These are Anney and Mao Mao roommates: Vanessa, Pig, Dream, Ting Ting, Swallow, Mao Mao, and I don't Remember... oops. But that's EIGHT girls in one room! I visited, and it is very crowded! But those girls consider themselves lucky--they're all good friends!


This is Russell... This poor guy reminded me so much of Pete and Ryan, that I started treating him like Pete and Ryan. I called him names, and punched his arms, but he was a sweetheart about it. In fact, he called me names right back! Just like a real brother! What a precious thing to have when you're halfway around the world from your family!



THE GREAT WALL!!! When we got to Beijing, the plan was to have a tour bus take us straight from the airport to the Wall. However, our bus driver had never been to the Wall from the airport, so we drove around the Beijing country side for 2 hours looking for the Great Wall!!! It was so funny! When we finally got there, the park was closed. But our tour guide pulled some strings and we got to be on the wall ALL BY OURSELVES! no extra tourists, just our group and tour guide on the gorgeous, misty Great Wall of China! How exciting!

We played hide and seek on the Wall! There weren't many places to hide, but who cares!? We were on the Great Wall of China!

This is the Summer Palace, which was absolutely GORGEOUS! The paintings and architecture in that place are amazing!

We also went to the Pearl Market, but because of all of the hackling salespeople, I didn't get a chance to take pictures. It was fun, though! Man, those people are CRAZY! They would stand right in front of me and keep me from leaving unless I looked at their stuff. It was insane! But I loved messing with them! What a great trip!

China Part 2

Of course, one of the first things we just HAD to have! LOL.. I picked out a very sweet, spring-time, design, and ended up with long, glitzy, ghetto nails! They were so much fun! lol. People kept asking me to scrath their backs!



We went to the embroidery factory, too. It was amazing to see the kinds of things that these people hand embroider! They look like photographs! It was amazing. One lady asked me if I would like to help her with this snow time picture. I hope that one day someone will see this embroidered picture, and notice the three stitches of snow that I did all by myself! HA!




We also went to a Karaoke place! Anney and Mao Mao sang the sweetest song to me, and my friends Laura and Noel. It was precious! And of course, we Americans had to join in with the songs we knew! It was lovely!




On the way to Jing Po lake, we had a mini worship service. It was AMAZING! I was so excited to sing American worship songs, and learning their Chinese lyrics! It was so cool! the Chinese boy on the left is Danny. He is the sweetest boy you will EVER meet, and a firm believer! I loved meeting him!




Jing Po Lake is a waterfall/river, and it is GORGEOUS!!! Down the river, there were HUGE rocks that you could climb! Of course, I had to show up all the boys and climb the tallest rocks! The only problem was, I couldn't figure out how to get down! lol. I had to get the boys to come help me! It was a gorgeous day!

We went to a class that teaches English by teaching American songs, analyzing the meaning, and singing it over and over. Do you see what song their learning?!? Their teacher is a believer, and she's not afraid to say so either! We met many students that night who did not believe anything about that song, but were willing to find out more! It was a great sharing experience!

Mao Mao, Anney, and Dillon, from Texas. Dillon is a pretty cool guy. He's lived in China for over a year now and is going home in January! He was an amazing inspiration to all of us.

We had two birthday celebrations in China! It was so sweet of our friends to throw them both a birthday celebration! It was an exciting day for everyone!

One of my favorite things was seeing the Chinese folk music performance! These college students are good! And when they were finished playing, they gave us a chance to try! I was told that I had lips that were meant to play the flute! lol. yeah right! It was so much fun!

This is my tiger friend, Bob. He was my favorite tiger at the tiger park because when I asked Bob if he wanted to come home with me, he jumped up on the fence and growled. I took that as a yes! hahaha.. I loved the tiger park! It was so exciting!

