6/11/25: Day 14&15 - Changsha Day 1&2

Psalm 21:13 “Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your power.” 

6/10/25: Travel from Taiwan to Changsha (near Shanghai)

Juyi rented a van to take us to the Taipei airport. It was a two hour drive from Taichung to the airport, which meant an early morning departure. 

Waiting at our gate we found a display with items from the Olympics. 

First views of Shanghai. The kids and I were picked up by a co-worker of Juyi’s husband, whom we affectionately call Jackie Chan. It was another 2.5 hour drive from the airport to their house in Changsha. I was so exhausted from not getting enough sleep the night before that I passed out for an hour on a bed waiting for Juyi to arrive (they took a train).

We went out for a chicken/hot pot style dinner. It was delicious, but the girls and I filled up quickly. Shan ate his share and our shares! 🤣

He tried a chicken foot and his appreciation for them matched mine. 

After dinner, we headed for home where we crashed and slept almost 12 hours!!

6/11/25: Day 2 Changsha

After a brunch meal of noodles, we headed to a 100+ year old traditional market.

We then headed to a beautiful park in town. After walking around, we enjoyed about 3 hours of tea time. We snacked on treats and drank lots of tea. It was a super refreshing time in a beautiful space. We met some new “friends” there too. Micaela and Joella are experiencing the stares of people who have never seen a white person. Last night, a guy almost fell off his scooter staring at us. 

Another hot pot meal: fish! I had a splitting headache, so I didn’t enjoy the meal as much as normal. 

Tomorrow morning we start our two week whirlwind trip through 4 major Chinese cities: Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guilin. We will then end up in Xiamen to enjoy a week with my friends WeiWei and Yuan. 

Please keep praying for us to have health, safety, and be bright lights to everyone we meet.