A Visit to Kunming . . .

We arrived in the early afternoon at Kunming's airport, after a morning of packing at our Guangzhou hotel. It was hard to say goodbye to Elsie and Rebecca after so long...Thank you guys, so much! Elsie helped us through so many difficult situations all along the way; we first met her when she picked us up from the Beijing airport.

We arrived at the hotel safely, and our friend picked us up at the airport and took us by where we were staying- a small hotel that looks like it might be rented out as an apartment, much more space than we are used to having. Then, almost immediately, we left for the park where more of our friends were waiting for us with all of the children they support. They came, running, waving, so happy to see us. For Angelle, it significantly brightened a trip that has been difficult as of late. Rebekah and I were suddenly guided by a small little hand to a table where all we could do was smile, high-five, laugh, hug and do some limited sign-language. We've seen so many pictures of all these little ones that it is such a blessing to finally be here! We are going to really enjoy the next few days!

At night, we opened the window and watched the setting sun cover the huge mountain that towers over the city and the rows upon rows of apartment high-rises that cover the skyline of Kunming. It is a beautiful, but a smaller and more rural city here, famous for the tourist destinations that lie very close. The city itself holds about 3 to 4 million people; and our friend told us that all of this, pretty much, used to be just rice paddies only 9 years before- a testament to China's amazing growth. We settled into bed with the honking, bustling, rushing (even at 10:30 pm) Beijing Lu (Beijing Road- every city has one, sort of a main street that always points in the direction of Beijing) right below.

We are so excited to spend more time with our friends and the children at school and at their homes tomorrow! Hello, Kunming!