When we returned to Chengdu from Singapore on June 2 we decided to visit the office to say hello and to see if someone could help us understand why our phone wasn't working. Our office manager informed us that it was a good thing our flight had been delayed two days as the security police had paid a visit to the office earlier that afternoon. The purpose of the visit was to check the documents of 'foreigners' who work in the office. The officer implied that any foreigners working without a work visa could be fined and/or deported. Also the business and the manager could be fined or even imprisoned. From our understanding this is a 'tightening up' prior to the Olympics.
Since our 'boss' was not able to obtain a work visa for us, we had been teaching illegally, although we didn’t know there was a problem. We knew we were on shaky ground teaching about Christianity and praying with the students and staff, we were not aware that the English lessons and training of restaurant workers we were doing was in violation of the law. With about one month remaining of our planned six months of work we decided it would be best if we stopped working at the office, make plans to return to the USA early, and spend the remaining time as tourists.
In this amazing electronic age about one hour after we e-mailed our Grand Rapids travel agent he sent back a reply with our new itinerary.
We had already planned a trip to Xi'an to see the terra cotta soldiers and were able to do this the weekend before our return. It was good to be a tourist for a couple of more days. The city of Xi’an is a significant historical spot in China.
Two days after we returned from Xi’an we arranged to meet the staff and our students to treat them to a dinner at a small outdoor restaurant near the office. We arrived at the outdoor market area where the restaurant area was located a few minutes early. Shortly after the students arrived we all decided it would be best to wait for the office staff in the shade of some trees. As soon as we were settled in the shade three plain-clothes policemen appeared and began asking the students questions about the two foreigners. To say we were uncomfortable at the point would be a grand understatement. We decided that it would be best if the foreigners made a hasty retreat so the two of us left the students and walked to where we could intercept the office staff before they reached the restaurant. As we met a two of our office staff, a fourth plain-clothes policeman showed up, he had apparently followed us from the market area. We gave one of the staff members some money and told them to treat everybody to a grand meal and we continued our hasty retreat. Talking to other foreigners afterward we found out that none of them had ever experienced anything like that. This was an affirmation that we had made a good decision to leave China earlier than planned. We looked over our shoulders for someone following us until we reached Hong Kong.
Now that we're back in the states it is okay for us to be open about our trip. First, we are so grateful for the prayers that so many of you lifted up on our behalf. Not only during the difficult period of the earthquake, but, throughout the time of our stay we sensed, again and again and again, the protecting and providing hand of God. Thank you so much for praying for us. Again and again we sensed God’s protecting hand in our lives. From good health to safety, from someone who spoke English when we needed help to Christian friends God provided in abundance.
The highlight of our work was the time we spent with nine students being trained in a program designed to equip them with the practical skills required to be successful in the restaurant business. A key ingredient of the program is the study of the Bible and its practical application to being a person of integrity in the family, the workplace, and the community. The development of the curriculum, having it translated into Chinese and teaching it was a rewarding venture. Among other topics the curriculum we developed includes power points about marriage, finance, and relationships. Besides being used by the company we were associated with the curriculum will be used by a Chinese pastor and an American missionary who is trying to develop a family ministry for Chinese.
The nine students, five girls and four boys, came from Christian families from all over the country. Their knowledge of the Bible, their desire to study the Word, and their prayer life was, not only inspiring, but, humbling as well. From voluntarily spending three hours, three nights a week doing Bible study to spending what little money they had to help earthquake victims, these students were amazing.
There's an open spirit in Chengdu that is fostering the spread of Christianity. From house churches to meetings in restaurants to a government approved church that is building a new sanctuary to accommodate overflowing crowds, great things are happening. We both have a strong sense that there will be an unprecedented revival that will begin in Sichuan province, which is strategically located not only for China, but, as a gateway for the Back to Jerusalem movement.
Prior to May 12, and the Wenchuan earthquake, few people knew where Sichuan province was on the map. For the past few weeks it has had the focus, not only of the world's attention, but, also of the prayers of Christians globally. The words being used to describe the relief efforts point to the compassion, care, and love that reflect the character of God which is a part of all of us.
An incredible random event occurred as we were saying goodbye to the manager of the restaurant we’ve been working with. A man from Singapore was sitting near us asked if he could join us and talk. After talking to us for a bit, he began to explain what he was doing in China. “I’m a Christian” came out suddenly. When we shared that we were ‘like-minded’ the floodgates opened up and he poured out his life story to us. Making it short, he takes four or five trips to China a year and as he travels he tells his story and asks people if they want Jesus. He also makes motivational “steps to success” speeches in different cities and presents the Gospel every time. His prediction is that Premier Wen will become a Christian before he leaves office four years from now. Who knew?
