March 28 - 29th

The week is flying by and we only have today (thurs) and tomorrow left here in X-amen.  It has been an amazing experience that we have really enjoyed in spite of being so busy.

View from Bedroom Window



On Monday the kids were off to school early, Roger and jeff went to work on someone's (D & A) apartment.  D & A had recently moved, had a baby and needed some things done to the new apt.  Roger enjoys that kind of work so was glad to be able to help.  I decided to stay home with Jennifer and get caught up on some study and reading I wanted to do.  Jennifer uses Monday mornings to plan her homeschooling for the boys.  They go to Chinese school in the morning and home school in the afternoon.  So I enjoyed a break that was really nice.  About 11:30 Jenn and I walked to pick up the boys from school.  By the time we got home it was 12:15 and then lunch time and then they home school till about 5:30...a long day for all.  Jeff and Roger came back about 2.

View from Hotel



We had decided at some point to go stay in a hotel...for various reasons....so we moved to a hotel which is across the street from the beach...10 min walk to the "Bridge" where the meetings are....10 min walk to the office Jeff works in and 10 min walk to their apartment.   It is a simple Chinese hotel...and it has become home for this week...bed # 20 in our travels.  Chinese beds are typically very hard and the good thing about that is it forces me to do my stretch routine when I get up which I should do anyway but have not been consistent on :).  Being a Chinese hotel they offer a Chinese breakfast that really looks a lot like what we eat for lunch and dinner.  As much as I enjoy Chinese food...I don't care for it in the morning.  I think I could adjust to it if I needed to but I didn't need to because Eileen sent us a care package and it had homemade granola in it. So we borrowed bowls and spoons and have tea and granola for our breakfast in our room. Jennifer has kept us stocked with mangos, bananas and strawberries too so we have been spoiled!  



Leading session on Conflict Resolution



So we settled in our hotel in the afternoon and then at 5:30 Miss R who was our interpreter for the evening session met us.  We had a great Chinese dinner before heading to the Bridge.  There were about 12 people who came to the talk on conflict resolution.  Most come to practice English and to also learn from the topics.  There was good discussion and after it was done, people hung around to discuss and ask questions.  It is amazing how open and hungry people are to the Truth.  We had shared our own personal story of coming to the Lord and so it opened up good discussion after.  We walked home (10 min) and went to bed exhausted but filled with joy at seeing what the Lord is doing in this country.



Walking on Piano Island

 On Tuesday we had arranged to do a bit of sight seeing.  We had a guide (who was a "green tag" from the Bridge) named Mr. P.  He was such a nice guy and working hard on his English.  He is studying to be a mechanical engineer...waiting to see if he has been accepted into the Doctorate Program in the University.  We went to an island called Piano Island and it was fun to walk around there and see different architecture.  It was very old and used to have all the consulates homes there.  Now there is a Chinese community and it is mostly a tourist attraction.  Many couples go there to have their wedding photos done so it was not uncommon to see a bride and groom all dressed in their wedding clothes getting on the crowded ferry (5-10 min ride) with dress hiked up and tennis shoes and shorts underneath...followed by a few bridesmaids.  

Seafood Selection

We stopped for lunch at a seafood place ...partly because they were all around and partly because Mr. P liked seafood.  So we went into the small restaurant and started to sit down and the waiter said we must come choose our lunch first which meant going back outside where they had large tubs of live seafood.  There was stingrays, oysters, huge crabs, lobster, sea snake...eel...octopus and about 10 different kinds of fish.  Since we had no idea what we were doing we just picked out a nice looking fish (the kind you would have been proud of if it ended up on the end of your fishing pole) It weighed 2.2 kilos.  Also got some oysters ...and were able to get some typical '"greens" to go with it.  What we did not know was soup came with it...the head of the fish is cooked up in a soup with veggies....it was actually quite good and the head had fallen apart so it seemed like just fish soup.  The rest of the fish was steamed with some delicious sauce.  It was a fun experience.

Seafood Lunch

During lunch time I was able to share with Mr. P (using my "wordless book" bracelet with different colors) how when I was 5 years old I heard and was convicted of my sin and recognized my need for a Saviour..   He had great questions...but due to language barrier I suggested he talk to someone else who could speak Chinese about more questions.  

We had a great day and it was one of the warmest days since we have been here and so we even ended up taking our jackets off and enjoying the sun.  We got back to our hotel about 3 PM...rested a bit...and then headed to the Teeters for dinner...and ended the evening playing Five Crowns and talking way to late.  But it was fun to have a bit of one on one time with them.

Garden on Piano Island\

View from Piano Island