Sunny Days and Refreshing Visits with Friends!!!

This weekend was a much needed time away!! My friend Nathan and I took a "black bus" to Huangshi to visit some friends on our team. Huangshi is about a 2hour bus trip give or take the traffic situation getting in and out of Wuhan! But we had a great drive out there and among the 25 or so people on the bus we were the only ones talking:-) We talked the whole way there. Just so nice to get out of the city and relax!!!

When we arrived we met with Chelsie!!!! I have missed her so much since we parted ways in Thailand! We became very close on our trip and she is like a sister to me!!! It was a blessing to be with her for the weekend! We met everyone at dinner and had a wonderful time catching up!

Saturday we woke up to a beautiful day!!! It has been weeks since I have seen the sun for an entire day and it was even in the 60s!!!! Such a great day! Chelsie and I had some good time to visit and them I met up with a friend and took a VERY long walk around the Lakes!!! It was so beautiful....I know I keep saying that but you just don't understand how much Vitamin D I have been missing!!!

We all met up at a local park and played "Banana Grams" and had a nice little chill time on the blanket:-) We were quite the attention grabber for the walkers by! The children loved seeing us and asking us what we were doing:-)

It was quite a funny site to watch all the fashionable outfits at the park:-) This little mom and son were decked out!

In China many couples get their wedding photos taken in very elaborate outfits and in very interesting places! This girl was decked out!!!

We took a path from the park to the local Catholic Church. It was a very beautiful building and a peaceful place to be!

As we walked away from the park we got to see the most magnificent sunset!!! When you don't see the sun, you also don't see sunsets so this was quite the treat for us!!! Such an awesome creation we have to enjoy!

It was great getting real with these people and being community together!!! Such a bless! from left to right Paul and Erin Korson, Aaron, Chelsie, Camille, Lesley, and me...Nathan took the pic for us:-)

We just couldn't go to Huangshi without having a waffle from the Toilet people!!! I had a banana Waffle and it was tasty!!!! This place has toilets as seats:-) HA..kinda redneck China:-)

It was a wonderful weekend and We had a great fellowship and worshp time together Sunday morning before we headed back to Wuhan. So awesome to be encouraged and get real with people!!! Loved it and loved seeing the Father work!!!! He answers PRs and meets needs is such an incredible way! Praise Him!!!

Let's Get Real...

This week has been really good...I say good in a new way...I am just going to be really real with you today. I am going on 7 months in my new home now:-) I have really been realizing that this is my home. This Texas girl NEVER thought she would say anywhere would be home but TEXAS! I mean, it's God's Country! Why would anyone want to leave the Promise Land??? Ok, for real, I have always known there was a different plan for my life...but now I know that plan is in China, at least for now. But with that realization has come a multitude of emotions!! I have been reading a book my J.H. Taylor and his total surrender to the Call on his life. It has really challenged me to look at things in a new way. He gave up everything and placed himself in situations to grow and become all the Father wanted for him. I want that!!! I long for that!! But that surrender comes with a cost and that cost is such a heavy one to me right now. This week I have been talking to the Father about many things. My desires and needs and being found complete in Him and Him alone. This is all I REALLY NEED and WANT...but as quickly as I say it I must call on Him to help me. I have had feelings of loneliness and have really been missing my family and friends. But through that I have felt such a greater love and comfort from my Savior! HE has met so many needs for me. But I am being open with you because I long for your PRs to be faithful to the call that HE has for me. It is so humbling to be here and to get to be apart of His work!!! I am overwhelmed at the lives HE is changing and the things HE continues to do in and through people. He is continuing to encourage me and place people in my life that encourage me. I think I have been to prideful in the past in not wanting to be open about these struggles. I really like to be strong...but let me just tell you...being strong is not all it's cracked up to be. So today I want you to know that I am humbled to be here and even more covet your PRs for me. I need strength that only HE can give and I Praise HIM because He is always faithful to give it! I have been sick and on antibiotics this week and that hasn't helped the emotions but despite all of this HE has not left me!!! Let me tell you about my weekend:-)

Two of my dear, sweet friends came over to my apartment for dinner on Saturday night!!! Yola in the middle and Liping on the left! Yola's mom recently went to Beijing and brought us back a duck!!! Beijing is very famous for duck, especially the neck:-) So after I got done babysitting friday night and Saturday(which I might add was quite an amazing time! It is one of my favorite things to do and I don't often get the chance to do it here...So I counted it a huge blessing! I think I was more blessed to get to keep the little girls than the parents were that they got to have time away:-)) But anyway, the girls came over and we cooked! Everyone brought something and we had an American/Chinese potluck, I didn't even realize it was St.Patrick's Day:-)

It was tons of fun and then we watched "Yours, Mine and Ours"! Great movie:-) Then we had a sleep over!

