Finally arrived! Had a very late dinner, bringing my American friend to his first “huo guo” or “hot pot” meal. He definitely wasn’t feeling the pig kidneys, etc…but I think he enjoyed the rest. Too tired to write a full post; however, I will include here our [rough] itinerary for the next week and a half. Thanks for ALL the prayers and support.

Looking up,
Brother D

5/30 – Arrive in Hong Kong
5/31 – Travel to YuLin (1 hour by train, 8 hours by car)
6/1 – YuLin elementary school, kindergarten, and orphanage (participate in National Children’s Day festivities). Specifically with the orphanage, will eat lunch, play some games, teach an English lesson, and have another mini-ceremony presenting our Boxed Love video, gifts and t-shirts to the kids.
6/2 – Visit three hospitals (1 traditional Chinese medical hospital, 2 western hospitals); dinner with hospital directors; hang out and fellowship with the 2 orphanage staff workers.
6/3 – Morning meet with YuLin orphanage to say goodbye; drive to QingXi, GuangDong province.
6/4-5 – Golf outing in QingXi, GuangDong province with Father, Adam Lenger, and YuLin orphanage director. Will use this time to talk about our future plans and visions with the director. Will also spend 1/2 a day visiting 1-2 more local orphanages in GuangDong, most likely ones government run.
6/6 – Drive back to Hong Kong
6/6-9 – Spending time in Hong Kong, site-seeing, etc.

Woke up at 3:30 am, lugged three HUNORMOUS (i.e., big) suitcases to Adam’s house (he’s coming with me on the trip). We weighed the bad boys and two of them came in at over 50 lbs. I was like, “dang it!” since there’s a fee attached to check-in bags weighing more than 50 lbs (and less than 70 lbs).

Got to the airport and those two suitcases weighed in, officially, at 66 lbs and 72.5 lbs. I was pulling out my credit card, getting ready to pay [the fee] when the check-in lady asks me, “What are you doing, son?” I went on to tell her that I’m getting ready to pay because my suitcases were hunormous and overweight. She took my ticket, looked down, and pointed her finger at a line that read, “elite access.” She then goes on to say that people with that access are not required to pay any fees, as long as the baggage weighs in at less than 70 lbs. I’m first like, WHAT WHAT (double-take)?? I thought to myself, “How in the world did I get an elite access ticket?” Most likely because my dad used his miles to purchase the ticket. However, my other suitcase WAS over 70 lbs…and that was still a problem. Would I need to take out some of the gifts for the kids? 2.5 lbs doesn’t seem like much, but I didn’t want to have to take ANYTHING out. The check-in lady subsequently waved down another man that worked for Continental, asked him about my baggage, and he went on to say, “72.5 lbs? I’ll just write down 70 for ya.”

Many people may read what I wrote and not see very much. However, I definitely saw God’s hands at work. He has walked before me and has paved the way for me on this trip…I just pray that He continues to let me in on these little blessings.

Looking up,
Dan

Finally, found a reliable and [fingers crossed!] trustworthy lawyer. We have hit roadblock after roadblock trying to get our tax-exempt status. Hopefully this is the start we need to get the ball rolling. Thanks for everyone’s continued support!