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

Pleasant Surprise

We haven’t seen M for several years.  She was a grad student in Chicago and then went back to work in China.  I had been in touch with her earlier in the year so we were looking forward to seeing her in Beijing.  I had sent her several emails letting her know of our schedule before we left but never heard back from her.  So, we assumed she didn’t receive the email or that something had happened to her.  This was disappointing – when would we ever be in Beijing again so that we could see her?  But then another Chinese friend wrote to us the very day of our get-together with friends was scheduled and he had her phone number.  So, M made it to the dinner and we also found out that she had gotten married five months before to a wonderful man named M!  What a pleasant surprise!  They both attend an international church in Beijing and are doing very well in their careers.  It is obvious that they love each other and have a very good relationship.  God is really blessing them and we are very thankful. 

Kindness

Being in a huge country where one cannot speak the language can be challenging unless one has friends.  We are VERY blessed by the friends here who have shown us GREAT kindness.  G, a longtime friend, who is just visiting his parents in Beijing from Washington DC, helped make much of this trip in China come to pass.  He booked our hotel, made travel arrangements in the country, called friends to set up get-togethers and a whole LOT more.  J met us at the airport with G and drove us to her business where we then had dinner along with her husband, L.  It was a “light” meal – Hangzhou food.  J also picked us up yesterday and drove us to the Great Wall at Baidaling which is quite far from our center of Beijing location.  After that she drove us to the Summer Palace and then to a wonderful meal with a number of friends. L was our generous host last night for a delicious Beijing style meal and Beijing opera entertainment.  D and Y came along with us to the Great Wall, Summer Palace, and the meal time.  They (along with J) spent ALL DAY with us (14 hours)!  They didn’t let us pay for any of the admission prices or food along the way.  Another friend,  C, took the bullet train last evening (over 100 miles) just to be with us and then had to go back the same night.  Of course, we wouldn’t even be in China if not for the kindness of our loving church family allowing us to have this sabbatical and the kindness of generous supporters giving toward our sabbatical journey.  WOW!  What great kindness that our Father shows us through people. 

G & J meeting us at the airport

L with the Hangzhou style food 

J, Y & Barbara

California visit and Beijing Bound

We have had a blessed time in California visiting with family.  My mother, who is 84, is doing well.  She lives in a board and care facility near my brother & sister-in-law’s home.  They go and see her almost every day.  The facility is staffed by wonderful Filipino people.  We were able to sing and pray with my mother the last two days.  My brother, Mark, and his wife, Diana, were once again great hosts.  They took us to the beach yesterday for a stroll and brunch. 

Visiting my Mother

My brother and sister-in-law Diana

We’re waiting to board our flight to Beijing even now.  We’re excited but already a little tired.  

Asia, here we come!

Martin