We arrived this morning on the overnight train. Our soft sleeper car was very comfortable and Glenn, Ryan and Jake slept well. We are still very jet lagged but slept for about 5 hours this afternoon. We will go out to the worksite (about 10 minutes away we think) in the morning.
It is pretty chaotic here - Amanda has 4 apartments FILLED with babies from about 6 weeks to 2 years old. The volunteer apartment has the youngest babies - 5 or 6 of them - until 7pm when the night time nannies come on duty.
One hardly ever stops crying. The rest need to be held alot.
We are trying to get settled. You can not drink even a drop of water without boiling it. The bathroom is pretty funky although there is a western-style toliet. Our bed is huge and will likely sleep ALL of us....It is a little cold and there is no heat. We are definitely out of our comfort zone.
Please pray for all of us. I know once we get our bearings, enough sleep, some dinner (which is not Chinese food), all will be well.
Got to run - I am in the middle of everything.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Better Late - we are in China!
Praise God! We were able to fly standby on a flight from Dulles to Beijing on Monday instead of Tuesday. The flight went well although neither Jake nor Ryan slept for more than two hours. We were able to get three seats together (I was in my prime negotiating and suggesting who should give up a seat to keep as many of us together as possible). Glenn just stepped aside and pretended he did not know me.
The drivers found us outside of baggage claim while I was preparing to attempt our back-up plan for transportation. The plane actually arrived EARLY because it took off from Washington as soon as it was full. There were five seats available and we got four of them.
We spent the night at Shepherd's Field after a brief tour of one of the foster homes. We will visit up until lunch today and then head back to Beijing to visit Amazing Hands.
We had dinner at a local restaurant with Clay and Jewel and the compound's orphan dog who followed us right into the restaurant. He waiting patiently on a pile of clean tablecloths until we were done eating. He then walked home with us. It was a good dinner.
Ryan did not go with us but slept like a rock until about 12:30 am. We all got up at around 3 am and are downstairs at the Inn in the gathering room. Needless to say, we are the only ones awake.
Breakfast (after the pop tart breakfast Ryan and Jake already had) is at 7 am and we are all heading upstairs to shower and re-organize the suitcases.
We traveled light with just three big suitcases and four carry-ons. One of the big suitcases was FILLED with medicine, pjs, and other things for the kids.
Philip, if you are reading this blog, please send us an email or Skype us - we don't have your email or Skype address with us. In fact, we were so rushed, we left home without a few other things.
Since it is only October, the heat is not allowed to be turned on. Even though it was in the low 40's when we arrived, there was no heat to be found anywhere, including the car that picked us up! Apparently, heat is turned on on November 15th. It is steam heat provided/controlled by the government. This sounds like a rule my father had when we were growing up - no one was allowed to adjust the temperature and if you were cold, you were told to put on slippers over the socks you had on or put a robe on over the sweater you already had on. I am going to miss my father.....
More later! Thanks again for all the prayers and encouragement. There is NO doubt that we are following God's plan and we can't wait to see how it all unfolds.
The drivers found us outside of baggage claim while I was preparing to attempt our back-up plan for transportation. The plane actually arrived EARLY because it took off from Washington as soon as it was full. There were five seats available and we got four of them.
We spent the night at Shepherd's Field after a brief tour of one of the foster homes. We will visit up until lunch today and then head back to Beijing to visit Amazing Hands.
We had dinner at a local restaurant with Clay and Jewel and the compound's orphan dog who followed us right into the restaurant. He waiting patiently on a pile of clean tablecloths until we were done eating. He then walked home with us. It was a good dinner.
Ryan did not go with us but slept like a rock until about 12:30 am. We all got up at around 3 am and are downstairs at the Inn in the gathering room. Needless to say, we are the only ones awake.
Breakfast (after the pop tart breakfast Ryan and Jake already had) is at 7 am and we are all heading upstairs to shower and re-organize the suitcases.
We traveled light with just three big suitcases and four carry-ons. One of the big suitcases was FILLED with medicine, pjs, and other things for the kids.
Philip, if you are reading this blog, please send us an email or Skype us - we don't have your email or Skype address with us. In fact, we were so rushed, we left home without a few other things.
Since it is only October, the heat is not allowed to be turned on. Even though it was in the low 40's when we arrived, there was no heat to be found anywhere, including the car that picked us up! Apparently, heat is turned on on November 15th. It is steam heat provided/controlled by the government. This sounds like a rule my father had when we were growing up - no one was allowed to adjust the temperature and if you were cold, you were told to put on slippers over the socks you had on or put a robe on over the sweater you already had on. I am going to miss my father.....
More later! Thanks again for all the prayers and encouragement. There is NO doubt that we are following God's plan and we can't wait to see how it all unfolds.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Still in the US
We were unable to get on the flight to Beijing this afternoon. We are in Reston Virginia and will try again tomorrow. Even though the flight tomorrow looks equally as bad, I am hopeful that we will get on. It has been a LONG couple of days.
