all different sorts of sandwiches that looked like they were different meats. We went with the popcorn chicken… but even that was different. They had some sort of seasoning on it that made it very spicy, so by the time we were finished our mouths were on fire. Everything here in Chenzhou is very spicy. The fries we ordered were good though, just like a taste from home☺. While we were waiting for our food Elyssa and I spotted a balloon guy outside with really cool balloons, so we went and bought one. They were all so adorable!
It’s about time for bed… can’t wait to sleep on this nice rock hard bed! It seriously feels like a piece of plywood that we’re sleeping on… we all have sore backs from sleeping on the beds. I feel like the floor would be more comfortable! But anyways, I’m tired. So goodnight! Pray for us because tomorrow is our last day at the orphanage, and it will be very hard to leave.
We went to the orphanage today and had a bunch of fun. All the kids know us now and get excited when we walk in. We went upstairs to where the big kids go in the morning (because its cooler) and played around. They were watching what looked like Tom and Jerry, but saw us and got excited. We took out the crayons and coloring pages and they had a blast with that. They liked to see all the different colors.
After coloring we went and visited the baby room and played with them. I found my favorite one… but I don’t know her name. She is just absolutely adorable! She’s pretty chubby and has big eyes, and she’s just always happy and smiley. She loves to get attention and to be played with.
I walked out into the hallway after playing with the babies and the 10 year old I talked about yesterday was there. Once he saw me he ran up to me and took my hand and pulled me along through the hallway. He took me to the elevator and we went down to the bottom floor, but he noticed I had my camera and tried to play with it but noticed it didn’t work (it was off) and stopped. A girl got back on and took us up to the top again, and he forgot what he wanted to show me. We went back into their room and he sat down with me and we watched some tv show that had something to do with the monkey king. He didn’t want any of the other kids to touch me or for me to give them any attention while I sat there; he wanted it all on him. He held my hands and if I took them off for something he would pull them back to him.
Halfway through the morning we went back to the big kids and took out the tutus and head bands. (it’s really funny because now they know that our bag is full of goodies for them, so whenever we go towards our bag they all crowd around to see what we have). They all just flipped when they saw Hannah (who was our model) put on the tutu and headband. They loved them so much! It was so cute to see them run around in them, and the ones that don’t have much hair or don’t have their hair done much loved the headbands. We took the music out that Charlie had brought (my iPod died) and did dances like the Chicken Dance, Tooty Ta, and other fun things and they all thought it was the funniest thing. I wish I were able to send pictures because their smiles are priceless! The nannies thought it was funny too and laughed at us. Bliss got some pretty good video of us doing it, so hopefully I’ll be able to get that for later. We made a bunch of tutus and we had some left over (and headbands) so we gave the rest to the nannies to keep and they seemed pretty excited about that.
While we did the dance and such Susan, Katie, and Deena went to the bank to exchange travelers checks for the orphanage donations that they’re buying. They said it was such a pain because the bank had never done cashed travelers checks before… Susan said that she basically had to sell her first and second born to get them exchanged. Unfortunately they weren’t able to get the water heater and AC units today because they need to do that with the director who was out, but they’re going to go back tomorrow and do that.
We met up with them downstairs after the music time and by then it was time for us to leave. So we went back to the hotel and ate some lunch. We actually got some watermelon today which was a big treat because we’ve all been craving some nice cold fruits! We went back to the room and I took a nap because I was exhausted.
We went back to the orphanage at 3 and went to see the babies. I found my little favorite one and played with her and I got to feed her. They have this really thick substance that they put in their bottles… it looks like really thickened formula and I think it may be a formula and congee or cereal mixture… but not very appetizing.
I walked down to the older kids and they were having watermelon for a snack. The 10 year old boy took me and sat me down next to him. He showed me his coloring book which he was very proud of. Molli took out her treats that she had brought for the kids which were pixy sticks and lollipops. Lily (our Chinese guide) tried the pixy sticks first to see what they tasted like and she gave a really disgusted sour face because they don’t like sweet stuff in China. The nannies thought they were interesting too, but the kids LOVED them (what’s not to like, right?).