Sunday morning I went to Chinese fellowship with some friends/students that I invited!!! We went to Liping's fellowship. I have been twice before and love attending there so much!!! It is such a blessing to wrshp with Chinese people! I didn't understand much but my spirit understood:-) Joe, the boy next to me, wanted to get a "Book" after fellowship. So we walked to a C-bookstore that is connected to the gvmt chrch. It was all of their first time to this kind of store!! Liping led the way!! I think that the 3 students who went for the first time are going back next week!!! PTL! They had many questions and even told some stories of people who told them they were PRing for them. HE is working, my friends!!!! It is so amazing to be apart of this!!! We had lunch together and then went to another book store to look around! I got some new books for my Chinese class!! Then we took a taxi back to our part of town. I was invited Sunday night to go to dinner with my 14yr old friend and His family. I have mentioned them before. His father is a police officer here. Actually he is the head customs officer for all foreigners. We had a great time. Another friend came with the 14yr old and we enjoyed out time very much. I am seeing the Father use this family in my life very much!!! I can't say everything yet but please be lifting up my relationship with them. They are very kind and very lost. The whole evening was amazing!!!

I want to encourage you to not let a day go by that you don't share the Good News of our Father!!! There are so many who need to hear and I am Pring for you to be Courageous!!!! I hope you understand the "realness" of this blog?! I am so blessed and I covet your PRs!!! Please remember your purpose and use the gifts that HE has given you!!! I love you all and miss you MORE THANK YOU KNOW!!!

Just Another Awesome Friday!

One of my friends and fellow teachers here at Jianghan went home for a week for his sister's wedding! So I got to teach his friday classes last week! It was so much fun to have new students for the day!! These girls really wanted a picture:-)

I am kinda sad these last few days because it's Rodeo season back in Texas so I decided to sport my cowgirl clothes:-) I don't quite think the students knew what to think of me...but I feel that way quite often...lol

Next up, my friend Ami came to meet me for lunch because she was going to spend the day with me. We went to lunch at my normal little place and while we were eating some of my students saw me and invited me over because is was my student's birthday:-) They were having quite the celebration:-)

Then we met up with some other students to head off for a fun day of strawberry picking!!! I was so excited when they invited me! Cynthia, the girl on the left of me is a sweet friend who I have known for most of my time here. She organized the whole event!!

We all loved this fun time! We got to pick 1kg to take home and eat as many as we wanted while we were there! It only cost $5USD!! All the students enjoyed themselves:-)

This place was in a new part of Wuhan for me....we drove about an hour from our school. They called it the countyside of Wuhan...I loved it!!

Then we went to a special "fast food" Hot pot place! It was great food and lots of fun! I could tell these people never see foreigners because I had people staring the whole time. Normally it's not so bad in my area of Wuhan because many foreign companies have people living there but out here in the "County side" was a totally different story:-)

Then we came back to the school and dropped off most of the students. One of the girls that went with us is a "sister" and wanted to take some strawberries to a local tea shop owned by another "brother and sister". i had never been there and was soooo excited to meet them and see the work they do in this area!!! My new friend and "sister" is also best friends with Cynthia and we had some great convos with her throughout this day!! It was great! We also had some great convos with Joe! He is the boy on the far left and the only boy that went with us to pick strawberries:-) He is very interested in the Father. He and Cynthia went to fellowship with my new friend last week and He is going with me and many other friends to another Chinese fellowship that I can attend, this Sunday!!! I am really excited about this! He is going to get a "Book" this week!!!

Last but defiantly not least....we ended the day attending the local Wuhan International School Talent Show!!!! Oh I must admit this was kinda hard for me. It REALLY made me miss teaching music!!! The kids were sooooo cute!!! This little guy goes to fellowship with me and did a great job on the guitar and singing. My friend Taylor is his teacher and you can tell that all their work paid off!

I didn't know this little girl but she played really well!!! Shifting all over the violin and making me really miss my little students!

This little group had such a cute performance of "We Will Rock You"!!! They had a full band and I don't think any of them are over the age of 10. It was awesome! I was blessed by the kids and Also by the message that the International School gave in gratefulness to the Father!!! Such a great day!

