Beijing

     "Do not be afraid, for I am with you. 

I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west."

Isaiah 43:5

     It is day five of our trip - I am so behind on this blog.  The internet in Beijing was just so sketchy.  Nathan and I researched ways to get a better connection before leaving.  We downloaded a vpn, "Panda Pow, " which we could not have done without.  Love the name:)  But no matter how prepared you are, sometimes there is just nothing you can do about it.  It is actually "gotcha day" morning here...July 29, 2013.  I am afraid that if I do not record my thoughts and pictures from the first part of our trip very soon, there is so much I will forget once we get Hudson.  As it is, there is just so much to see and experience I do not even begin to know where to start.

     Beijing was just awesome.  All of your senses are just in overload there.  The day after we experienced The Forbidden City, the Hutong, and Tiananmen  Square we got to experience the real streets of Beijing, in the Wangfujing area.  Our guide, George, had told us that this was Beijing's "Time's Square."  Up until this point, Nathan and I had only ventured outside of our hotel's doors once by ourselves.  I had no idea just how much we were going to be in the minority here.  Two ladies from our group had gone out all on their the day before.  I think they were in shock - their day sounded like something out of a crazy movie.  Apparently they were drawn into a "tea scam", harassed at a local bank, got lost and could not find any one who spoke English.  I can't even remember the rest.  So after hearing this, our intimidation of leaving the safety of the hotel was even bigger!

     Thankfully, it was wonderful timing that a friend from Gadsden was in the same area of Beijing as us...only blocks away.  She has been living in Luoyang, Henan Province, for the last two years as the preschool teacher at Maria's Big House of Hope.  She was so kind to meet us at our hotel and take us into some really neat areas of the Wangfujing area.  We got to see street vendors selling crazy foods, experience some really different and interesting smells :) and go to a local mall.   

A beautiful church

The street vendors

Starfish, scorpion, and lizard kabobs.  Yum!

fruits

another fruit...about the size of a watermelon

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Next stop, Zhengzhou.  This is the capital city of Hudson's home province, Henan.  Please pray that our group's children will have peace in their hearts as they meet their new families.  And pray the parents will as well:)