Room Service

Be careful what you ask for is a statement I am constantly saying to myself, Brittney, & Sophie. Well, Gloria & I experienced that last night. We had dinner at Pizza Hut - fabulous, never knew pizza could taste so good :-) - and decided we would finish the night with dessert from room service. Gloria ordered a Banana Split and I ordered Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. Here is what we got...


Do you notice the blue & green ice-cream? It was supposed to be vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. The banana split had the same blue & green ice-cream in it as well. We have determined the green ice-cream is green-tea flavored (yumm ~ not) and no one has a clue for the blue. The kicker, we asked for vanilla only ~ oh well, the chocolate cake was really good & I guess I didn't need it all anyway. Lesson learned - be careful what you ask for; you just might get it & more...

China (Day 4)

Today was our first day visiting the orphans, and what a great day it was. We had Laura join our group; she is a college student from Sweden, fluent in Chinese, studying social services. She will be with us the rest of this week.

The place we visited is part of Shaohannah's Hope, the foundation created by Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman. It is a wonderful facility providing a home for sick and physically disabled children (see their website http://www.hopefosterhome.com/index.html). They have been able to help so many beautiful babies. After the babies are deemed healthy, they work towards adoption or local foster care. Below are some pictures highlighting the day. There is no way I can share with you through mere words how awesome this was ~ to see the eyes light up of children with cleft palates when you would sing to them, to see children who looked "normal" because of life saving surgeries that had been given to them. It was a day to remember (and I have 4 more similar to it).

China (Day 3)

After a fairly restless night we got up early to meet our new guide Michael. He & Gloria have worked together in the past through OCDF so they enjoyed catching up on each other's lives. We then attended worship at Beijing International Christian Fellowship (you can check out their website at http://www.bicf.org/). In order to attend the service the government requires you to present a foreign passport, so Michael was forced to wait for us outside. The service was refreshing. The music was great & the message was about giving to the poor ~ how appropriate for me & Gloria :-).

After church we headed for lunch at a local restaurant. While waiting for lunch, Gloria suggested I sit in one of the older chairs that would have carried the emperor or empress. I'm thinking this is the way to go - assuming the people are strong enough to carry me :-)...

The fried corn is one of my favorite dishes...

In the afternoon we spent a few hours doing Cloisonne. Zhonghua Chen opened up her home and shared with us her talents. She had slippers waiting for us at the door, and then showed us her studio. She demonstrated the delicate work of forming the gold filigree which will then be filled with the colored minerals. She had some templates ready for Gloria and I to fill with the colored minerals. It was extremely relaxing and something I could really enjoy learning to master.

The small bowls are the colored minerals that you put in the very small places - not an easy task.

Ms Chen with some of her own work (which was breath taking).

Gloria's artwork

My artwork

Upon returning to the hotel I felt the need to sweat & de-stress... Yep, I actually went to the gym and worked out. I didn't skimp on my program from Sue (of course that doesn't count the 3 weeks I haven't been too faithful). We then enjoyed some good old cheese burgers in the room for dinner. I guess I will need to stay faithful with the workouts - between the rich chinese food and the options in the hotel, I do not want to gain weight on this trip; Sue would not be very happy with me. Gloria & I are now going to rest & relax before the start of the real mission trip. Tomorrow we are off to Hope Foster Home. I am not sure what all to expect.

Today I have been really struck by the fact that I am in a Communist country. I have been noticing the guards every where we go, the hotel gives us notes each day to alert us to the scheduled water & power outages (mandated by the government), but the kicker was church this morning. To see how worship is a freedom not extended to everyone was very humbling. But after the service this morning, my personal reading time, and being out today, these are the thoughts going through my mind ~

I was reading out of the book of Joshua this morning and it starts with the command to be strong and courageous, not to be discouraged, but to remember that the Lord my God will be with me wherever I go. I would think on this today as I would be overwhelmed by the limited ability to communicate with others, the complete inability to read any signs, and the constant feeling of being in the minority and like everyone was looking at me and talking about me. But the "Ah Ha" moment for me was this morning when the pastor said something that has been replaying over & over again in my mind, "sometimes God brings you to China so the poor can become more real." I knew instantly that statement was the answer to my why question.

