Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

So for those of you who have been following this blog, you've probably been wondering what all those dads and kids were doing while all the moms were in Hong Kong. Well, I can't answer for everyone's family, but I can tell you what the Crocker and Allen crews were doing.

Wade and Tony took the kids (yes, all 7 of them) to Calapan, Mindoro. (Calapan happens to be my favorite place in the Philippines!) They stayed in the OMF Missionary Guesthouse there and spent most every day on the beach - quite a change for kids that live in Mongolia!

I can't tell you much about the following pictures (seeing as how I wasn't there) but at least you can see what our families were up to while we were hanging out in Hong Kong.

Laura got a text from Tony one day saying they had found a lizard. He said the kids were so excited that you would've thought it was Godzilla!!

The beautiful beaches of Calapan, Mindoro
Building sand castles

Even Isaac got in on the action!

Anna shows off what she found.

Caleb loves to run into the waves - or at least the small ones.

The kids were very facinated with some guys who were out fishing on the beach.

After the fishermen pulled in their nets, the kids got to help them throw the fish into a bucket.

Yes, this is a REAL shark. And yes, it was dead!

The story I got said a guy came walking along the beach and he'd just caught this shark. He was on his way to the market with it and he let Caleb hold it. How cool is that?!

A special thanks to all the dads that stayed home with the kids in order for their wives to attend the ladies conference in Hong Kong. We appreciate you!

China in a Day - Part Two

The main stop on our China tour was a place called "Splendid China." I found the following description of Splendid China on the internet:

Splendid China, spreading over an area of 30 hectares, is the largest miniature park in the world. Eighty-four replicas of typical Chinese ancient buildings, natural landscapes and folk dwellings, which reflect the Chinese history and culture of 5000 years, have been constructed on a scale of 1:15. Among them are the Great Wall of China, the Imperial Palace, the Temple of Confucius, the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River and the like. It enables you to have the vision of skimming through the Chinese history at every step and touring around China in one day

One of the first things we noticed at Splendid China was the incredible landscaping! I could do a whole post here just of the beautiful plants and flowers we saw. I'll give you just a sampling.
(Just a note: These pictures are a combination of my pictures, my mom's and Dar's. I can't take credit for all of them. Thanks Mom and Dar for sharing!)


Here are some of the things we saw on our tour of Splendid China.






Some things are the same in ANY language!

I took a picture of these big "bubbles" mainly to show to Carly and Caleb. They were putting one child in each bubble and they would move around inside them to make them move and bump into the other ones. It looked like so much fun! I really hope someday I can bring my kids back here, not only to ride in the bubbles but to learn more about China and its people! They would love this place!


(In case you're wondering...this was staged!!)


After we finished Splendid China, our tour took us to a large shopping center for a while before we took the train back into Hong Kong. At this point, we were all sooooo tired that absolutely anything was funny! (Ever been there? ) We referred to this state of mind as "Conference Hangover!" LOL

And while some of us were laughing/crying all the way back....

...some found other ways to pass the time!

It was good to get back to Hong Kong and find something we didn't have to eat with chopsticks!


George & Laura (by a) Bush

(Remember, we were really tired and ANYTHING was funny!)


This was one of our last meals all together - The Spaghetti House! I honestly can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. I'm amazed we weren't kicked out of the restaurant!

All in all, the week in Hong Kong and China was AMAZING! The spiritual nourishment, the fellowship, the worship, the adventures, the laughter, the tears, the walking, the shopping, the eating - all will long be remembered.

To those of you who made the effort to come and help with this conference, thank you from the bottom of my heart! You'll never know what your presence meant to us.

To Dar and Des, after all our plans and prayers, it actually happened! We said from the beginning that this was bigger than any of us. To God be the Glory!

To Laura and Aunt Linda, thanks for making the effort to come. It wouldn't have been the same without you!

And to my Heavenly Father, thank you for calling me to be a small part of what You are doing in Asia-Pacific.

Until they all hear!

China in a Day - Part One

After the conference was over, we had one full day before we all headed home. We decided to take a one-day tour into Shenzhen, China.

We took a boat from Hong Kong to Shenzhen.

Once we arrived in Shenzhen, we met up with our tour guide for the day, Salina.

The first stop on our tour was an authentic Chinese lunch. I think we were all a little nervous because the menu was set - not that we could've communicated otherwise - but we were all very pleased. It was delicious!Once again, we mastered the fine art of eating with chopsticks!

As we were driving through Shenzhen, we passed a Wal-Mart! I think our tour guide was a little confused as to why we got so excited and took pictures! If she only knew!! LOL.
These beautiful trees were everywhere. Notice the red envelopes hanging all over the tree. People would place their "wishes" there, according to the theme of the tree.
This was the "marriage tree."
(Need I say more?!)
After lunch we visited the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures of them. (This lady was our tour guide inside the museum.)

As we traveled around all day, we met some of the most precious children. We were all taking pictures of these kids and finally our tour guide asked us, "Why are there so many babies in your camera?"

Here is a collage of some of the beautiful faces we saw while on our tour.

Everyone we came across was very friendly and seemed so pleased that we would want to take pictures of them and/or their children. My mom even ended up making a new friend!

Friends, Faces & Family

When I was little I learned the following song:

"Make new friends but keep the old

One is silver and the other gold."

I can't think of a better way to sum up these pictures. We all made new friends in Hong Kong. And we all re-connected with friends we've known for many years. Either way, the fellowship was sweet!

Hong Kong

China

Thailand

Cambodia

Mongolia (Outer & Inner)


Hong Kong

On a personal note...

It was such a joy to have my parents on this trip. Not only were they an asset to the conference, but their presence was an encouragement to me. The ministry in Hong Kong has become very dear to me and it was so special to be able to share that with my parents.

Thanks for coming, Mom and Dad! I love you!