Return to the "Golden Bowl"

From 1990 until 1993 we lived in the small provincial capital of Angthong which means ‘golden bowl.’  I’m not sure why it has this name but it was our home for three years.  Angthong is one of the smallest provinces in Thailand.  It is about 100 km north of Bangkok and the province is filled with rice fields and temples.  Our son, Matthew, was born during our time there and many fond memories remain as well as some hard-learned lessons.  We got a chance to go back for a day but we wondered if we would be able to find anyone we knew since it had been almost 20 years since our time of living there.  This, of course, was before the days of email, internet, cell phones, facebook, etc so it was difficult to stay in touch with people.  

       We did not have our own vehicle so we had to rely on public transportation, motorcycle taxis, and our feet on a very hot day.  We ducked into a few shops that we used to frequent to see if some of the same store owners were there.  That didn’t go very well.  We then decided to go to the area where the first house we rented was but we found that it had been torn down.  However, the neighbor across the street was a well-known man in town that we knew so we went to his house.  The woman who came up to meet us while the dogs were barking turned out to be Somkit’s wife.  We recognized each other right away and had a good time visiting.  Somkit died eight years earlier of a brain aneurism.  His wife told us that just the week before we showed up she and her daughter were talking about us after seeing an old picture.  It was a picture of Ann (their then 18 month old) and Christina (about 3+) with Matthew in the background.  She pulled out the picture a little later which you will see below.  Ann now has an 8 month old daughter but she was out on business.  We asked about locating the father of my best friend, Itti.  We were reminded how to get there.  His house was still the same.  As we approached the house a policeman asked us what we were doing.  After I told him he smiled saying that he was an in-law of the family.  Going in we met Itti’s younger sister and his father.  They treated us like royalty.  Itti tragically died in a car accident less than two years after we left Angthong.  We have been very concerned about Noy, his widow, and their son, Geng.  Itti’s insurance had lapsed and so Noy was saddled with paying off the totaled truck that Itti had been driving.  We wanted to stay in touch with her but had lost contact.  Itti’s sister called Geng and we talked on the phone.  He has gone on to graduate from college and has been very devoted to his mother.  We got Noy’s number and we talked to her later!  She has been working in the same factory job for almost 30 years.  We hope to get a chance to see her in person. 

We walked back to Somkit’s house and got to see Ann.  They invited Christina (who wasn’t with us) to come to visit them.  Later, we tried to find some other old neighbors but we were not successful.  However, we left Angthong very glad that we had the opportunity to meet some people we cared about.  Our hearts and minds were flooded with a ton of memories from many years before.  

 Our first house was just on the other side of this fence.  Now gone  :<

 Itti's father who is now 75. 

 Itti, my dear friend who passed away 18 years ago. (it's the year 2555 in Thailand now).

The picture of Ann & Christina.  Matthew is right behind Ann's right shoulder.  

 Barbara with Ann's mother, Ann, & her eight month old.

The main street coming through Angthong. 

Retooling

One aspect of a sabbatical is to “retool” for the future and so I was encouraged by a former colleague and mentor, Dr.  Larry Dinkins, to attend a three day seminar that he was leading  on orality.  A large percentage of people in this world are either preferred oral learners, barely literate or illiterate.  A preferred oral learner is someone who does read but prefers to learn in an oral method or a method other than reading.  This has nothing to do with intelligence.  Some who are not literate are very intelligent but they may have lacked the opportunity to learn to read. 

Many cultures in the world enjoy stories.  Stories can be easily learned and transmitted to others.  The majority genre of the Bible, by a large margin, is narrative yet we in the West tend to teach everything in an analytical manner and often miss the simplicity of the story.  We get so bogged down analyzing the details that we can miss the big picture.  So, the seminar focused on learning to teach in an oral, story-telling manner and to encourage those listening to participate rather than to just sit and listen.  I had a great time learning with the rest of those attending the very “hands-on” seminar.  We were not allowed to take any notes and so we had to rely on our memory which is what oral learners do.   I will seek to incorporate what I have learned in the near future. 

 Larry Dinkins in action

 We got together for dinner with Larry.

 The Orality training I did in Bangkok was in English but then we went to Chiang Mai (northern Thailand) where I got to participate in an afternoon session in Thai.  These are members of the group in which I participated.

            Larry working with a group.