Then in looking over what he had preached and pondering on it more throughout the day, the following two verses really hit me: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27) and I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:18)

Isn't it comforting to know that God will not leave us as orphans. He has adopted us and made a way for us if we will only accept it. Then He calls us to help each other & spread His love. God keeps confirming to me the truth behind when I gave Sophie a kiss on the cheek and told her God wanted me to share that with the orphans in China. I am humbled even as I write this...

And God said, "whom shall I send?" And I answered, "here am I, send me."

China (Day 2)

It is amazing how much better you can cope with the world when you have a good nights sleep! Today is to be shopping and more shopping, also known as “Shop ‘til You Drop Day.” We started in the Panjiayuan Flee Market and then the Pearl Market. These were like the Stamford Market on steroids. There was so much stuff. I am glad we had David along. He would tell us if something was of a good quality or not. He also taught us to bargain, and Kevin, you would be proud. I never paid full price, and I usually got the price I wanted. Two times I got a better deal than David thought I would. It was a little overwhelming to have people constantly calling out lady, lady want a purse, or tell me your price, I make you good deal. One woman even took my arm in an attempt to get me to buy a purse from her. Again, Kevin, you would be proud – no purses bought by me!

Before lunch we visited the Temple of Heaven. It is a beautiful place symbolizing so much of the belief system in China. It was built in 1420 AD during the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to Heaven. The Temple is circular and surrounded by a circular wall which symbolizes the belief that heaven is round. The outer most wall is square which symbolizes the earth being square. Very interesting in deed.

Gloria & I in front of the Temple of Heaven


The colors on the Temple were beautiful

One of the pictures below is a symbolic representation of the calves offered during the ceremony at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. The other picture...that's Gloria and me in front of the Temple :-)


When you first enter the gates to the Temple of Heaven you are greeted by many entertainers. They are not looking for donations, they are just there to exercise and to entertain. We saw everything from rhythm dancers, chinese aerobics, tai-chi, opera singers, musicians, etc. It was a great insight to the Chinese culture. David was a good sport and participated in Tai-Chi wrestling.


We had lunch at the Old Beijing Noodles Palace. It was awesome. I had David give me a quick lesson on using chop sticks. Then Gloria & I practiced on tooth-picks and napkins until our food arrived. I was feeling pretty confident… even enough to try eating the corn with the chop sticks. Believe it or not, I was successful. However, I figured out why most Chinese are skinny… it takes them so darn long to eat there food with chop sticks they can actually tell when they are full, plus they use the tiniest plates for eating off of.

Notice the corn on the chop sticks (yes, it made it to my mouth)


David our guide showing us how to mix the noodles & notice the decorations on the back wall

Tonight was dinner at the Peking Roast Duck. We were escorted upstairs to our own private room. Again the food was excellent. We had beef & mushrooms, duck (of course), broccoli, rice, lotus root, and bing.

Front of restaurant

Menu with pictures to help us dumb Americans...

LESSON FOR TODAY: This morning while reading out of Isaiah I was struck by how appropriate and comforting the following is for me on this trip: “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart. (Is 7:4)” So every time I would start to feel nervous, anxious, or claustrophobic I would think of these words. I am sure the lesson from Isaiah will prove to be very important to me.

