The Amity Foundation 爱德基金会

Wow! Why have I not come across this amazing organization sooner? After being heavily inspired by Britt E. Towery's book "The Churches of China", I frantically searched for a way to contact him online and tell him of my desire to "take root" in the Chinese Church through my spiritual gifts and calling to serve in hopes of "bearing fruit" for the advancement of the Gospel 福音 in God's beautiful country of China 神国。After coming across his blog (which you should follow here on blogger!!http://britt-towery.blogspot.com/), I noticed that he had made contributions to The Amity Foundation on the right panel of his web page. Then I remembered about reading an inspiring passage in his book on how Chinese Christians are making a huge difference on the image of Christianity in China through their passionate service towards improving society - which has earned the favor of even the Chinese Government --seeing as their goal is to "benefit society”through socialism 社会主义. Which reminds me of another fact. The character for society 社, includes the spirits. Hmm...why would the government profess Atheism and still include ghosts in society? I know this is an ancient Chinese character and I know that they profess Atheism so that they can be "common", but I am convinced that the Chinese Government is beginning to see the work of the Holy Spirit 生灵 through the lives of it's citizens who are becoming Christians and doing the Great Commission through acts of kindness and good deeds -- which is a symptom of Christ's contagious agape love. Furthermore, agape love is rooted in the Chinese history, although disregarded and almost forgotten completely, Master Mo 墨子 as I am learning in my Chinese Philosophy class, revealed the power of something that can be compared to that of Christ's "no greater love" or heavenly love. This love can be translated into Chinese, in accordance to the Mohists, as "all-embracing love" 兼爱。Unfortunately, Confucianists (not Confucius himself - he actually wasn't against agape love) have strayed the Chinese from accepting this teaching and thus likely explains their distaste for relational evangelism of Christians and it's missionaries.

Anyways, I can't wait to get in connection with this amazing organization and tell them of my call to service as an ambassador for Jesus Christ. It ends up from my research on their website, http://www.amityfoundation.org/wordpress/, that I am not the first student from Hong Kong Baptist University to come to their office and share a desire to get involved in the AMAZING work that the Lord is doing through The Amity Foundation. Check out their website, and if you don't have time -- at least check out this recently posted article on Jiangsu Christian Charity Foundation:

“The son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

The Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund was established as a joint initiative of the Amity Foundation and the Jiangsu Christian Council in March 2009 with the aim of developing social services offered by the Christian community in Jiangsu Province.

Background

Encouraging Government Policy

As civil society in China keeps developing, the values of social organizations have found greater recognition from the side of society and government. The Protestant church of China with its millions of members is increasingly recognised as a promoter of the development of Chinese civil society. The Chinese government has declared that a policy of encouraging “the Christian church to play a positive role in society” is part of the “construction of aHarmonious Society“. The National Human Rights Declaration issued by China’s State Council in 2009 defines “the positive function of religion” as “promoting social harmony and socioeconomic development” and states that the religious community should be encouraged “to develop public welfare and charity, and to explore ways and methods of social service.”**Praise God! This is, as you've seen my previous blog post, THE HOPE FOR CHINA. God will not stop his mission of bringing himself glory through the advancement of his good news of His Son, Jesus Christ.

The United Front and the Religious Affairs Bureau of Jiangsu Province have devised that the church should serve the people and promote social development through social service according to the development situation of the church in the province. The establishment of the Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund has received powerful support from the United Front and the Religious Affairs Bureau of Jiangsu Province.

Increasing Social Needs

In Christianity, social service is interpreted in terms of witnessing God on Earth. The church has a long tradition of providing social services. As the Chinese church has developed, more and more churches have become involved in social service. The church in Jiangsu has a strong foundation in this area, for example a home for the elderly and church-run clinics. There are currently over 4000 churches and meeting points for more than 1.6 million believers in Jiangsu, so there is a large potential for the development of social services in Jiangsu churches.***I want to get involved in the development! There truly is so much potential, and it's exciting to see the development of the Chinese Church alongside their "rapidly developing" economy. Socio-economics is beckoning for the work of Chinese Christians to balance out China for sustainable development needs it's people to find hope in a better China- what more hope than salvation through Jesus Christ and the radical changes he can do in a lost and dieing world? There is a reason why we proclaim Jesus as "Our Sustainer".

Social development has caused several new social problems in China, such as demographic problems (an ageing society) and problems of the community service systems. These have grown into important issues which need adequate solutions. The churches can use their own resources when taking part in social services and working towards a solution of these problems.

