Our final 2 days in China

Thursday morning, we were meeting in the hotel lobby in Beijing to head to the Great Wall of China. This was kind of funny - there were no clocks in the rooms but Marsha had brought a little alarm clock. Well we're up and getting ready and taking our time and there's a knock at the door - our clock says it's 8:15. But Bella is standing there and inquiring if we're ok since no one has seen us yet that morning. We're confused, they're confused. And I said "what do you mean? It's 8:15. I thought we were meeting at 9". To which she replies "It's 9:05 right now". I ask if she's joking and wala - she's not. Apparently the clock got changed somewhere in transition from Chifeng to Beijing and it was much later than we thought. Not a good feeling considering I was still in my pj's - hadn't even started to get ready. But, I can be fast cause I'm kind of used to pushing snooze till the last possible minute at home. So I threw on my cloths, put my hair in a pony tail and headed down to eat. Frank said we could have time to eat which I was very happy about - cause after a week in Chifeng with a rather interesting breakfast buffet - I was super excited about a more Americanized buffet at this hotel. Marsha and I were ready in about 10 minutes, ate in about 5 and we hit the road by 9:30. And we had ourselves a good laugh about the whole thing. I guess if it was going to happen - we picked the best day cause we had all day for sightseeing so we weren't in any huge hurry.

Traffic was still pretty bad even at that time in the morning. I think it took us a little over an hour to get there - we went to a less touristy part of the Great Wall. I honestly had little idea of what it'd be like - it was beautiful!!! I loved it. Much moreso than the Temple of Heaven or Forbidden City (we went there on Thursday). The mountains were gorgeous. We decided to climb the section to the left of the parking lot which Lily later told us was far more steep and difficult than the section to the right. We hiked up some seriously tall steps - many of which were up to our knees. It was a workout. But quite envigorating. Me, Kara, Sammye and Bella decided if we came all this way - we were going to the top. So we trekked on quite a bit past the rest of the team. Lily ended up heading up too - I think she was worried about us. At one point I said "do you think we're crazy?" and without hesitation she says "yes, I think you're crazy." We all laughed. Lily is the best - she has such a sweet spirit - so energetic, so positive and you can tell she loves her job. She was taking pictures with just as much excitement as the rest of us on this trip. She was great with the kids. And she took excellent care of us - the hotels were great, the food she ordered for us was awesome and she would even try it first to make sure. The common phrase we'd hear after she'd try a bite was "very nice, not too spicey". So that became our response everytime someone said "very nice" - we'd all say "not to spicey". So if you see us commenting that on each others blogs or facebook - now you'll know the inside story on that:)

Took lots of pictures at the Great Wall and when we made it to the top - the 4 of us were by ourselves up there and we decided the fitting thing to do was to sing a worship song. How can you not when you're in the midst of the beauty of the mountains God has created! The view was amazing. We sang two verses of Amazing Grace and a little bit of Mighty To Save - with very limited singing voices because we were so winded from the climb. Very cool experience.

After we left there, we had lunch nearby - it was very nice, not too spicey:) We then headed back to our hotel in Beijing where Jenny, our correspondent from America World and Mr. Shi from China Swan - our in-country travel agency met with me to discuss future trips. That was really awesome to be able to put a face to their names and to be able to chat with them in person. I was sure to let them know how wonderful we think Lily is and how great our trip has been. I also shared with them how impressed we were with the orphanage in Chifeng. They are so loving with the kids and take such great care of them - it was wonderful to see. It was hard to leave but it really helped knowing that the kids would be well taken care of. It was really nice orphanage. We were all really impressed. And they were so welcoming to us and so appreciative of us coming and of the gifts we were able to get them. The directors just truly genuinely care for the kids. It's like a family there and that made us all happy to see. I cannot say enough good things about it. I hope I get to go back again to see the kids and all those that work there. It was an amazing trip.

After my meeting with Jenny and Mr. Shi - the rest of the team met up downstairs and we went out for Peking Duck dinner. I was thinking that was the meal - Peking Duck and some rice but no... it was almost as much food as every other night and THEN they brought out the Peking Duck. We were so stuffed. And it was yummy. Great meal!

We were pretty tired after that. We walked back to the hotel, stopped at a grocery store on the way to get some candy and chocolate and then crashed pretty much the moment we got to our hotel.

Thursday was our last day - our flight didn't leave until 9pm so we had the morning and part of the afternoon to sight see. So we went to the Forbidden City - it was neat to see but definitely wasn't as much of a highlight as the Great Wall was. We then went to lunch and after that, decided to go shopping at another one of those markets where you can bargain. We had about an hour there. I got a Chinese silk robe for only 100 yen - talked her down from 800 - she didn't want to go that low but that was all I had left - she eventually took it and I was so excited. Next time we have mission Sunday at church - I can wear it over top of jeans and a tshirt. Fun! Everyone else got their last minute items and gifts for those back home and after we were done - we headed to the airport. Lily got us Pizza Hut to eat in the van on the way there - not bad but not as much like home as we hoped. One had shrimp, crab, squid and stuff on it. Toppings were a bit unusual but we ate it and were satisfied. We checked in 3 hours early like you're supposed to with international flights and Lily stayed with us until security check. Then we had to say goodbye to her. We were all sad to say goodbye and she looked sad too - I think she started to cry. We love Lily - we will definitely be keeping in touch. Now I know why all of our past teams that have had her request her the next time. She's so great.

Our flight to LAX left about 9pm China time - it is a 12 hour flight. We arrived in LA at 6pm their time. Most of us started getting a sore throat that day so that made for a bit uncomfortable time but nothing too bad. Most of us were able to sleep almost the whole way. I think I slept on and off for about 11 of the 12 hours. Once we got to LA, we had a 5 hour layover. We had to go through customs and security, get our bags and then go to a different terminal to recheck them in for our flights home. We were able to get our baggage free since we were connecting internationally - so that was a blessing. 4 of us were flying to Atlanta and 3 to Detroit and then on to our individual cities. We ate California Pizza Cafe in LA - so yummy. And so excited to be able to pray for our food in public! We said goodbye to the 3 Indy girls when we boarded our flight to Atlanta and myself, Frank, Bella and Sammye got on. They all got to sit together - I was separate but sat next to a really nice guy who had a heart for adoption too. I told him about the VO website:) It was almost midnight in LA when we left - we got to Atlanta at 6:30 am Eastern Time. I left for Nashville at 7:30 am ET and got to Nashville at 7:30 am Central Time. So many different time zones. I was so wiped out, as I'm sure was the rest of the team, by the time we got home. I think it was like 24 or 26 hours travel time total with layovers and stuff. But totally worth it!

It was a great trip - the whole team was so fun to travel with and so great with the kids. I just loved our time together there. And I loved the kids so much. I hope I get to go again next year.

If you're interested in going - we still have several more China teams this summer and fall with space available. Check out www.visitingorphans.org.

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