Our return trip to the states began as we hailed two taxis to take us to the airport, (the small taxis would not accommodate our 4 large suitcases and 2 carry-ons). The expected 30 hour trip ended up taking 50 hours due to weather delays. When you start traveling at 11:00 P.M. on Friday night and you end at 2:00 A.M. Sunday morning, somehow you know you’ve been traveling for awhile. A few days later we’re enjoying the blue sky, (a rarity in polluted Chengdu), the quiet, and the fresh air. Adjusting to a new time schedule is challenging, but, in a few days we’ll be back at it and looking for our next adventure.
Thanks again for your partnering with us on our China Journey.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Home in Michigan
After 50 hours from the time we left our apartment in Chengdu until we arrived at our condo in Zeeland we are back in the USA. All four of the flights that we took were delayed which cause a chain reaction of events that added 20 hours to our expected travel plans. Oh well, we're home.
We're working on a major post that will explain more directly what we were doing in China and also will try to open up the blog for your comments. Thanks for sticking with us.
We're working on a major post that will explain more directly what we were doing in China and also will try to open up the blog for your comments. Thanks for sticking with us.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Coming Home
We received a couple of e-mails inquiring as to if we're okay. During the earthquake episode it seems like we were posting everyday. We haven't posted for awhile as we wrestled with the issue of leaving for the USA a month earlier than expected. Due to difficulties with our visa we've decided to head back for Michigan. We'll be leaving on the 14th of June and arriving back in Michigan at 8:30 A.M. on the 15th. Now that we've made the decision and we have our itinerary we're anxious to get going and see our family again.
After we return we'll post a more detailed explanation of what's been going on.
In the meantime we've just returned from Xi'an where we able to see the Terra Cotta soldiers. It's a holiday weekend and the flights were half-price. We'd never gone on a trip where we were met by a guide, had our own driver and everything was arranged. We couldn't have afforded this at regular price, but, it was great. One restaurant/theater we went to served us at least 20 different kind of dumplings. They'd explain, "This one has duck, this one pork, this one shrimp and cabbage, ...". Than they'd walk away and you'd forget and enjoy them anyway. We also took a kind of golf cart ride on top of a 9 mile long city wall that was built during some important dynasty a long time ago.
This week will be filled with packing, goodbyes and thinking about what we need to do once we return to Zeeland.
After we return we'll post a more detailed explanation of what's been going on.
In the meantime we've just returned from Xi'an where we able to see the Terra Cotta soldiers. It's a holiday weekend and the flights were half-price. We'd never gone on a trip where we were met by a guide, had our own driver and everything was arranged. We couldn't have afforded this at regular price, but, it was great. One restaurant/theater we went to served us at least 20 different kind of dumplings. They'd explain, "This one has duck, this one pork, this one shrimp and cabbage, ...". Than they'd walk away and you'd forget and enjoy them anyway. We also took a kind of golf cart ride on top of a 9 mile long city wall that was built during some important dynasty a long time ago.
This week will be filled with packing, goodbyes and thinking about what we need to do once we return to Zeeland.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Penang
Penang, an island off the coast of Malaysia, is not a place we ever expected to visit. But, here we are and it's been another great experience. It's very hot and humid and we are here at the beginning of the rainy season. We're experiencing the third downpour of the day right now. The locals tell us it will end soon, the sun will come out and the heat and humidity will return. An interesting thing we've learned is that the people from the mideast really enjoy the rain because they so seldom experience it. We're enjoying the 'downtime'.
Malaysia is dominately Muslim so we're having an interesting cultural awareness session. One is the call to prayer which begins at a minaret by the mosque and ends up being broadcast through speakers throughout the town. The first call is at about 5:40 A.M. and is loud enough to wake you out of a sound sleep. In each of the hotel rooms we've stayed in, (3 so far), there's been a small triangle placed on the ceiling which points to Mecca. Penang is also a tourist destination for mideastern people so we see many Muslim families. It's not uncommon to see a lady on the beach covered from head to toe in black with only her eyes showing. Seems like it would be unpleasantly hot.
We met a tour guide in the hotel yesterday. We were the first people he's met from the United States. The restaurants reflect the fact that this is not your typical destination for North Americans. Most restaurants feature foods the mideast or India as well as Malaysian foods. We did find "Mario's" which featured all of the above plus Italian foods. The lasagna we had last night was so good that we're returning again tonight.