The Fruits of Theological Reconstruction

The process of “theological reconstruction” was adopted as an official church policy in 1998. The main problem that it seeks to address is the localization of Protestant Christianity in the historical and cultural context of China. According to “theological reconstruction”, China’s culture and history have instilled in its people a particular appreciation for the power of action. Chinese Christians being Chinese, they believe in a close connection between strong beliefs and honest practices. Christians making their faith visible through their behaviour is essential so Chinese people can better understand Christianity. The promotion of social service thus becomes an important part of theological reconstruction. Along with the deepening of “theological reconstruction”, more and more churches have become involved in social service in order to glorify God and provide benefits to the people. This is one of the fruits of “theological reconstruction” and will remarkably improve the mutual understanding and integration of the Chinese Protestant church and society.***Can you hear them calling out for help America? Let's support them!

The Relationship Between Amity and the Chinese Protestant Church

Amity was initiated in 1985 by Chinese Christians, so it was born with a strong connection to the Protestant church. In the 25 years of its history, Amity has gathered rich experiences in social service in various fields, including community development, medical care, rural education, and social welfare, but especially in the promotion of church involvement in social service. For over 20 years, Amity has supported churches in 13 provinces with social service related to health programs, education, agricultural development and drinking water projects, which have delivered many social benefits. To promote church involvement in social service has always been part of Amity’s mission, and Amity has been, and will keep on, trying to support such endeavors.***Praise God for the work they are doing - and pray for the continually improving connections build with the church and The Amity Foundation.

Mission

The mission of the Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund is to promote the development of the church’s social service; to enhance the positive role of the Protestant church in the socioeconomic development of the country; and to achieve the harmonious development of the church in society.

Service Areas

The service of the Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund covers the following areas:

1. Helping Protestant churches in Jiangsu to provide and manage social services in compliance with Amity’s mission.

2. Supporting Protestant churches in Jiangsu with cooperative social services in compliance with Amity’s mission.

3. Supporting other work as devised by the management committee of the Fund and according to the mission of the Fund.

Challenges and Difficulties

The Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund has been established recently and is facing a lot of challenges and problems in the process of development

The Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund is young and lacks project funding. Since the establishment of the Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund, it has raised only CNY 50,000 from churches. Amity is going to contribute about CNY 1 million for capacity building. However, this is just a drop in the bucket compared with the huge demand for social service in Jiangsu churches. More churches are waiting for investments to develop their social service programs.

Social service in Jiangsu churches has just started and needs further promotion

Social service in Jiangsu churches has not flourished for various reasons. In many churches social service has only just started, while what exists is not of high quality. The capacity of social service workers needs improvement as well. Promoting projects in both quantity and quality is one of the most important issues in front of the Fund. All these need our commitment and devotion in the future so as to ensure the effective operation of the Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund.

Fundraising

In order to promote the project development and raise funds for social service in more churches, we have worked out a fundraising plan. In the coming months we will start public fundraising through multiple channels, both domestic and foreign:

1) printing brochures to distribute in churches and provide easy channels for donating, such as donation boxes

2) The CCC/TSMP of Jiangsu Province will draw up a plan for church donations, or choose one day for Fund contributions, or launch irregular donation collection activities.

3) The management office, supported by staff from Amity and the CCC/TSMP of Jiangsu Province, will present the Fund and ongoing projects in churches in the province.

4) Regarding church needs in the province and issues of high social concern, the workers will prepare proposals for fundraising from overseas donor organizations. **Churches in America seeking ways to give internationally should consider**

Putting emphasis on support for capacity building

In the present phase, the Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund, with the support of Amity, puts emphasis on helping churches with capacity building for their workers involved in social service. According to the different needs of social service in different churches, there will be more training focusing on particular professions to improve the capacity of church workers in social service, to improve the quality of church-run projects, and to improve the work of social service. There will be capacity building activities about social service in two or three more city churches in the coming year.***They need disciples who are well-trained in theology and Chinese to better lead these projects.

Making a systematic plan for existing social service projects in churches

Many churches have started social service projects; some have proposed their plans to the Fund. We are going to make project development plans according to the situation in the target places, in order to assist the projects in reaching sustainable outcomes.

Building a team of volunteers

The Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund is set to promote and improve social service in churches of Jiangsu Province. This is why it needs the wide participation of local churches and congress. We plan to build a team of volunteers to motivate voluntary resources in churches, in order to promote the development of projects with joint associations. We are going to recruit volunteers in churches. One or two volunteers from each church will work to give information about the Fund to the congregation. The volunteers will be the liaison to the management office, and the office will provide necessary material and support. There will be an assembly at the end of each year with all the volunteers to summarize the work, strengthen the network, and improve the development of the Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund through networking.

The establishment of the Jiangsu Christian Charity Fund is a fruit of the intention to enhance the cooperation and connection between Jiangsu churches and Amity, to promote social service in the Jiangsu Protestant community, to practice belief through the witness of Christ, and to encourage Christian churches to contribute to the development of civil society. We believe God loves people. Through the work on our hands, we are able to show God’s love on Earth.

We serve to express our love to God. This is the only way. For those who need our help, we have to pour out our love, because through them, we can express God’s love. (Mother Teresa)

My Library

So I'm starting to become quite the book worm these days. Now that my first semester is coming to an end...I can hardly wait to dive into something other than a textbook!


