Arrival In China

Dear All,

All of our plane connections and travel went very well. I have already eaten more rice in the last 36 hours than I have in the last two months. We are staying in a very nice hotel in Beijing. The lobby was all granite and marble and crystal chandeliers and, at the desk, we were the only people around, and yet they had 10 clerks working (at 10:30 at night). Last night Tim had to go downstairs to the business center so he could send a quick email and a bellhop escorted him back to the room to show him how to plug the computer into the wall. We were up early this morning because it's really late afternoon for us. The boys are still sleeping soundly though, as only those who have watched four airplane movies in a row and didn't try to sleep on the plane can do. Our six foot four son is sleeping on a love seat with no blankets. They had no extras at the hotel. It doesn't seem to bother him a bit. I remember being that young and able to sleep like that. Now it's hard to get any sleep at all.

Right now we are trying to figure out how everything works in this room. One thing I know, the bathroom has no outlets. It's handy to be married to an electrical engineer as he has informed me he brought an extension cord. Last night, since we got here so late and were so tired, we didn't get everything figured out. You have to slide your room key in a slot and keep it there to get the lights to work. In the middle of the night, when it was pitch dark in our room, and the slot is on the far side over a minefield of luggage I needed the light on to use the bathroom. I could see that wasn't going to work. Tim handed me his Palm Pilot, turned the display on, and told me I had three minutes.

Last night we met our guide, Angela, who will be taking us around Beijing for the next few days. She is a Chinese Christian who has translated our letters that we have sent to Abigail. She met us at the airport with four bottles of cold bottled water. It was exactly what we needed. We were all very thirsty and it was such a thoughtful gesture. May that encourage us all to continually offer a cup of cold water in Jesus' name.

Thanks for all your prayers!

~Deb