tourists

Today was a touristy day. We visited the Chen Ancestral Lineage Hall, a temple-like museum that contained various artworks. It was 10 kuai a person to enter, kind of steep, I thought, for the amount of exhibits they had. We then took the Subway to Shamian Island and grabbed some lunch before shopping around for some souvenirs and such. Got home fairly late, completely "knackered" - L's word.

Thunderstorms galore...

Today started out pleasant enough, we just bummed around the house until it was time to take the shuttle to GW. We were all invited for dinner, but had to go a bit early since S. had class this evening. S. left lunch a bit early for his piano class. They had a good lesson. M. has really improved. It was evident he'd been practicing. They played a duet together, which the mom really enjoyed.

The rest of us were going to join him at the house later, but soon after we started walking over it started to drizzle a little and then downright poured. We waited for about 15-20 minutes till the rain subsided to a drizzle again and ventured to the post office and to the veggie market for some fruit. But we were stuck there again by a downpour. This lasted a while, so all the girls decided to get our hair cut. We were going to do later that evening, but since we were right by the salon and stuck in the rain, we went for it. My hair was cut waaaaayyy shorter than I wanted...was nervous about what S. would say - he liked my long hair. The rain went on for about an hour and a half...and at the next break, we ventured out again, only to have to find a nearest shelter soon after. There we waited for another ten minutes and although it wasn't pelting down, we got pretty wet as we walked to another building. Stopped there for a bathroom break. The rain was very soft by now, so we decided to go for it. We were able to walk for about five minutes before it started again. Fortunately, we found an office that had a little sunshade which we huddled under. The folks inside had a fish tank and were gracious enough to allow the kids to watch the fish while we waited for the downpour to subside. I was just about to check the rain when I saw S. walking past with some umbrellas. Apparently, they were waiting for us to come and after the downpour, our hostess guessed correctly that we were stranded somewhere because of the rain and sent S. with some umbrellas in search of us. Of course, Murphy is always at work and it stopped raining once S. showed up with the umbrellas - figures, doesn't it?

Dinner was great (home made pizza - which is a real treat out here) and the kids got along really well. Our hosts have two boys a little older than the girls, but I think both sets of kids missed playing with folks their own age.

S. left early to prepare for class, the rest of us hung around a bit and chatted while the kids played their hearts out. We left with the intention of visiting S' class, however, the minute we walked downstairs from their apartment it started pouring again. We decided to wait and then venture on, but, the kids started falling asleep and Mom and Dad were probably feeling a bit of fatigue. So, we called a cab, which were hard to come by today since the demand was pretty high, and headed home...with a pitstop to let S. know that we wouldn't be coming to class. I was soaked running to and from the taxi to the classroom - I couldn't believe how much it'd been raining and it didn't look like it was slowing down anytime soon. You could see clumps of people gathered together under any kind of shelter they could find. When we got to our campus, the guard mercifully allowed the taxi to take us to our building, rather than making us get off at the gate and walk. Due to construction, a vent in the ground had been blocked, so the rain had formed a small pool at the bottom of our building, right where our taxi drove up...it was hilarious. All three girls, who had fallen asleep during the cab ride, woke up to giant drops of water pelting their faces. The rest of us got quite a shower just walking around the taxi into the building.

Another adventure to remember...

PS: By the time S' class was over the rain was done and he had quite a pleasant ride home...of course.

follow that bus...

Dad and I went to the 3-self church while the rest went to GICF. We got there as the service began singing "This Is The Day" using an accompaniment half-live, half-sequenced. A beautiful "Hallelujah" song using pinyin and Chinese followed next, afterwards the praise songs "Above All Powers" and "As The Deer".

Two women (one translating) shared exhortations to the congregation. Then a young man in a plain white shirt gave a sermon on Isaiah 58. A bespectacled young man in a plaid yellow, untucked, short-sleeve dress shirt translates into English for him. The sermon is a continuation in the study on Isaiah. Some things mentioned ---

• True fasting is a matter of your heart.


• Genesis 2:1-3 suggests the Sabbath as a "fast" from work.


• Work not for yourself, but for God.


• Deuteronomy 28:1-11: The blessings of God.

An invitation was made to those who wished to follow Christ, followed by applause from the congregation. Later, a woman gave a personal testimony in Cantonese.

