train rides and road trips

I have gotten my train travel fix in for the year. Those of you who have traveled with me know that I love train travel. And even though 25 hours is a long time to be on a train, I certainly enjoyed it more than I would I have a flight. But more than that, riding on a train with a group of brothers and sisters in China, is a whole different experience than just riding on a train. Two weeks ago, a group from the Beijing church made the trip to Chengdu in Sichuan to put on a little camp for some of the children who were injured during the 2008 earthquake. I had the honor of joining them and helping out. The train ride for one was a growing experience for myself. There is something special about being on a journey that creates a candid environment where people are honest and conversations are real. Our group was divided between two cars but both on the way to Sichuan and on the way back conversations with open Bibles and curious hearts were taking place. When we were packing, I asked my dad why we needed to take an entire little suitcase of Bibles, He said that we would likely give a few away on the train and the plan was that we would not return with any. So many were given away on the train that we had to buy some more when we got to Chengdu so that there were enough for the camp. On the ride home, as I walked through one of the cars where some of our group were, I passed three different compartments where ministry was happening. In two of them Bible discussions were taking place, in the third one of the brothers was teaching a group of kids some of the church songs, and they were loving it. On that same train ride one of the attendants from our car saw a Bible sitting out and asked whose it was. Later he returned to tell us the story of his conversion and how God was leading his life. We prayed together with him, and encouraged him in the work he had been given to do. The Lord’s presence could be felt on that train.
The camp itself was uplifting. Many of the kids there have only scars as reminders of the earthquake, but some of the ones that joined us for part of the camp, have much more serious injuries that have altered their way of life. No matter, all of them came with joyful spirits and big smiles. One activity that kept us amused throughout the week was trying to communicate. The girls enjoyed building on the little English that they knew and I tried very had to learn the Chinese that they were teaching me. Using it daily helped, and I learned a thing or two, but despite the language barrier, we communicated, and enjoyed one another’s company. One of the funniest interactions we had was about 5 minutes of trying to figure out the English word for “zero”. Ping Ping and HuNa used all of the English they could think of, the limited Chinese that they knew I understood, pointing, hand motions, and even writing, before I finally figured out what they were asking. So for anyone that is wondering the Chinese word for “zero” is “ling”.

It has been a week since we’ve been back from the camp and my schedule filled up very quickly. I did a short presentation on the accent modification course in a friend’s business English class which proved to be a profitable move. Thanks to him, I met with 6 students this week and I anticipate following up with them when I return from traveling. Today, we are off again for more gallivanting around the country, and out of the country. We are riding down to Nigbo with some friends of ours - a Chinese road trip, something I’ve never done. After spending a few days with them we will go to Shanghai and depart from there for the Philippines for the Asian Missions Forum. Our friends have told us that we need to be on the lookout for incorrectly translated signs on our drive, there are a lot and although he is fluent in English, he says the poor translations confuse him to the point that he’s not sure what a correct translation would be! There are so many hilariously translated signs, even new signs that have been put up in the last two years. For some reason they don’t take the time to have a native speaker double check...or maybe they do and the translator just has a good sense of humor. Either way, it provides a lot of entertainment.