Party Like Only Music Majors Can:-)

Well, Like I mentioned in my last blog, I have been trying to think of creative ways to be intentional with my students!!! I knew that one of my classes was full of Art Majors. Some drawing, painting, cartooning, Fashion Design, and Music!!! It is so great to get to teach so many different students..But on the flip side the art majors are the LEAST likely(besides my basketball/sports majors) to know english or even want to learn english. So I decided to invited my music students over to my apartment for a night of food and music! I told them I would make American food and they could all play my new piano and sing for me:-) I was sooo excited!!! I cooked food the entire day before they arrived! Because my oven looks like an "Easy Bake Oven" and I can only cook a few things at once, one meal can take hours to prepare:-( But it was all worth it! I made Chili and rice, along with fruit salad, egg and sausage breakfast casserole, bacon wrapped peppers and many desserts!!!

These were the red velvet cake balls I made..it's amazing what you can use chopsticks for:-) Now please don't think I can easily make these:-( I had all the ingredients sent to me from my AMAZING MOM:-)

My apartment was filled! It is not very big but we fit 15 people in and had a wonderful time! These guys loved the cake balls:-) Sylvia is the student in the back with her hands up...she is the most dramatic student I have even had!! After every class I am exhausted because of her intense attitude toward EVERYTHING i Do. I'm not kidding!! If I change my fingernail polish she will say in a VERY loud voice, "Oh My Gosh Ms. Chandler...You finger color...amazing!" LOL...her English is very broken but she does try:-)

This boy playing the guitar is Chen Guo. He is not my student but "Bella" in the brown coat brought him! He has great English and is an excellent musician! My friend Kirk, who teaches in Wuchang also came for the party! He is a great musician and I thought it would be fun for my guy students to meet an American guy who also plays and sings!

The guys passed around the guitar and we all sang! It was so fun! My girl students were VERY happy to take lots of pictures of Kirk and video of him playing and singing:-)

This is "Bruce"...He is a great singer of Chinese Opera! He sang a beautiful song and Kirk tried to help him in the back:-)

This is "Smile"....She is an excellent piano player and cross stitcher! She made me a beautiful Cross Stitch that I have hanging in my bedroom!

This boy playing the piano is "Carlos"(I had a hard time calling him that name...I mean it just didn't seem right:-)) He is also not one of my students but he came with his friends! He played for "Anne" as she sag Chinese Opera for us! It was great!

This was the food table...they really loved the fruit and didn't really touch the homemade snickers! Chinese people don't eat much sugar.

This is me with all my girls:-) I love them...because these are all music education majors I have such a special place in my heart for them:-)

The boys wanted their own picture:-) Lol...

The whole group!!! It was such a fun night and I was completely exhausted after they all left but SOOOOOO worth every minute! Made me miss college and singing together with other music people:-) I think I have friends forever with these students!

February Memories:-)

Well I decided I REALLY need to get completely caught up on all my blogs!! Since I finished my Vacation I need to get you up to date with life after vacation:-) February was a fun month full of parties, holidays, and intentional conversations!!! Sometimes I just marvel at how the Father places people in my life and allows me to so easily share about HIM! I think before coming to China I thought it would be difficult and i would have to seek out people to be friends with...HA...that is the farthest from the truth!! People just appear! I mean, there are about 11million people in Wuhan but I almost never go a day without meeting a new person or getting to share of the goodness of my Father!

Maybe you remember, from one of my blogs in November, my new friend Shirley! I call her my bus stop friend:-) I met her at my bus stop:-) We were both waiting for the bus and really needed to get on the bus...but 3 buses passed us and didn't even stop:-( We kind of looked at each other and knew what each other was thinking!!! "OH CHINA"! You see, it was "Singles day". China tries to find a way to make random holidays and them people celebrate them. Well, She was going to see a movie with a friend and I was headed to dinner so I asked her if she wanted to share a taxi since we were going to the same general location! She and her friend were happy to go together with me. I felt like I should ask about her and ask if she wanted to have dinner another time! She spoke little english but it was an instant connection:-) So, we exchanged numbers and then went on our way. She and I have become good friends since this night and so on Valentine's day we went out together with some of her co-workers! This guy is a driver for her company and had never had dinner with a foreigner before...right before we took the picture he grabbed my hand and smiled really big:-) LOL It was so funny...HE asked for a copy..then the girls said he was going to hang it in his apartment. HA, needless to say he won't be getting a copy:-) But it was lots of fun! He kept trying to serve me rice and tell me he thought I was beautiful and do anything else he knew to do to try to make a good impression...like offer me is alcohol...I graciously declined and enjoyed watching him try to figure out how to make a good impression to a foreigner. The girls also thought it was quite a funny evening:-) Shirley brought me a Valentine flower and before we left thanked me for being her friend. Last week she and I had lunch and I shared the good news with her. Please lift this sweet girl up in your PRs!!! She was quite moved and we PRed together at lunch. She has many questions and I know HE is pursuing her for Himself. She will hopefully be going to fellowship with me soon!!

