I can't believe the time has come. Three months ago I graduated college, I've endured a summer of 80+ screaming American children, and now I embark on a journey across the world. When I arrive in Denver, the new chapter in life begins. The pages are blank, waiting to be filled. This moment feels so incredibly surreal. I leave an amazing family and a handful of wonderful friends behind, but I turn to an awesome group of people who I will serve with in China. I am so flipping excited to FINALLY meet Deb, my CTF counselor! AND my teammates...AND everyone else going...AND my students...AND my colleagues...AND the random Chinese people! God has guided every step thus far, and I BELIEVE Deuteronomy 31:6 "So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you."
We got our team and school placements about three weeks ago. I was placed in Beijing with a team of three others and two team leaders. Then, this past week as I have been preparing to leave and pack I was informed that the school in Beijing (a very prestigious private school) denied me because of my lack of work experience. :( ELIC placed me there because they knew I had a background in education, and didn't think it would be a problem. They haven't had this issue before. It is not even the school, it was the Chinese officials. So God spoke loud and clear through the Chinese officials and ELIC transferred me to Taiyuan, Shanxi. It is a city 3 hours west of Beijing. Though it was hard to "take in" this news at first, as Deb and spoke more about it we both realized this is a better opportunity for me in so many ways. What is incredibly cool is that it is just MORE confirmation that God is putting me EXACTLY where He wants me! So, instead of Beijing--He wants me in Taiyuan. Probably so I will actually try the REAL Chinese food and not just settle for the Western food they have in Beijing. ;] Taiyuan is the capital of the Shanxi province and is still pretty large (about 3 million in population). Nothing like I'm used to in Spartanburg (280,700).
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The darker gray picture is of China. The lighter gray picture is of the Shanxi province and the yellow shade shows where Taiyuan is. Just a small idea of where I will be in regards to the whole country. :]My team consists of 4 other girls: Felicia, JoLyn, Stephanie, and Florence; and 2 team leaders: Tanya & Susie. I am PUMPED about the team, the placement, the whole opportunity and CAN NOT wait to see what God has in store!
I am sad that I won't be with the Beijing team, as I have gotten to know a couple of them, but I know I will be visiting them regularly. They are going to have a great time and experience there, I can't wait to see what God is gonna do in all of the teams!
I can't believe I was able to pack a majority of my things in 2, 50lb. bags. I will also have a carry on and my book bag that will hold my lappy. :) Mom still has to send a box of different things behind me, but they are things I can wait for.
I wanted to try and post my teams pictures, but since they transferred us last minute everything is all not how it is now. :) If I can get a quick picture of my team during training in Denver I will try and post it on here as one last post before we head to China.
Which brings me to the last thing...wanted to let everyone know the dates and times of departure and arrivals so you could keep the entire CTF clan in your prayers! Please pray for safety and protection for all of us as well as our baggage! We will be taking numerous different flights so we've gotta pray nothing gets left behind or on the wrong plane! :)
My flight from Charlotte leaves on the morning of the August 10th. I'll arrive in Denver to meet my team, and we'll all train together until the 13th. We leave VERY early on the 14th from Denver to LA to catch our flight to Seoul. Then we will fly from Seoul to Beijing, putting us there on the evening of the 15th. We will have about half a day of "sightseeing" before we head to Qinhuangdao for 2 weeks of in-country training. From there we will head back to Beijing to meet our school officials and take buses or vans to our school in Taiyuan to get settled. I believe school starts in September sometime. :) Your prayers (or for practice..."your thoughts") are definitely appreciated! I will do my best to keep everyone updated on the journey. I know I will not be able to blog here on blog spot, but I am hoping to maybe use shutter fly. If not, I definitely have my email address. :)
LET'S DO THIS! (It's gonna be our teams motto...;])
