We were up early for breakfast at the hotel...our first Chinese buffet breakfast. For anyone who has traveled around China, they will know that these buffet breakfast's in hotels are very average....but this one was exceptionally bad!
That morning we had a team meeting, a more in depth introduction and discussion of what to expect once we reached Sanmenxia. It was a great time of prayer and preparation. We also wrote down our expectations from the trip, in relation to what God would do with us. We would revisit these at the end of the trip.
At the end of the team meeting we were given free time to explore Xian, so we had a bus pick us up and we ventured to see the Terracotta warriors. As part of the tour bus package, we had to first have lunch at a specific restaurant and also go to a tourist-y shop where they made products from silk.
By late afternoon we had made it to the Warriors and it was truly amazing to see! We spent a couple hours there and it was a really great time.
Afterwards we headed back to the hotel before venturing out to have dinner at a nearby food court and having a look in the mall close to the hotel. Later we had a look in the night market near our hotel.
Overall it was a really great day. While we really only did tourist type stuff, I felt it was a really great chance to connect with the other people from the trip. We had only known each other for 2 days, but you could already see were starting to form a lot of strong bonds and friendships. This was really great in the lead up to our arrival at Sanmenxia the following day.
Monday 5th April
Another poor breakfast at the hotel before heading off for Sanmenxia by bus. The trip which usually would take 2 hours was predicted to take approximately 5 hours due to various road closures. So as we slowly edged our way towards Sanmenxia, we were caught in a number of massive traffic jams and the likes. We also had our first chance to experience the "wonderful" toilets of rural China...which basically consist of a hole in the ground and nothing else...lucky I am a guy!
Late afternoon we finally arrived in Sanmenxia where we checked into our hotel and were greeted by the director of the Welfare Center we would be serving at. He had a banquet dinner prepared for us which was in the restaurant attached to our hotel.
After dinner we did some brief shopping before a brief orientation meeting back at the hotel. We were prepared for what was in store for us the following morning, which would be our first morning at the Welfare Center. We closed in prayer before heading off to bed.
Before going to sleep that night, I found myself crying out to God to use me as best possible. While I could see that a lot of the other people on the trip has specialized skills that would be well utilized at the center, I really prayed that God could use me in a way that would have the biggest impact on the children in the center.
1 comment:
It seems that the most anticipated part is coming soon! Chop Chop! :P
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