More planes...and a long layover....

Today was another day of traveling.  I'm glad we had a full day and 2 nights in Beijing to acclimate to the new time zone.  We were all up around 3:30 this morning so our bodies are still adjusting.

We had an early morning flight which meant a very early departure (thankful God thought to wake us up all really early!)  

We are currently on a layover in the airport we first arrived in China when we adopted Elise.  Wow....it brought back many memories!  It's been 11 years and it has really changed  and been updated.  Arriving  here so long ago was an overwhelming experience.  We traveled during SARS and were greeted in this new strange (to us back then) country by guards dressed in protective medical gear and everyone wearing masks.  We also  met up with strangers who would share the journey of a lifetime with us.

We have one more flight before arriving in our destination city.  I think we are all ready to settle in and get to work.  We've had several interactions with kiddos in the airports and sightseeing locations.  Reactions range from being slightly scared of us to being curious to being amused by us.  We are all anxious to start the work that brought us here.

The group continues to laugh.  A lot!  We are discovering lots of nuances about everyone in our group, including our guide.  It truly is a great group of individuals and I'm thankful for how this team was created.

Hopefully my next post will include  pictures of babies and an update on our work in the orphanage.

Beijing

Today was our first full day in China.  The 3 ladies are sharing one hotel room and we all found ourselves wide awake shortly after 5am.  We had all slept fairly well and decided to just get up and putz around our room until time to go.  

We had breakfast in our hotel and it was wonderful.  All kinds of comfort food from home (yummy waffles!) and traditional Chinese food (dumplings and steamed buns).  We loaded up on delicious food!!!  I also had an opportunity to talk with a couple from Texas who is adopting a 20 month boy through America World Adoption.  It was so fun talking with a family at this exciting stage in their journey!

After breakfast we headed to the Forbidden City.  It is a temple built for the emperor back in the 1400's. The history is amazing.  I wish I could step back in time to see how it would look back in the 1400's and 1500's. 

This is our team in front of the Forbidden City.  Jason, me, Lara and Miranda!

And this is our amazing guide Della explaining the details of the temple to Jason and Lara.

The details on these temples are just amazing.  I'm sure there is a great signifance to these animals that were on each corner of the roof.  I don't know what that significance is but I love the way they look.

Jason started his filming responsibilities and it was fascinating to watch him work.  Miranda has an interest in photography and she picked up several tips from him.  

Jason did talk our driver into allowing him to put his GoPro camera on top of the van.  I'm not sure the driver had ever been asked to do that before and we got some funny looks from people who noticed the camera on top of the car.

After the Forbidden City, we headed to the Great Wall and stopped for lunch on the way.  We went to the Juyong Pass of the Great Wall, which is about an hour outside of Beijing.  

The Great Wall is an amazing sight, no matter how many times you've seen it before.  It is such an iconic and well known image.  To see the enormity of it is just awesome.  Jason and Miranda raced to top while Lara and I stayed on more flat ground and people watched.

Dinner tonight was the traditional Peking Duck dinner.  The food was amazing!  Jason has kept us all laughing and our guide, Della, wondering just how to take him.  Jason invented a new game that almost got us kicked out of the restaurant.  The idea is to spin the lazy susan in the middle of the table while grabbing (with chopsticks) food off of as many dishes as possible. 

We decided stuffing food in our mouth wasn't the best idea so the game was modified to moving food to our plate.  Della took a turn and was remarkably well!  She assured us it was a new game she'd play with her friends.  

And then the waitress came over and told us we needed to quiet down.  Oops!

We've done a lot of laughing, which has really helped the team dynamics.  We truly have a great team and I can't wait to see how God is going to use this odd group of individuals in the coming week.

Tomorrow is another day of travel for us.  We leave Beijing and fly to our province.  It will involve 2 flights and a long layover.  We are all anxious to get to our destination city.  No one, not even our guide, has been to this area so the next few days will be new for all of us

Travel update

Yesterday was my freak out day.  It happened several times while getting ready for the trip.  I had driven to Chicago and stayed with my brother and his family.  Elise was going to be staying with them while I was gone.  I had re-packed my suitcase several times just in the time I was there and was becoming a bit overwhelmed with the logistics.

