Day Two - Beijing to Luoyang

Tuesday morning I helped with preschool again. It was fun and the children like having me in class. Late morning we went to the Beijing Airport to fly to Luoyang. What should have been a one hour wait turned into fours when our flight was delayed. I ate delicious beef and noodles at an airport restaurant.

I met new friends during the long wait. A little girl one and a half years old played chase with me in the long, vacant waiting area. Then a nine-year-old Chinese girl wrote notes to me in very basic English. We had a fun time visiting and showing each other money from our country. Finally we were taken to a downstairs gate where we boarded a bus. There were over 100 people on a bus that was supposed to have about 60 passengers. I was squished and mom couldn't even see me but she knew I was safe. When we got off the bus, everyone rushed to the stairs for the plane.

We arrived in Luoyang with our backpacks, two overnight bags and four big suitcases of medical supplies and some gifts for staff and volunteers. It was great to meet the Martins (doctor and family), Mariah(nurse), Rebecca (preschool teacher) and other nurses here. The Martin family children and I had a fun time playing! We are doing well with jet-lag but ready to go to sleep by 9:00 every night!

Day One - New Hope

Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the poor and the oppressed. Psalm 82:3 When we got up, we went downstairs and walked the hallway looking in the rooms to see a lot of babies. I got to play with some babies before preschool class. I helped Miss Chelsea with four preschool classes today. The children used sponges and painted papers with specific colors. They are learning to identify their colors. I got to read a DR SEUSS book to the children. It had a lot of weird words! For several months I have sponsored a baby here at New Hope. Today I got to meet him! He is so cute and he reaches out for me to hold him. At lunchtime we walked about 1/3 mile to the village market to buy some fresh fruit and vetables. miss Chelsea prepared a delicious fruit smoothie and vegetable pasta for lunch. I miss my friends and family but am having an awesome time.

We are in China!

It was snowing in Toronto. The airplane had to be de-iced and antifreeze put on it. It was neat to watch that out our airplane window before we took off. The flight was long. Very long! It took 14 hours from Toronto to Beijing. It was nice to have a personal TV screen on the seatback in front of me. I watched a lot of kid shows and ate Valentine candy that my dad gave me. Mom slept several hours of the flight and I slept for 15 minutes! We had dinner with our friends, Dr. Joyce and Rob Hill, their daughter, Katie, and our friend, Mike. We are staying in an apartment at the medical orphanage. We slept well and woke up at 6:30 today - Monday morning.

Donations from Friends and Family

Thanks for your kind hearts to donate preschool supplies and medicine for the babies and the little children at New Hope. A few people gave funds to be used. We will be buying more medicine when we get home as we were running out of space to take supplies. Mom sends suitcases of supplies every week or two with travelers to China so we will continue to send your gifts. You are a blessing to these babies.

On the Way via Toronto

Mom and I are in Toronto Airport and will board our flight to China soon! There is snow on the ground in Toronto and it was snowing in our faces as we got off the commuter flight on the tarmack. We will arrive in Beijing about 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. That will be 3 a.m. Sunday for our home time! We have the following bags with us: 2 backpacks, 2 carry-ons, 4 large checked bags and a large box. Because of baggage fees we should have had to pay $365 for what we checked. But the lady at Nashville said that since we waited so long in line, we did not have to pay anything for our baggage! And that was a God-send! It was neat know we are carrying so many things for children who need these medical and preschool supplies. We also have gifts for the staff and volunteers at Hope. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts. I will post more when we arrive in China.

Going to China Soon!

This is a blog about mom and me traveling to China.