      I came away with an even greater admiration for Larry than I had before.  He has returned to Thailand after ten years in the U.S. in which his dear wife, Paula, battled cancer.  Paula fought valiantly but was finally called home to be with her Savior.  Larry could have returned to his former post as a professor and cruised along teaching in the same manner as he did in years before.  He finished a PhD in Education during his time in the U.S. so he likely has a LOT more info to teach but instead Larry is someone who keeps pushing ahead to learn and grow.  Rather than doing what is easy and comfortable he wants to find out what is truly most effective in helping people to learn.  He is setting a wonderful example of someone who is not afraid to change direction and is always striving for excellence.  Thank you, Larry, for being a huge blessing to me along my sabbatical journey.  

Back to School

One great privilege during our Sabbatical Journey is to be able to spend time with Christina, our daughter, who has come back to Thailand to start her teaching career.  This is actually her third time back to Thailand but our first time in sixteen years.  She will be a guest blogger to give a report on her new job.

Teaching at International Community School (www.icsbangkok. ) has been a wonderful experience so far. I have been settling into Thailand well, and really enjoy my job. I am teaching 2^nd grade, and I have 14 students in my class.  Half of my students are Thai and the other half is a mixture of nations.  We just finished out first quarter at school and my students have all done very well!  I have been staying very busy with the work, but am able to occasionally get out and do something on the weekend. I have gone to several large parks in Bangkok, as well as several large shopping malls. Thai people seem to take their shopping malls very seriously. The shopping malls here are huge and have everything one can think of…some of them even have themes-such as each floor being a different country or famous city. A couple of other weekend activities I have done are going to the largest weekend market in Thailand-Chatujak Market, going to the beach in Pataya-on a school retreat, and going to Safari World-where I was licked by a giraffe! Right now we have one week off for our fall break…it is a much needed break after being so busy with school! It has been nice to have my parents in Thailand, and am looking forward to a week with them in Chiang Mai.

                We got to visit Christina’s classroom.  I was able to read the afternoon story to the students and Barbara helped several days in the classroom grading papers and aiding in several projects.  We have been very impressed with both the school personnel and the facilities.  We stayed in an apartment on the floor above Christina so we had several meals together after school.  Christina is also seeking to improve her Thai language ability and is attending a Thai church.  It’s great to be able to see our wonderful daughter’s situation and it is a real answer to prayer.  

Story time.

Science Experiment.

Role-reversal.  Christina used to help Barbara teach but now it's the other way around!

Talk about growth…

Grace, our friend who lives in Guangzhou, took us on a tour of her city a few weeks ago.  Among the places we visited was the very new downtown area that is a good example of the extremely rapid growth of China (which is no secret).  In our journey in the country from which many of our good friends have their origin, we saw several huge new train stations, we transitioned through several gigantic new airports, we witnessed beautiful landscaping of public areas, and saw construction cranes everywhere building new high rise buildings.  The new Guangzhou downtown area was a very large open space to walk in that prohibits motor vehicles, has a super fancy mall down below the street level, and is laid out very pleasantly.  The new subway lines feed into the area.  Interesting architecture marks the new business skyscrapers. There was also a brand new children’s museum and a very fancy new library.  At night the buildings are outlined with multi-colored LED lights that continually change.  One cannot help but be impressed with all the growth.  Of course, there’s more to growth than just building structures.  Every government faces decisions as to how to spend tax revenue.  I’m sure not everyone is benefiting from all aspects of the growth but the investment in public transportation is one area that should benefit most everyone.  There is heavy investment of both private and public money in China and there doesn't seem to be a shortage of either. Grace invested heavily in us using her whole day to show us her city and taking us to eat delicious food.  Thank you, Grace! 

 With Grace in the older section of Guangzhou

 The wide-open public square area of the newer downtown area.

 The new opera house that my sister, Lisa, would enjoy.

 That's a TALL building!

Moving sidewalk leading down to the mall and to the subway.  

Where have all the bicycles gone?

