20
Location: Beijing
Hard to believe this fantastic journey is coming to an end. Our final day consisted of many precious moments and sad goodbyes. Our hardest goodbyes began at the Jingdu Children’s Hospital. Unfortunately, some of the babies were in a separate hospital for check-ups, but we were still able to say our last goodbyes to the toddlers. All of us feel incredibly grateful for the relationships we’ve developed with the children over the past three weeks and had difficulty departing. We hope that our work has made a lasting impact and that the children felt loved and cared for in our arms. After eating our last lunch at hospital canteen, we headed to the Pearl Market and the Temple of Heaven. The Pearl Market was the perfect place to conclude our gift shopping and many of us made more lasting memories while also driving a hard bargain. After our final purchases, we headed to the Temple of Heaven and walked in the footsteps of the emperor. Although it was humid, we made the best of it and thoroughly enjoyed the history and architecture of the temple. It left a lasting impact on many of us since it was our last excursion. As the temperature was cooling down, we headed to our final family dinner. Probably one of the best dinners on this trip, we had a traditional hot pot meal. It’s still unbelievable how fast the trip flew by. The relationships we formed have made this the best trip we could have possibly imagined. We know that these relationships will stay strong and we’re looking forward to keeping in touch.
Tomorrow is our travel day, and although we are all ready to head back home, we will remember the experiences and work we did here. zai jian, goodbye Grace Bohart and Maddie Asbury