September 10-11, 2006 Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Proverbs 25:25 We’ve Made It Here! We have arrived in Beijing after a very long and exhausting trip.  Chet’s parents woke up extremely early Sunday morning and got us to the airport in plenty of time to catch our flight.  (For the record, if you are flying United out of Hartsfield in Atlanta, the ticket counter for United Air does not open until 4:30 a.m.)  We were pleasantly surprised at check-in that our baggage was lighter than we thought. (We knew we were okay for our international flights, but thought they might be over the limit for the in-China flights.) At our gate (actually at the restroom), we met up with our friends and travel-mates, Marsha and Jeremy, and off we went to Chicago.  After a last American meal at Chili’s at the Chicago O’Hare Airport, we were off to China. The flight to China was smooth, although it was very long—and I do mean very long.  Chet and I were nowhere close to Marsha and Jeremy on the flight.  In fact, Chet and I were in the middle 2 seats of the very last row of the plane.  I would say the only advantage was we were close to the restrooms, but we still had to climb over people to get there.  Oh, well…  We did get some sleep, and we actually made it here safely. We have received one big piece of news.  Instead of flying to Nanchang on Wednesday morning, we will fly there on Tuesday night, and we will receive Mary Joyce on Wednesday, September 13.  That is one day earlier than what is listed on our itinerary.  We are very excited! This evening we walked a few blocks to a grocery store here in Beijing for some bottled water.  Just walking there and back was an experience in itself. We are now waiting on room service, and will probably turn in early because we are running completely on fumes at this point of the day. This whole experience is still completely surreal.  We appreciate all the prayers and support from family and friends at home. (From Chet) When Dusty said that the flight was long, she wasn’t kidding. Some long flights I have been on have had enough empty seats that you can stretch out some. Not this one. This plane had every. single. seat. sold. We were packed in there pretty good. But, we made it, and that’s the important part. This country, even the very little that I have seen, is very different from anywhere I have been. Walking to the grocery store, we saw modern businesses that are springing up everywhere. We have also seem some pretty extreme cases of poverty. Who knows what this country will look like in 10 years time. Well, that’s all for today. Tomorrow, we go to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. We will give another update when we get to Nanchang, and are able to get into the hotel’s business center.     Dusty, Jeremy, and Marsha Waiting at Hartsfield in Atlanta     Dusty and Chet at O'Hare in Chicago   View of Ice Floes Near the North Pole (Made from the Window of our Plane)     Chet in the Plane on the Way to Beijing     Miranda, Our Guide Who Met Us at the Beijing Airport   Sign for Our Hotel in Beijing             This page hosted by