Countryside Retreats

Retreat #1

My husband was asked to share at two different retreats over the last two weekends. The first was with a group of Chinese friends, and the kids and I were not able to go along. Due to bad traffic on the way there and back, their hours for relaxation and sharing were few, but all were glad they could get away together. They even had some time to enjoy a float trip on a nearby river.

Amanda doesn't know how to swim, but she felt safe in Rodney's raft.

Rodney says the rafting trip was mostly a large splash war between the rafts.

Rodney's room door was a bit small, even by Chinese standards! He shared his room three guys, including their bus driver who snored up a storm!

Outdoor meeting time in a farmer's sunny field.

 Retreat #2

Our whole family attended the second retreat with a group of internationals who live in Beijing. We traveled by bus to the countryside north of the city near the "Yellow Flower" section of the Great Wall. Since it is unimproved, I thought this area was more interesting than the touristy sections we have visited in the past. The Inn where we spent two nights is operated by a dear brother, Mark Z, a man who has great plans for how to use this place in the future. He and his staff took great care of our group so that we could fully enjoy our time together.

Amy made friends with all the animals on site--two puppies, a cat and her newborn kittens, and two goats.

We had a view of the Great Wall from the front garden of our hotel.

Selfie with my hiking buddies, Owen and Elise.

Our gracious hosts shared their life stories with us. Wish I could say more!

Ian and I biked to this spot from the hotel.

We are thankful for the time we had to get out of the busy city and interact with others about the most important things in life!