East Asia 2008: Part III.
>> In case you need to start from the beginning < <
Part I: April 14-16
Part II: April 16-17
April 18: Today we got a full day’s worth of “work.” It was my morning to lead devo during breakfast and I went through II Corinthians 4 (thanks to Kelly Ayers for suggesting this verse!), likening our ministry to Paul’s. I knew the team needed to be encouraged because we had a long day ahead of us!
First, we went to a university and met a new friend and a whole flock of people (her friends, their friends, everybody’s friends!) “BRAIN OVERLOAD!” It is insanity to have 15-20 people bombard your 6-man team, speaking broken English, and really wanting to get to know you. We made our way to the university’s cafeteria where I had their version of “dorm food!” I didn’t notice if it was bad or not because I was so dang busy talking! It was easy to forget people’s names and mix them up. I took some notes, but it got chaotic. After lunch, I was craving my favorite bottled green tea, and was about to pay for it, when one of my new friends, H, decided to be a man and pay for it. I told him numerous times not to, but when he said, “This will be my first time to treat a foreigner,” I gave in. Very sweet guy (and not just ’cause he bought me a drink!) We all chatted for awhile longer then eventually split. Not without a group picture though! (H the gentleman is on my left!)
Two girls decided to stick it out with us and we went to a park to meet other new friends, mostly guys. They were quiet at first, so a few of us decided to walk around the park and take pictures. Some got to fly an old man’s kite (them suckers get some mad air!) and some posed with statues. Here’s what I did:
Eventually, we broke some ice and conversed with the guys. A football was tossed, old men gathered around (and one was very interested in one of the women, thought she was Russian!) Some conversations I had were over school, work, Daoism, and the country’s history and culture. You never know what to expect!
And then… long story short, a random series of events led to…
A SQUATTY POTTY.
I avoided this Eastern wonder during the last trip, but alas, I had to go. And I had to pay to use the public WC. While wondering what to pay, a girl - who I hadn’t talked to - offered me the amount I needed. I declined, having more than enough to pay, but she said, “it is my pleasure… to treat you to the toilet!” I couldn’t refuse a gift and I really had to go, so I took her money and ran. I think it took me an additional minute or two to figure out how to go without going all over my pants, but I did it! I probably went to the dirtiest WC in the city, but dang, when you gotta go…!
The females of the team had some awesome stir-fry for dinner and met some sweet ladies with their daughters. The kiddos even sang and danced for us! About midway through the dinner, we all showed signs of major fatigue so we went back to hotel for sweet slumber soon after.
April 19: Started the day with Wendy Knauss’ encouragement verse of John 8:12 which says, “Then Jesus again spoke saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Boy, I needed some light because I was severely tired. Totally prayed for a break. After McDonald’s and the bank, we went to the Flower Market to meet some people from an English Corner. The Flower Market was awesome - full of flowers and unique souvenirs - and packed with kiddos. The custom is to celebrate a child’s 12th birthday in a big way. The weather was super cold and drizzly, so a lot of them spent it there. The team scattered in the market to purchase souvenirs and our new friends were kind in helping us. A younger boy, P, followed me for awhile and told me all about how America is different than his country. I made sure to straighten out his story! No one country is better than another!
For lunch, a few followed us for some duck! If you’ve never had duck, it’s a bit of work to get around the bones, but it’s so good! One of the guys at the table is an English teacher and has his students translate the “Good Book” for class! Triiicky! He comes from a relatively long line of believers and it was awesome to see him sharing his faith.
My prayers were answered and we had a few hours to ourselves! We went to a bookstore and grocery store to pick up some more souvenirs then back to hotel to relax. I didn’t quite get a nap, but it was nice to be off my feet!
For dinner, we splurged and treated our guides to some fancy Pizza Hut. No, seriously, it is considered one of the higher end restaurants in most cities within the country! Look for yourself!
And we were greeted by this hostess:
(yeah, I don’t know either!)
The rest of the night was spent listening to our guides’ prayer requests, enjoying pizza, and getting ready for our last two days, crampacked with things to do!