I used to be amazed when I saw the pictures of hundreds of people riding bikes in China in a massive column.  I often wondered how a person who needed to make a turn could safely maneuver out of the crowd without running into anyone.  Unfortunately, I missed the era when the bicycle was king in China.  Yes, there are still bicycles but many have been replaced by cars.  I did see a lot of pretty neat electric bicycles and electric scooters. One has to be careful when walking because electric bikes don’t make any noise to alert you that they are behind you.  But as I watched traffic move as a passenger in several friend’s cars, I think I discovered how the bicycles were able to move in and out in traffic.  For I think that they maneuver cars a lot like they used to maneuver their bikes.  What I mean by this is that when someone wants to turn or change lanes they just do it with little regard to who is already there or coming.  Most people who drive cars in China have only been driving for a decade or so.  Before that time there just weren’t that many cars on the road.  This means that many went from riding bicycles to driving cars in a very short time span.  People cut in and out in front of others in a most entertaining manner.  The amazing thing is that I saw few accidents and no road-rage.  From my observation, people are much more patient when driving in China than in the U.S.  When someone cuts right in front of them many don’t even honk their horns.  If you are coming to the U.S. to drive better give a little more space and use your signal because some people can really get angry when they are cut off unlike the patient drivers in China.  

Sorry for the poor image.  Here come some trucks deciding to merge into traffic.

Hong Kong Reunion and Virtual Party

We had another great reunion with dear friends - this time in Hong Kong.  Curt and Lina, our gracious hosts, opened up their place and Lina fixed a delicious meal.  Dwellings in Hong Kong are small due to the high population, relatively small amount of land available, and the high housing prices.  Curt and Lina’s home is actually in a hotel which rents the upper floors as longer term living places.  It includes a small kitchen and two small bedrooms.  They have two short bunk beds in their “guest” bedroom because there isn’t enough room for regular sized beds.  They still house many guests who are don’t mind a little bit of cramped quarters.  They had a friend on the same floor whose family was away and so we were able to stay with him.  He gave us the “master” bedroom so we had a great place to stay for four days.  They even had washing machines downstairs so we were able to catch up on our laundry which is a big thing when one is on the road for three months.  There were ten of us (including Ping’s niece whom we didn’t know) at the reunion but we wished we had more.  So, we invited a couple of people to be with us virtually.  Glen had helped us put much of our China trip together so he joined us via Skype.  A little later we were talking about Brian & Wee so they joined us for a while as well.  Our time of fellowship and prayer was sweet.  Yet we look forward to the day in which there will be no more parting in the presence of our King.  Until then the journey continues. 

 Lina in her kitchen.

 Nine plus Glen via Skype.

 Mighty Ping holding Brian and Wee!

Dr. Hongjie Zhang in his lab.

Hong Kong Beauty

When I used to think about Hong Kong, what came to mind were high rise buildings and crowds of people.  Yes, there are plenty of both of those but there is also a lot of VERY beautiful scenery.  We were treated to these sights by Ping and Phyllis.  Ping has only been in Hong Kong for a few months.  She moved there to join her husband, Hongjie, who left about ten months ago to begin his research and teaching at Hong Kong Baptist University.  They were part of our church for about 12 years and we miss them dearly.  Phyllis completed her Master’s degree while in Chicago and has been back in her hometown for a number of years.  It was great to see her again!  Such reunions have been the highlight of our trip.  We got to see where Phyllis teaches and carries on important work.  Ping took us to the university where she is working, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.  It has to be one of the most beautiful campuses I’ve ever seen with great views of the bay below from almost every point on campus.  The next day we went up to the top of Hong Kong Island which yields fantastic views of the city and the water below.  We also visited some nice beaches.  Our ride to the airport was also filled with views of peaks, valleys, and bays.  Hong Kong is a beautiful place with great public transportation, lots to see and do, and the home of some dear friends.  A great place to visit on a sabbatical journey!

 Dim Sum Lunch with Phyllis and Ping!  Delicious!

One of the views from Ping's campus.  A tough place to concentrate on studies!

 View from the top.

The observation deck where we had been standing overlooking the city below.

On a Mount of Olives

In the midst of busy travels seeing some of China’s huge cities, we got to spend time some quieter time with some dear friends who are running a business – an olive farm.  We last saw G & B in Chicago about seven or eight years ago so it was great to meet them for dinner in the city and then head out to their farm that night along a bumpy road.  We had two nights with them in a setting VERY different from the rest of our time in China.  Here it was cool, quiet, and we were surrounded by nature.  We wore jackets for the only time on our trip.  We even got to pick the VERY fresh vegetables that we had for dinner! They introduced us to some of the people who work with them and we had some great times of conversation around the dinner table catching up on many years of separation.  The olive farm was one of the last places that they would have imagined that they would end up but that is where they have been for a number of years.  They have been producing high quality olive oil and they have already sold out this year’s yield before it has even been harvested.  Our friends are doing a job of excellence to God’s glory.  Our trip to the airport was a little nerve racking as a broken down truck on a road caused a traffic backup for several miles on both sides of the truck.  G skillfully maneuvered through the big trucks that were too large to squeeze by on the shoulder and we arrived at the airport with about 20 minutes before what was supposed to be the last boarding call.  The flight ended up being delayed and we ended up waiting for over an hour.  Thankfully we've made every connection and overweight bags have been overlooked.  The Lord has been very good to us on our Sabbatical Journey.