Apologia Pro Vita Sua
Cardinal John Henry Newman - Religion - 2007 - 292 pages
First published in the mid 19th century, this is a replica of the 1908 edition, and features the author's thoughts on his religions opinions throughout his life as well as sermons andother addresses and correspondence with other clergy and religious opinions throughout his life as well as sermons and other addresses and correspondence with other clergy and religious philosophers. British theologian JOHN HENRY CARDINAL NEWMAN (1801-1890)-a leading figure in both the Church of England and, after his conversion, the Roman Catholic Church-was known as "The Father of the Second Vatican Council." His Parochial and Plain Sermons (1834-42) is considered the best collection of sermons in the English language. He is also the author of A Grammar of Assent (1870)

Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China‎
Peter Hessler - Travel - 2007 - 528 pages
In Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler explores the human side of China's transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful ofordinary people.

Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul‎
J. P. Moreland - Religion - 1997 - 256 pages
Unfortunately, many of us leave our minds behind when it comes to our faith. In Love Your God with All Your Mind, J.P. Moreland presents a logical case for the role of the mind inspiritual transformation.

The Complete Bible Answer Book‎
Hank Hanegraaff - Religion - 2009 - 560 pages - No preview available
And he's done something about it-he's spelled out the answers. "The Complete Bible Answer Book" is a simple guide covering over 170 of the top questions that the BibleAnswer Man has dealt with in his ministry.
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Making Religion, Making the State: The Politics of Religion in Modern China‎
Yoshiko Ashiwa, David L. Wank - Religion - 2009 - 294 pages
With chapters written by experts on Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and more, this volume will appeal across the social sciences and humanities to those interested inpolitics, religion, and modernity in China.
Note: Modernity treats religion as a matter of "individual belief" in the context of secularism.

China: a global studies handbook‎
Robert André LaFleur - History - 2003 - 298 pages
Complete ready reference covering Chinese history, economics, politics, culture, and prevalent social problems ... a "must-have" addition to any global studies collection.

Missions, nationalism, and the end of empire‎
Brian Stanley, Alaine M. Low - Religion - 2003 - 313 pages
This work not only sheds light on the relation of religion and politics but also uncovers the sometimes paradoxical implications of the church's call to bring the gospel to all theworld.Contributors: Daniel H. BaysPhilip BoobbyerJudith M. ...
Note: pg. 160: Chen Chonggui's "Anti-Communist" speech in 1957.

Religion under socialism in China‎
Zhufeng Luo - Political Science - 1991 - 254 pages
Note: Ch. 3 pg. 54: Changes towards Religion after Founding of PRC
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Chinese Characteristics‎
Arthur H. Smith - History - 2001 - 342 pages
Written by a highly observant British missionary after living fifteen years in the country, and first published in 1890 in China, this book presents the social life and personal charactertraits of the typical Chinese.
Note: Classic - Must Read!

Although all of these are on my reading list, I am already very pleased to have found this unknown book written by a former missionary and lecturer at this university - Yes, Hong Kong Baptist University. Britt E. Towery, Jr., author of "The Churches in China: Taking Root Downward, Bearing Fruit Upward", is officially my new role model. He wrote this book in 1986 while living in Hong Kong after serving as a Southern Baptist Missionary in China for 25 years. Funny thing is, I wasn't even looking for this book - rather I just happened to come across this tiny book while looking through the "Religion" section of the library out of boredom. God has spoken to me tremendously through his writings about the churches in China and I have gained much from this less than 200 page book. Although this is not 1986, it still has much good to say about my approach to evangelism in Mainland China.

Hong Kong City Church

This past Sunday, I went with my friend Jonathan from Arizona to this church located on the 75F of the Central Plaza skyscraper along the harbor coast of Hong Kong. It was the most unbelievable worship experience. All around you is windows and you can see all of the the city's structures with a downward angle. Like nothing I could ever have imagined.

Here are some pictures of my amazing experience:

Make a Smilebox photobook

Hope for China

As a Westerner, I am expressing my opinion from a far different perspective than my classmates. I have done much research to make sure that I am learning first before expressing my thoughts. If I were to blindly express my opinions on the way that China's government makes decisions then I would probably have nothing good to say about Communism, seeing as I am an American who believes strongly in freedoms of speech and the press. However, from my research I have gained a much better understanding for why China is the way it is today.

