Home from China and so thankful for the great connections and relationships developed and deepened. Younian, Yaan, Xi, Yong, Dong, Zhou Zhou, Fang, TaoTao, Yiyi, Martha and park dancers and sport people. We were really blessed with some great weather and very generous hosts. The food cannot be matched. We made some great memories.
The song says, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold." I am a rich woman today. Jinling, Jianwen, Jun, Shelby, Sheila- already great friendships and then Stephen (Shelby's husband) is now a friend because I only met him at their Austin Wedding previously. This time, I was able to hear a bit of his heart as we viewed and discussed his art and activities.
I thank God (and my hosts!) for the opportunity to tour two orphanages, a workshop where former prostitutes create new life through crafting jewelry, and a school for migrant children to improve their academic skills and gain exposure to other opportunities like dance, photography, and English.
Now I come home to a huge transition. We are moving. I THINK it is real this time. But God will be praised in all circumstances.
What are some of the highlights of the trip? I'm sure to forget to mention some because 14 days is a long time and every day had several delights. Definitely, one overriding special part was the way love and respect was all around at all times. Somehow, through God, everyone really connected on an emotional level. I pray it was a soul to soul level growing to a Spirit to Spirit level. But it really felt good. People are eternal and we all invested in each other.
So one major highlight was the Thursday night gathering at a local restaurant where all my friends came together to meet each other. Chinese and English flowing freely. Laughter and fun and delicious bites of Peking Duck. It was great godly JOY! I felt so filled with love and joy that I could just spill out into spontaneous laughter, even crying. It just felt so good! I will treasure that gift.
Jinling and Jianwen have beautiful families and Shelby is just so Chinese- I adore her (one of my heroes!)
So then, trying to think of what you might want to hear about-- We got several massages. Sometimes, the person giving the massage is SO strong and digging in your muscles. EEK! but sometimes, they break up sore muscles and make the body feel vibrant and strong again. Parks and massages and the restaurants are some of the non-people joys I experienced. $23 for a whole body massage and you do NOT have to take off clothes (which I will never do.) They give you pajamas! YES! I was so thrilled.
Two great cultural places delighted me. (dang, a third was the art museum.) The first was a dinner place where the girls dress up like they did for the emperor. The grounds were peaceful with fountains and pools and pavillions and several buildings in the traditional style. When I watched these most adorable young women dancing in their silk gowns with their fans, I swooned and wanted to indulge in bride snatching (which actually is very evil, so you know I would never!) But the girls looked like perfect daughter-in-laws. Yaan helped Sheila get so many pictures with differently costumed people, so those will be available soon.
The other place was LaoShi Teahouse which has existed for a long time and many heads of state have attended. Their photos are all around the three story place. There we saw a bit of the Peking Opera, a dance of Farewell My Concubine. The woman did a sword dance--WHICH I LOVED! Now I have to buy me some perfect swords since Steve's swords are huge and I am not. Plus there was a face-changing performance where the dancer wears a mask but when they jerk their head a certain way, the helmet lets down a different mask so suddenly that it does appear unnatural. Then I can't forget the guy who could balance giant ceramic pots on his head and spin them around. At every moment, you were sure he could not continue but he did--and was truly a great performace with the whole audience involved.
More soon. I was so blessed. I thank God for a break from the daily grind and into a fascinating wonderland full of beautiful people using their marvelous language (and what great food!) May God be exalted in China for it is truly a wonderful land.
The song says, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold." I am a rich woman today. Jinling, Jianwen, Jun, Shelby, Sheila- already great friendships and then Stephen (Shelby's husband) is now a friend because I only met him at their Austin Wedding previously. This time, I was able to hear a bit of his heart as we viewed and discussed his art and activities.
I thank God (and my hosts!) for the opportunity to tour two orphanages, a workshop where former prostitutes create new life through crafting jewelry, and a school for migrant children to improve their academic skills and gain exposure to other opportunities like dance, photography, and English.
Now I come home to a huge transition. We are moving. I THINK it is real this time. But God will be praised in all circumstances.
What are some of the highlights of the trip? I'm sure to forget to mention some because 14 days is a long time and every day had several delights. Definitely, one overriding special part was the way love and respect was all around at all times. Somehow, through God, everyone really connected on an emotional level. I pray it was a soul to soul level growing to a Spirit to Spirit level. But it really felt good. People are eternal and we all invested in each other.
So one major highlight was the Thursday night gathering at a local restaurant where all my friends came together to meet each other. Chinese and English flowing freely. Laughter and fun and delicious bites of Peking Duck. It was great godly JOY! I felt so filled with love and joy that I could just spill out into spontaneous laughter, even crying. It just felt so good! I will treasure that gift.
Jinling and Jianwen have beautiful families and Shelby is just so Chinese- I adore her (one of my heroes!)
So then, trying to think of what you might want to hear about-- We got several massages. Sometimes, the person giving the massage is SO strong and digging in your muscles. EEK! but sometimes, they break up sore muscles and make the body feel vibrant and strong again. Parks and massages and the restaurants are some of the non-people joys I experienced. $23 for a whole body massage and you do NOT have to take off clothes (which I will never do.) They give you pajamas! YES! I was so thrilled.
Two great cultural places delighted me. (dang, a third was the art museum.) The first was a dinner place where the girls dress up like they did for the emperor. The grounds were peaceful with fountains and pools and pavillions and several buildings in the traditional style. When I watched these most adorable young women dancing in their silk gowns with their fans, I swooned and wanted to indulge in bride snatching (which actually is very evil, so you know I would never!) But the girls looked like perfect daughter-in-laws. Yaan helped Sheila get so many pictures with differently costumed people, so those will be available soon.
The other place was LaoShi Teahouse which has existed for a long time and many heads of state have attended. Their photos are all around the three story place. There we saw a bit of the Peking Opera, a dance of Farewell My Concubine. The woman did a sword dance--WHICH I LOVED! Now I have to buy me some perfect swords since Steve's swords are huge and I am not. Plus there was a face-changing performance where the dancer wears a mask but when they jerk their head a certain way, the helmet lets down a different mask so suddenly that it does appear unnatural. Then I can't forget the guy who could balance giant ceramic pots on his head and spin them around. At every moment, you were sure he could not continue but he did--and was truly a great performace with the whole audience involved.
More soon. I was so blessed. I thank God for a break from the daily grind and into a fascinating wonderland full of beautiful people using their marvelous language (and what great food!) May God be exalted in China for it is truly a wonderful land.
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