After service, we went to the bookshop to buy a Bible for the fellow Dad met at the barber shop a few days ago, but it was closed. During lunch, Dad started talking about his life and the Bible. Those who were sitting with us were very interested in his knowledge. Dad ended up talking himself hoarse for 3 hours. His group grew to about 10, with everyone eating up his words. Other groups formed at separate tables and even one outside. Two became "siblings", led by Dad.

By the time we got home it was around 7:00 p.m., having been through one of the worst traffic jams I’d ever been in during our time in GZ. Turned out to be a severely jackknifed flatbed truck just before the XM bus station. Because we’d got home so late, I didn’t make it to Bible study tonight. While eating dinner, we talked about our day and found out that the girls had their own adventure today.

L's story: Fellowship was fine as was lunch. Mom and J. and the girls met the C's (another family we have fellowship with at our university), and we all had lunch together. On our way home, we stopped by a Starbucks and bought a GZ tumbler as a souvenir. We took the subway to a bus stop, which would take us to the main campus with the intention of catching a cab from there. Everything was okay up until we got off the bus. The youngest two girls had fallen asleep on the bus, and in the rush to get them off at our stop, Mom forgot the Starbucks bag. She realized this just as the bus pulled away and started running after it. I had no idea my mother-in-law was such a fast runner. She was really booking it. J. and I had the three girls, one of whom was still sleeping. We decided to catch a cab and wait for mom....who finally gave up the chase. However, we had the brilliant idea of following the bus and seeing if we could catch up with it at the next stop and retrieve the tumbler. Mom sat in the front to explain to the taxi driver our mission....it was very much a "follow that bus" scenario. However, by the time we had explained to the taxi driver what we wanted to do, we lost the bus. We followed a path that I thought might be where the bus went, but after five minutes, still couldn't find it. Acknowledging defeat, we turned the taxi around and headed home. However, just as we took a turn, we saw another bus of the same number (76) come up and decided to follow it, since it would take us the route of our bus. So, we asked the driver to turn around again and "follow that bus" - which we did for a while. (No way could we have figured out that route on our own). As we were driving, we noticed several 76's going back and kept looking for the bag in their back windows, but we were sure they weren't "our" bus, since we weren't that far behind. Eventually, the driver got close enough to the bus to read the name of the end station and asked if he could go ahead and catch up to "our" bus. Before the words "no problem" were fully out of our mouths, he stepped on the gas and we were off. I don't think I've even driven this fast in a Chinese car....the girls (still only two) and all of us got into the chase and started looking for any 76 ahead of us. In a few minutes, we caught up with ours....and mom asked the bus driver through the window if she could climb aboard and get her bag. He was gracious enough to agree....so she jumped out and looked and couldn't find it. Encouraged by the bus driver, she looked again, but to no avail....it was gone! Someone had felt they needed it more. A bit discouraged, but with another adventure under our belts, we headed home. I'm not sure how much the taxi ride cost, but it was definitely way more than if we had just taken a taxi from the fellowship straight home. But if we had done that, there wouldn't have been the adventure and we'd have nothing to tell you - so, aren't you glad we didn't.... :-)

in memory of...

Today was Mr. W's funeral, I told L. that I'd help teach her Friday classes so that she could attend. Mom went with L. to help translate - I felt it was important that she go.

Classes went well. After we did the "inventions," we used the remaining time to have a Q&A session with the students. This was most interesting. Many had good questions, but a few asked us if we were Christians and went to church, to which we said yes. The spirited discussion then turned towards science and the existence of God with a few of the students. They spoke pretty good English and had keen interest in these matters. They felt that people created God in their minds, that the mind can make the fake become real. We suggested that the mind can also make the real become fake, and that scientists can have as much of an anti-God bias cloud their research as those who have a God bias cloud theirs. We talked about intelligent design and "design inference" that point to the evidence for God or some kind of cosmic intelligence or deity. (L. and Mom returned toward the end of the second class)

We talked about the funeral while we had our lunch. Mom had never been to a secular, much less "Party" funeral. About 200-300 people went and packed themselves standing up in a small room in a rather lavish funeral home. A few people gave some words of tribute. Most everyone bowed before the closed, with the glass top, casket, but Mom and L. didn't.