We took out the parachute we brought and they thought it was fantastic. They bounced the ball they had around in it and we showed them how they could get underneath it kind of like a tent and hold the handles down and they thought it was really fun. Props to Mrs. Hammond and mom on that one!
We let them run around for a bit and they found their tattoos that we’d done with them yesterday and brought them to me, so we did more of that. They love those. I brought out the nail polish too and all the little girls thought it was so much fun. They even stayed still for us while we did it and after while it dried! They all walked around showing us how pretty their nails were, just like ours. ☺ Thank you nana for the nail polish! You brightened those precious kids' day☺.
By that time we had to leave, so we said our goodbyes and left. We went back to the hotel and kind of hung around. We got all of our gifts for the nannies ready in their bags to bring tomorrow. Susan said that she’s going to go down to the market tomorrow and buy some chocolate too for them. Today, being day 5, we’ve been craving some things from home… so we brought out the peanut butter and crackers and they tasted so good! I don’t remember peanut butter ever tasting that good. Hannah, Bliss, and Molli came into our room and talked a little bit and we got Hannah to eat some of our snack too, which was good because she hasn’t been eating much of the Chinese food here.
For dinner we went down to KFC, but it’s not the KFC we all know and love (well, some of us love…). They had all different sorts of sandwiches that looked like they were different meats. We went with the popcorn chicken… but even that was different. They had some sort of seasoning on it that made it very spicy, so by the time we were finished our mouths were on fire. Everything here in Chenzhou is very spicy. The fries we ordered were good though, just like a taste from home☺. While we were waiting for our food Elyssa and I spotted a balloon guy outside with really cool balloons, so we went and bought one. They were all so adorable!
It’s about time for bed… can’t wait to sleep on this nice rock hard bed! It seriously feels like a piece of plywood that we’re sleeping on… we all have sore backs from sleeping on the beds. I feel like the floor would be more comfortable! But anyways, I’m tired. So goodnight! Pray for us because tomorrow is our last day at the orphanage, and it will be very hard to leave.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Fun at the Orphanage Day 2
Today was a really fun day:) I woke up at about 5:30 am though, and I was wide awake! I got on my computer quietly and tried to upload some pictures to email to my mom, but the internet is so slow here, that I’m still, as I type at 8 at night, trying to upload them. Hopefully they will be sent tonight!
We went down to breakfast at 7:30 so we could leave for the orphanage at around 8:30. Breakfast was good. We had some sort of dumplings, pumpkin bread, fried banana, fried rice, more chicken feet (though I did not eat some today), and even a donut type pastry, which we all awed over and quickly ordered more. Lily’s nephew, Kerry, stayed the night with her last night and at breakfast showed us the huge bug he had caught. We were all so worried it was going to get lose in the hotel room!
After breakfast we went to the orphanage and met the older kids in a room upstairs. They were all playing and watching spongebob on their tv. We brought out the bubbles which were a HUGE hit with them. They all loved them so much. We brought one of those huge wands that you dip into the plate and wave around and big bubbles come out and the kids thought it was the coolest thing. All of them loved it. They ended up making a huge sticky mess all over the floor which had to be mopped up. Haha.
Katie played soccer with the kids outside with the soccer balls she’d brought for them, and apparently they all had a fantastic time. I stayed up in the infant room and helped out a little bit with holding some of them while they cried.
After that I went downstairs to the older kids where they were doing some sort of sing-song thing. They sang us a song of their “gratitude” for coming here. Haha. It was really cute. Then we took out the foam picture frames that Susan had brought them to decorate with stickers and such and they all did a craft. While they did that a little boy (about 10) brought me over to a table to show me his drawings. He took off my silly bandz (shaped rubber bracelets) and wanted me to trace them. He then drew pictures of flowers, and him and Lily and a house. He was such a cute boy. He noticed me taking pictures of him and I showed him the ones I’d taken and he was fascinated (as are all the kids when they see them) and he went around with me taking pictures ALL over the room… of EVERYthing he could think of… and about 10 pictures of the same thing. He thought it was the coolest thing!