In my country we take pride in our freedoms. Personally, I come from a Christian family and our lives reflect the way that God discerns us through his word written in the Holy Bible. This means we live unashamedly, passionately pursuing his command to share the Gospel (福音) to others. Given my personal background, I may have an ethnocentric opinion. At the same time, I admire China very much. Their deep history shows how deserving they are to show their own patriotism. This patriotism was proven to me not only in the Beijing Olympics, but also in the recent 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

I would like to focus on state governance and how it relates to society today. Since Chairman Mao caught China's vision of becoming a utopia, the Chinese Communist Party has striven to bring the nation together in hopes of becoming modernized. It may be more than hope, but rather intent because China's sheer determination has proven to let there be no distractions or choice for ignoring its progressivism. A good example of this would be through the development of communes. Before the development of the communes, the state had much more social control. This, in my opinion, is because China was and still is extremely economically driven. They soon realized that embedding the work unit into the social body was not an effective tool for social control. This social control seems to be a strategy to get focused on Mao's vision of becoming modernized.

Reforming the danwei system by giving the people more autonomy was good for the people, but still not what they really needed in my opinion. This is just one of the many examples of how China has rapidly advanced it's society in the past 60 years. Although they started in coastal areas, the inland area is now already catching up. It's very impressive to see China, as Mao hoped, regain their wealth and power, dignity, international respect, and territorial integrity. Don't get me wrong - the CCP is legit and the majority of the Chinese have proven their loyalty to the party. Their massively industrialized cities such as Shenzhen are evidence of these strategies working quite well. According to TIME magazine's article "China at 60: The Road to Prosperity, China is the world's most populous and industrious nation, is the world's third largest economy and trading nation, has become a global innovator in science and technology, and is building a world-class university system. It has an increasingly modern military and commands diplomatic respect. It is at peace with its neighbors and all major powers."

I think China's government needs to cool down a little bit. Being mostly capitalist, their world view is continually progressing and beginning to reason. However, technological advancement is their main reasoning for how to make China a better place. When this becomes your main focus, people begin to face an identity crisis. Living for the market and not considering human rights denotes the value of human life. People living in China can't express their own individual opinions on how to make China a better place because they have to stay focused on the task at hand: "become modernized". China has yet to recognize the problems of market economy and capitalism and the importance of governing the people in respect to their freedoms of the press and speech. I really dislike the Chinese government censoring.

Living in Hong Kong for the past few months and visiting Tokyo a couple years ago has revealed to me how materialism can impact a society's livelihood. Chinese author K.K. Yeo in his recently published Chairman Mao meets the Apostle Paul states, "University students, Christian and non-Christian alike, have repeatedly told me of their fear that the pragmatism of capitalism, technological advancement, and economic modernization will lead to the neglect and robbing of China's ethical, spiritual, and relational wholeness." With the lack of nostalgia coming from Mao's visionary leadership, Chinese people can begin to question their purpose in life in regards to the fact that they seem to have already achieved modernization. Of course, I am mainly referring to those living in developed areas. The result can be depression or even suicide. Without a sense of meaning or an end goal, how can China have a healthy society?

I know that the CCP professes Atheism. They have tried and failed to abolish religion, and have now decided to protect the individual’s right to believe in Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam, Taoism, and Protestantism. Article 251 of the Criminal Law states: "State personnel, who unlawfully deprive citizens of their freedom of religious belief and infringe upon the customs and habits of minority ethnic groups, when the circumstances are serious, are to be sentenced to not more than two years of fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention." Many westerners are unaware of the truth of religious freedom. Some still think that treatment is at the same level as it was during the Cultural Revolution. I, too, before researching thought this way. I am seeing signs of hope in China they are realizing how crucial it is to have religion in order to have a healthy society. However, in my opinion China is still struggling to find how they want to be seen by others. The state and its loyal citizens seem to be very patriotic, but also trying too hard to uphold secularism.

Secularism is not the answer. In my opinion, God is the answer. China can still keep its patriotism, but it needs to realize the imminence of something greater than technological advancement. What is best for the people is personal faith in the One who has all of the answers to life, not personal wealth which infects us with greed and temporarily pleases us inside. Personal faith gives people a sense of purpose. Love is a powerful thing. When someone experiences the love from God, human nature gives them the will power and internal desire to change lives. This love that I am talking about is contagious. If this love would transcend into the hearts of the government leaders, then they too could find individual purpose. Being convinced of eternal hope found in God's gift to the world of salvation through Jesus Christ will truly allow humanity to shine like the Sun. Money and assets, skyscrapers, a strong military, or even a strong leader as Mao cannot bring redemption to this lost world.

Although I try to focus on the big picture, I realize how difficult it would be for this politically run world to have a nation that solely relies on God. Even America, with "In God We Trust" on its dollar bill struggles to let God govern it's people. Because of this, I am reminded how faith in God must be personal. God speaks to us personally and desires to use his people to speak to the world. He doesn't choose to speak to all of China through the Chinese Communist Party. Before I get too off topic, I want to get to the point. China's government may be struggling with an identity crisis, but so is every other government. For that, I come to the conclusion that China is doing a wonderful job in governing its people. I just hope that they can become more receptive to the Gospel as it, too, does a wonderful job in bringing goodwill toward man and assisting us in our pursuit for happiness.