Spreading out the goodbyes was probably a good thing for me.  I said goodbye to Perry and Carson on Wed and then Elise on Thursday.  What seemed like a great idea in March when I signed up for this trip wasn't seeming like such a great idea when I said those goodbyes.

Perry called when I was waiting in the international security line and I literally fought back tears.  That is so unlike me.  Perry's calm nature usually counteracts my overwhelming anxiety and knowing that I was going to have to put my big girl pants on and do it alone was terrifying.  (I traveled with a group from work last year but our group was so knowledgeable about international travel that I never felt anxious.)

It was reassuring that Lara, our team leader, was having much the same emotions.  She's a mom to 6 and left 5 of them behind for this trip (her daughter Miranda is one of our team members).  I thought I'd juggled a lot to get my husband and 2 kids ready for the trip.  I can't imagine adding 4 more people to that mix!  

Once we met in person, all worries just melted.  It was good to have that moment of anxiety because it solidified what the trip means.  It's not just a vacation, we're going to work with kiddos who have no moms and dads.  

I didn't think the flight was terrible.  I did none of the work or reading I brought with me, I just watched movies.  I think there is a Reese Witherspoon movie playing every time I fly to China (this time it was the June Carter movie).  I was hoping to sleep a lot on the plane but had a hard time getting comfortable and falling asleep.  Interestingly, I was the only non-Asian in my section of the plane.  No English was spoke around me (there were several large family groups in my section) and I found that comforting.  Smiles go a long way in the universal language of kindness.  One time as I walked back to my seat, the little older Asian woman sitting behind me was standing on her seat struggling to get something into the overhead storage.  Most people were asleep.  I steadied her and shut the compartment back up when she done.  She gave a huge smile and that was the highlight of the flight.

We arrived in Beijing EXHAUSTED!  The flight arrived at 6:30ish pm.  We met up with our guide and checked into our hotel.  We headed out for dinner at 8pm.  Traffic is horrible here.  It took forever to get to the restaurant but it was well worth it,  DELICIOUS Chinese food!  We all fell asleep in the van on the way back to the hotel, however.  We were TIRED!  Once back in the hotel, we enjoyed a brief time of connecting to the internet and our families back home.

Overall, it was a really good travel day.  Miranda had some problems with ear pressure but that seems to be better today.  We're still foggy but looking forward to getting out sightseeing a bit today.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  I Peter 5:7

We are in China!!!!

We are in China!!!!  It has been a long day of travelling and we are exhausted.  Had a delicious Chinese meal with our guide Della tonight.  Hoping to crash tonight so we can enjoy a day of sightseeing in Beijing tomorrow.

44 pounds!

Yikes....we are limited to 44 pounds for our in country flights in China so that's our goal in packing.  I'm generally an "everything but the kitchen sink" type of packer so scaling down is a challenge.  Having been to China, I've learned to wear my heaviest clothes (jeans) and carry my next heaviest outfit as my backup outfit in my carry on.  Wear my heaviest shoes (running shoes) on the plane.  I know not to bring workout gear because walking will serve as my workout (and I'm already wearing those shoes on the plane).  Don't bring full size bottles of shampoo, conditioner and soap....only enough to get me through.  Clothes that I can ditch along the way to make room for treasures I might pick up along the way and need to fit within those magical 44 pounds.

And on this trip, I need to include gifts for the orphanage staff and items for the kiddos.  Can you believe there are gifts for 50 individuals, a parachute, stickers, coloring books, play scarves and more?!?  Those will likely all be left behind, leaving lots of room for treasures to come back with me.

I'm at 40 pounds with everything in there right now.  4 precious more pounds to pack and still so many things in my mind that have to fit!

One week to go!

Flights are booked and seats are selected.

Passport/visas have been issued.

Funds have all been raised!

The team is getting to know each other and preparing for our work.

Our team travelling to China is tiny (4 team members and one leaves us half way through to travel to another orphanage).

Our team supporting us is HUGE!  If you are reading this, you are a part of our team!  Your positive comments, prayers, financial support, cheesecake caloric support have all made a huge impact on our tiny team.  This trip would not be possible without your support.