One of the team members brought out all their little jump ropes they had brought and the kids tried that and Charlie and I got the longer, double ones and they all enjoyed those. The nannies thought they were really fun too. They enjoyed them a lot.
By that time it was time for lunch so we headed out to a noodle restaurant. The food there was very good… everyone enjoyed it. So far I don’t think any of us (except for Hannah, the 5 year old) has had trouble eating any of the food here. Everything is really good. Spicy sometimes, but still good.
We went back to our hotel during our break and killed some time playing card games with Carissa, Elyssa, Charlie, Molli, and Kerry (though it was a little hard explaining to him, being Chinese, how to play the games).
Back at the orphanage Elyssa, Charlie, and I went up to the baby room but they weren’t there because they were all sleeping. So we went across the hall to the infants and held all the crying babies we could. Most of them cry just because they want attention because the nannies can’t hold them all. It’s really quite sad because when you pick one up some of the others see you and start to fuss. One of the babies didn’t want me to put her down. She was very hot because they didn’t have the fans blowing, just one of the AC units on, but that wasn’t enough to keep the room even close to cool. All the babies seem to have a pretty bad cough. It was so sad because as I held her she would cough and it sounded horrible, and she hated it so much she wanted to cry every time. She was so precious though, I just wanted to take her home! (mom, dad.. can I? ;))
I went back downstairs and when I got there the 10 year old (I’m not allowed to say his name) came up to me and showed me all the "tattoos" that some of the team members had put on him. He was so excited about them. He took me around and showed me all his favorite toys and we played ball a little bit. He again took my silly bandz off and showed everyone and all the kids thought it was amazing. So we took out the packages of silly bandz we’d brought to give to the kids and they all loved them! I’m not sure the nannies knew what they were because they took them and started putting pony tails into the little girl’s (and even some of the boys!) hair!
Bliss had left some small containers of bubbles downstairs that the kids took out and played with some more. One little girl needed help with hers so I held the wand and she ended up blowing them into my face and I shook my head and she started dying laughing she thought it was hilarious. I stuck the wand back into the bubbles and shook it up like crazy and she couldn’t stop laughing at it, so when it came time to blow the wand, she couldn’t because she was laughing too hard. It was the cutest thing. Most of the older kids are just absolutely crazy and just love to go wild, but they all have such unique personalities that it makes it all so much fun.
After that it was time for us to leave so we walked back to the hotel and Charlie and I went with Katie and Susan to the supermarket right next to our hotel. We got some sort of cool Tropicana fruit drinks that I haven’t seen in the US but are really good and some candy:). The supermarket is really cool, and it was really fun to explore.
We came back to the hotel and just hung around and then we went out to dinner. We ate at the restaurant where we ate lunch, and all the food was very good, again. We just got back into the hotel and I’m about to go and get ready for bed and go to sleep. I’m very, very tired today after being up at 5:30. Hopefully I’ll get a better sleep tonight!
I just tried to send my mom the pictures through email I got one back saying they couldn’t deliver it:(. I tried a few times, but I won’t go through. So, unfortunately I won’t be able to post pictures while I’m here. Such a bummer! But I will when I get home for sure! And possibly when we're in Beijing.
We went down to breakfast at 7:30 so we could leave for the orphanage at around 8:30. Breakfast was good. We had some sort of dumplings, pumpkin bread, fried banana, fried rice, more chicken feet (though I did not eat some today), and even a donut type pastry, which we all awed over and quickly ordered more. Lily’s nephew, Kerry, stayed the night with her last night and at breakfast showed us the huge bug he had caught. We were all so worried it was going to get lose in the hotel room!