I spoke with my mother and sister and both are doing as well as can be expected. There has been so much support and encouragement from so many people and my family truly appreciates it. My father will be greatly missed by all.
We were able to catch a 3-hour nap this afternoon after getting about 3 hours of sleep last night. Even though we arrived home at 5pm last night, our luggage did not arrive until after 7pm. Thanks to Kristen, Jill and Luann, we got everything packed and made it to the airport on time this morning. We had to re-distribute some of the weight between a couple suitcases but are officially traveling with three bags weighing 50 lbs. each. Plus, I think our backpacks weigh at least that! The airport is VERY big and we did ALOT of walking today. It felt like they weighed 100 lbs each. We also opted to bring the baby carrier instead of a stroller. At one point, Jake even feel asleep for a short amount of time while sitting on my back.
We were able to book a room at a hotel with an airline rate - $68 versus $250! The hotel room is very nice and we all enjoyed the rain shower and Crabtr** and Evelyn shampoo, conditioner and lotion - well, at least I did :) We had pizza delivered to the room and searched through the bags for my cell phone charger. It was exactly where I thought it was but I did not see it until AFTER I went through every other bag! Lack of sleep truly slows a body down. I have not gotten much sleep since the phone rang Tuesday night at 11:35 pm. I miss my dad....
We did get to practice our Chinese while waiting (and waiting and waiting) for the shuttle bus to the hotel. We spoke with an 11 year old boy and his mother who are visiting the US. Sadly, the child has cancer and is seeing someone in Maryland this week. I did not recognized the name of the institute until the mother showed me the business card. It certainly put things into perspective for me.
I am in the business center and need to head back to the room. Internet access is free here so we opted not to get it in the room. I will update again - but hopefully not from the US. Thank you all for your prayers - it means everything to us!
Oh, one last thing. I was able to go shopping at Cost*o when I was in Boston. I bought enough supplies to totally FILL one of the suitcases. It was the ONLY bag that was searched today at the airport (they left our other bags unopened). I'm sure they were wondering what I was doing with such LARGE supplies of medicine, Benefiber, toddler pajamas, toothbrushes, candy (for the bigger kids), etc. I can't wait to deliver it on behalf of those who donated and prayed.
I spoke with my mother and sister and both are doing as well as can be expected. There has been so much support and encouragement from so many people and my family truly appreciates it. My father will be greatly missed by all.
We were able to catch a 3-hour nap this afternoon after getting about 3 hours of sleep last night. Even though we arrived home at 5pm last night, our luggage did not arrive until after 7pm. Thanks to Kristen, Jill and Luann, we got everything packed and made it to the airport on time this morning. We had to re-distribute some of the weight between a couple suitcases but are officially traveling with three bags weighing 50 lbs. each. Plus, I think our backpacks weigh at least that! The airport is VERY big and we did ALOT of walking today. It felt like they weighed 100 lbs each. We also opted to bring the baby carrier instead of a stroller. At one point, Jake even feel asleep for a short amount of time while sitting on my back.
We were able to book a room at a hotel with an airline rate - $68 versus $250! The hotel room is very nice and we all enjoyed the rain shower and Crabtr** and Evelyn shampoo, conditioner and lotion - well, at least I did :) We had pizza delivered to the room and searched through the bags for my cell phone charger. It was exactly where I thought it was but I did not see it until AFTER I went through every other bag! Lack of sleep truly slows a body down. I have not gotten much sleep since the phone rang Tuesday night at 11:35 pm. I miss my dad....
We did get to practice our Chinese while waiting (and waiting and waiting) for the shuttle bus to the hotel. We spoke with an 11 year old boy and his mother who are visiting the US. Sadly, the child has cancer and is seeing someone in Maryland this week. I did not recognized the name of the institute until the mother showed me the business card. It certainly put things into perspective for me.
I am in the business center and need to head back to the room. Internet access is free here so we opted not to get it in the room. I will update again - but hopefully not from the US. Thank you all for your prayers - it means everything to us!
Oh, one last thing. I was able to go shopping at Cost*o when I was in Boston. I bought enough supplies to totally FILL one of the suitcases. It was the ONLY bag that was searched today at the airport (they left our other bags unopened). I'm sure they were wondering what I was doing with such LARGE supplies of medicine, Benefiber, toddler pajamas, toothbrushes, candy (for the bigger kids), etc. I can't wait to deliver it on behalf of those who donated and prayed.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
List of Needs
Below is a list of needs I found on New Day's and Starfish's websites. I have already purchased 30 (!) rolls of adhesive needed to make banners at Shepherd's Field's factory. That was the one item they requested. If you are able to donate any of these items, please let me know. My intent, otherwise, is to purchase whatever we collect enough money to buy. Xie xie.
