China: Day Three - Changsha and Chenzhou

Last night I took some Advil PM and blogged a little bit... And then I was OUT. I slept for about 9-10 hours, which was great.

Our luggage arrived this afternoon! We were able to get the stuff needed to the Butterfly House, and send all of our New Day donations back to Beijing, and we now have our Chenzhou stuff. So it worked out well.

We also had some troubles trying to figure out how we could get to Chenzhou, because the bullet train only allows one suitcase per person. But in answer to prayers, someone is driving the suitcases down to Chenzhou to us free of charge, and we are riding the bullet train. YES.

After breakfast we checked out and went on our way to the Butterfly House.

We met with the woman who runs the orphanage (which we found out is more of a hospice), and she was amazing. The work that this woman does is phenomenal.

She's an Australian woman named Lynn. She said that when she was 8 her mother took her to see a movie called the Inn of Sixth Happiness, and she knew then she wanted to do work in China.

I kind of freaked out a little bit. For those of you who don't know... Ever since I was about 5 or 6 I would watch that movie over and over and always on my birthday. And it really inspired me, too.

Basically what they do here is take children in that are dying and won't receive sufficient care at a normal orphanage. Many of the children have lived because of the care they have given them, and many have died--but they die knowing love... A nanny singing or praying for them as they pass away. It's amazing to me.

Out of the 13 kids they have at the orphanage, there are 5 who are either in the process of being adopted, or have paperwork submitted. Let's just keep in mind that these kids were helpless at first... Almost going to die. Now they appear perfectly healthy!

After meeting with her, we split up into two groups. One group went to the SWI (social welfare institute) of Changsha, and the other went to the Butterfly House (they're meeting at a different building now because they're renovating the other one).

I went to the SWI, but unfortunately we weren't able to take pictures. It was actually very nice. The kids had school classes, and we got to meet lots of them. Tim showed them his tattoos, and they all thought they were amazing. Haha! A lot of the children there had some sort of special needs, and it was great to see the nannies really taking their time to feed them and care for them. I've heard stories of some orphanages who just give up on those that need that extra care.

Back at the Butterfly House, we washed our hands, put on aprons, and shoe covers--very sanitary. We were able to take a tour of the building they're in now, and see the kids. Many times my eyes swelled with tears as we heard stories of how far these kids have come, and stories of children who have no cure. Its sad to hear, but I couldn't imagine a better place for them to be. They were just amazing... I can't even put into words. All of those kids were precious... I just wanted to take them home.

Shannon a few months ago found a girl that she wanted to adopt from here, but after praying about it they felt like God was telling them no. But the next day a family stepped up to adopt her. They're in the process now. We were able to take lots of pictures and give sweet Angel a care package from her family, and tell them how she's doing. She's absolutely precious, and I don't think they'll have much trouble with her. :)

Right now we're on the bus to the train station so we can get to Chenzhou. We'll get there tonight (hopefully with our luggage!) And will stay for 5 days, I believe. I'm excited. :)

Anyways, that was the amazing day we had today. I'm still completely blown away by this woman and her amazing work.

Hopefully I'll be able to post more tonight. But if not, I definitely will tomorrow. It'll be our first day at the Chenzhou SWI! :)

UPDATE:(Megan's mom here) I heard from Megan this morning (night for her) and while her group was eating at KFC this evening, their group leader had her purse stolen with $1,000 US dollars in it. This was money they were going to use to buy something for the orphanage in Chenzhou. The police were called, which caused some commotion. Most of the people in Chenzhou rarely, if ever, see a caucasian and here's a large group of them w/police and all...exciting, I'm sure. Surveilance tapes identified the thief, which also makes me more than a little concerned for the young girl whom supposedly stole the money...what happens to her if they find her? I've heard they are not kind to thieves in China. In fact, from what I understand, theft in China is surprisingly rare because of the consequences. I'd prefer they just find the money and not the girl! On the positive side, thankfully the group leader's passport wasn't in her purse as she originally thought! That was the biggest concern. Please pray that the situation is resolved in God's perfect wisdom. Who knows, maybe this young girl needed the money more than the orphanage? Either way, I believe He will use this situation to bring Himself glory in one way or another:)

MEGAN'S UPDATE (a little more about her day):
We pretty much had the scare of the century today.