After breakfast we went to the orphanage and met the older kids in a room upstairs. They were all playing and watching spongebob on their tv. We brought out the bubbles which were a HUGE hit with them. They all loved them so much. We brought one of those huge wands that you dip into the plate and wave around and big bubbles come out and the kids thought it was the coolest thing. All of them loved it. They ended up making a huge sticky mess all over the floor which had to be mopped up. Haha.
Katie played soccer with the kids outside with the soccer balls she’d brought for them, and apparently they all had a fantastic time. I stayed up in the infant room and helped out a little bit with holding some of them while they cried.
After that I went downstairs to the older kids where they were doing some sort of sing-song thing. They sang us a song of their “gratitude” for coming here. Haha. It was really cute. Then we took out the foam picture frames that Susan had brought them to decorate with stickers and such and they all did a craft. While they did that a little boy (about 10) brought me over to a table to show me his drawings. He took off my silly bandz (shaped rubber bracelets) and wanted me to trace them. He then drew pictures of flowers, and him and Lily and a house. He was such a cute boy. He noticed me taking pictures of him and I showed him the ones I’d taken and he was fascinated (as are all the kids when they see them) and he went around with me taking pictures ALL over the room… of EVERYthing he could think of… and about 10 pictures of the same thing. He thought it was the coolest thing!
One of the team members brought out all their little jump ropes they had brought and the kids tried that and Charlie and I got the longer, double ones and they all enjoyed those. The nannies thought they were really fun too. They enjoyed them a lot.
By that time it was time for lunch so we headed out to a noodle restaurant. The food there was very good… everyone enjoyed it. So far I don’t think any of us (except for Hannah, the 5 year old) has had trouble eating any of the food here. Everything is really good. Spicy sometimes, but still good.
We went back to our hotel during our break and killed some time playing card games with Carissa, Elyssa, Charlie, Molli, and Kerry (though it was a little hard explaining to him, being Chinese, how to play the games).
Back at the orphanage Elyssa, Charlie, and I went up to the baby room but they weren’t there because they were all sleeping. So we went across the hall to the infants and held all the crying babies we could. Most of them cry just because they want attention because the nannies can’t hold them all. It’s really quite sad because when you pick one up some of the others see you and start to fuss. One of the babies didn’t want me to put her down. She was very hot because they didn’t have the fans blowing, just one of the AC units on, but that wasn’t enough to keep the room even close to cool. All the babies seem to have a pretty bad cough. It was so sad because as I held her she would cough and it sounded horrible, and she hated it so much she wanted to cry every time. She was so precious though, I just wanted to take her home! (mom, dad.. can I? ;))
I went back downstairs and when I got there the 10 year old (I’m not allowed to say his name) came up to me and showed me all the "tattoos" that some of the team members had put on him. He was so excited about them. He took me around and showed me all his favorite toys and we played ball a little bit. He again took my silly bandz off and showed everyone and all the kids thought it was amazing. So we took out the packages of silly bandz we’d brought to give to the kids and they all loved them! I’m not sure the nannies knew what they were because they took them and started putting pony tails into the little girl’s (and even some of the boys!) hair!
Bliss had left some small containers of bubbles downstairs that the kids took out and played with some more. One little girl needed help with hers so I held the wand and she ended up blowing them into my face and I shook my head and she started dying laughing she thought it was hilarious. I stuck the wand back into the bubbles and shook it up like crazy and she couldn’t stop laughing at it, so when it came time to blow the wand, she couldn’t because she was laughing too hard. It was the cutest thing. Most of the older kids are just absolutely crazy and just love to go wild, but they all have such unique personalities that it makes it all so much fun.
After that it was time for us to leave so we walked back to the hotel and Charlie and I went with Katie and Susan to the supermarket right next to our hotel. We got some sort of cool Tropicana fruit drinks that I haven’t seen in the US but are really good and some candy:). The supermarket is really cool, and it was really fun to explore.
