Challenges from the very beginning

We don't have any pictures from the first couple days at the school because we were in such survival mode that pictures and journaling were the last things on our minds, which is why it has taken over a week to post this.
Once we landed at the school the apartment was extremely hot.  We did have some air conditioners and fans waiting for us but it took hours for it to actually cool down.  The added heat made the anxiety worse.  We needed some food so two of the young ladies from the school accompanied Summer, Shaylee and I to the store while Kati stayed at the apartment with the boys.  We needed to get some food for dinner before heading to the grocery store so we decided to grab the only thing that was familiar, McDonalds.  The grocery store was not a fun experience.  Everything stunk and nothing was familiar.  I did the best I could with a sleep deprived brain to get some food the family would actually eat.  By the time we crammed into a little tiny van and made it back to the apartment kati and the boys had passed out.  The girls and I ate our cold hamburgers then found some blankets and fell asleep on a mattress.
The next morning we all woke up between 4-5 am to our new reality.  We had finally arrived.  All the preparations over the past months were over and we were in China in our new home.  We tried to get our bearings but I could tell it wasn't anything Kati was hoping it was going to be so we all joined in a little bit of a pity party for a while.  I tried to put on a brave face but I'll admit I was anxious.  I had to go over to my office to check in.  The school was pretty quiet and I didn't pass anyone.  When I got to my office it was quiet and a little dark.  I kept the lights off as I made my way to my massive desk.  I had imagined this moment for months, the time when I would finally sit behind that desk and begin the heavy process of trying to build an American High School in China.  I knew the challenges were going to be great but the emotions were particularly heavy as I sat down in the chair.

This was the first picture I took at the school.  I won't ever forget the feelings I felt as I sat there that day.  Shortly After I got there I found out the power had gone out in the dorm building so I rushed back to the apartment.  That was the longest afternoon of my life.  We felt completely helpless.  We tried to keep it as dark as possible to try and keep it cool but the temperature began to creep up.  We felt like a rope was tightening because we had no idea what to do.  We had no place to go and nothing to do.  The food I had just bought the night before was now starting to go bad in the fridge.  We sat in the living room wondering if we had made a mistake.  What were we doing on the opposite side of the world from everything we knew?  We felt powerless in our situation, which is a helpless feeling.  As we sat there together all we could do is talk.  We decided to say a family prayer then I shared some stories with the girls.  That time sitting there together as a family was actually a very peaceful memory from the day.  The girls began to open up and talk about how they were feeling and it brought us all closer together.
Later that night I contacted the owner of the school and told her we could not stay at the school.  She drove out to the school and we decided to have them take us on a tour of the area so we could ride in a couple air conditioned cars for a while then she wanted to take us to dinner.  On the tour of the area all the kids fell asleep because they were so tired and at dinner we all struggled to keep our eyes open and smiles on while we had a bunch of gross food placed in front of us.  The owner of the school wanted to put us up in a local hotel because she wasn't confident the power would stay on but seeing the area of the small town we live in we weren't comfortable that the hotel room would be doable.  We decided to take our chances with the school buildings power and we lucked out because it didn't have anymore problems.