China (Day 1)

We are here… but why am I here. Am I supposed to learn something? Probably! Am I supposed to show God’s Love to the orphans? Obviously! Is it supposed to be this difficult? All things worth having take work of some kind… So let me back up & give you a little detail-

Almost a year ago I asked Gloria if she would be interested in doing a mission trip. I was really missing the annual mission trip Kevin & I went on with the youth. There is something really amazing about letting go & letting God, about coming out of your comfort zone for God, going places you never expected, doing things you never dreamed, and seeing His works in awesome new ways… I figured we could go to Africa or something, but Gloria asked “what about China?” Well that really threw me. I never dreamed I would go to China (not that I thought Africa would be easier, but China, hmmm). I am too picky of an eater, there is a huge language divide (written & spoken), and China is a long-long distance to travel.

Gloria started sharing with me about an organization that she works with called OCDF (Our Chinese Daughter’s Foundation). It is a non-profit organization based in central Illinois. OCDF has many different venues, but we would use them for sight seeing & working in orphanages. I was intrigued, but the fears starting pouring in. Gloria eased some of my fears by explaining that OCDF will provide an English speaking guide who will be with us all the time (except when we are in our room of course); plus she had been 3 other times. So I agreed, but one day I will learn the truth behind the saying ‘be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.’

To say my trip started 2 days ago is really an understatement because that seems to ignore all the prep work Gloria & I have done, all the knitting done by various donators, the money raised by the ISEs to be used for vitamins for the orphans, my mom’s trip over with all the prep work associated with that, all the prayer support offered by friends & family, the behind the scene work of OCDF, and the list goes on & on. But I will start documenting from travel day forward.

Gloria nor I slept on Wednesday/Thursday night. For me, the biggest hurdle was poor Sophie getting a stomach bug – she was burning up with fever & vomiting. If it wasn’t for Granny I don’t know if I would have left. Also I learned our departure was moved up from 2:30pm to 11:40am. It takes 2 hours minimum with no traffic issues to get from Peterborough to Heathrow, so that meant we needed to be on the road fairly early. When Gloria called the driver to reschedule, the earliest he could pick us up was 8am. So Gloria, Kevin, and I spent the first part of the night trying to come up with options – take the train, drive ourselves, or trust the driver. In the end we decided to trust the expert and you know what, he did it. In the middle of rush hour he was able to get us to the airport in plenty of time. So far so good…

We waltz up to the ticket counter to check in, only to have the clerk say you are 14kg over your limit. You can either pay an overage cost of 25GBP per kg or choose to store some of your stuff here in the airport at 7GBP per day. While I am deciding what to do, Gloria puts her bags up on the scale to discover she is 30kg over the limit. We talk to management, plead our case of more than half the luggage is made up of donations to the orphans, discuss how NOTHING on the ticket alerted us to this strange weight limitation, all to no-avail. After half an hour of talking to a wall, we realize that we are going to have to store a suitcase a piece. We leave the donations (we’ll figure that out later) and half our clothes behind. We go back up to check-in, get a different person this time, and now have 2kg to spare each – I guess that means we can shop after all (but more about that later).

We fly from Heathrow/London to Amsterdam, have a fairly good lunch, and then board the plane for China. The plane is packed full (Gloria & I are in the minority), we have two of the seats next to the window but are “end-capped” by a sleeping, farting Chinese guy. We sat on the run-way for almost 2 hours ~ they needed to change the tires. To appease everyone during the wait they give us a cookie & juice; I guess they didn’t want us to act like kids J. Once we are off & in the air Gloria and I plan on sleeping – when we get to China we will hit the ground running in an effort to overcome jet lag.

Remember the Chinese guy sitting on the end of the row, well he was nothing compared to the guy sitting behind me. Everytime he got up he would pull & push on my chair; he was constantly putting the tray up & down; he had the loudest voice & felt the need to talk almost the entire flight; he had a very annoying habit of clearing his throat & hacking loudly; he asked Gloria to shut off HER air conditioner vent (it was making him cold), and the list goes on. The TV was tiny and about 8 rows in front of us. We tried, we really tried but there was to be no relaxing & no sleeping on this flight. So after 10 very long hours we landed in Beijing, and the tires worked (so I am glad they changed them).

