Beijing - Day 1

All our bags were packed - ready to go - leaving on a jet plane! 

It was a looooong flight! 

11 hours and 4 minutes in the air. 

Plus taxi time

Plus a two hour ground delay at the gate in LA

But so worth it! 

We checked into our hotel, ran out to eat and hit the sack! An early morning wake up call for breakfast - this was one happy girl! 

Then into the van to the Great Wall! 

We went to the Mutianyu section - because ....ski lift up! 

We got there early - and there was no one on the wall! It was almost surreal - we literally had the wall to ourselves for the first hour! The girls were amazed and excited and a bit overwhelmed! 

The views in every direction were stunning - this section of the wall was built about 600 years ago. The restoration has been done with original materials, so it is very authentic. 

We quickly realized why the ski lift up - the inclines and the step on the wall were TOUGH! 

It would not be China without multiple opportunities even on the Great Wall to separate  tourists from their money. This was money well spent....

After the ski lift ride up, and two miles of vigorous up and down hiking...tobogganing down! 

The resort area in Mutainyu is lovely - it was getting crowded when we left, but there was something profound in being on that wall by ourselves. 

When we left, we traveled about 5 km and stopped at a guest house for lunch. We enjoyed the most amazing country style meal - this girl is beyond happy to be enjoying "real" Chinese food (her words - not mine!) 

An unexpected stop on our way - we saw roadside fruit stands on the way in, and asked to stop to get cherries on the way out. We pulled into a stand, the driver got us out the the van, the older Chinese lady running the stand handed us baskets and out guide said "go get cherries"! 

So they did! 

Then onto the summer palace! It is a beautiful place filled with history. Our guide was amazing and really pressed into all the girls to teach them about the history of their birth land. 

Long about 3:00, we were all starting to drag a bit, so we shook it up with a boat tour - the girls loved it! 

The best views are often from the water! 

The corridor at the summer palace is 1/2  mile long, with amazing detailed artwork along the entire thing

We had about 45 minutes between the end of the summer palace and our dinner engagement so we added a stop at the Olympic park and the girls got to see "The Bird's Nest" up close. Last time I was in Beijing, it was 12 degrees and I stayed on the bus - so it was my first time too! It really is magnificent! 

Our last and maybe sweetest stop of the day was dinner - a traditional Peking duck dinner! 

While the food was beyond amazing, what made this dinner so very sweet was that we shared it with a former classmate of Becky's! This family was in the states last spring on furlough, and Becky and Kira became fast friends. It was one of Becky's biggest "wants" that when we came to Beijing, she see Kira - so we did! 

We were exhausted at the end - but in the very best way! 

Fath, Hope, Love in Italy - Hope

To the untrained and unknowing eye, this photo looks like some friends boarding a flight. 

To those who know a little, it's four friends (plus the woman behind the camera!!) boarding an overnight flight to Italy for an amazing 11 day holiday to celebrate a friend's milestone birthday. 

For one, it's hope. 

For as long as I can remember (probably 30+ years), it has been a dream of mine to travel Italy. I've come close - Germany, Austria, but have never made it. 

I had long given up on my dream. Through circumstances and the elements of my world, Italy increasingly became a dream that faded into the recesses of a life filled with other, more pressing considerations and crisis'. 

Being here is the manifestation of hope defined. 

The first few days, while amazing in every way - I could not find the words. I was walking through something that belonged to someone else. 

This time last year, I never believed I could be here. I wasn't convinced that our family was going to survive the trials we were walking through - and if we did survive, I certainly wasn't going to be able to leave all my people for 11 days to fulfill my dream. 

But God. He delivers and redeems and this trip has reminded me in the most tangible way possible that HOPE always exists in Him. For 30 years, He was saying to me "not yet" - so that when I finally got here, it would be so evident that it was only through His power that I was able to come. All the glory to Him. 

I found the word - Hope. 
Hope because God redeems and restores.  

Faith, Hope, Love in Italy - Faith

The old coliseum stands before me - the history held within its walls only partially and sporadically documented. It is a far cry now from the vision it once was when it was constructed in 500 AD.The walls are crumbly and the stones worn and uneven and there is only a small piece of the exterior that still exists. So much has transpired within this place over the past 1900 years that is unseen and unrecorded in human history.

What remains is the foundation and much of the inside  structure - well designed and constructed - intended to withstand the effects of time. Imperfect today with it's cracks and crumbles but still standing. The coliseum is still used today - to put on grand scale opera in the summer. 

So much of what we have seen here enduring the test of times are holy spaces. 

