The Great Wall - December 7th

We saw the Great Wall today! What a fun and exciting place! The wall is so impressive and in such a beautiful setting, if you can get through all the hawkers trying to get you to buy their stuff on the way up. We rode a gondola up to the wall, and then we hiked quite a way up and down steep steps along the the wall. There was an alpine slide from the top of the mountain down to the base that we took turns riding down with the kids. You had to be ten before you could ride the slide on your own, so Kris rode twice and I rode twice, and we took the chair lift back up to the top and then all rode the lift down. It was fun, but we were frozen afterward, and glad to climb back into the warm van for the two hour drive back to the motel.
By the way, speaking of the cold weather, my friend Beata from school encouraged me to bring along winter boots for the kids, and am I ever so glad she did! We've lived in them for the last week, and I don't know what we would have done without them. Thanks, Beata!
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in our friends’ apartment that evening, with great conversation. What sweetness it is to fellowship with saints!