Here are a few photos of our July Beach trip that was AMAZING and RELAXING. I will post a few more tomorrow.. didn't i just say that? hehehehe

The little child in the blue car seat is TINY. She is 4 pounds and is about 4 months old. She just came in to PFH and they are taking very good care of her. Please keep her in your prayers. The other children are on the floor b/c the are playing and rolling around. :O)

The little child on the floor where S1 is reading, would cry when she stopped. So for over 1/2 hour the S1 read to this infant laying together. I have precious photos of the baby reaching up and touching S1 face holding her arm.. sweet... S1 couldn't even get up to get another book.. she had to reread the same one... over and over... but s1 didn't mind at all. The top corner is a precious little toddler that ran to S1 and jumped in her arms on the second day. I have three photos of this event. the next one shows the two of them looking at each other with cheesy grins and then the last one looking at me. thank goodness for a quick shot on my camera. the photos are precious. And the last but certainly not least, is Ling Ling. She is so wonderful She is older than S1 in physical age. She loved to run with S1 and play with her. I let her take some photos with my camera and she LOVED it. I also let her take some photage with my video camera and it is so precious. what a sweet child. please join me in prayer for each of these children and the many more that are in China and around the world.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

james 1 :27

I have skipped around a little.. especially about my Harmony House event.. that happen the day before we left..

The morning after we arrived.. we went into the "baby homes". You can see the homes if you go to http://www.chinaorphans.org/ that is PHF website.

Well, the first child that I saw was a child that I had specifically been praying for BEFORE we left for China. IS GOD SO AMAZING! I was led (by God in my heart) to go to the middle house to the second floor. I opened the half door and there he was. I gasped. I asked the Ayi, " is that XXX" I really don't want to say his name on this site. And she said, yes. I went to him and he laughed at me. HE LAUGHED AT ME. He is not even ONE YEARS OLD yet. I scooped him up and began praising God for His goodness to us both. That week I fell in love. I had to FORCE my self to beg God to spend time in the other buildings b/c I couldn't sleep. I just wanted to be near this child. I was drawn to him. I never told S1 any of this. She came up and immediately was drawn to the SAME CHILD. She loved on all the children and babies but spoke ALL the TIME of this one particular child.

LORD, I would pray. Please stop my heart from feeling this. I would purposely go to an entire different building.. there he sat. AS if.

I would laugh and say I know Lord, you like to have a sense of humor in my life.

We met so many wonderful children. I met TWINS :O), girls and boys of all ages. AND they were ALL precious. The are fearfully and wonderfully made. They belong to a family. I prayed over these children. Some of the children, I felt a calling to go back in the day to pray again. I laid my hands and prayed out loud, i prayed silently, I prayed and prayed. I prayed while I played.

I don't know if I told you or not.. this orphanage is 100 percent special needs. Can I just tell you how great our God is! He completely blinded S1 to any special needs of any child. I sat in awe one morning at 4 am and realized that she didn't see them having any issues. She didn't see the amputee or the wheelchair or any of the other children with physical disabilities. I thank my God for all his goodness. S1 saw children. S1 saw kids who wanted to be held and played with and she loved every minute.

S1 worked just as hard as I did. Some of the work was not hard but menial. But that is just it.. it wasn't menial there. It felt huge there. then other times it was sweaty and hard and she did it - without complaining and without stopping. I am proud of her for her courage and endurance. She saw things that children her age don't typically see and God was merciful. I pray that God pierces her heart for servant-hood and compassion and mercy.

I will post a couple photos but not to many... oh okay i will post more tomorrow.. i have to close tonight.