Guilin Adventure 桂林，很多的山！

Yet another amazing adventure! This past Thursday I completed two of my mid-term exams for Cantonese and Mandarin. Feeling rather free from all prior anxieties, I and my friend Jonathan Pager from Arizona decided to plan a weekend trip to Guilin (桂林）. This was a rather ambitious decision that was made rather abruptly, but we were so excited about traveling to Mainland China. We both have great interest in living in China, and so we set off with little hesitation.


Guilin is a 12 hour bus ride away from Shenzhen, which is the first city across the border from Hong Kong into the Mainland China. It was only 130RMB (~20USD) to take our bus. This isn't an ordinary bus because it actually only travels overnight and all passengers have their own bed. They are surprisingly comfortable, however not completely horizontal and the foot space was very cramped. Other than that, not too shabby for 20 bucks!

Allow me to explain what happened first. We didn't actually know that the bus was going to be this cheap. We were intending on taking the train via China's Railway System. However, the desk didn't speak English. I was able to speak in Chinese well enough to explain where we were going and when we would need to return in Chinese, but wow was it difficult! Especially when tons of Chinese speaking only people are looking at you amazed with the fact that I am a foreigner speaking an ounce of Chinese. It was a cool feeling, however you must know that I am far away from fluency. But at least I was able to say "liang ge pian dao guili. women xingqitian hui lai zhe'r ,hao ma?" This meaning we want two tickets to Guilin and would like to return Sunday. She understood me! I looked up to the heavens and thanked God for the fact that she understood me, then was disappointed when she said, "meiyou". This meaning they didn't have any tickets left. Lesson learned: their are many people in China. Always book in advance. Especially on weekends.


At that moment, we had to decide on whether we should just go next weekend, or take a bus. Realizing that next week I would have to study for another exam, we decided to take the bus. On our way to look for the bus, this man with one arm comes up to us asking for money. This is common in Mainland, so we have learned to just walk away and smile because if not you may get swarmed. Especially in Guilin. This guy was really bugging us though. A younger Chinese man comes up and tells the man to leave us alone and then starts speaking in English with us. We told him we were looking for the bus station to go to Guilin, and then he asked if we needed a translator. Barely knowing the guy, I questioned whether or not this was a good idea. But he came across to be very helpful and because I was with Jonathan we both agreed it would be good to have him with us.

Next thing you know, he has taken us to this local travel agency and we end up getting tickets for 20 bucks each. We told him in return for his help we would pay for his ticket. This was the least we could do for him being so helpful. There were a lot of good reasons for us to take the bus. Not only was it cheaper, but it was just as comfortable (besides the bumps) and we got a chance to better understand the road systems in China. Not only were we able to gain this new perspective, but we were able to see what China looks like from the window quite clearly. I can now answer the question, "Is everything made in China?" Almost! It seemed an endless amount of factories where we could see people working inside making various things.

Well, I could write pages about other cultural differences such as how crazy they are at driving! But, let's fast forward 12 hours to where you can find out about Guilin. Guilin is in Guangxi (广西）Province, northwest of Guangzhou (广州）the capital of Guangdong（广东）province. Guangdong is the province just north of Hong Kong. We arrived in this largely populated town/city - hard to say - at around 8am. We had booked a nice hotel online for free, and it was only going to cost us 30USD at the counter (15 a piece!). However, upon arrival we realized that maybe it would be better to do what we came to do - which was to see Li River (漓江）and then take an overnight bus back that same day. This would save us money and still allow us to experience this beautiful place. Wow, the whole city is surrounded by these oddly shaped mountains. They endlessly stretch so it seems. The downtown is in a flat region in between this stretch of mountains, and the river is flowing alongside the eastern part of the city on down south towards the smaller city of Yangshuo (阳朔).


My roommate is the one who recommended us to go here. He even gave informed of us a small village worth visiting and where we could also get on the Li River by boat. The small town to which we were heading to was known as Yangdi (杨堤). So, after practicing my Chinese by ordering fruit in the local market for just nickels and dimes (2元~.20cents), we hopped on the bus that would take us to this village. It was about an hour drive it seemed. Once we hopped off the bus in this remote area, I felt like I had just entered another world! I had never seen such an environment as this. The city had countless people, but here you could count the number of people. Not only that, but there were no tall buildings. The mountains were surrounding the villagers' homes, and everyone seemed to be working strenuously on various projects that obviously needed to be done to upkeep their shelters and crops.

