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Travel Day; Depart Beijing 7:45 am arrive in Fuzhou 10 am. Pray for
our agency coordinator; the right one for us; wisdom, details and a
good communication & bond between us.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in
him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy
Spirit.” Romans 15:13
(NIV)
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Honestly, we were a little anxious to approach the Air China
ticket counter. We had heard the stories about overweight
bags. We had five bags to check, all of which were over the
50lb US domestic limit, not to mention China’s in country weight
limit of 40k per person. We had rehearsed the storyline. We
have gifts for an orphanage, etc. The shuttle arrived no
problem and as our bags were being unloaded, we were bombarded
by local Chinese wanting to help carry our bags, load on carts
and between the 6 of us, we had three carts loaded, but it was
chaotic and finally asked them to leave after it was evident
that they were not allowed inside the building. |
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I was thinking that was a warm up. Shields were up for a defensive
posture to take on the next line of attack at the ticket counter.
Then it was one of those clear moments when the Lord brings
scripture to you mind, like in Psalms where God is David’s “rear
guard”. (I am terrible at book, chapter, and verse so I’m glad God
does not just give me the reference!) We went to the shortest line
after I told Cindy—“We’re going to the line God wants us to get
in.” Remembering that God is our rear guard means that sometimes we
offer more defense than we need to, since He’s gotcha covered
already. That means? I said nothing but “hello” and “thank you” in
Chinese and the ticket agent never said a word about any of our
overweight bags. Nothing. Not one word. With that confirmation,
we were off to the gate. Finding our way in the Beijing Airport
which is massive and beautiful and gearing up for the 2008 Olympics
with construction everywhere.
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Leila our Travel Coordinator met us at the gate! What a
pleasant surprise and she came with our schedule and the events
of the week. What a wonderful person she is and how critical
she will be over the next few days. Leila is kind of like the
midwife for our adoption. |
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Fuzhou City in Fujian Province is clearly a wonderful haven after
spending a few days in Beijing. The contrast in climate and culture
is sharp. Fuzhou is a semi-tropical environment, so this time of
the year it’s beautiful. Azaleas blooming, trees budding and people
are outside enjoying the weather. Parents were even doing crafts
with their children under the Banyan tree in the park across from
the hotel. Picturesque and quaint. Could be anywhere in the heart
of America, but it’s not. We’re in China and people are happy,
thriving and enjoying life.
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We sense a difference in how we “feel” about Chinese culture
and the people. Frankly, being confronted with latent
prejudices and allowing them to burn away, realizing we are
part of the global community, the responsibility we have to
the fulfill The Calling in our lives and more importantly to
really step up and answer Rick Warren’s question, “What on
earth am I here for?” and be willing to figure it out.
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We are to arrive at the Civil Affairs Office at 3PM Sunday
afternoon that’s 2AM ET on Sunday, March 19th.
Levi will be waiting there for us, he just does not know
it. The time is now 8:09 PM on Saturday and we need to get
some sleep, since it may be a while before we get an
uninterrupted night’s sleep. But, I am thinking that’s
already over. We’re wide awake. Waiting.
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"Yet do not depart quickly or leave in a
panic. For the Lord goes before you; the God of Israel is
your rear guard." Isaiah 52:12
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