If you're a bargain hunter Penang is the place for you to come. Everynight from about 7:00 P.M. until 1:00 A.M. the 1 and 1/2 mile long main street is lined with merchants selling all kinds of merchandise. From typical tourist t-shirts to fake designer watches and purses you can find it here and the rule is "bargain".
Tomorrow we're back on the bus headed for Genting, a mountain resort near Kuala Lumpur. The people who made the arrangements for this vacation did a first class job.
Malaysia is dominately Muslim so we're having an interesting cultural awareness session. One is the call to prayer which begins at a minaret by the mosque and ends up being broadcast through speakers throughout the town. The first call is at about 5:40 A.M. and is loud enough to wake you out of a sound sleep. In each of the hotel rooms we've stayed in, (3 so far), there's been a small triangle placed on the ceiling which points to Mecca. Penang is also a tourist destination for mideastern people so we see many Muslim families. It's not uncommon to see a lady on the beach covered from head to toe in black with only her eyes showing. Seems like it would be unpleasantly hot.
We met a tour guide in the hotel yesterday. We were the first people he's met from the United States. The restaurants reflect the fact that this is not your typical destination for North Americans. Most restaurants feature foods the mideast or India as well as Malaysian foods. We did find "Mario's" which featured all of the above plus Italian foods. The lasagna we had last night was so good that we're returning again tonight.
If you're a bargain hunter Penang is the place for you to come. Everynight from about 7:00 P.M. until 1:00 A.M. the 1 and 1/2 mile long main street is lined with merchants selling all kinds of merchandise. From typical tourist t-shirts to fake designer watches and purses you can find it here and the rule is "bargain".
Tomorrow we're back on the bus headed for Genting, a mountain resort near Kuala Lumpur. The people who made the arrangements for this vacation did a first class job.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Kuala Lumpur
We woke up this morning and checked the latest earthquake news to find that an aftershock of 6.0 happened last night. We emailed and skyped our friends in Chengdu and were glad to find they were okay. One of our American friends ran from his apartment and was not eager to get back to work today. We're glad to be away for awhile. The thunderstorm here seems pretty tame in comparison.
This morning we stood in line for 45 minutes to get tickets for the skywalk between the Petronas Towers. Those of you who are shoppers, (that doesn't include us), would be very content to spend time in the towers shopping. The bottom 6 floors are filled with prestigious shops from around the world. Most of them far beyond our league or pocketbook range. Because this is a major tourist spot for this part of the world we're experiencing the most multi-ethnic crowds we've ever been in. There are many people from India as well as people from the Middle East. Airports, bus stations and malls have prayer rooms for Muslims. Our hotel room even has an arrow on the ceiling pointing to Mecca. As Dorothy would say, "This isn't Kansas, Toto".
As we went to an ATM to get some local currency we realized that we would be carrying cash from four different countries. Keeping the exchange rates clear is a bit complicated. But, we're kind of figuring it out.
Tomorrow it's back on the bus for an hour ride to Penang where we'll be spending some time on the beach.
This morning we stood in line for 45 minutes to get tickets for the skywalk between the Petronas Towers. Those of you who are shoppers, (that doesn't include us), would be very content to spend time in the towers shopping. The bottom 6 floors are filled with prestigious shops from around the world. Most of them far beyond our league or pocketbook range. Because this is a major tourist spot for this part of the world we're experiencing the most multi-ethnic crowds we've ever been in. There are many people from India as well as people from the Middle East. Airports, bus stations and malls have prayer rooms for Muslims. Our hotel room even has an arrow on the ceiling pointing to Mecca. As Dorothy would say, "This isn't Kansas, Toto".
As we went to an ATM to get some local currency we realized that we would be carrying cash from four different countries. Keeping the exchange rates clear is a bit complicated. But, we're kind of figuring it out.
Tomorrow it's back on the bus for an hour ride to Penang where we'll be spending some time on the beach.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Singapore
After an hour delay our plane finally left Chengdu for Singapore. We were glad to get off the ground. Finding magazines and newspapers on the plane that were in English was also great. The stewardess gave us a copy of Newsweek to take with us.