Many of the villagers were older than 40 it seemed. Our guide, who by the way is from Fujian (福建) and named "Mr. Lu" (卢先生), informed us that most people his age leave there homes to find jobs in the city. He explained how he also did this and went to find work in Shenzhen. However, it is hard to find work if you don't have a good education. It is hard to get into good schools in China because it is very competitive. Anyways, you could see that many of these hard-working villagers made no money whatsoever. Instead, they grow their food and tend to their shelters on their own. It was difficult for me to get a picture of the villagers. In fact, I didn't even get one picture in the small village unfortunately. This is because we were swarmed by older ladies holding bags of oranges chanting "2 kuai, 2 kuai". As they continued to pursue us, they would look us in the eye and smile, knowing that we had more than enough money to buy. I was overwhelmed at first, but then I finally bought a bag from one of the ladies. She was the oldest of the group, and would not leave me alone. I ended up giving her 5 kuai and told her "meiguanxi" when she asked me if I needed change. I was glad to let her keep the rest. She looked at me and gave me a sweet, wrinkled smile that I will not soon forget.

Soon after, Mr. Lu was helping us bargain for the cheapest boat. The first guy offered us a very cheap deal, but he was older and Mr. Lu thought we should have someone younger lead us. Just in case you are unaware, everything is in Chinese - there is no English at all. I can read some characters, but not enough to get around. So, it was a blessing to have met Mr. Lu. He was no doubt a Godsend. Finally, we decided to let the older man take us because he was offering us a much cheaper price than the others. Now here is where I let my pictures do the talking:






Yea, so that was what we came to see. Although it would be nice to have more days to hike to even more spectacular views, we knew we wouldn't have the time or energy to do more than the boat ride. Still, this was a great experience. However, I am extremely adventurous and was craving to explore more. Especially into the caves. Supposedly, the mountains have a number of caves - two of which I was able to get pictures of from the boat.

We got back on to land and the older man kindly asked us if we were hungry. He wanted to take us to eat some food in a nearby village, which he said would also be where we could take a bus back out of the mountains to Guilin. Such a nice gesture! I told him "fei chang gan xie ni" meaning thank you so much. He said "bu ke qi". The villagers are very down-to-earth and friendly. Their kind nature and hard work ethic makes me want to consider living as a villager!

This took up most of our day, but we did have time for a late supper before our bus would leave for Shenzhen at 7pm. So, we being typical Americans, went to Pizza Hut. I know, I was upset to give in to the western food, but you wouldn't believe how nice Pizza Hut's are in China and Hong Kong! Luxurious, but still rather cheap as well (cheap for foreigners). Plus I just wanted some pizza! It had been a long day of crackers and bananas and oranges - now it was time for a meal.

Now, I will Fast forward again to the end of the trip when we arrived back in Shenzhen. Mr. Lu asked the question that Jonathan and I knew was coming, "how much money will you give me?". Knowing he was going to expect us to pay him, I offered him 120RMB, which is about ~20USD. He said he wanted 300RMB, but we came to an agreement. Jonathan really needed help with Mandarin, and Mr. Lu really needed to make some money. So Jonathan and him made a deal to meet once a week for Mandarin lessons. We couldn't have done the trip without his help, so I was more than willing to give him the money - even though it was a bit out of my budget!


Overall, I am glad to have experienced this diverse area in China, and hope it has better prepared me for my time in Yunnan. I say this because Yunnan will be even more ethnic than Guilin I am sure. As I continue to learn more and more each day, I am continuing to be thankful for the opportunity I have had to be here. Next stop: ? We will see...

道风山 "Life After College" Retreat

This past weekend, I went with Kowloon International Baptist Church (KIBC) on their university and 20-somethings first retreat. This has been a great church for me. I have really come to know a lot of solid Christians and am always meeting new people. Our weekly fellowship time after church is the best. We gather together for lunch and a bible study, which really starts my week off right.

The past two weeks I have been unable to attend church, which made me really look forward to this retreat. I really didn't know what to expect. I knew the plan for this retreat was to stay the night somewhere and just have guest speakers come and help us better understand the idea of life after college.

As all of the group of around 30 hopped on the bus, we headed to Sha Tin. This is my favorite place in all of Hong Kong. It's not super busy because it's in the New Territories north of Kowloon. At the same time, there is beautiful mountain views, tall buildings, and a river flowing through. Simply perfect environment. Even better, the retreat was going to be held in a Lutheran Seminary up on the mountainside. Gorgeous, with every building being traditional Chinese style roofs. All overlooking Sha Tin.


The theme verse was Matthew 14:24 where Jesus says to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Michael W. Smith's song "Oh God, you are my God" was our theme song.

"Oh God, You are my God,
And I will ever praise You,
Oh God, You are my God,
And I will ever praise You,
I will seek you in the morning,
And I will learn to walk in Your ways,
And step by step You'll lead me,
And I will follow You all of my days."

Our guest speakers consisted of three Christians who are working in secular fields in Hong Kong. The first, was the one whom I connected with the most. He was a father of two sons, who grew up poorer than most. He worked hard in school so that he could climb up the status ladder. He ended up making a lot of money as a real estate agent. He was very successful, until one day he lost 5 million dollars due to the economy. Everything gone, and on top of that, his mother died. His mother had good morals, and raised him well. Now that he was gone, he began to seek out God's will for his life. He realized that he needed to do something different with his life because he wasn't using God's gifts and living a passionate lifestyle.

