Wrapping Up

Ernie and Clarisse saying good-bye to their students.
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Our team is now in Beijing winding down before we head home.  This trip has been awesome.  From teaching English to climbing the Great Wall, everyone has experienced an eye opening two weeks.  We have traveled as a team and we have grown as a team.

Our first night in Beijing we walked over to Tianamen Square from our hotel and we just stood and marveled at the intimidating force of the Big Brother type feel.  The square has represented the power of the ruling government for centuries and by being there one is able to see why.

Our time here has been well spent and life changing.

Adam preparing to destroy some squid we had for lunch.
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Sunday was a day of more historical touring as our team walked through the forbidden city, also just a short a walk from our hotel (and right across the street from Tianamen Square).  Massive restoration projects are continuing in the old Imperial Palace as the government is preparing the monument for the opening ceremonies of the 2008 summer olympics.  Sunday night we attended an authentic Beijing Opera that was visually stimulating but auditorily painful -- not our taste.

Me with a couple of new friends, Spring and Lydia.
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The team climbed the Great Wall on Monday along with every other Chinese tourist group in town.  The Wall had Chinese National touring in epic proportions.  To go just 100 meters one had to push and shove to make progress as well as shuck and jive to avoid a face full of elbow.  The Wall is an awesome place but, having been there before on a day practically free of other tourists, it was somewhat miserable on this day.  Never the less, seeing this awesome spectacle was a "must do" item our itinerary and despite the sea of humanity a blessing to us all.

Now our team is packing to go home, leaving at noon on July 18.  Our time here has been well spent and life changing.  As the leader of this group I can assure all our supporters that we have had great blessing and that this group could not have been easier to direct --- surely a hand greater then ours granted us success.  Hopefully all in this group will make a return visit to the great nation of China establishing and cultivating relationships as powerful as those of the experience of these past two weeks.