We took the bullet train to Changsha--it was fantastic. So much better than the 5 hour bus ride we took last year. I was so happy. I sat next to Shannon, our group leader, and she's an amazing woman. I'm happy I got to get to know her better.

We made it to our hotel. It was weird walking in because its the same place we stayed last year. It was like... Being at home. I was so happy to be there, in a familiar place.

Our team is already sick of Chinese food... (Yes, day 3, and they're already sick of it. HA. Good luck.) ...so we went to KFC. I wasn't thrilled, but I mean, its okay. Go with the flow haha.

While we were eating, an elderly woman came over to us and started begging for money. We told her to go away (it sounds rude of us, but we're told not to, and if we do more will come). She got mad, and I'm pretty sure we got cussed out in Chinese. Hah.

After we got up, our group leader says to us, "my bag isn't here." She had put it along the back of her chair, and it had disappeared.

Stolen.

She said her passport, money, and camera were all in there.

We kind of freaked out. A lot.

We talked to the workers and they ran around like crazy. We caused quite the commotion--people trying to get all up in our business. Everyone was so interested. We thought it was for sure the elderly woman who came by that stole it.

I never thought I'd meet the Chinese police, but we did tonight. I was really surprised by how chill they were. 3 showed up, and 1 only seemed to be taking our situation seriously.

Before our guide got there, we had no one to translate for us. So these young students came and helped us--they were way too excited to be helping us. It was funny.

Shawn and Katie came running down to the KFC with Shannon's purse in hand--someone had dropped it off at the hotel because they saw our key. The bellboy had recognized the two ladies and gave it to them.

We opened it up, all the valuables were gone.

We finally were able to look at the security cameras, and found it was a young girl sitting behind us who stole the purse.

We went back to the hotel, and Shannon said she had left her passport in her room. THANK GOD SHE HAS HER PASSPORT. That's the most important. That's what I was most worried about. Unfortunately, we lost about $1,000 (at least she thinks) that was in the purse--our orphanage donation money. Not cool.
I'm not sure what will happen now, if the police will look for the girl or not. I don't know how all that works in China. So who knows if we get the money back or not. Its really a shame.

At least we all learned a valuable lesson today--always leave your passport in the safe, and always keep you bag with you at all times.

I guess there's always a little bright side to everything..... Right? :/

Everyone seems to be having problems with internet. Gmail doesn't work here... Luckily I have email on my phone which I can send to my mom these posts, but those of you whom I said I could email you, I'm afraid I won't be doing so.

Anyways, I don't even know what to ask you to pray for. I guess that this will be resolved, and that the rest of our trip will be pretty chill. We've had a rough start, and I think we're all pretty tired. Haha.

Thanks guys.

This Is the Stuff...

"This is the stuff that drives me crazy. This is the stuff that's getting to me lately...in the middle of my little mess I forget how big I'm blessed."

These are the words that keep popping into my head today. Its been a long day for all of us.

The day started out fine. I slept for 8 hours last night which was good. I thought to myself, "oh maybe I'm going to kick jet lag in the butt. Hopefully."

I got up, took a shower, attempted to blow my hair dry with their wimpy hair drier and got ready. We went to breakfast and ate some pretty good food. Elyssa and I thought we'd found our steamed bread, but then opened it up and found it had bean paste inside. Haha.

Last night Shannon (group leader) and a few other ladies took time from their precious sleep to rearrange all of our bags. We set some aside with our donations for Shepard's Field (now called New Day--the last leg of our trip when we return to Beijing), and put everything we needed for Changsha and Chenzhou together. She set the stuff for New Day in a room at the hotel to retrieve when we get back to Beijing.

We were told that the luggage we were taking with us to Changsha would be picked up from our rooms and brought to the airport.

Or so we thought.

We arrived at the airport, checked in, and our guide told us to check our carry on stuff because we had room. We still didn't see our big bags.

Can you see where this is going?

Our flight was pretty good. I got to sit next to Christy and Kita (our guide) and got to know them better. They're both very sweet ladies. I found out this is Kita's first trip ever. She's never been to Changsha or Chenzhou. It sounds like Elyssa and I will know the area better than she will, which is pretty scary.

We hit a little bit of turbulence which scared quite a few of us. It was the worse turbulence I've ever been in. But it was just like being in a roller coaster. Only, not strapped in, and higher up. Haha. But it makes the flight interesting.