This is what I really connected with him in relation to how I want to decide on my career. I, like him, clearly see how important it is to make sure you are using your gifts to serve God - no matter what your career is. To make sure you are where you are supposed to be, then you must have a passion. After starting over from losing everything, he chose to pursue his passion for teaching by starting a learning center. With his gift of teaching and administrating, he has changed the lives of many students and parents through this learning center. He has written a book that consists of all of the letters that he has written to parents over the past 5 years. He really seems to enjoy being a light to the student's parents as a school administrator. I really could see in his eyes how much he loved what he was doing now. He is an active member in the church and said his challenge now is trying to raise his two sons so that they can pursue their passions in life and not get off track.


As for me, I am constantly thinking about the future. Although I know I must, according to God's word, live for today and not worry about tomorrow. At the same time, I feel that God is presently equipping for that which he has planned for me in the future. Knowing this, I can't help but be curious to know what exactly he has planned for me. As far as my passions, I love stepping into the unknown and making a difference in the lives of those around me. I think this passion has been formed because of the number of times that I have moved in my life. Starting over is something I am accustomed to. When I was younger it was tough, but now I am glad for this because I know it has given me the strength to overcome the adversity of adapting to a new environment.

I see all of this as God's way of using me to bring Him glory to people in China. I really have a gift to connect with the Chinese, even though I can't yet speak their language. Many Chinese students know English, but not well enough to communicate as we do with each other in the States. Our social environment here is limited, due to this language barrier. This barrier seems to be something that I feel gifted in breaking. By my great desire to learn Chinese and their extraordinary history and culture, I am able to listen and comfortably have a conversation with them. Even better, some of them have offered to have conversations where I speak Chinese and they speak English so that we can both practice!

My ultimate desire is to be like Christ. If that means I live in China and being a light to them by just showing them kindness and God's love each day, then so be it. Is there life after college? Yes, without a doubt - and with the immense joy that comes in glorifying God, I look forward to what he has in store for me.

Destination - Macao Videos

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Macao 澳门

This past Sunday I took an hour long ferry ride from Sheung Wan in Hong Kong to the island of Macao. Why would I miss church to go to this place get-a-way casino haven? For good reason, I can assure you. I had the opportunity to see Pete Sampras play versus Andre Agassi in an exhibition Tennis Showdown event. To see them play each other in a match was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I knew that I had to get a ticket.

I'm so glad I went. Not only did I feel like I went back in time as I sat there mind-boggled with the fact that Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were on a tennis court together before my eyes, but I was excited to be in Macao. To be honest, the only reason to visit Macao is to gamble. Everyone there is either working for the Casino or is a tourist having the time of their lives at the casino. The tennis match was held in the Cotia Arena, which is connected to the biggest Casino there (I'm assuming it was because it was monstrous)called The Venetian. This place is similar in style (so I'm told) to The Venetian in Las Vegas. But this place was out of this world with decorations. People were telling me this is "Asia's Las Vegas". I testify to that nickname, because the amount of money spent on the architecture, inside and out, was unheard of.

Maybe one of these days I will take a trip to Vegas and compare, though I would be fine without ever stepping foot there. You get off the ferry, and these amazingly high quality charter buses escort everyone to the casino free of charge. That right there proved to me that there's not much else to do in Macao! Although I'm sure there are some pretty landscapes to see or parks to visit, there can't be much else complementing these massive casinos.


At the game I made a new friend while waiting in line for getting into the arena. His name is Monu and he is a Hindu from India. It was great to meet him! He knew so much about tennis and we hit it off from the start as we talked all about tennis. He is a fan of Nadal, and I am a fan of Federer. Then he told me he was a fan of the Lakers! And then I went on to tell him how much I loved the Celtics. We ended up sitting together the whole game and I'm glad because talking with him during the matches made it a lot more fun.

The cool thing about him being from India is the fact that the number one 17-year old junior player from India Yuki Bhambri was there to play a set verse Ryan Harrison from the States. So we both felt an obvious desire for our fellow countrymen to do well (and win mind you). Nonetheless, we were still able to become good friends and teach other about our culture. He lives in Tsim Sha Tsui, which is also in Kowloon, Hong Kong nearby where I am living. I hope to reconnect with him sometime soon.

Now, about the players. The first match was a timed match between Yuki Bhambri and Ryan Harrison. This was great to see them play because it was their first times on the big stage. They were both very talented players who were obviously fighting nerves. Yuki was a smarter player than Ryan, but Ryan was strong and had an amazing serve.

Next up: THE LEGENDS. Well, the old men who looked like they needed a bit extra time to warm up! LOL. After a few games, they finally started to impress us with there secret weapons. Pete's beautiful serve formation and graceful one-handed backhand was amazing to see in person. Even better today was Agassi's serve, surprisingly.

