China and Home

As Heather reported (thanks, Heather!) we did make it out of Mongolia on time. Though there was a lot of crying as we said goodbye to the Sprengers, we managed to get to the airport and on the plane intact and the plane (miraculously) left as scheduled.


At the Beijing airport, we made our way out to the main terminal, found our tour guide, and commenced a whirlwind tour of the Temple of Heaven. Lisa, our tour guide, gave us a lot of information about China and Beijing on our way into the capitol city and then took us through the Temple of Heaven ... explaining the many instances of symbolism in the architecture and in the various temple sites throughout the park. It was fun to see this small part of China ... I think most of us wish we could have spent a little more time there. Next time, right? ;)

After returning to the airport, we had some dinner and made our way to the gate only to discover along the way that our flight had been delayed 2 1/2 hours. This, of course, meant that we missed our connecting flight in L.A. We were all struggling to remain Semper Gumby as we waited to find out what Air China was going to do for us, but when we found out that they were putting us up for the night at the LAX Hilton and providing dinner and breakfast for us, well ... let's just say that being Semper Gumby got quite a bit easier. :) We had some yummy food, took showers, and slept on super-comfy beds. It was kind of a nice way to end the trip.

And now ... everyone is home attempting to stay awake until the evening.

I'll have more pictures up in the next couple of days.

They're off!

I just wanted to let everyone know that the team left this morning (our time), and should be in Beijing! It was very sad to see them go. They were a HUGE blessing to all of us! Thanks, everyone, for sending them over!

Friday -- our last day :(

It's been a fairly full day for our team:

• some last minute shopping at the Za*glottal sound*
• lunch with Mike, CB, and Heather at Millie's -- an American-style restaurant owned by an Ethiopian woman and managed by a Cuban man

• down time at the Sprengers in the afternoon
• a 4th of July feast provided by CB and Caleb on the grill: hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, veggies, pickles, chips, baked beans ... YUM!!!

• the finals of the Bubbling Springs Open, which were attended by most of our group and some teammates of Mike and CB's that we've had a chance to work with during the last couple weeks
• our final evening with the Sprengers ... lots of tears from Ardi, Rachel, and I (we're the criers of the group)

We are so, so thankful for our time here and for all of you who helped get us here.

We leave tomorrow (Saturday) morning for China and -- after an 8-hour layover in Beijing -- make the final journey home. If all goes as planned, we should be arriving around 11pm Saturday night. I'll be posting some pictures of our tour in Beijing, so make sure to check back early next week. :)

Thanks again for following our time on this blog and for keeping us in your prayers.

360 of the Mongolian Countryside

a Mongolian thank you

w/ the Mongolian worship team, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

Mike and CB let us know that the worship team would want to set aside a time especially for thanking Scott and our team. It's the Mongolian way. And so Thursday night, we ordered Chinese food and invited all of the team over to the Sprengers. We played a group hand-slapping game (so very difficult to explain), ate yummy food, and then had some time to share how we've been blessed by one another.

It was really encouraging to hear all the great things the team had to say about Scott ... they were so thankful for all the time and energy he gave to them, to the Sprengers for connecting him with them, and to God for making it all happen.

I wanted to share a little bit of what they said with all of you ... my hope is that since you've been walking this road with us, you will be encouraged with us.

Dulguun said:
Before you came, I was hoping to learn all kinds of new things about music, but you came and taught me all these things about what it means to worship. I realized that I could learn to play an instrument any time, but this opportunity to learn about worship was something I wouldn't have at any time.

Mendee said:
Our worship team needed to take the next step. You came and helped us to make it.

Olaana said a lot, but this especially touched me. It was the first thing he said:
I'm thankful to God for bringing you to us. It was all from Him.

We had such different plans for this trip. In the original schedule, Scott would have had very little time to spend with this team. We are SO THANKFUL that God's plans were so much bigger than ours.