We got to baggage claim and got all of our carry ons we checked. We proceeded to stand there waiting, and then the conveyor belt stopped.

Our guide says to us, "do you not have all of your luggage?"

We kind of look at her like... No... We usually have these carts packed full. You saw us the other day.

Then she realized we were looking for our "big bags" as she put it.

And that's when we realized, they didn't make it.

She thought all of those bags were staying on Beijing for New Day, as well. So they were still at the hotel back in Beijing.

Through much confusion and chaos, we finally talked to someone who said they'd drive the bags down for us and they'd be here the next day.

The only problem is, they're taking ALL of our bags (including the ones that should have remained in Beijing). All 26 bags (we gained a member when we landed in Beijing). So we're going to have to ride the bullet train tomorrow with all of them. Somehow. Pray that we figure it out. Its going to be interesting.

Oh, and some members of our team packed alllll of their clothes and such in those bags. Luckily I had all my clothes in my carry ons. I just don't have all my bathroom stuff. But its stuff I can live without.

Of course, this is the only hotel we have stayed at that you have to pray for the shampoo and soap. But I mean, you do what you gotta do, right?

"I've gotta trust you know exactly what you're doing. Might not be what I would choose, but this is the stuff you use to break me of impatience, conquer my frustrations, I've got a new appreciation--its not the end of the world."

Isn't that the truth? I find myself freaking out over little things all the time... Where this may be bigger than most, it'll all be OKAY. And they're all just tools He uses to help us realize the imprtant things in life--and right now that means getting to those kids. He is all in control. Always.

We all shifted loaned clothes and soaps so we could at least be smelling a little bit fresh. I can't say we'll be looking too hot tomorrow. So, all those pictures from the Butterfly House, don't be expecting us to look nice. Haha.

I'm just excited for tomorrow. We get to finally see some babies, and then go to Chenzhou to STAY for a few days. I'm kind of tired of moving around so much. Haha.

Anyways, time to get to bed. Write more tomorrow.

Megan

Ni Hao, China! We Made It!

We made it to Beijing, praise the Lord!

We were fortunate enough not to have any problems with luggage or flights. Everything was on time. Our flight from Vancouver to Beijing wasn’t that bad, actually. We were seated towards the front all together. We were lucky enough to get on a plane that had individual tvs in front of us, already loaded with movies and tv shows. I’ve never appreciated cartoons, The Mentalist, Modern Family, and Hawaii 5-O quite as much as I did then. HA. Quite the life saver. I only slept for about 2 hours of our 11 hour flight, but it seemed to go by pretty fast. But for that, I’m really tired (I got the middle seat, and it’s just hard to sleep there).

We made it to baggage claim and nudged our way through (there's a lot of nudging in China:)) and someone retrieved 25 bags… even though we’re certain we only had 24? Oops. We checked all of them numerous times and we think they’re all ours. But, we’re going through them tonight to check…. We’ll see then.

We were quite the sight—12 luggage carts on the way out full of our 48 bags in total. Quite the line up if you ask me.

We met our guide, Kita, and she seems really nice. Despite confusion between her and our bus driver, we made it to our bus and hotel after going back and forth up and down elevators in the airport with 12 of those carts. Yeh, it was crazy.

We made it though, that’s all that matters. We’re all super tired, and I need to go take a shower and repack everything for tomorrow.

Our flight leaves for Changsha tomorrow at 10… so, 9 pm Monday your time. Pray that everything goes well!

Tomorrow is just another travel day… nothing too exciting. Then finally the next day we get to go to the Butterfly House and see some children! YES!
I’m not sure if I’ll be posting tomorrow. It just depends on if there’s anything blog worthy and if I’m up to it or not.
Sorry it’s so short and sweet—like I said, I have only had 2 hours of sleep over the past 24 hours. I’m only half functioning right now;)

Thanks for your prayers, I really appreciate it!

And Here I Sit...

...at the airport in SFO.

I made it through my connections yesterday (Praise the Lord! Momma can have peace of mind now), and arrive safely in San Francisco at 11:30 pm.

We had to leave the hotel at 4:30 am this morning.

Yes, Elyssa and I only received 4 hours of sleep last night. AHH.

I woke up and as I was getting ready all I could think was, "Here's my last night sleeping in a comfortable bed (and let me tell you, the hotel beds were the softest beds I've ever slept in), here's my last time showering normally without worrying about getting water in my mouth. Here's my last time being able to text my best friend. Oh, and here's my last time brushing my teeth like a normal person--from the TAP. That is, for two weeks."