One of my sweet friends, Ami from Wuchang, invited some friends over to home for a wonderful home cooked Chinese meal!!! She and her father prepared most of the food along with one of our chinese friends, Berlin! When we arrived there were about 5 dishes already ont he table....there were over 20 dishes on the table before we were finished. It was a feast!!! They had more food to cook and we had to tell them there was NO WAY we could eat anything else! It was great!!! Ami played the piano for us and her father played the violin and then i played a little. It was such a fun night!

The party was also a time to say goodbye to our friend Miki...She left to go to University in Singapore:-( So sad not to get to see her but we hope to take a trip there sometime and visit her:-) Miki and Ami and the girls on either side of me:-)

After Dinner we played a few games of Jenga:-) It was hilarious! the loser of each round had to dance or sing for us!!!

Since classes have started up with a gusto i have been especially burdened for my students! Most of them speak hardly any English and don't understand most of what I say. This is quite frustrating to me as a teacher but also very burdensome for me as their friend. I really want to make sure they have a chance to learn all they can and know my heart about things. So I made a contest in all my classes. If the students joined the contest i surprised them by taking them to lunch:-) So everyday for one week I had a small group(or not so small) that I took to eat at a local restaurant! It was one of the most fun things I have done!!! Most of my classes are the same classes i had from last term. So we already have a relationship...but this has just grown our friendship and love for each other! I told the students they had to speak English the WHOLE time and I was the only one who could speak Chinese to the waitress:-) They thought this was great...but it was the quietest lunch I have ever had with chinese students:-) HA!

This is "Ms. Chandler in teacher mode"...lol"Black", the student beside me was worried about that we should order and how to tell me in English what he wanted:-) It was great:-) I was trying to tell them It was important that they only spoke English and I didn't care how slow they had to speak:-)

Black is one of my favorite students:-) He really tried to help me with the all Chinese menu!

These pics are all fromt he same class...I hate to say it but they are some of my favorites and the only class i remembered to take pics of:-) They are also my best english class...it is easiest to convers with them so we had time to think about pics:-) The other classes i was so concentrated on making sure they were engaged in English I didn't even thing of pics:-( Through this daily trip to the same restaurant I really got close to the workers...they began giving me a discount and now every time I walk past or eat here they say "Hey Lao Shi" translated "Hey teacher":-) It is great:-)

One of my best friends here in Wuhan, Karen, had her birthday at the end of Feb and we celebrated at a local restaurant! Many friends came and had a great time together!!! She is a teacher at the International School very close to my school and we have gotten very close. She is a blessing to me and I'm really grateful for her. We get to be involved together with wrshp in our local fellowship and She also attends the Beth Moore study I am having at my apartment this term:-) He is so faithful to give me friends that encourage me and have the same heart I do for the people here!

This cute girl on the left is Becca! She is also one of my best friends here! She and her husband Adam and their 2 little girls are such a joy to know! Adam is the leader of the organization I am here with! We had a surprise birthday party for her at Aloha Diner(Our favorite western restaurant)!!! Everyone talked about how Becca had blessed their lives and then Nathan sang an amazing song for her that he written:-) "Cause She's a Methodist, A Free Methodist"...It was the highlight for sure:-) So, February was quite the month! Lots of exciting things went on and The Father is working on many people here!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles...Kunming and Chengdu, CHINA!!!

CHINA!!!! You have NO IDEA how excited I was to make it back to China!!! After the Longest night on a bus in my life..I was soooo happy to see this Border! It was also a very crazy border to get through. You see, we entered China on a Sunday...so they told us we would have to pay more to get back in because the people were working overtime...I was about at my witt's END by this point and almost had a melt down.

