The sun was below the horizon, dusk settling in as we walked back from dinner. At various spots on the campus, we stopped, and without making a big deal about it, prayed for people and program and teachers about to begin next week. Despite our drooping eyes, conversation flowed freely between petitions and stories of how these petitions had been answered in the past, or might be answered in the future.
Most of the team is now here. The final two arrive on Wednesday night because the man who was so ill last week is improved enough for them to leave home. Today was a blur of activity – organizing rooms, stowing away suitcases for a month, quick trips to the grocery and other stores to pick up basic supplies that will make life work. Add to the flurry that it was steaming hot and the sweat just rolled off one’s back and landed on the floor.
Dinner was in a lovely restaurant. We sent the Money Man out earlier to choose a restaurant and pre-order the meal, knowing that it would be a treat. He never fails to come through. With enough Mandarin skills to survive well in this society and the soul of an artist, he’s the right man to send out to determine a restaurant and choose the food.
After we were totally sated, we sat back, and, taking yellow sheets of paper, we wrote down bits and pieces of what we’d like to do before we leave. And tossed the papers to the center, and started again. In the end, our desires and expectations ranged from the sublime to the hilarious, and back again to the sublime. It’s good to get those expectations out on the table and voice them, knowing ahead of time that some will happen and some won’t. Then the prayer walk to end the night.
It’s an early to bed after two nights of midnight plane arrivals – our own, and others last night. I’ve been to the airport four times in two days and really don’t want to go again for a bit. Last night was classic.
One bag got mistakenly carried off by another passenger. Fortunately, when she got to her bus and tried to lift it, she realized it wasn’t hers and returned it. But that took an hour. Other bags had snagged on the luggage ramps, holding things up. The plane was full and there was some bigwig arriving at one of the terminals. Ramps were blocked, lines for taxis were backed up for hours. So, heeding the advice of our top administrator and the announcements, we loaded our six arrivals, three students, and two directors onto a shuttle bus to town. Six arrivals, probably 20 pieces of luggage, counting carryon. About 2 AM we were dropped near the intersection of the 3rd and 4th ring roads, and taxis buzzed up to pick up the slack. That meant unloading the bags from the bus, loading them into the taxis, unloading them at the hotel, and finally getting them up to the rooms. Thank goodness for former students who speak Chinese and were thrilled to meet their former teachers in the middle of the night.
Fortunately, before we left for the airport, we’d turned on all the air conditioners, blown up the air mattresses to ward against bone wrenching beds, and put water in each room. Bags delivered, there was a corporate sigh of relief and all fell into their beds, more dead than alive.
Today was another day, rest and coffee do miracles, and though we’re fading again, we’re fading a little later than last night. This is progress.
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