One of L's former students came up to talk with her privately. She was at the funeral, so it was thought that she might want to talk about it. We spent some time talking and thinking about her before she came up. It turned out that she was burdened by a relationship she had with a former XM English teacher, a colleague of L.'s from last year. He'd taken advantage of her, apparently, leading her to believe that he was interested in maintaining a relationship. L. counseled against it, since he was known to have a "relationship" with several other coeds and possibly was one of the reasons he was not asked back to teach this year. In any case, L. was able to spend some time encouraging her and praying with her. Hopefully, this will open up opportunites for more discussion in the future.

make sure you have the right batteries

S. and I woke up at 5 am to find a taxi to the airport for J. and D. We had to walk to the big intersection (about 20 minutes) and bargained with one driver for 90 bucks, although, he still got way more than he should have. The streets were deserted for the most part and it was still quite dark. We were able to get the driver to drive directly to our doorstep, where we were hoping to meet J. and D. But when S. ran up to get them, he learned that they had already left. He ran back down and started looking for them. I didn't know what to do with the taxi, so I hopped in and asked him to drive in the direction S. Except, when we turned the corner, we couldn't seen him anywhere, so I just directed the taxi to the main gate, where we found J. and D., but no sign of S. anywhere. We (Dad was waiting with them) put them in the taxi and sent them off, and then walked back, only to meet S. still running around looking for J. and D. He sure got his exercise that morning. If only the walkie-talkies we had worked, we would've avoided missing each other.

Later that day, we noticed that an apartment two floors below us had its door opened. Many people were coming in and out and occasionally we'd hear someone wailing. A woman burned incense at a small desk in the living room. Some were burning paper "money" using a pot in the fire extinguisher container. It appeared that someone in that room may have died, but we didn't know who.

For lunch, Mom and S. went to E. old café (the one we were hoping to help out with). It's now a restaurant with about 6-7 men and women working together. Gone were the couches and short tables; in their place, eating tables, chairs, and new decorations. It was kind of sad to see the place changed so fast and S. knew I would feel likewise.

We went to the middle school for the first lesson. We tried the "name game", but it was apparent rather quickly that pronunciation was not their forte. We had them write their names on their cards, typed them on the screen, and had them recite them. We also gave them simple questions (e.g. how old are you, what's your favorite xyz, etc.) for them to write answers to in order to know where their English listening proficiency was. They seemed quite well-behaved, almost shy, although I still think that their "middle-school-ness" will surface pretty soon. Maybe because their teachers were there watching them? Also, the teachers don't teach speaking and listening, as they don't do it that well themselves. That may be where S. and I can contribute the most.

On the way back to the flat, we met another teacher, who upon asking, told me that last year's dean of the college had passed away yesterday of a heart attack. He was 63 and lived two floors below us. He was truly loved by not only staff, but students as well. I was very shocked by the news. There will be a funeral service tomorrow.

famous 5-kuai haircut

The whole family went to L's classes today. L. had them break into groups and "build" inventions made of random household items. Later, they presented them a la a sales pitch for their invention. We had a question/answer period in the time remaining. They were particularly interested in where we were from and our impressions of China. We did this for the first two classes. Even tho' these classes were L.'s most challenging ones, they received us well.

We had dinner at the main campus of the university, after which my bro-in-law and I decided to get a "famous" Chinese 5-kuai (60 US cents) haircut. It was a different one than I had been to. A woman cut my hair and a young man cut my bro-in-law's. While we were getting our hair cut, Dad stayed outside and talked with one of the employees. We learned later that Dad prayed with him and that this man asked for a Bible.

Back in Guangzhou

We left Fuzhou today. The Fuzhou "International" Airport wasn't very busy. It seemed we'd breeze through. However, we encountered a delay with the airlines, because we had adult tickets for the kids, but they NEEDED children's tickets. They wouldn't take the adult tickets, even tho' they'd get more money for them. We would get a refund for the adult tickets, but we had to get them from the agency we bought them from. The plane held up for us for a few minutes. Silly rules that we'd never heard of from any other airlines. Sheesh.

We landed in Guangzhou 75 minutes later. A few taxi drivers tried to bargain a fare to take us home, but L. would hear none of it and we ended up taking the Airport Express (bus), to the nearest stop which was still a bit away from us. J., R., and I piled all the luggage into a taxi while the rest took the local bus. Unfortunately, our taxi driver missed a turn towards XM. We got hopelessly lost. The driver annoyingly started guessing where I wanted him to take us, taking us to different schools. I did not hide my disgust with him, which I'm sure made him nervous. We finally happened upon XM by chance. I paid him rmb 30, even though the meter read "47", which he sheepishly took (it was probably more than what we should've paid, but my irritation had subsided and he did wait for us with the luggage to be loaded).