But you know, it's worth it. I keep thinking of those precious faces I'll meet there... and I'm excited.

I met our team, and we have a great group of people. They all have their own funny personalities, and I'm really excited. I think we're all going to mesh well together :)

We've made it through checking all of our bags. Get this--our team of 12 (minus one) had 24 bags of donations to check. YES, TWENTY FOUR. Not to mention our 24 carry ons filled with our belongings.

We got to the airport and were dropped off at the wrong place, sooo we had to take ALL of our luggage downstairs and across the airport. This process included 3 luggage carts and lots of back pain. It was fun (insert sarcasm here).

I'm sitting here in our gate, waiting for our plane to arrive and to board. We're all tired, so hopefully we'll be able to sleep on our flights.

Today we fly out to Vancouver, and then we FINALLY fly to Beijing. Apparently we'll arrive at like 3 in the afternoon, Monday morning (China time).

Pray that all our flights are on time and safe.

And I just wanted to say one more thanks--ya'll are the best. Everyone who has supported me through fundraising, money, and prayer. They are appreciated more than you know, and I know I truly and blessed by you all. THANK YOU.

Until CHINA... :) AHHHHHH.

Ready... Set... GO!

Exactly 69 days ago I decided I needed to go back to Chenzhou, China.

SIXTY NINE DAYS AGO.

It seemed almost impossible at the time. I had 2 months, could I really raise my money in that short of a time? Could I really prepare myself? Could I really jump in so late in the game?

All these questions lingered in my head for so long. But you know what? We serve an amazing God. He was in control of everything from the very beginning.

Now here I am, 69 days later; my money is raised, my bags are packed. I am ready to go.

He has brought me through so much thus far. Tests of faith through fundraising--doubts of whether I should be doing this. Looking back now, I can't imagine what else I could be filling my time with--what BETTER things could I be filling my time with. Nothing. He's brought me through stress as school closes and preparing for this trip. Through managing time right. Through sleepless nights--both of worry and excitement in the past week. Through packing: squishing everything into suitcases, and then rearranging because they're too heavy. He is the only One that could have brought me through all of these situations.

Our God is INCREDIBLE. I can't even tell you right now what I'm feeling... it's just joy. Pure joy. :)

I keep thinking to myself, "Oh I have almost three days of travel. This is not going to be fun." But I catch myself and think, "No no no, it's okay. There are few things that are worth traveling around the world for... and this is DEFINITELY on the top of my list." :)

I'm so excited! Tomorrow at around 4(ish) I leave for SFO where I get to meet my team. We've had a conference call, and we talk a lot over facebook, and I'm so excited to officially meet--they all seem like they have their own unique personalities, and it'll be fun to spend 2 weeks with them. :)

AND THEN, the next day (June 5th) WE LEAVE FOR CHINAAA!

Hopefully I'll be able to do what I did last year; email my mom my posts and she'll be able to post for me, because blogger is blocked over there. I hope email still does, as well.

Please pray for me and my team. Now, while we are there, and after. Here are a few ways:

1) SATAN HAS BEEN ATTACKING: This past few weeks the members of our team have had numerous family problems, medical and relational. Pray for healing in both areas, and that he will not get a foothold on any of us.

2) TRAVEL: Safe travels as we have lots of flights, connections, and LOTS of luggage... I also have flight in the US by myself with lots of connections, so pray that I don't get lost. Pray our luggage does not get lost--we have around 15 suitcases full of donations for the orphanages we are visiting (yes, you read that right!).

3) UNITY: Pray that our team will become united and more like a family while we are there.

4) OPPORTUNITY: Pray we will be able to share the Love and Gospel of Christ if ever there was an opportunity. That's what we are going for.

5) HEALTH: Pray that none of us become ill on this trip--there's nothing worse than being sick away from home.

Thanks guys! I really appreciate your support in prayer. :)

Now there's only one thing left to do... Go to China! (okay okay, there's always plenty of things left to do before then).

Ready... Set.... GOOOO!

Story Time

Here are just a few stories I have to share from this past week.

Story One:

On Saturday, I received two letters in the mail.