After settling in to our hotel we finally turned out the lights at about 11:30. At about midnight the phone rang. We've been pretty jumpy for the past week and this put us out of sorts. It was the husband of the person we were supposed to meet at 10:30 in the morning to get our bus tickets to Kuala Lumpur. "Would it be okay if we met at 9:00 A.M. instead?" "Okay," was my reply and off we went trying to sleep. We slept some and did meet and we have our tickets. This was followed by the best breakfast we've had since we left the states. Omelets cooked to order, and all of the extras you can imagine. We had a feast and look forward to another tomorrow.
In the meantime we were working on a new problem that came up yesterday. The airlines called us and told us our flight back to Chengdu was cancelled. We were able to book a flight a couple of days later, but, this left us needing new plans for where we would stay, how we would get around, etc. By 3:00 in the afternoon we had finally gotten everything straightened out. This included phone calls, e-mails and a taxi ride to the bus station to get our ticket which brings us back to Singapore from Malaysia changed.
We decided to go for a bit of walk from the bus station as it looked like it was close to the water. It was and we enjoyed the long walk immensely. We watched 'dragon' boats practicing for the upcoming Dragon Boat festival in two weeks. These long narrow boats are paddled by 10 - 18 people and will be decorated like dragons for the race. These festivals take place all over Asia. As we continued our walk we watched a few ultralight single person planes flying around, it sure looked like fun. After walking a few kilometers we turned around and started walking back. Have you ever seen an ultralight crash? We watched as one of them began to spin out of control, finally lose all lift, and quickly plummeted into the water. Fortunately the dragon boats were not too far away and the man, along with his ultralight was rescued.
After that we headed for the hotel, at least we thought we were headed for the hotel. It didn't take long to figure out we were lost. We finally ventured into a large hotel and asked for a map which we took outside and pondered for awhile. We went back in and I, (Steve), had to admit that I had no idea how to get from where we were to where we wanted to be. The concierge was helpful and 15 minutes later we were in our room. Perhaps we should get some chalk to mark our path as we walk ... or maybe we just stay close to our hotel.
Two items of note. First, we haven't worried about tremors for 24 hours now. It's good to have ground you can trust under your feet. Second, pedestrians are respected here. It's been good to relax a little as we cross the streets. Make that three items of note. All of the signs are in English!
Tomorrow we head out for Malaysia.
After settling in to our hotel we finally turned out the lights at about 11:30. At about midnight the phone rang. We've been pretty jumpy for the past week and this put us out of sorts. It was the husband of the person we were supposed to meet at 10:30 in the morning to get our bus tickets to Kuala Lumpur. "Would it be okay if we met at 9:00 A.M. instead?" "Okay," was my reply and off we went trying to sleep. We slept some and did meet and we have our tickets. This was followed by the best breakfast we've had since we left the states. Omelets cooked to order, and all of the extras you can imagine. We had a feast and look forward to another tomorrow.
In the meantime we were working on a new problem that came up yesterday. The airlines called us and told us our flight back to Chengdu was cancelled. We were able to book a flight a couple of days later, but, this left us needing new plans for where we would stay, how we would get around, etc. By 3:00 in the afternoon we had finally gotten everything straightened out. This included phone calls, e-mails and a taxi ride to the bus station to get our ticket which brings us back to Singapore from Malaysia changed.
We decided to go for a bit of walk from the bus station as it looked like it was close to the water. It was and we enjoyed the long walk immensely. We watched 'dragon' boats practicing for the upcoming Dragon Boat festival in two weeks. These long narrow boats are paddled by 10 - 18 people and will be decorated like dragons for the race. These festivals take place all over Asia. As we continued our walk we watched a few ultralight single person planes flying around, it sure looked like fun. After walking a few kilometers we turned around and started walking back. Have you ever seen an ultralight crash? We watched as one of them began to spin out of control, finally lose all lift, and quickly plummeted into the water. Fortunately the dragon boats were not too far away and the man, along with his ultralight was rescued.
After that we headed for the hotel, at least we thought we were headed for the hotel. It didn't take long to figure out we were lost. We finally ventured into a large hotel and asked for a map which we took outside and pondered for awhile. We went back in and I, (Steve), had to admit that I had no idea how to get from where we were to where we wanted to be. The concierge was helpful and 15 minutes later we were in our room. Perhaps we should get some chalk to mark our path as we walk ... or maybe we just stay close to our hotel.
Two items of note. First, we haven't worried about tremors for 24 hours now. It's good to have ground you can trust under your feet. Second, pedestrians are respected here. It's been good to relax a little as we cross the streets. Make that three items of note. All of the signs are in English!
Tomorrow we head out for Malaysia.
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