We got through border control & customs without a hitch, our luggage was waiting for us, David & Mr. Lee (our guide & driver) were waiting for us, I got money easily, we ate at KFC – hey, things are going really well! We went to the Great Wall of China. What an awesome sight! We took a cable car up to the base of the Great Wall but still had to climb many steps & walk a very steep incline.

It was now time for the eyes to shut & the body to relax. No matter how much we fought it, we decided it was time to check into the hotel & get ready for bed. Besides, we have a whole day of shopping tomorrow. Remember those 2kg we have to spare in our luggage, might get those filled up :-), and as Gloria pointed out in her blog (see "Gloria & Jim" in my Friend's Blog list to view her blog) we can ship most anything over that doesn’t fit into our luggage.

These first two days of sight seeing & shopping promise to be great! Then it will be off to hold some babies, paint some walls, and clean some rooms. So far the thing I have learned… God is in control even when Satan starts medaling, He will provide, and He is enough!

Somethings missing~

It has happened - Sophie has officially lost her first tooth.

It was very loose on our trip last week in Greece. She was telling everyone that she had a loose tooth, and she kept asking Brittney was it going to hurt when it came out. She was determined not to pull it but to have it just fall out...and that is exactly what happened this afternoon while watching Homeward Bound 2 (for who knows how many times), eating popcorn, and then I hear her scream...

Well I wonder how much the tooth fairy will give for a first tooth lost in Jolly Ole England

Athens, Greece & Greek Cruise

I'll try to summarize our awesome 9 day Athen’s trip (Oct 26 – Nov 2)… We saw so many beautiful things & experienced things I had previously only read about. The weather was fairly nice ~ not too hot, not too cold, just warm & sunny. The Aegean Sea is absolutely beautiful. The colors are exquisite – deep blues and aquas. It is also a fairly calm sea so made for wonderful lazing about when we were in Athens.
You know how our family loves dogs (& cats at times). Well Greece has a program to take care of the stray animals; they are fed, watered, and not seen as a nuisance. That is a good thing since there are so many. The girls will probably remember the dogs more than anything else from this trip. There was even one night that Sophie had made a real friend – he followed us everywhere we went on the island; she shed quite a few tears when we told her she could NOT bring it home. It was a beautiful dog, but we already have 2 in the UK and 1 in the US J
Saturday – Travel Day
We arrived at our hotel (Best Western) Saturday afternoon to see it surrounded by police dressed in riot gear… only to find out it was because the hotel was next to the Archaeological Museum which holds artifacts worth millions of dollars ~ the police are there to protect the museum (not us). We took the rest of the day to familiarize ourselves with Athens and to get some dinner. We tried to get to bed early so we could start the touring with a full tank of gas.
Sunday – Day in Athens
Sunday was a big hiking/walking day in Athens. We made our way to the Acropolis, knowing we would spend most of our day here. It was a long, steep hike but we made it! It was amazing to see all the history and beautiful sights. However, I must admit the Parthenon was a bit of a disappointment to me since we have seen an intact replica of it in Nashville. Regardless, we enjoyed walking around all the ancient grounds.

We were able to find a play park in the middle of the city so the girls could let off some steam. We then walked past Hadrian’s Arch, took the pictures to prove we were there, and headed off for dinner at the Hard Rock Café ~ the girls weren’t too impressed but Kevin & I enjoyed the familiar food & classic rock music.

Monday – Start of the Cruise
We had an early start to the day (only to find every day on a cruise starts early) so we could get on the ship. We then stood in the freezing wind during the safety instructions – learning how to put on the life preservers, get into the boats, stand in straight lines with men in back, ladies next, and kids in front. There was no ceremony of waving goodbye to the shore or streamers blowing in the wind – just freezing passengers waiting for the captain and the safety officer to give their approval to our “formation.”

