Seeing Old Friends

We ventured out of U-town this weekend.  We took the four hour trip north to the city where we lived during our first stint out here in XJ.  It was great and exhausting at the same time.

Our friend arranged for a car to pick us up and drive us there.  It would cost just a little bit more than a bus would and we figured it would be easier on Jaden to have a backseat to move around a little.  Well, the car pulled up (an hour later than scheduled) and there were two people already in the car – one in the front and one in the back…oh boy.

I’ll start off to say that we endured.  But with me in the middle, Josh at the door and Jaden in our lap it was a little cramped (you have to also account for our bulky jackets, hats and scarves).  Thankfully, Jaden did well with the activities I brought, the iPad, snacks and a nap.  I have yet to figure out some healthy alternatives when we are on the road.  We missed lunch so he ate banana bread and crackers.  If you have any good chewy granola bar recipes let me know!

Once we arrived in Karamay we went to our friend’s home in which we were staying.  It was interesting staying at someone’s house as opposed to a hotel.  Thankfully, we were familiar with the food and knew from experience that we weren’t going to shower.  So it was actually a great experience.  They had bought a new home a few years ago, and while it is on the sixth floor it is really nice.  It has two floors within the apartment and one room is a great playroom in which Jaden and their son had tons of fun.

We arrived on Thursday and spent the next few days with every meal filled with old friends and colleagues.  They were so surprised to see that we had returned and we all got to meet each others’ children.  Jaden did great with all the new faces and dinners.  He played with the kids and everyone thought he was adorable (and why wouldn’t they!).   All of the teachers that I worked with showered Jaden with toy cars (two remote control ones), a train set and a flying helicopter (Josh is super excited about that one).  I had baked and brought everyone banana bread and apple muffins that we shared at the meals.

The city itself hadn’t changed too much.  But a few significant differences were apparent.  First of all, the school we worked at before was completely torn down and a new public school sat in its place.  And then there were a lot more apartment buildings and a few new city buildings.  The streets looked so familiar and brought back a ton of memories.  We even walked by our old apartment building which all looked exactly the same.

Showing Jaden our old apartment and neighborhood

Since we stayed with our local friend and her family it provided a great time to talk.  She is a b and we got to discuss more on what that means in our every day life and for our kids.  Thankfully, another foreigner had lived in Karamay after us with whom she was able to discuss the Word.  Josh had some great conversations with her husband and we both look forward to building on the relationship.  They are truly good friends and we are so thankful that they are searching to know the Father more.

Jaden playing with our friends’ kids

Once Sunday arrived, we began our journey back to U-town.  I say journey because once again the trip was not what was to be expected.  Plus, we had four large boxes of the toys Jaden had received and a stuffed bear that was about as big as he was!  This time we tried to buy all three seats in the back of a car.  It still would be comparable to a bus ticket and taxi to our house so we thought it would be easier and worth it.  Well, first, the guy came (an hour late) with a van and didn’t have three seats for us, so we said we would just take the bus.  Well, then he said another car would come so we waited outside in the cold for “just a little longer”.  Once the car arrived we did in fact have the back to ourselves, but as it turns out this car was just taking us to another van.  Here we had three seats which was great …but then we had to wait another hour for all the other passengers to arrive.  Once we finally arrived in Urumqi after four hours of traveling on the road, he didn’t even take us to our neighborhood like we thought but dropped us off “close by” where we proceeded to get a taxi to take us home.  Next time…take the bus – lesson learned!

It was great to see Karamay again.  Both Josh and I could feel ourselves relax once we arrived in the city we were so familiar with.  And yet, as I sit here once again back in dirty polluted U-town I see the wisdom in the Father bringing us here.  There is a lot of work to be done in this place.  I still hope that we are brought to a smaller town but I get the feeling it probably won’t be Karamay.  And I am ok with that.