We came back to the hotel and just hung around and then we went out to dinner. We ate at the restaurant where we ate lunch, and all the food was very good, again. We just got back into the hotel and I’m about to go and get ready for bed and go to sleep. I’m very, very tired today after being up at 5:30. Hopefully I’ll get a better sleep tonight!
I just tried to send my mom the pictures through email I got one back saying they couldn’t deliver it:(. I tried a few times, but I won’t go through. So, unfortunately I won’t be able to post pictures while I’m here. Such a bummer! But I will when I get home for sure! And possibly when we're in Beijing.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
First Day at the Orphanage
Our trip has been very good so far. We ate dinner at the hotel last night, and it was actually pretty good. We had lots of different dishes such as green beans and eggplant, beef, tofu, and others. We tried a little bit of each, but we found that the food here is very spicy. I must say, as much as we all enjoyed the other stuff, once the fried rice came out, we all jumped on it as if we hadn’t eaten in days. It was very good haha. By the time dinner was over, we all were very tired. Charlie and I got ready for bed and fell asleep at around 8, and slept all the way till 7!
Today we ate an asian breakfast at the hotel too. It consisted of different dumplings, rice, egg rolls, fried bread, and spicy chicken feet. Yes, that’s right. Chicken feet. And guess what. Charlie, Elyssa, Katie and I tried some. It was very interesting and very chewy, but wasn’t that bad. Kinda like a hot wing. Haha. The fried bread is pretty cool too.
We left the hotel at 9 to go to the orphanage. The orphanage is about a 15-20 minute walk. When we arrived we were met by the directors and had sort of a “meeting” to learn at about the orphanage and go over the rules and such. We found out that the original building was built in 1984, but they’ve moved twice since then, and have a new building now that they build in 2008. It is very nice, and I was very impressed. They say that they have a separate part of the building that takes care of the elderly (60+) whose families can’t take care of them. We will be going to the orphanage from 8:30-11 am and then 3-5 pm. The rules prohibit us from posting pictures of the orphanage on our blogs, but I may be posting them on facebook as soon as I get home.
After our meeting they showed us the older kids' room, and it looked like they were doing some sort of writing, so we went up to the babies' room. The infants were lying in their cribs when we got there and we were able to hold some of them. We went into the older babies (about 1-2ish years old) and played and cared for some of them. They were all so precious! It was so much fun to be able to interact with them and hold them. One of the sweet little girls fell asleep on me. It was neat to see just how much the nannies cared for them too. They played and held them and took care of them just as if they were their own. The kids just loved their nannies! When it came time for their lunch they got some rice congee in their bowls and held them up to the AC to cool them off, it was pretty funny.
At 11 we left and went to a market just outside our hotel. Half of it looked like a shopping mall and half of it was like a grocery store. We went and got some water and on the way we spotted st some very interesting sights such as fish swimming around in tanks, meat hanging around, and chickens laying around whole! But we got what we needed. While standing in line some kids came up to us and asked what we were doing there and if we could get our pictures taken with them. It’s really funny to see how many people just stop and stare at us. When we were walking to the orphanage a school girl stopped and told all her friends to look at us and they all stared and gasped in amazement. We get lots of stares everywhere go… you’d think we were aliens! Haha.
After the market we ate lunch (kind of a combination of dinner and breakfast) and then went back to the orphanage. We visited with the babies some more and then went back to see the older kids. Deena (Elyssa's mother) made friends with an 11 year old boy who was really funny. He’s got an interesting story which I’ll tell later. He taught her how to count in Chinese, and they drew together and in the end he gave her a hug. It was really sweet.
Today we decided that we wouldn’t take any of the donations we brought because we didn’t want to overwhelm the kids yet, but we bring the donations tomorrow. My lovely fake "Polo" suitcase we bought last time we were in China is falling apart, and there is no possible way I would be able to bring it around the streets anyways, so I have to figure out a way to get everything to the orphanage. That should be pretty interesting. Hopefully it’ll all work. I think we’re going to be doing a lot more stuff with the older kids.