"This Picture is for Whitney"

The girls attempted to swim in the pool but between the breeze and the cold salt water it didn’t last too long ~ they were troopers but it wasn’t very kid friendly either. Everyone was asking Kevin where we were from – a polite way of asking why we were letting our kids play in the freezing wind & water. Oh well. Next the kids were excited to start the kids’ club activities but quickly determined they were the only 2 kids on the ship. It actually worked to their advantage – they were able to have the sole attention of the staff plus every where they went they were the center of attention. All staff members knew their names & all the passengers knew who our family was…
Tuesday – Kusadasi, Turkey and Patmos, Greece
Tuesday was our first excursion day, and it was awesome. On the upper island of Kusadasi there is a home believed to be the final place for the Virgin Mary; she lived there the last 15 years of her life. It had two rooms, a beautiful view, and has been preserved wonderfully. Tradition holds that John had it built for her & would visit her 3 times a week to bring her & her servant food.

Halfway down the mountain is the ancient village of Ephesus. We were able to walk the marble and cobblestone pathways. Standing at the entrance gate to Ephesus while looking down into the village gave me a different perspective on life during biblical times ~ through the visual experience and the guide’s leadership, you could almost see life happening…

The entrance to Ephesus...

Then, for me, the climax of the day’s trips was visiting Patmos where John received the vision for Revelation (Grotto of the Apocalypse). We were able to see the cave were he heard God speak. There is a crack in the rock believed to have been made by the voice of God; the crack split the rock into 3 equal parts which is to honor the Holy Trinity. Again, they have kept it in original form but preserved it wonderfully. There is the St. John’s Monastery approximately 1 mile up the mountain from the cave. Within the monastery museum I was able to see a manuscript for Mark, Job, and Revelation.
I felt like I was living what I am studying in school. It was so cool…
Wednesday – Rhodes, Greece
We spent the whole day on the island of Rhodes. We started with a tour of the Old City which had some great history (not that I can remember any of it now…). We then took a bus ride to a family owned ceramic factory. The guide explained what made the Greek ceramics unique, the family traditions involved in the business, and of course gave us all an opportunity to purchase some ceramics. The amazing part was when he showed us how practical the ceramic was – he scratched on a plate with a coin (no marks were made & no damage to the painting on the ceramics) and then he slammed it down on the counter – scared us all to death, but again no damage. Of course, I still was not too comfortable with the girls running around the shop when the average price per piece was 60+ Euros.
Next the tour took us to the village of Lindos. We passed beautiful white-washed villages along the way which contrasted wonderfully against the deep blue sea. This is a place we would definitely considering coming back with the girls. There was a fabulous beach in Lindos with private villas on the waterfront… Ok continuing with the story, Lindos has a castle on top of a mountain. It is a steep climb, but the girls enjoyed a donkey ride while Kevin & I walked behind. Once we arrived at the castle/fortress we realized just how dangerous it could be – there were no walls or safety barriers up on the castles edge, just sheer drop-offs. I am glad the girls weren’t too excited to be near the edge, because I was clinging to the sides.

After the guided tour ended we had a few hours left on the island so we attempted the beach. To find a “clean” beach was about a 20 minute walk from the cruise ship. The girls attempted to swim but again the water was freezing. Also the beach was all rocks so it wasn’t the easiest or most comfortable to walk around.

This was to be our “fancy” night for dinner, so it was to our advantage to get back to the ship as soon as possible. The girls enjoyed dinner and dancing afterwards. Later the girls & I headed off to bed for a good nights sleep and Kevin headed off to play some black-jack.
Thursday – Herakloin and Santorini, Greece
Thursday morning we visited the Knossos Palace and Herakloin City. This was one of the most boring tours we took. The palace ruins are massive, but in the UK we can see real castles just as big & still intact (that sounds kinda snobbish doesn’t it).
the kids were literally climbing the walls with boredom :-)

Future movie star

Future model...

...since the palace ruins were sooo exciting we took more family pictures...

Between the two islands we had some time on the boat. The girls enjoyed kids club where they got to tour the bridge and learn about daily life on the boat. Kevin & I headed off to the Black Jack tables.