This is "Ford", my Thai friend I met on the bus. He helped me get through the border because he spoke Chinese and Lao. He also paid for my entrance fee...I gelt so bad but he was so ashamed that they were making us pay he refused to let me pay. I think it was only 15 Yuan(about $3) but still...it was the point. He was such a blessing to me! Also There were two other guys and a girl I met throughout the 38hrs that became my friends. They were all really kind!

After we got through the border we had to continue our journey to Kunming. We stopped for some Chinese food and I was soooo excited to have Chinese food. I really missed while I was gone. I really missed the normal food that I have gotten accustomed to eating here. Sometimes i am amazing at how Chinese I have become...I almost can't eat a meal without rice now and I prefer to use chopsticks...just a random new fact about myself:-) These people were two of my bed mates(the ones that thought I had a disease). They spoke no English and their dialect of Chinese was a little hard for me to understand but we communicated:-) many nonverbal types of communication and also my very small amount of Chinese:-) I loved getting to know them! We arrived in Kunming about 2am...and we were dropped off at a random bus station on the far side of town. So my new friends took a taxi with me to the train station. They were soooo helpful! They didn't want to leave me without making sure I had my tickets to Chengdu and one guy even walked around Kunming with me until I found a hotel for the night. The Father was taking such care of me!!!

Needless to say, when I finally made it to my room I was exhausted! After the LONGEST bus ride in history and then the taxi ride and walking around I was ready to drop. I slept sooooo well that night. The next morning I was so excited about venturing out to see Kunming. I was staying close to the train station so I could walk there to catch my train so the hotel workers helped me to know the bus route to the city center. It was great....finally back in a semi familiar place! buses that I know how to use and Chinese being spoken!!! So I made it to the city center and had such a fun time exploring! I think I walked for about 4hrs just looking at everything. I happened upon this church in an ally and heard music from inside...so, I went in:-) When I made my way up the stairs I realized they were having a wedding:-) I sat in the back and waited until they were finished and then snuck out:-) It was awesome!

As I was walking I found this little tea shop...very popular to see in China but I just couldn't resist taking of picture of the awesome sign..."my drinking controlled by myself"...Oh China! It was good tea:-) I enjoyed controlling mine:-)

I was only in Kunming for one day and then I headed to Chengdu!!! I was so excited to go to Chengdu because some of my sweet friends from Wuhan were meeting me there...I hadn't been with anyone in a week and I hadn't seen these friends in a month so I was really happy! The train from Kunming to Chengdu was soooo beautiful...I loved this countryside sooo much!

As we passed this school in the middle of no where I decided that one day I was going to come here and teach English:-) I mean i would love to live on their farm and teach in this little country school...I'm sure it would be just like Texas...lol ok so I'm kidding about the last part...but for real...I loved this place!

When I got to Chengdu I realized I had missed God...I mean how much larger of a sign did I need than a huge restaurant with a TEXAS flag on it...I am supposed to life here!!! Chengdu is my home away from home:-) My friends were a little overwhelmed by my enthusiasm over Texas! I mean...they know I'm pretty much hard core, Texan to the bone because they tease me all the time but this just gave them another reason to make fun of me:-) Who am I kidding...I'm Texan and proud of it:-)

I mean doesn't this just say "Melodie...this is your home!!!"??? I was in heaven...Texas in China....my home away from home:-)

The day after we arrived in Chengdu we decided to visit the Pandas! Chengdu is the place to go in China to see pandas:-) Sometimes I get frustrated with this amazing country I live in...when I saw this sign I had a little moment of frustration....and I might have yelled out..."The Lord God made them all" as I passed by. It really is how things are done here...HE is just taken out of everything:-(

My amazing friends Mandi and Michelle...we were at the red panda exhibit...I mean I think a red panda is a fox and a raccoon...don't you? Look at him!!! They are kinda creepy looking and not the nicest of creatures...lol

This is Nathan and I with the Pandas!!! They were sooo cute!!! I wanted to take one home:-)

After our Amazing Panda Adventure, we went to try sichuan Hot Pot...it is very famous here. Chengdu is in the province of Sichuan and they are VERY well known for their spicy food!!! I LOVED IT! This was our picture after we finished...the Chinese people thought we were hilarious:-)

Then, we had to try out the famous Sichuan snacks...so we headed to snack street and met some new friends that sold dried fruit and other tasty snacks!!! Ryan(my friend second fromt he left) told the ladies we were all brothers and sisters and that our mom was Chinese and our dad was American...He and Mandi speak really good Chinese so they were able to communicate really well with the ladies. It was such a fun night...They finally realized he was joking and had a good laugh out of it all:-) He actually had many people thinking he was an American Lawyer as well...Oh Ryan:-)

The next day we headed to Leshan, a city about 2hrs from Chengdu. We wanted to see the "Big Buddha"! I saw this little buddha and had to get a pic...

