I'm Back!!

Hello all!! I have made it back from China!! What an amazing, life changing experience that was! I cannot wait to share all the stories with you! Right now I am trying to process what happened and put it all into words. As soon as I can I will post some stories! 

As you wait for more of an update, I want to leave you with this quote. I have found it to be 100% true! Right now my goal is to find each of the sweet kids that I have met a loving home. They all deserve it! Will you pray about helping this become a reality? 

"We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their face. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes."

Travel/Day 1 in China

We arrived in China on July 7th. Thankfully the trip was uneventful. Before we left I was pretty nervous about the 15 hour flight, but it ended up being totally fine. I took a sleeping pill, put on some noise canceling headphones and a sleeping mask and I was out for 9 hours!! No one else was able to sleep well on the plane and they all threatened to steal some of those sleeping pills for the flight home:) 

 

There was only one small hiccup in our travel, but it was soon sorted out. When we arrived to the GZ, China airport we went through customs and as we were about to get our bags checked again we found a sign that had a few names on it. If your name was on this sign you were to go into a different room to be questioned have your bags looked at. Three people from our group had their name on the list: Matt, Cindy and Donny. As they went off to see what this was about, the rest of us sat on benches to wait and pray that nothing was wrong. After they were in the separate room for a few minutes, they were released. Not really sure why their names were on that list, but glad it was nothing. We all had a small fear that customs had found some of the books we had brought with us and didn't like them. We were all relieved when that was not the case.  

We were met at the Nanchang Airport by Josh and Ryan. We all piled into 2 vans, along with all our luggage, and braced ourselves for a live game of mario kart. Never in my life have I seen people drive like that or use horns so much. I am not sure why they spent time and money painting stripes on the roads. NO ONE follows them, not even the police!! I wish I would have gotten some good video of it, but I'm pretty sure my mom would have had a heart attack knowing that I was THERE! It was crazy and I am so glad we don't drive like that here in the states. 

When we arrived at the golf resort we were welcomed by the staff and a few of the translators who had arrived before us. So much excitement awaited us! We had finally made it! 

We spent the rest of the day hanging out with and getting to know everyone else who had arrived. The kids were coming the next day and everyone was excited!

Some people got a little sleep...the rest were super tired! 

Travel from airport to resort...

Travel from airport to resort...

Me and Amanda...leaving the airport and on our way to our new home for the next 2 weeks! 

The time is here...

In 12 hours the team and I will be meeting at church and heading off on this adventure! I am both excited and nervous of what's in store! 

Some Prayer Requests are:

   *Safe Travel...there are 8 of us traveling together. We will be getting on 3 different planes total to get there, then 3 on the way back. The travel is the part I'm the most nervous about. I've only flown twice in my life and neither of them were long flights.

   *That all our luggage would get there at the same time as us! 

   *Good Health...that we would all remain healthy for the entire trip! 

   *We would each be able to make a special connection with our translators and buddies.

   *That doors and hearts would be opened and we would each take every opportunity to share our faith. 

   

I do not know yet if I'll be able to post on the blog from where I am going, but my mom will be sending out emails and posting on Facebook about the trip while I am gone. Then, when I return, the blog will be filled with pictures and posts about the trip! 

Love you all! So thankful for you! 

Different types of Blessings

As I have been preparing to go, there have been a few things that I have wanted/needed to get but really didn't want to spend a lot of money on. One of which was a one piece swimsuit. This was a must on our packing list. First of all I HATE swimsuits. There, I said it. Second of all, I hate the price of them. Why are they so much anyway? I had looked at a few and for a good one they ranged anywhere from $50-90+. No thanks! I decided to wait and if I still couldn't find a cheaper one, I would just have to hand over the $. Days had passed and I was shopping at Target with my Mom. I just knew they wouldn't have any swimsuits that would work for the trip, but decided to go look anyway. And behold, there on the rack, was a one piece blue swimsuit. A swimsuit that fit perfect and that cost under half of the others I had looked at! Go God!! 

Then there was the time I was really hoping to be able to buy the kids drawstring backpacks to carry all their stuff in. All of them I found were $15-25 a piece. Once again, no thanks! Had pretty much given up on this idea, just couldn't see buying 6 backpacks for that much! Then, just yesterday I was shopping at the Pine Cove table at base camp when I saw  non other than drawstring backpacks and for only $4 a piece!! What a blessing! Kids will be getting backpacks! Not just any backpacks, Pine Cove backpacks!! Wahoo! 

I totally didn't expect either of these, yet God decided to bless me with them. So thankful! I need to remember this daily...He goes before me, He knows what I need. I just need to trust and let Him do His thing!

Why go to Bring Me Hope?

I have been blown away by the amount of support I have received for this quickly approaching trip! BLOWN AWAY!! People who have prayerfully and financially supported this trip...THANK YOU!! It's because of you I get to go and be a part of this! I know with all my heart that great things are about to come! I am so excited to see how everything turns out. 

WE ARE LEAVING FRIDAY!! I feel ready, but at the same time so not ready!! Nerves are setting in a bit. I just don't know what to expect. I know it will all work out for His glory, so I'm working on letting everything go! This is something you all can be praying about for me! 

Today at church, it was so fun seeing friends with a smile on their faces and joy in their hearts as they each exclaimed something like, " YOU'RE GOING TO CHINA!!" or "YOU LEAVE SO SOON!" I seriously have the best friends. I know lots of people say this, but its so true! I'm beyond blessed! 

Along with all the sweet words and hugs that I got today another blessing happened. It came from a 10 year old boy named Peter...

This is Peter. He was adopted this year from China. His dad and sister met him at "Bring Me Hope"...the camp I'm going to!! The church I attend goes to this camp every year! I've always wanted to go, but never went through with it to sign up. Thought my time to go had passed and I wrote it off...I wasn't going to go...then I met Peter! Soon after I met him I knew I had to go! I had to help other kids find their forever families! I had to be a part of that! So, I signed up. I'm going! :)

At church today Peter brought me a bag of sunflower seeds. He told his mom that I needed them for the trip. Just seeing the joy he had as he gave them to me and when he asked, "you're going to china?!" He loved my answer and decided he wanted to go with me...in my suitcase! As long as he would be able to come back to the US he was okay with it!:)  I was kinda able to bribe him out of it...with the promise of bringing back candy(NO CHOCOLATE!!) and a water bottle from China, I am able to go to china without my little stowaway:) 

He doesn't know how much he has impacted my life in the short amount of time I have known him, but he truly has. Love this boy and his gift of a bag of sunflower seeds :)

Thought for today...

Blog Title...

The reason the title is "no-eye-has-seen" is because it is based on the verse found in 1 Corinthians 2:9...“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived-the things God has prepared for those who love him." I wish I could claim the idea of the title as my own, but I cannot. A dear friend of mine suggested it and I loved the idea! So, here we are! We both agreed that this is where I am right now. I have never been to china and I have NO CLUE what is in store, but the cool thing is...God does! Another cool thing is that I have total peace right now about the unknown. This is a huge deal! I am a pretty type-a person who has to have all the details planned out. Right now, I'm all for whatever and it is so freeing! I know His plans are perfect and I cannot wait to see what happens next!