Post-China thoughts

Since I've been home from China, it has been an emotional roller coaster. It's hard to explain, it's hard to get your point across to people that were not there with you. It doesn't really make sense to me, but this song puts my feelings into words. One of our leaders talked about the lyrics in this song during one of our team devotions. When I got home, I downloaded the song, and could not quit listening to it. Brooke Fraser, the girl who sings this song, went to Rwanda, and met an orphan there, named Albertine (the songs title) she wrote this song after the girl. It is based on the bible verse James 2:26, about faith without deeds being dead. The whole song describes perfectly the whole China experience for me. I love the chorus. As hard as the things I saw and experienced were to witness, I've seen them, and I can't push it under a rug and forget about it. Anyways, I'll quit rambling. Watch the video though, and listen to the lyrics. It is such a pretty song, but also so powerful.

This video is one I put together of some pictures of the kids. I think I'll be showing it in church when I speak about the trip. I still have some editing to do but I wanted to put it up in this post, so just keep in mind this is the rough draft. I heard this song a few weeks prior to leaving for China, and it really spoke to me. It became my prayer and desire for this trip. It is such a good song.

The last two babies shown at the end of this video, Hudson and Pearl, passed away in the few weeks after we returned. So sad & hard, but now they are complete and they don't have to hurt any more.

Day 15/16 (August 15th/16th) Traveling home

Our last day in China was very hard. It consisted of saying goodbye to the kids we'd fallen in love with and the country that had become our temporary home.

Here's a group picture with the sheet we signed and decorated, it will be hung up somewhere at New Hope Foundation.

This picture is our group with the wonderful leaders of the orphanage. They are in the front, with their adopted daughter in front of them. They were such nice people with such a cool ministry.

We headed off to the airport to begin the long process of boarding. International flights take much longer than domestic ones. Stephanie and I found this sign a little silly, so she documented the silliness by taking a picture of me.

The flight was long and silent. I watched a lot of movies and listened to music, thinking about everything that had happened. We were all so so exhausted. The minute the plane landed, sadness really set in. Everyone except 8 of us had flights to catch immediately. I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone, as everything was very chaotic. Thankfully I still had Stephanie. Our flights didn't leave till the next morning, so we, along with Kayla, got a room at a hotel. Also, Katie and Rianne, Elizabeth and her mom, and our team leaders, Aimee and Wendy, were staying at the hotel.

Stephanie, Kayla, and I went out to eat with Katie and Rianne's family. It was sooooo good to eat American food again!

Stephanie and I didn't have flights till the next afternoon, so we had some downtime at the hotel. We stayed up ALL night (crazy jet lag!) talking and getting ready to leave.

The hotel had such a delicious breakfast. It wasn't continental; it did cost, but oh it was good!

It was very hard to say goodbye to Stephanie, as her and I had gotten so very close. She was the first team member I met, and the last team member to say goodbye to. I'm thankful we had some extra time together, and I can't wait to see her again!

Day 14 (August 14th) Forbidden City, Tianamen Square, Pearl Market, & more

This day was jam packed full with sightseeing and more. It was a very memorable day.

They drove us past certain building where the 2008 Olympics were held. Here is the 'Birds Nest'

And the 'Water Cube' It was hard to get a good view since we were driving, but it was still cool to see.

We felt like we were in the movie Aladdin while walking through this place.

They had LIVE scorpions and seahorses on sticks. You could eat them live or choose to have them cooked.

We walked through this beautiful garden to get to the Forbidden City.

I got so excited every time we saw a soldier. I think they look so neat.

The Forbidden City was getting some work done, but it was still cool to see.

We kept looking around for 'Mulan' but never spotted her :( We did see this monk though.

We walked through an underground tunnel, instead of across the huge intersection, to get to Tiananmen Square. We even had to go through a security check in the tunnel. I guess I don't blame them considering what Tiananmen Square is most famous for.

After Tiananmen Square we went to the Pearl Market. I got a lot of shopping done there. It was so fun! After that we went and ate Peking Duck at a really nice restaurant. Our last big event was the acrobat show we were going to attend. Stephanie and I took pictures while waiting for the show to start. We didn't know what to expect but were excited to find out!

And so ended our VERY busy day! It completed the whole Chinese experience. I can't believe I had the opportunity to see so much different aspects of China.

Day 13 (August 13th) Shopping at the Silk Market

At this point, our missions work was now over. The last 3 days were going to consist of shopping, sightseeing, and preparing to come home. We still had daily team devotions and we were still able to play with the kids in our free time, but we no longer had specific tasks to do. I was too caught up in shopping at the Silk Market, that I forgot to take pictures. I only have these two. The first one is Rianne and myself at Starbucks. We went there 2 or 3 different times throughout our whole trip, it was an awesome treat and a little taste of home :)

Katie H (there was also a Katie L) Rianne (they are sisters) and myself found these silly glasses in the Silk Market, and had to take a picture.

I didn't do much shopping this day, I was too overwhelmed by everything there was to look at. Also, shopping was very difficult as there were Chinese salespeople yelling at you constantly. If you stopped to check out that purse or shirt, beware, they would be on you in a second. "HEY LADY! YOU LIKE?" was a resounding phrase that day. It was so interesting to see more Chinese culture and the way they live. It is so very different than here in America.

Day 12 (August 12th) Bethel Home for the Blind

After our crazy night of getting home super late, we headed out early the next morning for Bethel. It was a long drive and became even longer. Our bus broke down on the highway. We were stranded with no air conditioning, and it was a HOT day. Hannah and I were sitting by each other and thought the whole thing was hilarious. It felt like we were in a movie, and even though it was hot and gross, it was still all apart of the experience! We eventually made it to Bethel, and we were all blown away by what we saw.

This orphanage is specifically for blind orphans, ages 3(I think?) to 22. They train them in all sorts of tasks, helping them become independent in spite of their blindness.

They have 7 houses located on their land. They group the orphans together in 'families' and they live in these homes together. They have someone there to watch over them at all times, but they like to give them a sense of independence, so they only interfere if needed.

It is run on a self sustaining farm. They have all sorts of animals and fields. The children even have their own personal gardens to care for.

Yes, this is a rock climbing wall. It was so inspiring to see people with no sight capable of such things.

This man, along with his wife, is the founder of Bethel. They run it together with the help of their staff. They are French but moved to China sometime in the last decade.

We all sat down to listen to the kids sing for us.

They have their own choir and they perform at different events around Beijing.

It was SUCH a neat and inspiring place.