What an adventure we had! We got up thinking we were leaving the hotel at 3pm to catch a train to Guangzhou. But, the train station had closed because of the weather. There were no trains running. Bruce and LiPing had another group meeting. We were running out of options and time.
We had to get to Guangzhou to complete our paperwork. We were quickly approaching the Chinese New Year when everything shuts down. No one was excited about taking a bus. Since the trains and planes could not get through, how could we in a bus? LiPing's wife had tried driving
to Guangzhou in their own car to see if the road was passable. She had to turn around and come back. LiPing has also talked to the American Consulate and they told him that they were closed this Friday and could not see us until the next Monday if we could not get to Guangzhou by Wednesday. You could tell the Bruce and LiPing were doing all they could and were really stressed. We knew we could only stay at this hotel the one night. If we did not head on the Guangzhou we would have to find another place to stay. So finally, they said our last and only option was to rent a bus and drive to Guangzhou. The told us to pack and be ready by 11am. We had one hour to prepare for what they thought would be a 20 hour bus ride. Vaughn ran to a nearby grocery store to get baby food and snacks for us. I only had time to send a quick update to everyone to ask for prayer and we were on our way. Burce and LiPing got a bus, which was a bit nicer than the other buses we had been on and it had heat. They hired 2 drivers so that they could drive us straight through. They also promised us that they would make safety their number one priority. We pulled out of the hotel at 1:10pm. The roads were icy on the way out of town. When we finally made it to the highway, the road seemed to be better. They were able to drive at a steady pace. It was raining which helped clear the road. We saw a lot of the countryside.
There were no cities in between Nanchang and Guangzhou. We saw lots of rice fields and shacks. Occasionally there was a cluster of small homes. The countryside was covered with ice. We took pictures from the bus window. There were only trucks and buses on the road. No cars. We passed a large group of military men using hand shovels to clear the road. We made 3 stops for restrooms and gas. We won't talk about the restrooms. We were so excited when we arrived at the White Swan at 1:30am! We checked in and were in bed by 2am! Amelia went right to bed.
We were all exhausted. We are so thankful to God for clearing our way and keeping us safe on this journey. We also appreciate all your prayers!
January 29, 2008
Daddy plays patty cake with Amelia
all bundled up for a long bus ride
Waiting in the hotel lobby for our bus to Guangzhou
View from the bus. Ice is everywhere
Daddy watches over Amelia as she sleeps on the bus