The Duomo - built over hundreds of years. No one involved in the construction lived to see the  completion of this magnificent house of worship. It took over 500 years to build.

The Last Supper - housed in a building totally destroyed by the bombing of WWII - except for DaVinci's masterpiece of God's miracle.

St. Marks Basilica - flooded a thousand times over and built on silt yet still standing strong. The home of the remains of St. Mark - the Evangelist. Protected.

Witness to the strength of the things of the Lord to endure the elements of time. 

Reminiscent of our lives here on earth. Of a life designed to look one way but evolving into something else through the effects of the elements of the world. Families. Friendships. Careers. Life.  Exposed to the elements, sometimes fractured, sometimes crumbling but still standing. The exterior faded but the interior strong and standing. 

A firm foundation. 

Faith. 

8 days + 7 Cities = Memories! (aka - more than just a field trip)

Cami and I were incredibly blessed the week before last to head east with her 8th grade class for the annual American Heritage trip. Yes - we did 7 cities in 8 days....beginning in Boston - then West Point, New York City, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Gettysburg, Washington, DC and ending in Baltimore! That's actually 8 cities!! 

We started in Boston after a red eye flight - the kids did a great job at staying away and staying enthusiastic! They actually did a great job overall - there were a lot of 8th grade groups we encountered throughout the week and our kids were BY FAR the most well behaved, engaged group! 

A Sunday morning visit to West point also brought a GREAT hug opportunity for me and Auntie D! 

Then it was off to NYC  - some history but a lot of fun! We saw the Broadway show "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical" and it was all the chaperones could do to not burst out in song through the whole show....isn't this friendship the best beautiful?? 

(I highly recommend seeing this show!) 

Never too old to play on the rocks in Central Park

We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge on Monday morning just to wake everyone up! We walked A LOT on this trip - I logged almost 56 miles on my FitBit!  

The we had a Staten Island ferry ride over to NJ to catch our bus. We spend a lot of time on the bus. This is me and my good friend Krystel - what a joy it was to have some time away from school to hang out (or run/walk) together! 

 

This was early in the trip - when she would still let me take pictures of her! 

  

Cheese steaks from the street cart in Philly - I guess we saw historical things there, but Philly was ALL about the cheese steaks for me! 

Tuesday morning  we went to the American Civil War museum in Harrisburg and Gettysburg battlefield in the afternoon - but I am thinking our lunch stop was the hit of the day (until dinner - more on that in a moment!!)

The pinnacle of this academic trip is the period dinner party. The students have to write an 1800 word paper on a person from history - talking about their character and their life. The paper counts for 30% of their history grade, their bible grade, and their English grade - so its a BIG deal! They then assume their character at a dinner party! 

Introducing  Julia Ward Howe - famous poet (Battle Hymn of the Republic), abolitionist and womens' right advocate! 

Also present at the dinner party were Susan B. Anthony and Betsy Ross (guess who is who!!) 

The other really cool part of the evening is that the students learn two period dances in PE before they leave - the Virginia Reel and the Waltz - and are graded at the dinner party at how well they dance. They started off extremely reluctant participants, but were having fun by the end!!  

Julia Howe and Sojourner Truth :)  

An outstandingly good looking bunch of kids! It was a fabulous evening - the kids knew their characters well and there was lively and thoughtful discussions about the issues of the day - slavery, women's rights and states rights. I was impressed by how well the students understood the issues and argued for their character's positions. 

Did I mention how much time we spent on the bus??? It was an exhausting trip - up and out of the hotel at 7:30 am every morning and most nights not back till 10...the students usually used their time to work on their journals, but occasionally got a break for a nap. 

Some of you might remember that Cami gets horribly car sick; this was the car sick seating - her and the 8th grade teacher, which helped her case when she couldn't get her journal done on the bus - he definitely understood the problem! 

Finally - DC! 

My girl in her happy place......

Devotions outside on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial. Of all the amazing historical things we saw - this view was my favorite. Our kids, worshipping their God, no inhibitions, no reservations - just praising the One. It was cold - but these kids are on fire for Jesus! 

Homeward Bound - it was a week that almost defied enough words. If there was one thing "best" thing, it was the way these students grew - emotionally and spiritually - on this trip. I watched them assimilate history through the eyes of God. I felt them process the true meaning of sacrifice for one's country and cause in a way they likely had never done. I watched a student who never thought himself creative discover he had a true gift for photography, and others who never considered themselves "smart" have the freedom to show they are.  They laughed and fought and experienced a shift together - and I think they are drew a little closer to each other and a lot closer to Jesus. 

I love these kids so much! 

8 days + 8 cities = world changing experience!