Our trip started with six of the team members (Kathy, JZ, Solomon, Nathalie, Mary & Stanley) enduring 14 hours of a plane ride filled with extremely loud children (apparently, there was a large school-aged tour group returning to China). I must admit that I almost lost it when a little boy, probably a 5th grader sitting behind, smacks me in the face. This is after him constantly kicking JZ’s seat and bopping Kathy’s head each time he left his seat. Since I was asleep when he hit me; my defense mechanism automatically kicked in, which resulted in me grabbing his hand. I told him to be careful and reprimanded him in Mandarin, which the little boy understood because he kept apologizing. Note that I do not speak Mandarin fluently and this was a miracle in itself. The little boy was finally quiet for the rest of the flight. Praise God!
After we landed, I was relieved to see all 500 lbs. of supplies arrive with us. I was equally amazed that the 99 cents plastic luggage bags held up. It was incredible! Each bag weighs nothing yet they’re sturdy enough to hold up to 50 lbs. of goods. Kudos to the inventors!
Our driver met us at the airport and quickly directed us to the bus. Before we knew it, we were entering the City of Langfang. As we pulled up to the SFCV gate, there was definitely joy and excitement in the air. We were so excited that we did not realize the entire area was in darkness. We later learned from Clay & Jewel (our hosts) that they’d just lost electricity and that it almost never happens. The staff turned on the generator at the inn and then Clay and Jewel gave us some delicious homemade banana bread. We were so thankful since we were REALLY, really hungry but could not go to any restaurant because of the blackout. This reminded me of the verse “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” Matthew 25:35 (Thanks Clay and Jewel!)
~Mary
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