But when I take a break from getting packing, making lists, finishing up homework (yes, I'm taking a grad class that ends while I'm in China....timing is not highly recommended), I'm starting to get OVERWHELMED.  

One thing you might not know about me is that I tend to be a control freak.  I mentioned that to Perry the other night and he just started laughing.  Yeah, to those who know me well, I’m a MAJOR control freak.  I like to know the big picture and the little details.  I like to know how the little details figure into the big picture.  I like to know how the big picture impacts the details.  You get the picture.  C.O.N.T.R.O.L.  F.R.E.A.K.

I’m struggling with this trip and I finally figured out why.  I’m not in control.  I don’t understand how this one trip fits into the bigger picture.  Sure, I can love on these kids for a week, but does that week make a difference in the big picture?  Because our team is tiny, no one really knows how we’ll be put to work in the orphanage.  We have general knowledge of kiddos but no one area of expertise.  But three of us are parents and know how to pour out that kind of love that these parent-less kids don’t have.

Another thing that has been eating at me lately is thought of love.  That’s the point of this trip, right?  Love on kids.  Especially love on kids who don’t have a parent.  (Elise hates the O-word…orphan….so I try not to use it.)

Right now I’m feeling that love of a parent so powerfully as I prepare to leave my kids for 10 days. 

I love my kids so much.  I can’t imagine loving anything as much.  Sure, I love my husband but it’s a different kind of love.  I carried Carson inside me and I traveled across the world to bring Elise home.  As a Christian, I love Jesus but even that feels different, harder to quantify.  I know I would literally lay down my life for that of my kids.  Sometimes, by their reaction, you would think I love them too much.  Sometimes, my love comes out in an anxiety and worry that they find downright annoying. 

Can you imagine being loved so much by the person responsible for your well-being that you find it annoying?!? 

OK, a flashback to my teen years reminds me of that feeling….I’m so sorry, Mom and Dad!

Part of the stress I’m feeling this week is a need to prepare my family for me being gone.  I’m making dinners, stocking the fridge/pantry, making up chore charts, etc.  It’s all in an attempt to control (see!) and ensure they eat healthy, stay active and act responsibly.  Ultimately, all I can do is hope they are kind to one another and don’t eat out on junk food too often.  I can guide but I have to give up that control.

I think what overwhelms me is that I can’t imagine a life with no parent controlling those little details.  My heart already breaks for the kiddos that we will be with next week.  How can I show them an unconditional love?  How can I show them the love of Jesus, who made each of them perfectly beautiful although society sends them a different message? 

But when I get overwhelmed with those questions, I go back to the stress of getting ready.  It’s a good diversion from those larger questions. 

Updates

I haven't posted in a while...busy, busy, busy times!  Lots of thoughts churning in my head that I need to process:

• We have our airline tickets!  HOLY COW...that makes this trip seem much more real!  I have to admit that I usually get about 7 hours into the 14 hour flight and realize I’M DONE!  Unfortunately, there’s not a lot you can do at that point.  If you have any good book recommendations, send them my way.  I’ll have some time to kill on that flight.  I’m not the type of person who is used to sitting that long. 

• I met my first fundraising goal!!!!  The fundraising has been my biggest concern, truthfully.  My friend Becki kept saying that the fundraising is all part of the story and she has been right.  God has been really good in this arena. 

• My next/final fundraising goal is staring me in my face.  The costs are slightly higher because our group is so tiny (4 team members!)  I’m trying to remain calm and remember how blessed this process has been so far. 

• I’m trying to emotionally prepare for this trip.  I followed along the blog of a team as they were in China (http://acttripmay2014.wordpress.com/).  Reading their story has left me in tears at times.  I wonder if I have the emotional strength for this trip.  How hard will it be to leave these kids?  I’m pretty sure our family is complete (although I did check to see if we were too old to adopt….we’re not!).  So, why go?  I hope I touch someone along this path who might consider adoption in some form.  

• We’re starting to talk/plan for a team to go next summer.  I’m feeling excited, overwhelmed, and nervous about that trip.  It’s an amazing group of individuals and I pray God’s plan for a 2015 trip is made known to them.   This is not a trip for everyone and I hope no one is discouraged simply because of fundraising.