Strolling among the nations

Last Sunday we got to visit the Yunnan Nationalities Village which is a special theme park that celebrates the 26 ethnic minorities that are found in Yunnan Province.  China has 56 official ethnic minorities (the Han are the majority people and no, foreigners like us don’t count!) but Yunnan has the heaviest concentration of the groups.  So, one can wander around the park and get a small idea how each of these 26 groups might sometimes live out in their village areas.  There are replicas of traditional dwelling places for each of the groups.  There are performances of dances and songs.  There are displays explaining the uniqueness of each group.  We got to shoot arrows at targets when we visited the Mongolian area and drank their milk tea.  We got to attend a large concert which features musical performances by many of the groups.  There are the Yi, Dai, Miao, Jingpo, Wa, Hani, Naxi, Dulong, Dai and others.  The best part of the visit was being guided through the park by our friend Y and his wife whom we had just met the night before. Y is from one of the groups.  During the musical performance he sang along with several of the songs.  He explained a lot of what was going on and answered many of our questions.  We especially enjoyed visiting the area of the park dedicated to his group. Their language is written down with pictograph characters that are very interesting.  I’m afraid that some of the “ethnic” people were really just local people dressing up in costumes but spending time with a friend we hadn’t seen in a long time was a big blessing.  He asked how many of his friends back in Chicago were doing as he really enjoyed his time with our church family.  Hopefully he’ll get to bring his lovely wife to meet everyone one day.  We look forward to that day and also remember the song that is sung before the Lamb of God:   Rev. 5:9 "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Minorities’ Musical

Pictographs

Y and his wife

For dinner tonight: Stuffed pastor & wife

We have wonderful friends here in China.  Every time we go out to dinner they want to give us some of the best local food and LOTS of it.  They want us to experience local cuisine and they delight in seeing us enjoy it.  Each night we get to enjoy one of the best inventions of all time:  The Chinese Lazy Susan!  By it the food one wants is only a turn away.  This alleviates the problem of knowing the name of a dish and not knowing how to ask someone to pass something.  The problem for us has been too many nights in a row of big meals composed of many dishes which have resulted in stuffed pastor and wife!  We had thoughts of losing weight while in China but that may not happen due to the kind intention of our friends.  We have had a lot of wonderful food here and doubtless that there is more to come.  Some of you may find yourselves salivating over the pictures – sorry about that!

One of the Warmest Greetings

It’s always nice to be welcomed to a new place.  But last Thursday
night we got a tremendous welcome to Xi’an by XL’s parents.  They had
spent time in Chicago caring for XL’s daughter until Grandma was
discovered with cancer.  Because they had no insurance in the U.S.,
the only choice they had was to go back for treatment in China.  She
had an operation to remove the tumor which was followed by chemo and
radiation treatments.  It was a very difficult time. The good news is
that she has been cancer-free for two years!  She really looks good!
Grandma knows our church family in Chicago prayed for her and cared
for XL and her daughter.  So she lavished her gratitude on us!  The
smile on her face when we first saw her was worth the whole trip!  She
and her husband are delightful people even though they have their
health challenges.  We had several lovely meals with them.  It was a
joy to spend time with such humble people on this sabbatical journey.

The Emperor’s Quest

Last Friday a dear friend took us to view the world-famous terracotta warriors in Xi’an.  It is an amazing place!  Wikipedia says this: “The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of a unified China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife, and to make sure that he had people to rule over.”  Being a powerful emperor has its perks.  “The Chinese historian Sima Qian, writing a century after the First Emperor's death, wrote that it took 700,000 men to construct the emperor's mausoleum.” (Wiki)  Some modern scholars have cast doubt on that huge number but it certainly was a large undertaking spanning many, many years and likely many, many lives.  Emperor Qin died at 49 reportedly after ingesting mercury pills that were ironically given him by his physicians to make him immortal.  Not too many years after his death, a peasant revolt led to the destruction of much of the terracotta army and the plundering of the buried weapons. All of that sacrifice of men and labor were broken up in just a short period of time.  The soldiers and horses have been painstakingly pieced back together by dedicated Chinese archaeologists.

