MISCELLANEOUS SHOTS

Sleeping like a baby at 8 am.

The cactus thinks that it is already Christmas....must be listening to the Christmas music on the radio.

A new purchase graces my orchid area in the great room.

WATCH THIS VIDEO

YOU WILL SIMPLY LOVE THIS VERSION OF JINGLE BELLS!

I've always known why Karol saved all of her glasses....She wanted the grand daughters to have a marvelous time wearing them during playtime.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THANKS!

Thanksgiving is, well, all about thanks. The national day of thanks gives Christians a special time to gather to praise and thank, although that is a part of daily living for each one of God's children.

Great fun watching a video.

Taylor, Elizabeth, and Karol watch a camera video while Rachel seriously works

 on making a Christmas wreath.

Abram is in his glory when he is able to play with his Batman garage!!'

Our first measureable snow of the season. It's not much, but it is measureable!

Karol first wore these glasses back in 1966. She dug out her old glasses and the girls tried them on. Doesn't Elizabeth look like a beauty queen?

The three girls had a wonderful time playing restaurant. Finally, Karol broke out the fine china dishes so that they could have REAL fun!

HOME AGAIN!

I’m excited about returning home to all that is familiar (and Karol and our nice warm wood heat). Visited with Joel again this morning and also met up with Carl Hanson (step up from Joel). Off to airport by taxi (58 HK$) and Airport Express train (90 HK$).

Slipped through all the airport hoops (checking luggage, receiving boarding passes, immigration, customs) with no problem. Time for lunch: Tsing Tao beer and Singapore noodles. Pretty good!! Now I’m just waiting. The plane departure time has been delayed 30 minutes, so we hope to leave at 1:05 pm.

Beautiful flowers at the Inchon (Seoul) Airport

 Korean Airlines is THE BEST! Dinner is served with real glasses and metal silverware – and the service is very good. Had bi bim bop (even though they didn’t call it that on the menu. As we neared Korea, the flight attendant asked the person in the row behind, “For safety as we land, would you please pull down your window,” meaning, pull up your shade so that the window is clear. Pulling down/up the window would have been disasterous.

Spent about an hour in the Inchon airport and now we’re flying on a Delta flight to Detroit. 12 hours and 15 minutes……Ow! A long stretch. Economy class is “light” meaning that there were many seats open. I was able to move from a side aisle filled with three of us to the center middle where no one was sitting. I had great visions of stretching out for a nice sleep. But shortly into the flight, the attendant brought over a lady whose TV/computer did not work. So much for stretching out.

Detroit at 5:45 for a two hour wait. Then on to CWA, arriving at 8:45. Home again. Good to see Karol. But, it’s cold!!

Most thankful for a very safe trip!!!!!

Karol had the fire going when I got back. Wow! That was toasty and warm!

ADDENDUM

What have I learned?

·         The Christian Church in China is growing quickly both in numbers and maturity.

·         Perhaps the greatest need in this country is training for leadership.

·         While I gained a picture of Christianity from my years of English teaching, this trip has opened up my eyes to the desire of God’s people to win China for Jesus.

·         There are numbers of outside Christians who are taking risks on behalf of the church outside of China.

·         China is slowly opening to others who want to come to share Jesus. BUT, that could change at any time because the government controls whatever happens in the religious realm through the Religious Bureau.

·         I still am in disbelief that I had the unbelievable opportunity to share two messages in a church where the minority of participants were foreigners and the majority were from mainland China. And I note that this is really historic. Joel has shared messages 6 times, and Will Graham shared once on Sept. 16. Otherwise, it is the law that foreigners are not allowed to share the Gospel publicly to Chinese nationals anywhere in the whole country of China. Shenzhen has now become the first exception.

·         We have the obligation to regularly keep the Chinese Christian Church in our prayers.

·         One day, Chinese missionaries will come to the U.S. We can help pave the way for that to happen by looking for places where Chinese Christians can serve in the U.S. For example, Chinese Christian teachers can serve in one of our high schools teaching Chinese. Grade schools or universities might look for teachers in Chinese. Why not locate the Chinese who are already have a burden to share Jesus with others.

·         China continues to have a great need for English teachers. We can encourage young adults (and older adults too) to take two years out of their lives for service in China through the American church.