He was really feeling it, and seemed much more focused than Pete. Sampras seemed so calm and relaxed, and didn't really show any huge desire to win. But, somehow, Pete managed to be the victor. When they got to the third set for the 10-pt tiebreaker, Pete showed Agassi who was the boss when it came to serving. Agassi really played well though, which makes me wonder how Pete won. I guess when you are the best, you just don't even have to play well to win.

Don't worry all, I didn't go to the slots. And I didn't even play poker - although it was tempting. Luckily, I scheduled my ferry ticket to leave soon after the match. So I didn't really have enough time to do much else. Nevertheless, I am glad to have said I have been to Macao! Great place for gamblers - but not for me! By the way...Rod Stewart was supposed to have a mini concert before the match, but he supposedly had to go to the hospital for some reason. Bummer! Rod Stewart is on my Favorites list in my iPod - JUST KIDDING.

外婆生日快乐！Happy Birthday Mammaw!

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New Adventure: Tai Wai to Tai Po

It was just yet another stress-free day in Hong Kong. My friend Ben from church had e-mailed me an invitation to go on a bike ride with a Christian Fellowship from City University of Hong Kong on a Saturday. Ben is actually Chinese, but he lived in Australia for a few years so he has a fun Australian accent to go along with his friendly personality. This weekend I had no intentions of studying, because I find that being an exchange student, it is better to study by experiencing. I had a good feeling that a bike ride with Christian professors from a more well-known university would be a pretty good experience. Boy was I right!

From left to right: Ben, Eddie, Myself, David, and Wang. Eddie is local second year student studying chemical engineering if I recall correctly. Ben is teaching communications by the way. David is actually an American-Chinese teaching English at City U for the past 7 years. Wang actually grew up in the United Kingdom and has been teaching Engineering for the past 21 years. Great group of Christian men. Eddie has been married for 2 months now, David is seeking to find the right girl just like me, and Wang is married with 4 kids (3 boys and a girl). After introducing ourselves we began to embark on our semi-long journey to Tai Po from Tai Wai.

It was a beautiful bike ride along the coast. Passing Sha Tin, Fo Tan, and even Chinese University of Hong Kong, there never was a moment without a good view. I had never realized how open and spacious the New Territories were until this trip. Sure, it's a bit out of the way. But it seems like such a pleasant and more peaceful area to live in. I really like Sha Tin because it is quaint, beautiful, and close-by to Kowloon. Being able to take turns chatting with each of these guys was so nice. We would have to converse in two's seeing as we were trying to ride our bikes and dodge all other bikers in the meantime! The amount of bikers is nothing at all compared to the chaos in Beijing. I have heard life-threatening stories of tourists riding bikes in Beijing. There were, however, a few people that I saw crash along the way. It was mainly there fault because they weren't paying good enough attention and ran into the fence!

After our tiring adventure, we took an hour long bus ride back into Kowloon for dinner. We ended up deciding on going to a hotpot restaurant in Mong Kok. I don't think I have ever felt more hungry in my life! We ordered so much food, we had to wait a while because we ordered so much. When they finally rolled out a huge cart full of food for us, we turned on our hotpot to boil the water, and then threw in all of our food. This style of eating is very communal and enjoyable for friends and family to eat together. During this meal time I really had some great conversations with them. You can learn so much from professors even outside of the classroom! I really am glad that I decided to join this fellowship time, and I will surely hope to join them again in the weeks to come. God is good, all the time - and all the time, God is good.

Li Bai 李白 “A Tranquil Night” 静夜思

床前明月光，

疑是地上霜。

举头望明月，

低头思故乡。

Before my bed a pool of light,

Is it hoarfrost upon the ground?

Eyes raised, I see the moon so bright;

Head bent, in homesickness I'm drowned.

This poem （静夜思）is from the Chinese Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai (701-762). He is known as one of the two greatest Chinese poets ever, along with Du Fu. His Taoist beliefs influence his great imagery in his 1,100 poems that still exist today. Poet He Zhizhang called Li Bai the "Transcendent dismissed from Heaven". This is because he lived a very carefree life, with a great love for alcohol. His nickname 詩仙 “Poem-God", which is true because of his amazing ability of communicating his feelings to the reader. He is very free-spirited and uses the characters wondrously. Among the common people of China, Li Bai is unquestionably the most beloved figure in Chinese poetry.

Unfortunately, since the start of the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature in 1901 - not one winner has been Chinese. The Swedish Academy decides who gets the prize each year. They have received a lot of criticism in recent years because of their controversial decisions. Since I have begun to gain much respect for the Chinese characters and it's uniqueness, I now am frustrated to find out that not one winner of this prize is Chinese. How can we disregard this language? Just because the meanings are deep and difficult for the Latin languages to adhere to doesn't mean that it can't be praised. Nearly all laureates have been European! This is not fair - I officially will never eat Swedish meatballs again!