We saw them–1,000 amazing life-plus sized clay warriors which are quite literally the universe’s hardest puzzles.

We conquered those 3 pits of warriors, learning all about them from our flag carrying tour guide.

This lady clearly came ready to conquer them as well.

(that’s a plush tiger head backpack with matching animal print jumpsuit in case you were wondering.)

We then started into what I had told the team would be the hardest part of this whole trip (tied with driving away from the orphanage on the last day)–the van ride into the city where we are serving. We’ve always had one van. That is, one maybe 18-passenger van. For 18 people total counting the staff on board. And, an exorbitant amount of luggage. On previous trips, some team members were left to stand for the entire 3 hour drive while others sat on luggage in the aisles.

But, we all witnessed a China miracle today.

We were met on the highway to move from our charter bus to the orphanage-owned vehicle by not only the orphanage van BUT they had rented a second vehicle for our luggage.

Could you hear me singing from the other side of the world when I saw those two vans?

The energy built in that van full of people and not a mound of luggage and people as we made the last leg of our journey and entered into the city that we came here to serve in. By dinner…at this well-named local fave….

Every single one of them seemed abuzz knowing that tomorrow, we’re going into the orphanage.

As I go to sleep tonight with cars beeping outside and the glow of neon lights reflecting onto the wallpaper in my little room, I’m looking at this pile of goodness that somehow made it over here by another miracle. This isn’t even all of it.

Ready or not, here we go.

You know you’ve got a group of jet lagged people when there’s no problem at all getting to breakfast at 6am and leaving the hotel at 6:30. The only problem was that there was only enough time to drink two of our beloved cappuccinos. (But, it’s okay. I know there’s milk tea at our next destination.)

Domestic flights in China are always an experience. Today’s did not disappoint starting with some security shenanigans. Note: One of our teammates learned to not even try to take even empty lighters in your checked bag as gifts while another one learned that if you blow the bubbles you mistakenly put in your carryon bag at the security person, she will soften and let you take the whole case of them as long as you promise not to have a party and blow them in the aisles on the plane. The plane ride itself across China was rough to put it mildly, but we were all reminded that it was worth every bounce as we looked out our tiny little windows.

Everything seems to shout out His name.

No one seemed too traumatized by the rough ride. It didn’t stop the gang from taking rides of their own. (Yes, the team actually rode bikes along the top of the oldest city wall in all of China.) Those of us who pled unable to commit to that due to large backpacks, cameras, and skinny jeans were quite impressed by their riding prowess over less than perfect terrain. We walked the wall for an hour and a half instead and marveled at the blend of very, very old and new. It’s as if the old is fighting against the ever-encroaching new  to hold tight there.

We met a man along the city wall simply flying a kite. He may have been there all day long. He told us, “I am elderly, but I’m happy.” He went on to explain that he was 79 years old and used to work as a journalist. He laughed aloud as he bragged about how he has traveled to nearly every part of China and then used his earnings to travel more. He talked and talked, just happy to have people who cared about his kite barely visible in the sky above us.

We will see one more landmark before driving deeper into China to the city where we will be staying for a week to serve. The team is enjoying spending time together and learning about this place where we’ve been called to serve, but I think everyone is getting a little anxious to “settle down” and start up what we’ve come to do.

We’re ready.

(I’ll eventually get in one of the team pictures.)

About 28 hours after I left home in Phoenixville, PA, I stepped into my room in Beijing and saw what looked like heaven in the form of a white double bed. One forgets how long that airplane ride to China is until you’re on it again and find yourself totally ready to get off that plane and then realize you have about 6 hours left still.

But, all was well because everyone on the team slept through the night thanks to melatonin, benadryl, and other such helpful tools in our toolkits. And, we woke to a breakfast buffet complete with the best cappuccino ever. I may or may not have had 3 servings.

Our guide Joan, who I’ve had for every orphanage trip, not only greeted me with a full-on running hug at the airport but also reported to the team today that she and I are best friends. She also said the weather today was just for us…which I may just believe because look at this, people.  The heavens opened up and gave us blue like I’d never seen before in this part of the world.

Beaut-i-ful.

The few of the 15 on the team who had never been to the Great Wall had no idea how awesome today was for that. All of us marveled at the view. Some of us climbed higher and higher to see more of it. And, some of us, like myself, climbed a little for a few pics and then enjoyed the view from the bottom which was just as pretty.

Day 1 report – we’re doing great. And, now, this lady is going to take some more of her magic sleep potions and call it a night because I’ve gotta meet the rest of the crew at 6:30am to head back to the airport to journey a bit further into China where we’ll be for the rest of the trip.

But, no worries–cappuccino service starts at 6am. I’ll have plenty enough time for 2 or 3 before heading outta here.