SATURDAY MARCH 9TH

This post comes to you from James Vandercook's' desk in their 32 floor apartment in Shenzhen, my last post before returning home on Monday night. It wraps up a splendid trip to Asia. As God wills, another trip will take place in October/November of this year. So.....stay tuned. In the meantime, I am looking forward to a trip to Georgia (eastern Europe) with Karol and my brother, John, and Cheryl. Upcoming will be garden time, the In-Depth Bible Seminar, and lots of summer activities. Thanks for following!

Now that I look back, I find it hard to believe I’m nearing the end of my China visit since the time has passed quickly. My last responsibility is the sermon in the English service at Shenzhen Christian Church. I’ll be working on that between now and then, preaching on the Gospel lesson, “The Waiting Father.” It will be my last time preaching there since they are calling a pastor for this responsibility.

The butcher has his shop set up. He drove up in a cycle attached to a cart, his cart filled with slabs of meat from a couple of hogs slaughtered earlier today. He put up his 4X8 sheet of plywood and then began to toss the big chunks on to the plywood. A scale, a rag that unwrapped to get at the knives, and he was all ready to begin trimming the fat and selling his product. A neighbor walked out of the house and the butcher offered a cigarette and the two briefly chatted. Now it’s time for customers.

 

Two women came by to make the first sale of the day. The one must have been a restaurant owner because she bought about three slabs (looked like she gave him 300 RMB). After visiting, he went back to trimming his meat.

 

Looking down from our 7th floor room, the butcher serves his first customers.

you cannot forget the worlds largest. This store is located right down the street from my apartment. Last night, I bought dumplings for my supper - you guessed it, FROM WALMART!

In the U.S., we don't often have the 13th. floor. Here in China, the bad luck number is 4. Note that there is a 3A, etc. so that no 4 or 8 is used.

On the way to work (planting bamboo, building fences, who knows?).

 

Would you have expected that breakfast was going to be BIG? Not only did we have the buffet at the hotel, the folks from Gospel brought additional food: steamed buns, “donuts,” bean soup, tofu soup, large deep fried “wontons” with vegetables, and more. Unbelievable! 

At the airport, they insisted that we take cans of tea even though we insisted they would take them as we went through security (a true sign of Chinese hospitality). They did take them from M, but M was able to get the TSA people to return them to the Gospel folks. Uneventful plane ride, but we were served a rice and vegetable lunch.

At the Guanzhou airport, M bought me a bus ticket for the three + hour ride to Shenzhen ($15 American) while he took a different bus so that he could go back to Macau. The bus was simple since I just had to get off at the last stop and then find the subway to get to the Vandercook’s apartment.

 A COUPLE OF REFLECTIONS WHILE ALL IS FRESH IN MY MIND:

The church here is in desperate need of training for all levels of leadership. At the Gospel church, they almost begged that someone come for a weeklong training. They are served by 9 evangelists, but have no pastor, only an elderly woman who is the church leader. There are challenging hurdles for a church to receive a pastor:  certification by the gov’t and the three-self-church, seminary training, and approval from the district board where the church is located. Gospel longs for a pastor, but will continue to wait. In the meantime, the best they can do is to better equip themselves for sharing.

I’ve discovered more and more openness among believers. They are eager as exemplified by the students at the school. They seem to be convinced that growth will take place as women and men are equipped for service.

 

Food (as you may have noticed on the blog) is a key ingredient to life in China. Each area has a specialty depending on the products from that region. Noodles and bread topped the list in the NON wheat growing area. Each table is spread with more than adequate supplies of food with meat determining the class of those who served or purchased. And, more often than not, people at the table will serve additional food to the guests by simply picking it up and putting it in the guest’s bowl.

I am always amazed at the cleanly look of the people. Considering that clothes are washed by hand, and maybe not in the cleanest of water, there is a neat, chic look about the younger women and stylish attire by the guys. Whether in city or country, people over 50 tend to wear black, dark blue, and dark gray.

 Wherever one travels, villages are laid out in tight quarters leaving the surrounding areas for farms and vegetable plots. Whereas in the States, one farmhouse is located on 80 or more acres, in China, all the living quarters are close together, thereby not wasting land for yards and other such nice amenities.

The expressway system is not just a system of drab, boring roadways like the U.S., but roads lined with planted trees of various kinds. The center boulevard is planted with non-flowering evergreen shrubs and with all sorts of shrubs that bloom profusely. The traffic may move just a tad more slowly, but it still moves along. Driving in the car on Friday, I believe the speed limit was 120 km per hour – although the driver did reach speeds of 140- - 150 km per hour. The problems come when the traffic is heavy, and, like in America, everyone switches lanes to try to get the best advantage.

The support personnel that I have worked with are tremendous. They’re willing to go out of their way to offer assistance. They certainly need our continued “knee” time and our financial gifts. M is able to serve simply because of people like you. And they are grateful for that care.

 

STAY TUNED; I WILL UPDATE YOU ON MY RETURN TO THE STATES ON MONDAY NIGHT!

A visit to the "palace" of Gang Yu, rich businessman over 150 years ago. He became like a "god" because of his wealth, and people then, and still today, give him "knee" time.

Ancient artwork

Men used traditional tools for making beams to replace the old rotted ones. Here clamps are used to keep the log from moving.

Most of the wood on doors and ceilings is very ornately carved.

This mosaic is made up of individually fired pieces of ceramic. Well done although I didn't understand all the figures: dragons and other mythological animals.

In contrast to the figures at the entrance of Buddhist temples who are fierce to scare away the evil spirits, these figures are friendly and welcoming.