Day 152 – Area Conference and Flight to Guilin

 Today was the Area Conference for the Asia area and we had an early breakfast so that we could get there on time.  After we got there, we had to set up chairs and have a short choir practice. 

The conference was very spiritual and we had Elder Gong and Elder Toronto there.  Many were asked to bear their testimonies.  It was all the BYU China teachers and we felt very close to each other.

Our Jinan group outside the temple where we had the conference.

When the meeting was over at 10, Elder Gong was at the door to greet each one of us and say good-bye.  We made our way back to the hotel on the subway and went to our rooms so that we could check out. 

We met with the group from Ji’nan and Jean and David Funk and Ben and wanted to have lunch together, but we had a hard time deciding exactly where to go.  Most of us had lunch at the café in the hotel, but the Clarke’s went to their stand-by, McDonald’s.  We met up at the park later and walked around together.  It was a very nice park and we didn’t have time to see it all.

There was an aviary in the park.  These birds are called "Rhino Horn Bills."

 

In the park. 70 degree weather...nice!

We walked back to the hotel and waited for the others that were to travel by bus back to Shenzhen.  The bus met us there at 3:30 and we had to go back through immigration in order to get back into China mainland.  It all went pretty smooth and then we went to the airport to meet Marvin.  Marvin was going with a group of seven that was to come on a later flight, and that flight was delayed, so he took them somewhere and we got some dinner and got checked in for our flight.  We had quite a long wait, but we made the flight and had about a fifteen-minute delay after boarding.

It was a short flight and we were met by the tour guide and Lily and taken to the hotel at 11:45 p.m.  Now to sleep because we have to leave by 8:30 a.m.