One was from my best friend who lives in Charleston, who went on the trip with me last year. I was delighted to see a letter from her:) And she was generous enough to give me money for donations for the kids. Charlie, if you're reading this, THANK YOU SO MUCH. It really blessed me, and the kids. As you know, they'll love the Silly String ;)

The other was from Washington, I believe. It wouldn't have been such a big deal, except, I don't know anyone from WA.... and it was personally addressed to me. So as I rip the envelope open, I see handwriting I don't recognize, either.

Who is this?? I ask myself.

And then I look down at who signed it, and its the girl I told you about in a previous post--the one who is friends with my best friend, and came across my blog.

Her letter was so encouraging, and so sweet. She's such a sweet young woman of God. Melyssa, if you're reading this, I just want you to know... your letter touched my heart. Thank you so much.

Story Two:

I went to my youth group on Sunday--the LAST time before I left. It was a weird feeling. (I'm going to miss you all so much!) At the end, my pastor called me up, and they all laid hands and prayed over me, my team, and the trip.

Afterwards, a leader whom I have never seen or talked to before came up to me. He said that as we were praying, God told him that I needed to hear this, for me and my team: God is strong. He is stronger than anything that we will encounter. If there is anything satanic that we may meet, He is bigger than it. And since we are His children, we are His disciples, we inherit His strength, and we need to carry it with us. Whatever we face over there, He will meet us where we're at. He is always with us. He will reveal Himself in mysterious ways, and we will be doing incredible things.

I thought it was really cool. I've never been prophesied over (in a sense) before. I don't know how it will all apply to us, but He will show us how. :)

Revelation

In a previous post, I talked about a book I was reading called Silent Tears, a journal from a woman who volunteered in a Chinese orphanage for a few years. The stories from this book are from one extreme to another. She tells a story of a nanny holding a child outside a three-story window threatening to drop her, to telling how much the orphanage improves over time, and the love stories between her and the children. I found myself crying as I read the stories. How could someone do something so terrible? And yet, she makes such an impact in these kids lives.This woman steps in, helping with the orphanage's every day routine while giving the children something they have probably never felt before--Love and affection.

The crazy thing is, as I read this book, I found myself thinking, "I could see myself doing something like that." Seriously thinking too, not just like "oh that would be fun."

The weeks went on, and I got caught up in my fundraising to really think anymore about what the Lord had placed on my heart. I was talking to one of my friends I haven't talked to in awhile, and we were just asking the usual "catch-up" questions. At one point the question of college came up, and he said he was going to go to Belmont, and I've been thinking about looking into the China program that they offer. So, I told him that just to be like, "what a coincidence." haha.

Then he says, "Do you know what you wanna be?"
I replied, "No... but I know the Lord has called me to do something in China, something definitely with orphans."

And he goes, "So... a missionary?"

At the point I stopped. I kind of freaked out. YES. That's exactly what I would love to do. But then again, would I really? Leaving my family and friend behind to go live in a third-world country where I know nobody? It scared me for a little bit. But I suppose if it's what I'm called to do, He will work everything out the way it should. :)

The story gets even cooler though. Sunday night at church we had a great sermon about not worrying about what in the world you're here for, but who in the world you're here for. We split up into our lifegroups to talk about the message and answer questions.

One of the questions: Who in the world do you think you're here for?

People started answering, and as I sat there and thought, the only thing I could think of was those precious children in the orphanages of China who NEED help.

So, when it comes to me I answer. "The orphans in China..." I say.

My lifegroup know all about my trip and have walked with me as I've been preparing for it... and when I answered my leader asks, "That's what you want to do with your life, isn't it?"

I was caught completely off guard by this question. I thought, why does this keep showing up in my life?

"YES. The answer is yes." I say. "Oh my goodness. Yeah, I would love to... I feel like that's where the Lord is calling me to be."

Revelation.

That's the only word I could think of to explain my feeling after these experiences. As I'm a rising Junior in highschool, I find people--mostly my parents--asking me what I'd like to do with my life. And I never know what to reply, because I never knew what I would love to do for the rest of my life. But I think I've finally found it. I mean, I don't know exactly what I'll be doing... but I know that I will be helping orphans in anyway I possibly can. I know I will be sharing them the Love they have never experienced before. That I know for sure.

Praise the Lord, because that's a load off my chest for now. At least I have a place to start in my search for colleges. HE IS GOOD. :)

Anyways, I just needed to share this, because I thought it was kind of cool:)

Until next time... :)