China Part 1

China was simply incredible! I'm hoping to go back really soon--perhaps December! We'll see. I loved those people so much! They were so incredibly sweet. I miss them already.
I've seen Paris, Mexico, Chicago, and New York, but I've never gotten to see how the people of that region live. In China, we lived with the students on their campus, and walked their city streets every day. It was amazing to see how they live their lives.

Olivia, Laura, Mao Mao, Anney, and me at the lake on campus. These girls were the cutest, sweetest things EVER! they were so funny! We taught them about "sarcastic" and they would tell each other, "You look beautiful today!.... SARCASTIC!" It was hilarious!

Playing Chinese hackey sack while meeting new friends!

My bathroom in the dorm. The shower, sink, and toilet have nothing separating them, so EVERYTHING got soaked when you took a shower. It was definitely something to get used to!

This was my bed. The mattress was literally a piece of plywood with a thin topper on top. it was probably as comfortable as sleeping on a rock. But it was just another thing to get used to!

We visited the Buddhist Temple. It was rather awkward for our team because we don't believe in Buddha, but it definitely opened up some amazing conversation about religion. Amazingly, my friend is a believer and had never been to the Buddhist temple. However, some of the other Chinese students decided to take that time at the temple to worship instead of talk. But it was a really cool experience.

This is my Chinese name, given to me by my friend, Anney. It means smile! How fitting! She taught me how to write it, along with several other things. It was exciting

We also learned about Chinese calligraphy. Let me tell you, it's one thing to write characters on paper, it's completely different to write them with a brush and ink on scrolls. It was hard! But I'm so proud of my finished product!

We also visited the violin factory! It is incredible to think that all of these violins were hand crafted! And these were only a few of the thousands that we saw in the factory. The workers work for hours at a time on a single violin, with little light and poor ventilation. I couldn't do thier jobs!

We also saw a Peking Opera with a cast of children! They were so talented! We watched them get ready for thirty minutes doing hair, makeup, and costumes. I was amazed at how patient they were! The performance only lasted about 60 seconds, but it was really cool to see all of their hard work come together!

I'M

GOING
TO
EAST ASIA!!!

More details to come!

Roadblock

So... shortly after I (finally) said YES to God, there was mention of an opportunity to go to East Asia for two weeks in the near future. I was PUMPED!! I just KNEW this was the trip God had in mind for me! I have had no doubt at ALL!

Until recently, that is. I know I'm meant to go to East Asia. I KNOW it. And I wish I could describe how sure I am that I'm meant to go with this group! But there's one little detail that is holding me back--a stinking, silly, little plane ticket. In order to go with this group, I have to get on the same flight, and thus far, we have NOT scored that ticket.

I KNOW that if this is God's will, He will provide a ticket, and the funds to pay for it. But I'm worn out from waiting.

God, restore my patience and give me assurance. I've stepped up and said YES to You, now please, help me stand firm in faith. Help me to be okay without this control. And most of all, God, mold, teach, and prepare me for this grand adventure I'm so certain I'm going to have.

Mabry on a Mission

God has been doing some AMAZING things in this life of mine. And the cool part is, I KNOW He's not done yet!

This is the verse I've been confronted with SEVERAL times since January:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" ~Matthew 28:19

I know the Great Comission. And I consider myself someone who makes disciples. But there here's what has been happening in life lately. One little word has been sticking out to me:

GO! Go? Go where God? I've been going! I go to school, I go to work, I go to church, I go to camp, I go to CHICAGO! --where else do you want me to make disciples? (btw, don't ask that question unless you're willing to get the answer!) You know what, God, I'll go. As long it isn't China or something, I'll go wherever you want me to go. ...China? Really, God? I can't do that. So...um... no.

"If you love me, you will keep my commands." I do love you, God. But CHINA?! I can't go to China! I don't have money for China!
"GO"
But God, I don't even have a heart for China.
"GO"
But...
"GO"

So, I'm going to China. I'm not sure when, where, how, or with whom, but I'm going to China. And the most amazing thing of all is that I'm actually REALLY excited about it! What an AWESOME God we serve!