We just had dinner… at the hotel again. Lily (our guide) said she checked all the restaurants down the street but they would all be too spicy… so it was either the hotel or KFC, which we decided that we’d use KFC when we got homesick for some American food later on in the week. The Hunan province is known for its very spicy food.
It’s about 8 pm here, and I’m starting to get really tired. So, I’m going to go get ready for bed, pack all my donations and things for tomorrow, and then go to sleep. I’ll hopefully post more tomorrow!
Thank you all for your prayers!
Today we ate an asian breakfast at the hotel too. It consisted of different dumplings, rice, egg rolls, fried bread, and spicy chicken feet. Yes, that’s right. Chicken feet. And guess what. Charlie, Elyssa, Katie and I tried some. It was very interesting and very chewy, but wasn’t that bad. Kinda like a hot wing. Haha. The fried bread is pretty cool too.
We left the hotel at 9 to go to the orphanage. The orphanage is about a 15-20 minute walk. When we arrived we were met by the directors and had sort of a “meeting” to learn at about the orphanage and go over the rules and such. We found out that the original building was built in 1984, but they’ve moved twice since then, and have a new building now that they build in 2008. It is very nice, and I was very impressed. They say that they have a separate part of the building that takes care of the elderly (60+) whose families can’t take care of them. We will be going to the orphanage from 8:30-11 am and then 3-5 pm. The rules prohibit us from posting pictures of the orphanage on our blogs, but I may be posting them on facebook as soon as I get home.
After our meeting they showed us the older kids' room, and it looked like they were doing some sort of writing, so we went up to the babies' room. The infants were lying in their cribs when we got there and we were able to hold some of them. We went into the older babies (about 1-2ish years old) and played and cared for some of them. They were all so precious! It was so much fun to be able to interact with them and hold them. One of the sweet little girls fell asleep on me. It was neat to see just how much the nannies cared for them too. They played and held them and took care of them just as if they were their own. The kids just loved their nannies! When it came time for their lunch they got some rice congee in their bowls and held them up to the AC to cool them off, it was pretty funny.
At 11 we left and went to a market just outside our hotel. Half of it looked like a shopping mall and half of it was like a grocery store. We went and got some water and on the way we spotted st some very interesting sights such as fish swimming around in tanks, meat hanging around, and chickens laying around whole! But we got what we needed. While standing in line some kids came up to us and asked what we were doing there and if we could get our pictures taken with them. It’s really funny to see how many people just stop and stare at us. When we were walking to the orphanage a school girl stopped and told all her friends to look at us and they all stared and gasped in amazement. We get lots of stares everywhere go… you’d think we were aliens! Haha.
After the market we ate lunch (kind of a combination of dinner and breakfast) and then went back to the orphanage. We visited with the babies some more and then went back to see the older kids. Deena (Elyssa's mother) made friends with an 11 year old boy who was really funny. He’s got an interesting story which I’ll tell later. He taught her how to count in Chinese, and they drew together and in the end he gave her a hug. It was really sweet.
Today we decided that we wouldn’t take any of the donations we brought because we didn’t want to overwhelm the kids yet, but we bring the donations tomorrow. My lovely fake "Polo" suitcase we bought last time we were in China is falling apart, and there is no possible way I would be able to bring it around the streets anyways, so I have to figure out a way to get everything to the orphanage. That should be pretty interesting. Hopefully it’ll all work. I think we’re going to be doing a lot more stuff with the older kids.
We just had dinner… at the hotel again. Lily (our guide) said she checked all the restaurants down the street but they would all be too spicy… so it was either the hotel or KFC, which we decided that we’d use KFC when we got homesick for some American food later on in the week. The Hunan province is known for its very spicy food.