When we all got home, L. found out that the family could stay at the empty flat next to us, so we decided to do that. It was much easier to have everyone at the same location, although there was a good bit of cleaning to do next door.

In the evening, we took them to our favorite Brazilian restaurant....it was loads of fun with a live band and a couple dancing latina style. It's nice to be home, for us, finally unpack, do some laundry etc., but what a week this has been...

Agape Center

After breakfast, we boarded a van, provided by the Fuzhou Agape Medical Center, and were taken on a tour of the city. We visited a couple of churches at the start of our trip and were well-received by everyone we came in contact with. We also stopped by a park with a large statue of a bull, to take some pics and relax. Next door was a Sam's Club. There is a big Walmart Supercenter here in Fuzhou, which got L. very excited.

One memorable visit was to a 3-self church on the banks of the river. A big red cross on top of it could be seen for miles. Another red cross on another church sat not too far away. The old pastor of the church had lived through the Cultural Revolution and had been imprisoned during that time. When asked if they are allowed to preach on the Resurrection, he replied emphatically, "Of course! Anything in the Bible is allowed to be preached." That answered some questions held by some of us about this issue. It was an honor to meet a man who'd endured so much for his faith. The same was true for the other elderly Christians who were with us.

We stopped off at the Agape Medical Center. They'd moved since my previous visit in 2001. We met the friendly medical staff, all retired nurses, mostly women, all volunteer. We toured the facility, which was located by a busier highway than before.

We visited another church that was started by a group of peasant, illiterate women. The woman who catalyzed the building of the church said about 10 years ago, her son was cured of an illness after she'd abandoned hope of him being well, but decided to take him to a church to be prayed for. She felt strongly after that God wanted her to have a church built in this area of Fuzhou that didn't have a church nearby. They invited us in to look around and to have lunch. The lunch was generous and sumptuous. Again, it was neat to meet these people whose faith journeys were certainly different from our own.

However, with all the running around in that heat, the kids were getting tired and some were wondering when we'd be heading home. But, we plowed on to visit the orphanage. It was well-worth it for everyone, it turns out. It's actually a foster home for 62 boys and girls ages 8-20 whose parents are incarcerated. The kids would be returned back to their family once their parents were released. A woman named P. (whom I met in the 2001 trip) showed us around. They added a few more buildings since our last visit. A couple of boys, both mentally challenged, came to greet and hug us. Our stay was rather short, but not before we took many pictures with the children. One 7- or 8-year-old little girl looked a lot like our niece, P. with the cute smile. The kids warmed up quickly and took a liking to the nieces. Most of them waved as the van pulled away taking us home.

After dinner, Goo-goo, Goo-fu, and our cousins came by our hotel room. We spent time relating our memories of Gong-gong, who passed away a year ago today. Everyone in the family shared. Mom translated. Dad and Mom encouraged all of us to consider Christ in light of Gong-gong's faith.

After they left, we surprised mom with a cake and celebrated her b'day...although the added sugar that late at night definitely showed on the kids. It's off to Guangzhou tomorrow...

(PS: Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad (L's))

Dad was a teen?

We all went to a three-self church, which was completely in Chinese. They even have their own website! The last time I came to this church was in October 2001, when it was in a temporary location. It's apparently moved back to their newly-renovated location, which still appears to be an old structure with many extra renovated rooms and buildings. The main sanctuary was located towards the back. Other larger rooms, including the one housed in the old structure, accommodated overflow watching via closed circuit.

The service went much like what I remember back in CBC in Portland, with the singing of the "Gloria Patri" and reading responsively from the Bible. They quoted the Apostles' Creed. Group prayer was led by a woman. Every sentence was passionately prayed and followed by a resounding "amen!" by the congregation in unison. One of the women moderators sprinkled a bit of English in her talks. Philippians 1:1-11 was read aloud, after which a Chinese speaker from the U.S. gave the sermon, with Fuzhou-nese translation. The sermon meandered a bit, but some points were worth noting...

• The church is not just 1, 2, or 3 people. It’s ALL people in the body of Christ.


• He calls some church-goers "mosquito" or "housefly" Christians....annoying the church with their "buzzing", but contributing nothing, yet not going away.