·         Thanks to God for those who to go to serve in China (those whose names we know, and the many that we don’t know) so that the China Church can be better equipped to proclaim Jesus.

I AM WILLING TO COME AND SHARE SOME OF THE INSIGHTS WITH PICTURES OF WHERE I HAVE BEEN AND WHAT I HAVE SEEN IN CHINA. I AM NOT ALLOWED TO PUT SOME OF THE PICTURES AND PLACE NAMES ON THE INTERNET. GIVE ME A HOLLER!!

November 12th

Left Jim and Ardith’s apartment at 8:30 am, took the subways to the border crossing at Futian, exited China and entered Hong Kong and then took the subway to Kowloon Tong to meet Joel Scheiwe, the LCMS missionary called here. Had a great dialog reflecting on the Shenzhen worship and on my trip to Hubei and Hunan. Looks like we will be planning something similar for the end of February/beginning of March.

Met with Judy Newhouse, service coordinator for mission teams in Hong Kong. I had gotten to know her earlier this year when I taught in the Hong Kong Lutheran elementary schools. She has extended her commitment to Hong Kong to Nov. 2014 – loves her work here. Had supper at a restaurant located in a huge shopping mall. Noodles and pork (thought you’d like to know).

I’m staying with Joel and Iantha Scheiwe tonight (also their three children: Eliada, Talia, and Taran). They’ve provided a bed and breakfast before I head out to the airport at 9 am tomorrow morning.

I couldn't help by notice that the Yi Selle's live in Hong Kong. Never knew that we had relatives here.

November 11th

Jim and I left for the English-speaking Fellowship Church in Shekou (an area of the city of Shenzhen), about an hours ride from Jim and Ardith’s apartment. Arrived 10 minutes before the service and there was little room to sit. They were already singing praise songs led by a female with a pleasant voice. Some songs were familiar. Then a prayer, and the introduction of Enoch, an Asian-Indian Christian, who would be sharing the message (1 hour). It proved to be mostly a conversation on doing good without talking about why we should be doing good (law without Gospel).

Following the service, Jim and I looked for a place to eat. Asking where he wanted to go, he chose Subway. Interesting menu in Chinese and English (so I brought one home). We split a footlong teriyaki chicken with drinks. My first western meal in China this time around. Was disappointed to break my chain of “all Chinese.” 

Just like America except that the restaurant is much smaller.

We hopped the subway and went to a station called “Window to the World.” Along the way in the morning, we discovered that there was a special entrance called “free passage,” for people over 65. All I had to do was show my passport with my age. Only one person ever checked the date. So subway travel was free all day. Window to the World is a shopping area, but more than that, it is a showcase area. There’s an area built like a German city. As you leave the subway entrance, you stand in a pyramid. On a hill is the Eiffel Tower. There’s a huge globe in the center. A most interesting tourist attraction.

The pyramid at the entrance to the subway station.

Part of the European area adjacent to Window to the World.

We arrived at the Shenzhen Christian Church in time for the 2:30 Bible study led by a physics prof who originated in Singapore. Nice group of 30-40 mostly young people. His theology was quite “Lutheran.”

For dinner at 5, we found a little restaurant. Saw dumplings in the menu and tried to order them; Jim wanted the fried and I wanted the boiled. But the waitress pointed to the lines below: we didn’t know how to order the contents of the dumplings, so we just pointed. They were good. Joining us was Timothy whom we had met in the morning. He attended the Bible study and was going to come to the English worship in the evening.

Jesus has not forgotten China, and neither should we. I believe that within the next 10 years, we will see missionaries from China coming to the United States.

Evening service began at 7. I spoke the invocation, the absolution, did the message, led the Lord’s Prayer, and spoke the benediction. Jim did the rest. About 400 in attendance, a mixture of some foreigners, but mostly Chinese. Joel has received permission from the pastor of the church (he was asked) and the local religious bureau to lead English worship here. I believe that the provincial government would like the convenience of an English worship service at this big church.

Prayed for several women following the service, talked to some of the Americans from BCIS (Buena Vista Concordia International School) and returned home by 9 pm.

This is one way to bring a bike on the subway. Have you ever seen a folding bike?