She doesn't even have a driver's license yet...

Santorini is definitely a place Kevin & I will return to – but without the girls. It is a volcano island (still active) with the various layers of lava visible on the coastline. There is a volcano climbing tour, but there wasn’t enough time & not sure the girls could handle much more strenuous walking. The views are breathtaking… We learned that Cathedrals or churches are owned by families and have the circular blue dome ~ a beautiful sight against the white-washed houses with blue shutters and the stunning blue sea. The most peculiar sight though was seeing the dogs sleeping on the curved roofs of the houses. I guess it does keep them off the streets.
While coming down in the cable car we learned that in April of 2007, the Sea Diamond (a boat by the same cruise line) sank in this sea right off the shoreline. It was determined the maps used for vessels was incorrect on the depth of the volcano rocks & the cruise ship ended up being the proof after it hit the volcano rocks under the sea and sunk within a few hours… That explains why our cruise ship parked so much further out in the sea than the other cruise ships.
The main memories for me from the cruise will be watching the girls dance each night in the ballroom – twirling, swinging, and boogying down to the various music; Sophie’s face when she realized that she would also get to sleep on a top bunk (since the room had 2 bunk beds, we all had our own bed – Kevin & I on the bottom two beds, the girls on the top); Sophie’s giggles and Brittney’s crazy faces.
Friday – Early Disembarkment & Day in Athens
After an early disembarkment from the ship, we checked into the Marriott – it was nice to be in a familiar hotel where they speak fluent English. After determining that the pool closed the week before, we knew we were going to need to be creative to entertain the girls (they were tired of walking & only wanted to be in water). Sooo we decided to do more sight-seeing… since there is no double-decker tour buses, we took the Happy Train tour through Athens. It was a great way to see some of the sights & pass some time.
We ended the day in an Amusement Park with rides, games, and the traditional greasy food. We rode the log flume, extreme log flume (we got very wet), roller-coasters, trampolines, you name it. It was a great find by Kevin :-).
Saturday – Beach Time
Saturday we decided to rent a car so we could drive to a beach. First of all driving in Athens is a little easier than Italy but very similar to New York (horns honking, no real lanes – just go wherever, whenever). The only “difficulty” in driving was the Greek signs ~ there was English but it was in small print and lighter color font ~ a whole new meaning to the phrase “it’s all Greek to me…”
The beach was beautiful. It didn’t have white sand but it was clean & relatively speaking was rock free. The first part of our day on the beach was hazy, so the cold water was extremely cold. But as the day progressed the haze burned off, the temperature continued to rise, and the calm sea was a calling. Brittney was disappointed that she couldn’t do any body-surfing, but we all enjoyed the water non the less.
After lunch Kevin & the girls built an awesome drip castle with a draw bridge, moat, swimming pool, stone reinforced front wall, completed with a surrounding stone wall for protection. I’m not sure who had more fun, Kevin or the girls… We had dinner watching the sunset over the Aegean Sea ~ an awesome ending to a wonderful day.
The night ended with Kevin returning from the rental car drop off with a black eye and a gash under his eye. He told Brittney and I he got in a fight with a local guy on the street, but the truth is he got in a fight with the rental car driver’s door…he lost. We all know how well I deal with blood – NOT! So fortunately it had quit bleeding when he returned to the room. We don’t think he needs stitches, but he did get plenty of attention in the Marriott from security ~ I called them to ask for a small band-aide & ice but they sent their security officer with the first aid kit to take care of it all J.
Sunday – Last Day & Travel Home
Since this was to be our last day in Athens, Kevin wanted to make the most of it. After a long uphill hike we were able to then take a cable car to the “high” point in Athens. The view was great, but the girls & I were too exhausted to enjoy them. Kevin took plenty of pictures that we can look at later… We then headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags & off to the airport for the final leg of traveling. Home Sweet Home!