• The church should not be like a ship where one or two are rowing and the passengers are standing around on board wondering why the ship is moving so slow.

After singing the hymn "Heavenly Sunshine", the service closed in prayer. Communion was then conducted after the general service. People who didn't want to or couldn't participate (if they hadn't been baptized) were invited to leave. Although a lot of people left, the church still appeared full. As it was last year, this church was packed to the max, perhaps numbering around 2000, maybe more. And this was only one of three Sunday services.

Communion consisted of wafers and a spoonful of wine taken from a communal cup. Each person took a small metal spoon from a tray that was passed through the worshippers, along with the wine cup. The cup and spoon was not that big, but you got enough to get the taste of the wine. It was an intriguing, simple, and enjoyable way to partake. While the elements were passed around, congregational hymn singing and Scripture reading took place.

After lunch, we stopped by Dad's old stomping grounds as a teen. All that's left was just the river he used to hang out at. Everywhere around it are stores and pavement that weren't there when he was growing up. Concrete-ville, it was. We did walk by some old trees and an archway that were still left amidst all the build-up.

We visited the old Christian Lane Church, the church Dad first attended as a youth, but found it was being prepared for demolition. Whether the church body was to be relocated or just discontinued, we didn't know. We didn't go inside. The sign was still there. Another part of Dad's history being replaced by economic progress.

We also stopped by Dad's old school grounds nearby. Students were all outside preparing for that day's big exams (on Sunday, of all days). The school guard allowed us in to take pictures and look around. Nothing of the school when Dad was there was left -- it was all new building. Still, it was good to be there and reminisce with him.

We ate dinner at Goo-goo and Goo-fu's home that evening. They don't live far from the hotel - within walking distance. Goo-goo prepared lots of food along with some of Dad's dumplings - we were stuffed. On our way back, we noticed as a large crowd was watching a makeshift outdoor theatre - out of a big white sheet.

Fuzhou

We woke around 5:30 am to head to the airport. Our first airplane flight together as a family! When we arrived at Fuzhou, I was familiar with many of the sights from our trip in October 2001 --- we checked into the same hotel as we did then, the Fu You. After lunch, we drove to the cemetery where Gong-gong (Grandpa -- Dad's dad) is buried. On the way, we passed by the village where Dad was raised, except now it’s a collection of modern high-rise apartments.

My cousin dropped off A. J. L. Dad, my uncle and myself at the trailhead to the cemetery. The path wove its way through fields, farmland, trees, cracked brick walls, small shops, and unfinished apartments. Graves and monuments were scattered randomly along the way. Apparently, this trail is also a popular hiking spot, for we passed several students and hikers on their way back down. We walked for about 15-20 minutes before resting at a large, smooth rock formation. After waiting for several minutes, Goo-foo, Dad, and I resumed walking, while L. J. and A. waited for the rest of our troupe - to help with the kids, not knowing yet how far we had to go. After finding Gong-gong's grave, Dad and I walked further up to look for the graves of my great-great-grandparents, my great-grand-parents, and my great-grand uncle and aunt. We found it about another 100 meters up from Gong-gong's grave, under a tree where two red plastic bags were hanging. Dad had put them there last year to help find the grave easier. The scattered graves in the cemetery are situated on a steep mountainside, amidst lots of brush and trees. There are no clearly marked trails. They come in all shapes, sizes, and conditions. We took some pictures before heading back down. Certain parts were slippery, steep, and cluttered with weeds, but we managed to make it down okay. Everyone else managed to make it up as soon as we got back to Gong-gong's grave. Two other close friends of Gong came up as well. We took many pictures together. Decorations from last year's funeral, as well as a celebration of the dead that was held last month still littered the gravesite. We cleared some of the area of the leaves that had fallen on the site. Nearly every gravesite was coved with faded, tattered fake money pinned down by rocks. After about an hour, we headed back down, and drove to some apartments nearby. We went up a couple stories in one building to Dad's apartment that replaced what was torn down. A shrine to Gong-gong, grandma, and great-grandma occupied one room, adorned with their photos and a makeshift altar to put incense and goods on. The other rooms were sparely furnished. Outside the apartment was a courtyard where Gong-gong's memorial service and funeral in Fuzhou took place. We went back to the hotel. It started to rain that night. It's a good thing we went to the cemetery when we did....it would've been miserable and downright impossible to make it through there in wet conditions.