Philip Hayden Foundation and Harmony OutReach

After church on Sunday, the van came from PHF to grab us for the hour long ride to go to the site where we would live out the rest of our days in China...
It was a decent ride and it really didn't feel like an hour. When we rounded the corner and came through the gates of Philip Hayden Foundation in Langfang China - there sat children, almost as if they were waiting on us. I felt like we had our own welcoming committee and it was by far the best kind (our own families excluded ofcourse :O} )
We barely had our luggage out of the van until we tried desperately to walk, not run, to the children. They were beautiful. they were sweet. they were curiuos. they are miracles. they are God's special children. they are ours ALL week !!!!!!!!!!!
So finally the Ayi's (nannies/caretakers) had to take the children in to feed them. sniff sniff. okay.. i guess we wil take our luggage off the grass and bring it up to our room.. and i guess we will take a tour and learn what was to be for the week! hehehe
So here is what we knew.. there was a "store" and it pretty much had juice and soft drinks and ice cream and other munchies for a small price.. and also gifts for sale. There was a laundry room that I ended up using once... can anyone read chinese for "soap here and start?". There was a kitchen that had a microwave and coffee pot.. okay so we are SET! and if we so desired for 3 dollars a meal per person 9b-fast and dinner) we could eat in there what would be prepared.
We had the honor to meet Mr John Bentley, Levi's dad. If you haven't read "Saving Levi"..written by his wife Lisa.. then I would HIGHLY suggest it. They now have Harmony Outreach in China. I was able to go over there and work during this trip.. what a mission field and a christian family.
There is so much I want to write and tell, but my hands can't possibly write that fast. One scene i will never forget.. we were sweating and cleaning out a room.. and the caretakers asked Sarah if she wanted food. Sarah said "chur" meaning food or to eat. and said yes. But Sarah meant that she wanted my peanut butter crackers out of my backpack.. with her water... they MADE a place for her and served her part of their lunch. there she was.. the only little girl at the table and about 8 ladies and one gentleman. they were so loving and kind to her. they cut her food up and blew it for her 9oh by the way.. it smelled unbelievable and sarah said it tasted incredible!). After her second serving.. I thanked them told them no more. You see, they were giving her their lunch. They were so kind. I didn't want to make them feel bad by not letting her eat nothing but i didn't want to take their food either.. such a giving country and kind people. I tell you they would have given her their last morsel. They loved on her and you could tell they were saying kind words about her b/c of there tones and facial expressions ( i caughta couple words but not all of them). Well, my heart just melted at that dining table that afternoon.
Deut 26:1 -15 talks of giving. God gives to us and we should give back to others. It is more detailed of course and a great read.
Acts 4: 32-37
v.32"All the believers were one in heart adn mind. No one claimed that any of his posessions wasa his own, but they shared everything they had...."
God is so good, God is so good, God is so good He's so good to me.. he loves me so , he loves me so He loves me so He's so good to me... come on now everyone sing....

church in china

Praise the Lord. We were able to worship in CHURCH with other believers - A LOT- of believers! IT was . well, i don't really have a word to describe what I am feeling.
Isaiah 12
I wont write the entire thing out but you have to take a peek! At this church, there are over 70 countries represented each week worshiping our Holy One! I was drawn to Isaiah 12:4-6.

We chose to go to the Chinese(mandarin) and English speaking service [a dual service]. How incredible to see, hear and sing in both languanges. How moving to worship in this manner. I just can't describe all that I was feeling. THEN, we were able to participate in communion that morning. I don't know for certain if communion is everyweek or monthly but I am thankful we were able to worship Christ, take communion and be a part of BCIF both with our friends and with the people in China on August 5th.

Rickshaw ride

Today we went on the typical Rickshaw ride.. and then went to lunch in Hutong at a local Chinese couple home in the Hutong area. Th food was amazing. They cooked sooooo much for us. I was a little embarrassed. I was thankful that S1 likes to try new things and helped me pack away the food! I was so full they should have rolled me away! For those reading this and don't know about the Hutong area in Beijing.. i am going to tell you a little history :O)

We later went to the mansion and garden of Prince Gong of the Qing Dynasty.
Quote off google search "The mansion is the most exquisitely decorated and best preserved among the princes' mansions in Beijing, and beside the residence there is also a large garden.
The mansion consists of two parts: living quarters and the garden, covering 56,000 square meters. The living quarters run along three axes - central, eastern and western, altogether having 1,000 rooms. People can imagine the grandeur from its green glazed- tile roofs.
The garden of Prince Gong's Mansion covers 25,000 square meters, with artificial rockeries, covered corridors and pavilions. It is said the Grand View Garden described in the novel "A Dream of Red Mansions" was modelled after this garden.
The lake is a broad expanse of water surrounded by willows, locust trees and poplars - a lovely scene. People can have a boat ride there in summer and skate in winter."

I have copied and pasted this next section:

"A hutong is an ancient city alley or lane typical in Beijing, where hutongs run into the several thousand. Surrounding the Forbidden City, many were built during the Yuan (1206-1341), Ming(1368-1628) and Qing(1644-1908) dynasties. In the prime of these dynasties the emperors, in order to establish supreme power for themselves, planned the city and arranged the residential areas according to the etiquette systems of the Zhou Dynasty. The center of the city of Beijing was the royal palace -- the Forbidden City
One kind of hutongs, usually referred to as the regular hutong, was near the palace to the east and west and arranged in orderly fashion along the streets. Most of the residents of these hutongs were imperial kinsmen and aristocrats. Another kind, the simple and crude hutong, was mostly located far to the north and south of the palace. The residents were merchants and other ordinary people.
The main buildings in the hutong were almost all quadrangles--a building complex formed by four houses around a quadrangular courtyard . The quadrangles varied in size and design according to the social status of the residents. The big quadrangles of high- ranking officials and wealthy merchants were specially built with roof beams and pillars all beautifully carved and painted, each with a front yard and back yard. However, the ordinary people's quadrangles were simply built with small gates and low houses. hutongs, in fact, are passageways formed by many closely arranged quadrangles of different sizes. The specially built quadrangles all face the south for better lighting; as a result, a lot of hutongs run from east to west. Between the big hutongs many small ones went north and south for convenient passage.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty unified and closed China came under influence from abroad, having experienced change of dynasties and the vicissitudes of life. The stereotyped arrangement of the hutong was also affected. Many newly formed hutongs with irregular houses appeared outside the city, while many old ones lost their former neat arrangement. The social status of the residents also changed, reflecting the collapse of the feudal system. During the period of the Republic of China (1911-1948), Chinese society was unstable, with frequent civil wars and repeated foreign invasions.
The city of Beijing deteriorated, and the conditions of the hutong worsened. Quadrangles previously owned by one family became a compound occupied by many households.
After the founding of the people's Republic of China in 1949, hutong conditions improved. In recent years, the houses in many hutongs have been pulled down and replaced by modern buildings. Many hutong dwellers have moved to new housing.
The hutong today is fading into the shade for both tourists and inhabitants.
However, in the urban district of Beijing houses along hutongs still occupy one third of the total area, providing housing for half the population, so many hutongs have survived. In this respect, we see the old in the new in Beijing as an ancient yet modern city.
A new pastime -- roaming through Beijing's old, narrow streets, hutongs, by old-fashioned pedicab to visit siheyuan, the old quadrangles, and learn about the daily life of ordinary Beijing citizens-- has attracted more and more overseas visitors.
Existed as early as hundreds of years ago, narrow lanes, or hutongs were common in ancient Beijing. In the past, several thousand lanes, alleys and quadrangles formed residential areas for ordinary people living in the capital. Today,as the city develops into an international metropolis, its lanes and alleyways, occupying one third of the city proper, still serve as dwellings for half the total urban population."