But the real trip was to see this guy! He was huge!!! I had fun taking funny pictures:-) Many Chinese people took pictures where it looked like they were touching him...but I wanted to be a little more creative:-) So I'm picking his nose...I got a few looks for this:-)

We climbed into this little cave where monks used to live...we are going to use this as our next album cover:-)

Buddha and me...he was crazy huge!

We did so much walking and took a little rest by the waterfall!

Our last night in Chengdu we had dinner at Peter's Tex Mex again...We just couldn't get enough of the amazing food!!! We also wanted to support Peter...He is a brother and has an amazing business there! But as you can see...we have a few new friends:-) This is another reason i get picked on...I really like making friends and so on the train from Kunming to Chengdu I met a really sweet girl who studies in Chengdu. She is in the pink coat! So I invited her to hang out with us while we were in Chengdu. She brought her boyfriend and we had a great time visiting with them! Then the first day I was in Chengdu I had gone to Starbucks to read and journal because my friends weren't arriving until the evening and I arrived at 5am:-) So I had a very relaxing afternoon there...but the barista that made my coffee really made an impression on me. She spoke great English and she reminded me of one of my students so she kind stuck out in my mind. Then that night when my friends and I were on our way to Dinner we stopped at an amazing little "Country Store" that sells foreign food to ask for directions...and she was there!!! She ended up giving us directions to Peter's Tex Mex and I asked her if she remembered me from earlier that day. She did and she even remembered my drink! lol so we kinda had a connection and then laughed and we went our own way. But I felt like i was supposed to kind her agin and ask her to hang out with us also. So the last night I went back to Starbuck and asked is she was there. I didn't even know her name but they knew who she was because I described her as the cute girl that spoke really good English:-) So they gave me her phone number and I sent her a message and invited her to come to dinner with us:-) So she and her foreign friend also came to dinner with us! It was so awesome! We also got to meet with her again the next morning at starbucks. It turns out she is planning to go to the US for University and in the same state where 3 of my four friends are from! So they were able to give her some advise and we were also able to exchange information. At the end of our talk I asked her if I could Life her up to the Father and she was excited to be apart of that with us. I have remained friends with both of these girls through email and text:-) It is so awesome how the Father brings people in our lives and puts them there for a reason!!! I write all of this to encourage you to follow the promptings of the Father...you never know who HE will bring across your path and who will come to know HIM!

Now for the crazy part...since we met our starbucks friend for coffee before we left Chengdu we kinda lost track of time and left the hostel a little later than we had planned. Well...then we ran into traffic...and well...then Nathan ran ahead to try to hold the train:-( After many crazy things the four of us missed the train:-( Nathan made it and they wouldn't let us through to gate to get on and the train left without us:-( it was still there but about to pull away. It was about the hardest thing we encountered. See, this was the end of Chinese New Year and all the train tickets had been purchased WAY in advance...we knew it was going to be next to impossible to get a train. But we went to the ticket office and Mandi tried to get us new tickets. Her chinese is amazing and we knew if anyone could do it she could...plus she is soooo super sweet...I was about to explode. I stopped us all in the middle of the station and said we MUST PR!!! lol and right there I cried out to HIM for mercy and for an attitude change! HE IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL! We got standing tickets...lol we were going to stand for 22hrs from Chengdu to Wuhan. Not our first pick but we wanted to GO HOME!!! Also the super bowl was the next day and Ryan and I really wanted to be home for that...lol Well, another long story made short...they found 4 beds for us after we had stood for about an hour and we were able to relax and rest! Once again HE showed us that HE had a plan that was far better than our own. We actually made money...they gave us our money back for the original tickets and the standing tickets were much cheeper...then when we paid agin for the beds it was cheeper than the first time we bought them:-) As Jeff Wells Always says..."YAY God"! I had mixed feeling about going home. I had been gone exactly 5 weeks from Wuhan and had the adventure of a lifetime, but I was ready to see my people! HIS people that I get to be with!!! SO now that I am finally finished with my Vacation blogs...look forward to what is going on int he last month!