The list includes:
Nasal Saline Spray
Catheter 8 French
Singulair 4mg
ButtPaste
Benefiber
Toothette oral swabs
Pill Crusher
Paper tape (micropore 3M)
MiraLax
Lactulose
Claritin
Vaseline
Finger tip toothbrushes
Stomahesive powder
ConvaTec adhesive remover wipes
Cleocin Suspension
Triple antibiotic ointment
Clotrimazole cream
Gauze dressings 3X3
Azmacort inhalers
Usana Children's Multivitamin
Tussin CF
Atrovert nebulizers
Liquid Senokot
Kuric Cream (Ketoconazone 2% Cream)
Cefaclor Suspension
Zithromax Suspension
Aquaplast Splinting Material
Pulmicort Nebulizers
Playtex Bottles (the ones with the bags in them)
Playtex nipples (all four sizes)
Motrin and Tylenol (ages 2 - 11)
Pajamas for 12 months to 3T (boys and girls)
Plastic-backed changing table covers
Mucinex expectorant liquid (ages 2 and older)
Preemie diapers
Vicks Babyrub Soothing Vapor Ointment
Desitin Original Zinc Oxide Diaper Rash Ointment
The list includes:
Nasal Saline Spray
Catheter 8 French
Singulair 4mg
ButtPaste
Benefiber
Toothette oral swabs
Pill Crusher
Paper tape (micropore 3M)
MiraLax
Lactulose
Claritin
Vaseline
Finger tip toothbrushes
Stomahesive powder
ConvaTec adhesive remover wipes
Cleocin Suspension
Triple antibiotic ointment
Clotrimazole cream
Gauze dressings 3X3
Azmacort inhalers
Usana Children's Multivitamin
Tussin CF
Atrovert nebulizers
Liquid Senokot
Kuric Cream (Ketoconazone 2% Cream)
Cefaclor Suspension
Zithromax Suspension
Aquaplast Splinting Material
Pulmicort Nebulizers
Playtex Bottles (the ones with the bags in them)
Playtex nipples (all four sizes)
Motrin and Tylenol (ages 2 - 11)
Pajamas for 12 months to 3T (boys and girls)
Plastic-backed changing table covers
Mucinex expectorant liquid (ages 2 and older)
Preemie diapers
Vicks Babyrub Soothing Vapor Ointment
Desitin Original Zinc Oxide Diaper Rash Ointment
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Visas
I just heard from Denise at There's Always Hope and our Passports and Visas are on their way back to us.
Our plan is to fly standby to Beijing on October 17th. We will spend two nights at Shepherd's Field Children's Village (Inn of Eight Happinesses) and will visit New Day Foster Home and Amazing Hands (where Jake lived for 14 months) on October 20th. We will take the 14-hour overnight train to Xi'an and arrive at Starfish Foster Home early on October 21st. Our friend, Yin, is originally from Xi'an and her parents are coming to visit her a couple days before we leave for China. They are going to buy the train tickets for us and hand deliver them to us! Only God. Her best cousin in Xi'an will purchase the return tickets for us and make sure we are securely on the train when it is time to return to Beijing. Again, only God.
We have asked the foster homes if there are items they would like for us to bring. Our church, Eternal, has set up an account for us to receive donations (please specify "Woods Family" in the memo section). All donations will be used for foster home needs only. We will either purchase the requested items here and bring them with us or we will purchase them in China. We can accept donations until October 15th. We will gladly accept prayers everyday.
Tina added this new section to the blog so, if you want, you can follow our journey while we are in China. We will be sure to take lots of pictures and document the experience as best we can.
Our plan is to fly standby to Beijing on October 17th. We will spend two nights at Shepherd's Field Children's Village (Inn of Eight Happinesses) and will visit New Day Foster Home and Amazing Hands (where Jake lived for 14 months) on October 20th. We will take the 14-hour overnight train to Xi'an and arrive at Starfish Foster Home early on October 21st. Our friend, Yin, is originally from Xi'an and her parents are coming to visit her a couple days before we leave for China. They are going to buy the train tickets for us and hand deliver them to us! Only God. Her best cousin in Xi'an will purchase the return tickets for us and make sure we are securely on the train when it is time to return to Beijing. Again, only God.
We have asked the foster homes if there are items they would like for us to bring. Our church, Eternal, has set up an account for us to receive donations (please specify "Woods Family" in the memo section). All donations will be used for foster home needs only. We will either purchase the requested items here and bring them with us or we will purchase them in China. We can accept donations until October 15th. We will gladly accept prayers everyday.
Tina added this new section to the blog so, if you want, you can follow our journey while we are in China. We will be sure to take lots of pictures and document the experience as best we can.
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