Remembering you..

Psalm 63:6-8 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow for your wings. My soul clings to you; you right hand upholds me.

I am reminded today that God loves us. The world. As I walked the streets today to shop and explore and visit with the locals, I am reminded that God loves them too. How awesome is that! As I stepped off the plane yesterday, the nerves went away. I felt home. Don't get me wrong, America is my home. But China.. it too holds my heart.

skipping ahead 10 days... S1 says to me.. in between sobs... I don't want to leave... I want to be here...

okay back to day 2... We went to the Great Wall at night.. next time we go :O) I want to ride the sled down.. then I think I will have almost done each item.. minus "staying the night on the wall" which is permitted in certain areas to backpackers.

So it is a two hour ride b/c of traffic to get to the Wall. God was so gracious to us and kept the weather perfect (okay so it was hot but it didn't down pour...yet). So we stepped out of our car and OHMYGOODNESS what a site. It was breathtaking. It literally took my breath away. I am not sure that any one site has had such an effect on my eyes.

So of we went up the Wall. The girls ran and played and chased locust (secatas). The photo you see the entire section that we climbed. As we headed down.. the storms rolled in. I have on video the thunder and lighting. It was incredible. .. until the lights went out.. then it was pitch dark. So we climbed at least a 1/4 if not more of the Wall in a HUGE storm. The great news: God provided lighting so we could see the steps every so often :O) We literally couldn't see our hands in front of our faces.. heheheheh it was fun though. I haven't been in a rain storm in quite some time. you should try it.. minus the lighting...

Dont worry be happy Matthew 6 :25

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you eat, or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ..."

Let me back up a bit...so you know... all the post on China are post China trip.. but I have to write them b/c it was an amazing trip!

So our day started early... icky early! At 4:30ish we left the house and B took S1 and I to the Airport. B's mom came to take care of my babies (S2 and D1) and of course I have never left them so I was a little nervous:O) oh wait, didn't I just read to NOT worry!

Seriously, I knew they were in good hands.

So off we went on the jumbo jet... Our flight to Canada was fine. No problems. We rested and did a little school work. Then we met up with our friends M and BE. BE is the mom and M is the daughter but I couldn't put B and M b/c well you know ,.. it looks like BM and that is not who or what they are! :O) heheheh okay.. so I am a little jet lagged... cut me some slack.

We sat on the TARMAC for 3 1/2 hours... in the plane... with children... YIKES... nothing like a 13 hour flight ahead of us and just sitting there... FUN FUN FUN.

Everyone was still excited and happy and all was well.

I am so happy that BE and I decided to actually follow God's prompting and do this trip. I love being in His will and when I am obedient to him!!

Well, we arrive in Beijing and no one (meaning the children or us and the children) harmed anyone :O). The girls were troopers and the trip was pleasant.. I wouldn't fly this particular airline again... I am REALLY very partial to fly Continental (from Newark to Beijing) on the triple 7. .. but this airline was offering 1200 cheaper and we had to do take it.. now I know why... However.. the plot thickens and GOD had PLANS for us to take this airliner !! you will see!!

Okay so we are in Beijing... b/c we sat for 3 1/2 hours we arrived later and we took the first taxi... unfortunately he also took us.. BE and I KNEW he was cheating us and we told him we knew but we just wanted to get to our hotel and the girls were tired so we gave in and gave him 400 RMB... normally it would have only taken 80 RMB from the airport to the hotel.. so it should have been 80 for BE and 80 for me (for two taxis) but we took a minivan-ish thing so we could stay together... oh well... whats a girl to do!