When I awoke on day three - I was really, really excited! We planned to travel to Living Hope International (Angel Training Center/orphanage), visit the International School that my friend Ev teaches at as well as end our day with stopping at Roundabout, a place that Emily will serve at the end of our trip and then head to the airport for our plane ride to Xi'an!
Another most beautiful day -- full sun, low humidity and clear skies! We all did the happy dance when a nine passenger mini-van pulled up to chaeuffer us to the Angel Training School. **Note - last summer, 8 of the children at this orphanage blessed our family by staying with us for several days while they toured north eastern Pennsylvania**
The 1.5 hour drive through the country side (our driver took us out around downtown Beijing) was beautiful, filled with such deep and meaningful conversation with our friends, Ev MuCulloch and Dave & Kathi Peters (producer; co-producer of Find Me). The bond between brothers and sisters in Christ is one of the most beautiful things to be a part of for sure!
When we arrived, we were greeted with big smiles from the Orphanage caretakers! Felt right from the moment we pulled in! Some of the older children were at school (all 8 of the ones we knew from last summer). While waiting for them to arrive back on the bus from their 1/2 day of lessons, we toured the beautiful facility and played with the children. Oh how fun it was to greet the bus and see some familiar faces look out the window and grin when they realized they knew some of these caucasian people standing there waving like fanatics!
As they got off the bus, I was sure to squeeze each one I knew and whisper "I love you" in Chinese. We enjoyed a most delicious lunch with everyone before needing to leave to go to the International School. Felt so blessed to be there!
I kept thinking I LOVE the beauty of this country and I like "sightseeing" but what I love even more is being with her PEOPLE!!!
About 1.5 hours after leaving, we arrived at a most beautiful and prestigious school compound!! Ev, was so kind to give us a real quick tour (time was ticking when we needed to be at the airport) of where she spends 5 days each week teaching children from around the globe. I loved getting a peek at where she works. She's got to be one of the most amazing and fun teachers out there!!
Our third and final destination was within walking distance of the school. Roundabout is an incredible organization that "cares for the least of these!" We were very blessed to be able to meet the lovely owner and hear from her mouth some of the amazing things that have been done with the aid of this group! I think Emily will love serving/volunteering here!
Since we had re-packed our bags before starting our day, we just needed to swing by Ev's house and gather them before heading to the airport (10 min. away) to catch our flight to Lucy's city.....Xi'an!!!
Another blessed day indeed!
No comments:
Post a Comment