It's in the 70s this morning and drizzling. I hear it could be close to 100 tomorrow in Chengdu, the day we'll arrive.
I haven't packed one single thing yet. Last night I was wiped out and went to bed earlier than normal but Lilian had a hard time falling asleep so it took awhile before we were all content enough to close our eyes. This morning and into the afternoon Phil and I have interviews to conduct for potential volunteers for work in Chengdu. I think I'll have to skip out on the afternoon stuff to pack.
Thankfully, Chengdu is a big, modern city and we can buy anything there that we don't want to pack or forget to pack. Well, almost anything.
It's been a really busy, full week with us learning the ropes of how CCA goes about selecting suitable volunteers for the work they are doing. The interviewing process started yesterday and was really interesting. Phil conducted them all with an interpreter and I sat in on a few of them. Everyone also had to have a medical screening. Jason and Natasha did that. I took care of Lilian (although she slept most of the morning in a cradle in the bathroom) and made sure everything was running smoothly.
Although, it's had it's stressful moments I really like this sort of thing. And although I know without even being there yet that our month in Chengdu will be stretching, stressful and tiring, I really can't wait to start it. I love being a part of stuff that's bigger than my own little dot on the globe.
I've found that I put so much effort and importance on things that don't often matter. And sometimes when things that really matter come along I'm so into my life I don't want to change my focus. When I think about the folks that moved to this country years and years ago and look at what my life is like now in this same country...I don't think it's a big deal at all to take my 1 month old and toddler to a different city for a month to do some good work. I didn't move here to sit comfortably in my 4 bedroom apart with coordinating walls and furniture. I came here to live. And when life brings us hard work we go for it because otherwise we're missing out on some really beautiful stuff that He wants for us.
Thankfully, I wrote this the day before we leave so I can look back here in a few days and remind myself of how optimistic I was before we left! And thankfully, my ability, my strength, and my understanding don't matter one bit in what He's going to do.
I haven't packed one single thing yet. Last night I was wiped out and went to bed earlier than normal but Lilian had a hard time falling asleep so it took awhile before we were all content enough to close our eyes. This morning and into the afternoon Phil and I have interviews to conduct for potential volunteers for work in Chengdu. I think I'll have to skip out on the afternoon stuff to pack.
Thankfully, Chengdu is a big, modern city and we can buy anything there that we don't want to pack or forget to pack. Well, almost anything.
It's been a really busy, full week with us learning the ropes of how CCA goes about selecting suitable volunteers for the work they are doing. The interviewing process started yesterday and was really interesting. Phil conducted them all with an interpreter and I sat in on a few of them. Everyone also had to have a medical screening. Jason and Natasha did that. I took care of Lilian (although she slept most of the morning in a cradle in the bathroom) and made sure everything was running smoothly.
Although, it's had it's stressful moments I really like this sort of thing. And although I know without even being there yet that our month in Chengdu will be stretching, stressful and tiring, I really can't wait to start it. I love being a part of stuff that's bigger than my own little dot on the globe.
I've found that I put so much effort and importance on things that don't often matter. And sometimes when things that really matter come along I'm so into my life I don't want to change my focus. When I think about the folks that moved to this country years and years ago and look at what my life is like now in this same country...I don't think it's a big deal at all to take my 1 month old and toddler to a different city for a month to do some good work. I didn't move here to sit comfortably in my 4 bedroom apart with coordinating walls and furniture. I came here to live. And when life brings us hard work we go for it because otherwise we're missing out on some really beautiful stuff that He wants for us.
Thankfully, I wrote this the day before we leave so I can look back here in a few days and remind myself of how optimistic I was before we left! And thankfully, my ability, my strength, and my understanding don't matter one bit in what He's going to do.