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I was up before 7 am.  Our minister friend, Chris, telephoned and asked if I would carry with me a small box of medical supplies.  I was to deliver this box to a doctor I would meet in Chengdu. I didn't see a problem with this and agreed to take it.  He said a Chinese couple would meet me at the airport and help me get the box checked in.  

Jia Li was not feeling well and she elected to stay back and not go with me to the airport. A Chinese couple  did indeed find me at the Dalian airport and gave me the box I expected.  Additionally they gave me some cash to deliver (the equivalent of $200 US). Before I left their company, they provided me with several telephone numbers and instructions to call a doctor named Emmanuel when I arrived in Chengdu.  They said this man would meet me at the airport and collect both the box and the cash.

I felt it was good fortune to have someone to call as I thought he would be able to direct me to the location of Heart to Heart. I boarded my flight without incident.  The flight to Chengdu was 2.5-3 hours.  I got a small amount of rest, but nothing to eat. 

When I arrived at the Chengdu airport, I tried to call Emmanuel, but the call would not ring through. There I stood inside the airport unsuccessfully calling and calling.  I must have looked like I needed assistance.  A well dressed young man in his early 30's came up to me and offered to help. He could speak some english and between that and my broken Mandarin I was able to get across that I needed to call someone, but the call was not going through.  He tried on his phone and had difficulty also.  He tried for several minutes, then starting re-arranging some of the numbers.  Finally, he was able to reach Emmanuel. When he did this, I again thought I was pretty fortunate.

What wasn't fortunate was that Emmanuel was not at the airport.  He was still out in the field helping refugees from the earthquake.  I would have to go to him.  He told me to get a taxi and that he would pay for it.  He also told this to the young man at my side.

How convenient, the young man said he had a taxi that could take me to Emmanuel's location. I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of accepting a ride from this total stranger.  To be frank, it made me very nervous.  However, I had no alternative so I accepted his offer. I collected my bags and with the young man went outside the terminal to get into his "taxi".

The young man could not speak English and his car left alot to be desired.  We drove to a secluded area about 15-20 minutes from the airport. There we swapped car AND driver.  

This new driver could not speak english either and what he lacked in language skills, he made up for with a lead foot. We drove for over an hour.   He was constantly getting lost.  We made numerous detours through small towns and re-entries back onto the main highway.  Ultimately, he was in constant contact with someone who could tell him where he needed to take me. At all times, he was driving absolutely as fast as he could get away with.

During the entire length of the drive, I also was trying to reach people I knew, but was not successful even once.

Here I was.  Passenger in a stranger's car.  Speeding towards who know's where.  I was completely lost.  I suspected these drivers where moonlighting and focused on the hope that they would not harm me.  I was praying ALOT. 

Ultimately, we did reach the camp where Emmanuel was and I gave him the box and cash.  He was working in an area where tents were setup for people who had lost their homes. An 40-50 acre area was completely covered with blue tents (tents that could hold a family of five).  In total, I estimated there must have been about 8,000 people in this tent city/camp.

He offered me a corner of his tent where I could stay the night, but my older (spoiled) American bones just don’t take well to sleeping on the ground. He also insisted I have something to eat, but after a quick look around I gracefully declined.  It was too hot and there were too many flies. I suspected too good a chance to pick up something I'd rather not have after dinner.

I went into the latrine.  Inside this long building, trenches had been dug, one trench along either side, the length of the building.  There were no partitions for privacy.  Several gentlemen were busy taking care of their business.  The odor was overwhelming.

I walked outside, found Emmanuel and urgently told him I needed to immediately go back to Chengdu.  That's where I was suppose to be and I had yet to check in with the people at Heart to Heart.

Emmanuel graciously arranged for a driver to take me and he paid him up front, the negotiated amount of $30 (the drive TO Emmanuel was approximately $80).  He told me not to pay him again.  Before I left, I was able to reach my friend Paul.  Paul spoke with Emmanuel and gave him directions to Heart to Heart, which were then given to the driver.  Unfortunately, some of the instructions were lost in translation.   

This driver could not speak english and was every bit the speedster of my previous driver. 

Along the highway enroute to Chengdu, within 5 miles from the camp, we witnessed a scene of a woman who had been riding on the back of a homemade car/trike/trailerish vehicle.  She was dead.  She was still laying on the highway. I could see that her head had been split open and a large pool of blood was beneath her. The man she was with was alive and sitting up but dazed. My heart went out to them.  This was the last thing they needed (with the earthquake devistating their homeland), such a deadly accident.

My driver didn’t seem to care less and didn’t give the scene a second glance. He drove like a man possessed, like he could not wait to get to Chengdu. 

A little further down the road, we encountered two ambulances, sirens and light's at full tilt,  which he immediately chose to “race”. He passed the first without a problem. The second was more of a challenge because it was in the right lane (the semi lane).  Ultimately, he passed that one as well.

Finally back in  Chengdu, we passed another accident where someone was injured.  This accident was in the middle of an intersection and we had to slow way down.

We were lost.  The driver could not find the Heart to Heart location. He finally stopped next to another taxi driver and asked for directions. He indicated to me that I get out of this car and into the other taxi. Now what?!

The other driver (with difficulty) got me to the Heart to Heart location. By now it was 11:00pm.  They directed me to my hotel and I checked in.  I passed under a banner within the hotel welcoming the Heart to Heart staff and I knew I was safe at last.  I thanked God profusely for taking such good care of me. All day I was in the hands of strangers.

Once settled, I was able to reach my friend Frank.  Evidently, the telephone number I had been given for him had two numbers transposed.

First impressions of Chengdu and the hotel were not terrible, but not good either. Large cracks were in the walls of the hotel. It made me wonder if they were due to earthquack tremors... they were. The cracks were not wide but very noticeable. In fact the hotel was shut down for a time while I was there because of them.  There was concern that the place would collapse in on itself. The Heart to Heart headquarters were down a quiet street, no wonder it was hard to find.  Fortunately it's location was very near my hotel, 15 minutes walk from a Carrefour and conveniently near a McDonalds.

It may seem silly to some, but the sight of that McDonalds nearly brought tears to my eyes.  This frequently taken-for-granted sign of home meant to me that I had easy access to food whose quality I did not have to worry about, a coke and ice.