So close, yet so far away...

I can't believe I'm only two days away from leaving for China!

...yes, TWO.

I honestly can't contain my excitement anymore. All week I've been having trouble sleeping because I keep thinking about those kids. AND about all the things that I keep forgetting to pack or do, so I've compiled a list of things on my nightstand that I wake up to every morning. :)

I think we are all so excited at this point. There are 12 of us goings this year. 6 of us have been to Chenzhou with VO before, and 2 have been for adoption. I'm so excited that we have so many familiar faces going back... I know it means a lot to the nannies and kids to see that we love them and come back for them. But I'm also excited for the new people, to see Chenzhou through their eyes, for them to experience this, and for the kids to get to know them all. We've had conference calls with everyone for the last couple of months and I'm just so excited to meet them all. They're all so sweet.

Our plan: We leave Sunday night. 10 of our team members will fly to LA, and from there fly to Beijing. our other 2 members will be flying out of Seattle and then meeting up with us in Beijing. From there we will all fly to Guanzhou together, and then take a bus or train over to Chenzhou. All in one day (or actually, it'll be longer than one day... with time changes and all).

I am all packed--and I've done the best packing job that I've ever done, if I'm being honest. You should see all the stuff I packed into ONE carry on size suitcase, ONE small tote, and ONE backpack. All my donations and clothes and my 20 packs of wipes are stuffed away in there. I'll have to post a picture later. Needless to say, I was pretty impressed with myself. When I told my mom which bag I had used to fit all my clothes in she said, "WHAT? How in the world did you fit it all in there?" Honestly, it was all the good Lord's grace because I don't know how it all fits. I'm afraid that bags are going to start ripping soon.

So why all the light packing? We're hoping to take the high speed train from Guangzhou to Chenzhou (about 2 hours), but we can't have too much luggage between all of us. We literally have 2 minutes to get on the train and in our seats before it takes off again. And not JUST us, but all the other people shoving and cramming their way through the doors, too. Haha. If we can't take the train, we have to take a 6 hour bus ride over to Chenzhou. Which isn't ideal, but we can do it. We're just crossing our fingers and praying that we can take the train.

And speaking of praying, this is the real reason why I am writing this post.  Please pray for us! Our wonderful team leader, Shannon, has made a prayer calendar if you would like to follow along with us. I'll post it in the post as well as in a tab at the top of the page.

Other prayer requests:
-Safe and easy travel: Many of us have connecting flights before we meet up with our team in LAX, so pray that our flights are on time, and that everything goes smoothly. Pray that we don't go crazy on our 13 hour flight to Beijing, and that we WILL be able to take the train. Also, two of our team members are on a different flight that the other 10 of us, so pray that they travel safely and that we are able to find them easily in Beijing.
-Jet lag: Please pray that we all get adjusted to the time difference there and we are all rested and sleep well every night.
-At the orphanage: Pray that the Lord would be apparent through us, that they would see His love. Pray that the nannies and children will be well loved on.
-Connections: We are praying that we will be able to make connections with the locals! We would to have a group of people who would help out at the orphanage throughout the year when we are not there.
-Our Guide: Our guide's name is Steve this year. Pray that doors would be opened for us to speak with him about what we believe. Pray that he would have the right words as he translates for us.
-Health: Please pray that we all stay healthy while we are there. We are believing for NO stomach bugs and no injuries of any kind. Pray for His protection over us while we are there.
-Our Team: Pray that we would become more like a family. Pray that we would all work well together and be tolerant even after spending two weeks with each other nonstop. haha.
-My personal prayer: is that the Lord would break our hearts for what breaks His. That He would show us who need the attention, and that no child would be left out. Pray that He would guide our steps and continually show us what needs to be done over the two weeks.

Shannon got an email from one of the head people at Chenzhou saying all the kids and staff are so excited for us to come. We're just as excited and anxious to be there. :) Feel like I'm going back to my second home.... My second family.

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of me in all my years of doing this. I couldn't have asked for a better support system. I am continually touched by all of you who are willing to give donations towards my kids in Chenzhou. I got all teary-eyed as I started packing all my donations, thinking about how there are people all across America who are willing to help "my" kids, who love my kids. I don't think they realize how many people love them in America. I am so touched by everyone's generosity. Those who have given and those who have/are praying. THANK YOU so much. Thank you for loving the children of Chenzhou with me. You have no idea how much it means to me.

*phew* I meant this to be a quick post. Everyone always jokes that I always write super long and detailed posts in China... I guess I'm just getting my fingers ready for it. ;)

The clock is ticking... 2 more days.......