            The next day I read in Psalm 93:1-2 about another ruler: “The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength…Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.” 

            There is only one King who will reign forever and who is eternal. All of us humans, no matter how great or powerful in life, have to deal with the issue of our mortality.  Emperor Qin had his approach but I’m glad I have a different one which comes through the One who truly reigns forever.  A good reminder on this sabbatical journey.

With no time to spare

Getting on the train in Beijing was not a problem.  We arrived in plenty of time and Glen even found a way for us to go onto the platform earlier than most of the rest of the crowd.  Getting on in Zhengzhou was another story.  Because of traffic problems we made it to the train station just a few minutes before our departure time.  CL did a great job in maneuvering us through some tough roads.  We got into the terminal with enough time but apparently the train was late getting in because when our departure time arrived we were still in the terminal.  I was able to ask several other passengers to make sure we weren’t waiting behind another train’s passengers.  Finally, a few minutes after our scheduled departure time, they let everyone go through to the platform.  It was a big crowd!  We, of course, were dragging our entire luggage to sustain us for almost three months of traveling behind us including descending three flights of stairs.  One kind man grabbed the bag Barbara was trying to carry down the stairs and went all the way with us to our seats.  They were trying to get the train off just as quickly as they could without thought of people like us.  We just barely got on and quickly worked to stuff our belongings in the overhead area.  We were very thankful that the space above our seats was completely empty.  The train took off before we had even sat down.  

We did enjoy the trip once we began to cool off.  The train to Xi’an reaches speeds up to 285 km/h!  It only took two hours.  The northern train station in Xi’an is HUGE and brand new.  We soon saw our dear friend, XL, coming to meet us!  Another successful connection on our sabbatical journey.

Glen made sure we got on the train in Beijing

 Bullet train 

Xi’an Northern Train Station

An old friend in a new place

Last Tuesday we rolled into Zhengzhou by the bullet train from Beijing.  This is not the fastest train but it got up to 165 km/h.  It was very nice and smooth.  Upon arrival in Zhengzhou (a very large city), we were met by CL & Dale.  We’ve known Dale for many years but it was wonderful to spend time with him in a place other than Chicago.  Dale is semi-retired from his position as a music professor in the U.S. and is now teaching at a university in Henan Province.  He is really enjoying his students whom he describes as more eager to learn than many of those he had in America.  I attended one of his choral classes.  They were working on a piece in Italian and another in English.  Dale makes it fun for his students and yet they learn a lot from him at the same time.  Tonight he invited them to join him for a movie night and pizza.  By the time Dale is finished next May, I know he will have many students who will miss him.  I think he is adjusting well to life in China.  He goes for a massage twice a week at only 50 rmb a session and always enjoys good food. 

                

We also got to see CL and his bride of one year, WW.  Once again, we were blessed by people who treated us like royalty.  We stayed in a nice hotel, ate some great food, and CL spent a lot of time transporting us to and from the rail station (more than one hour each way).  CL is a voice professor at the school and his wife teaches piano.  We had a lot of fun with CL and asked him a lot of questions about China. 

                

Seeing friends like this in a new place is a great experience.  The same high quality people but in a different environment.  It was a great two day stop on our sabbatical journey.  

Dale conducting

A meal of spicy Henan food 

Dale getting worked over

Becoming a “True Man”

Yesterday, according to Chairman Mao, I became a true man.  He said: “He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man.”  So, with the help of wonderful friends, I was able to climb a challenging section of the wall at Badaling.  Sections of it were VERY steep and there were a LOT of people climbing with us – people anxious to become true men!  Even though it is not visible from the moon as I had heard, the Great Wall is indeed very great.  One cannot even imagine the human toil that was necessary to build it.  But it stands as a testimony to the ingenuity and perseverance of the Chinese people.  We had a great time, especially because of the friends who were with us.  Fortunately, Mao didn’t say anything about having to climb back down the Great Wall so we took the tram down.  The trip up took a long time but the tram down was only a few minutes, much easier than going against the flow of people climbing up.  

Great Wall great day!

View from the top

Inside the tram

Some of us "true men"

Barbara and D

Our wonderful friends