The Union Church Youth Group is on their way to Jinan. Pictured here before boarding the Airport Express, all kids are accounted for and ready to roll. We had a reasonable start, meeting in Central at 9 AM, and now at noon are about to lift-off on China Eastern Airlines.

We’ve had an uneventful morning with the usual fiascos, such as the airline insisting that no where in the world would they undertake a group check-in. This was after Dale dutifully collected all the passports, and then subsequently handed them back out. I’ve learned that our host, Percy, lived a swallows flight from my childhood home in Toronto years ago. Percy and his wife, Connie, are leading the charge for us this week as we venture into exciting corners of Jinan, China. Karl reports, “all systems are stable and a go.” Stay tuned for more details.