It’s about 8 pm here, and I’m starting to get really tired. So, I’m going to go get ready for bed, pack all my donations and things for tomorrow, and then go to sleep. I’ll hopefully post more tomorrow!
Thank you all for your prayers!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Hello from China!
We all made it here safely, thank God! Sorry I was not able to post last night, it was a long and crazy day. The traveling wasn't as bad as I had anticipated... including our flight from Seattle to Beijing, which I think they were able to scale back to only 10 hours! I couldn't help but sleep on the flight, even though I wanted to stay up so once I got to the hotel I'd be nice and tired. But luckily by the time we got through customs, met our guide, got our luggage, got to the hotel, and checked in, it was 1 am, and we all were exhausted. We were told that our flight for Chenzhou left from Beijing at 8:30 the next day, and we had a wake-up call for 5 am! So we quickly got ready and went to bed, and we slept just great:)
Today we woke up and got ready, met everyone in the lobby and we headed to the airport. We had a nice 3 hour flight to Changsha with lots of turbulence, and then hopped onto our bus that would take us to Chenzhou. It ended up being about a 4 1/2 hour bus drive... consisting of lots of pictures, hairdos from Hannah (Bliss's 5 yr. old who is actually from Chenzhou), and music to pass the time. About halfway through the drive we stopped to get some food and stretch our legs. We had one of our first encounters with the squatty potties, and it was really funny to see everyone's reactions from having to use them. Charlie stated that if she could do that, she could do anything. haha. We stopped and ate at a small restaurant where everyone wanted their picture with us. It was like we were famous or something. I remember that from me previous trips, but I don't remember it quite that crazy. haha. But it was really funny, and everyone got a kick out of it. We had some sort of beef and ginger noodle soup. It wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, but we found out that noodles are hard to eat with chopsticks. But alas, we finished it and were on our way. The drive here was actually really pretty. The Hunnan province is very hilly and green. We saw lots of rice patties too. The scenery was just beautiful. Once we got into the city it was crazy to ride around and see how insane it is to drive here. I guess I forgot just how insane that is too. There are no lights, no signals, no lines (and when there are, they are never followed... we saw lots of crossing into oncoming traffic), people leisurely crossing the streets, bikes almost being run over, and lots and LOTS of horns blowing. I'm sitting in my hotel room now, and that's all I hear!
It's pretty hot here. I'm assuming it's in the upper 80's, low 90's. Hopefully we won't be too hot tomorrow at the orphanage, and hopefully it will have AC. Thankfully we have it in our hotel room:)
Blogger is actually blocked from where I am, so my mom will be posting this... but I hope to be able to post the next few days. We'll just see how it all works out. Pictures will come also! I'm on the hotel computer, so there is no way to upload pictures yet... I'm still working on getting my computer hooked up.
Anyways, that's all I can say for now... it's time to go to dinner! Wish us all luck;) haha. Until next time...
Today we woke up and got ready, met everyone in the lobby and we headed to the airport. We had a nice 3 hour flight to Changsha with lots of turbulence, and then hopped onto our bus that would take us to Chenzhou. It ended up being about a 4 1/2 hour bus drive... consisting of lots of pictures, hairdos from Hannah (Bliss's 5 yr. old who is actually from Chenzhou), and music to pass the time. About halfway through the drive we stopped to get some food and stretch our legs. We had one of our first encounters with the squatty potties, and it was really funny to see everyone's reactions from having to use them. Charlie stated that if she could do that, she could do anything. haha. We stopped and ate at a small restaurant where everyone wanted their picture with us. It was like we were famous or something. I remember that from me previous trips, but I don't remember it quite that crazy. haha. But it was really funny, and everyone got a kick out of it. We had some sort of beef and ginger noodle soup. It wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, but we found out that noodles are hard to eat with chopsticks. But alas, we finished it and were on our way. The drive here was actually really pretty. The Hunnan province is very hilly and green. We saw lots of rice patties too. The scenery was just beautiful. Once we got into the city it was crazy to ride around and see how insane it is to drive here. I guess I forgot just how insane that is too. There are no lights, no signals, no lines (and when there are, they are never followed... we saw lots of crossing into oncoming traffic), people leisurely crossing the streets, bikes almost being run over, and lots and LOTS of horns blowing. I'm sitting in my hotel room now, and that's all I hear!
It's pretty hot here. I'm assuming it's in the upper 80's, low 90's. Hopefully we won't be too hot tomorrow at the orphanage, and hopefully it will have AC. Thankfully we have it in our hotel room:)
Blogger is actually blocked from where I am, so my mom will be posting this... but I hope to be able to post the next few days. We'll just see how it all works out. Pictures will come also! I'm on the hotel computer, so there is no way to upload pictures yet... I'm still working on getting my computer hooked up.
Anyways, that's all I can say for now... it's time to go to dinner! Wish us all luck;) haha. Until next time...
Monday, July 5, 2010
A little thought for the day...
"... Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act... "
--Proverbs 24:12
These are incredible words when you think about them. I stumbled across these earlier today and was amazed.
Ever since Charlie and I had the idea of going on this trip, a few things held us back at first... the money issue, timing, and all that. But we KNEW what a great opportunity this was for us. To go and love on these orphans was something we were called to do... and once our eyes were opened to this, we couldn't go back on it, He held us responsible, no matter what happened. We had trouble at first with our trip and for awhile we weren't sure what to do or if we should even go through with it, but we couldn't turn back. Something inside me kept saying that I needed to go. When it looked rough at times with the money situation, we stuck it out, and through God I've raised pretty much everything I've needed for this trip. With all that being said, it's just amazing to see how God works, and how Charlie and I saw what we needed to do, and we're doing it... no turning back, even if we wanted to:) I can't wait for this amazing trip, and to see what God will do for all of us while we're there.
Anyways... there's my little excerpt for the day... :) Until next time...
--Proverbs 24:12
These are incredible words when you think about them. I stumbled across these earlier today and was amazed.
Ever since Charlie and I had the idea of going on this trip, a few things held us back at first... the money issue, timing, and all that. But we KNEW what a great opportunity this was for us. To go and love on these orphans was something we were called to do... and once our eyes were opened to this, we couldn't go back on it, He held us responsible, no matter what happened. We had trouble at first with our trip and for awhile we weren't sure what to do or if we should even go through with it, but we couldn't turn back. Something inside me kept saying that I needed to go. When it looked rough at times with the money situation, we stuck it out, and through God I've raised pretty much everything I've needed for this trip. With all that being said, it's just amazing to see how God works, and how Charlie and I saw what we needed to do, and we're doing it... no turning back, even if we wanted to:) I can't wait for this amazing trip, and to see what God will do for all of us while we're there.
Anyways... there's my little excerpt for the day... :) Until next time...
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Three Days Away!
We are less than THREE days away from leaving!
I've been doing a lot of packing today and its making the whole thing seems that much more real. I can't believe that on Wednesday night we will be getting on a plane to take us to China. It's all so surreal right now.
I've been doing a lot of packing today and its making the whole thing seems that much more real. I can't believe that on Wednesday night we will be getting on a plane to take us to China. It's all so surreal right now.
I'm almost all packed except for a few last minute things here and there. I now have a big suit case to be check and a small one as a carry on and a backpack and camera bag. haha. It's pretty crazy, but I got everything to fit... just barely. ;)
I've also been making some red tutus to go along with the pink and purple ones, and my mom and I have been working on some little head bands... (while watching more Gilmore Girls, of course) that are a little interesting, but I think they'll like them. The whole idea of making headbands with tulle happened when we were all (Charlie, me, and our moms) shopping at Target, all of us extremely tired. So... we didn't think through it all the way on how we'd make them, but when we got home we managed to get some made. :) Here's a little peak at them.
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