Jet Lag

I envy those people who have no problem with jet lag. It has been almost 4 days and I am still a bit tired. If anybody else who went on the trip bounces around me and talks about how perky they feel, I may want to growl at them. This too shall pass. I've been told it can take a week or two for some people to fully get back to normal.

The trip was wonderful. Eventually I hope to go back, make corrections and add to my blog about our experiences. The little computer I used had keys that would stick so there are more errors than I would like. A lot were corrected but many remain. The blog contains the word "beautiful" over and over, and it was beautiful, but maybe I can come up with something more descriptive?

Each evening, after touring all day, many of us were very tired. We walked miles every day and saw a lot. My little blog does not do it justice. Perhaps I can go back and use more descriptions, more precise terminology and more historical background, but the actual trip was still better than any description I can write.

We hope to go back to all three countries some time. That is something I did not expect. It looks like there will be opportunities to do short term missions teaching Conversational English. Japan is likely to require that the persons teaching be ordained in addition to having a teaching degree. That's fine. John has both and, if all goes well, I will too. I taught for many years and am now a licentiate in process of seeking ordination. Lots of mission and community ministries prefer or even require a person be ordained (such as hospitals or the police department), even for short term volunteers. We are in no hurry to move to another country at this stage in our life but taking a group for a short term mission, or going ourselves sometimes, would be great. Maybe some in our church would want to go places too, on their own.

Sunday in Hong Kong

We started the morning with breakfast at McDonald's down the street.Their food is always good.
At 10:15am, we were greeted by Alex and Paris in the hotel lobby and were escorted to the Shatin Church. Four of us went with them, John and I and Randy and Vicki Shannon. We rode on the subway, then on the train and then we walked about 10 minutes to get to the church. The weather was hot and humid. The people there were so kind. The first thing they did,after greeting us, was to give us a paper towel for perspiration and a cold glass of water.

The service was in Cantonese but Paris sat by me and Alex sat by John and Vicki had her own interpreter, Queenie, who explained everything to her. I loved the songs. They were praise songs like Celebrate, Lord I Lift Your Name on High, Send Me Lord and We Are One in The Bond Of Love. We heard Miss Po Kau Tang talk about her work in Chinese. Randy Shannon gave the sermon from Acts 2:1-21 on Speaking The Same Language. It was interpreted and very appropriate for the group. He used audience involvement and a bit of humor along with a good message. It was well received.

The service we attended was the second service. I think they run about 150 total for the 2 services and the building is crowded. They are thinking of moving. The service we went to was primarily attended by young adults. They like to sleep in in Hong Kong just like in America.

After church we took pictures and got to look around the building and talk to several people including the pastor Jonathan Siu and his wife and the associate pastor Lydia and several more. We rode taxis and went out to eat at a restaurant. We had cantonese style food which was very good. I was not familiar with it but I like it. On top of the greens was a century egg sliced so I tried it. It was okay, but a bit chewy. Instead of yellow, the yolk was dark. We drank lots of hot tea.

Paris and Alex took us back to the hotel by bus. We enjoyed visiting with them on the way. Paris is a lawyer and I think Alex said he is studying to sell insurance.

We rested when we got back to the motel. I had intended to go out and look around but I was tired.

In the evening we went to a church service at the Tao Hsien Church which was very close to the hotel, across the street and up the steps. That church has an attendance of over 200 and is growing. The pastor is Amos Yuen. Again we sang praise songs; Sing Alleluia, I Love You Lord, Praise The Lord O My Soul, and Lord I Lift Your Name On High. Beautiful and each sang in their own language. The sermon was inspiring and evangelistic. Let's get moving and win the lost.

They fed all of us a pot luck style meal of Asian foods which was good. Pastor Jonathan and his wife "Little" gave both Vicki and I necklaces which are very pretty. Each of us at the service was given a crystal, sort of like a paperweight with a clip on top to put something like a photo and the words "Hong Kong CPC" and the CP cross engraved on it.

Vera, Judy, Peggy and Carolyn had gone to Macau for their service and got back just before night services began. Their church was quite a distance away. After church they had a tour of the area and saw where the first missionary was buried. Their ferry had an accident while they were on it so they had to go back to shore and wait for another ferry.

The Shannon's Almost Final Update

(from Vicki)
We had a wonderful service this morning at the Shatin church. Randy's message was perfect for the setting and was well-received. He represented the Marshall Cumberland Presbyterian Church well!
We had an amazing evening with pastors and elders from all over Hong Kong this evening - dinner, worship/closing celebration. It's late and we depart early tomorrow, so you will have to wait to hear details about our Sunday when we are back in the states!
Thank you all for all your prayers, notes and support. We love you!
--Vicki

Hong Kong Experiences-Saturday

The streets of Hong Kong remind me of the crowds between classes at my high school years ago. I grew up in the St Louis county suburbs with the baby boomers. Neighborhoods were going up faster than schools so they just packed us in. There would have been close to 4,000 kids in my high school by the time I graduated. A additional high school was built the next year to handle the booming populations. In the halls it was like swimming up stream or like flowing water.

The crowds are dense here too and people hold hands in front of us and walk slowly or stop to look or talk,just like in high school. There are always masses of people coming at us. The key is too look for little temporary openings and hurry through them. People will shift a few inches to let us through. It's a lot like playing some video games with all the weaving and maneuvering. I was surprised that I almost enjoyed it.

Yesterday the scenery was awesome! We went to Victoria Peak and rode the trolley up the hill, a very steep one. Peggy Coffman and I sat together and took pictures. The view on top of the peak was breathtaking. There were the mountains in the background,, the China Sea below and the huge skyscrapers in between. We walked around and took pictures. Judy bought something in one of the little shops and the man gave Judy, Vera and I a small tote bag with Christian tracts in it. It is a witnessing tool. We were thrilled to get it.

We shopped at a market, sort of like and American flea market, with rows of booth after booth full of items for sale. That was fun.

Before lunch we visited a floating fishing village where the fishermen and their families lives in their boats. We visited it by boat. Our guide took us around the boats but we did not see any of the people living there. They even have boat village police and boat village fireman in boats on the water. The boats just look like big, old house boats,kind of square and most not in good shape. That was in contrast to the beautiful and expensive boats a cruisers near the point we got on the tour boat.

We went to lunch at the Jumbo Restaurant and had Cantonese food. This restaurant claims to be the biggest floating restaurant in the world and it just might be. It had very ornate decorations including a large throne for people to sit on to take pictures and two large dragon statues guardng the door.

They took us to a jewelry factory and showed us a little bit about how they make their jewelry. Then we had the opportunity to buy. Several people did buy things. This group loves to shop.

Next we went to the Bird and Flower Markets. The Bird Market is set up like a flea market in the US and they sell pet birds of all kinds. There were three baby African Gray parrots huddled together on to of a cage, somewhat intimidated by the crowds coming through. African Grays are one of the most intelligent birds and can learn to say many words and even answer questions and make relevant comments.

The Flower Market was stall after stall of live plants and cut flowers extending blocks. They were beautiful.

In the evening, we came back to the hotel and had some free time. Many people went to the Night Markets. The one John and I went to did not open until 7:30 pm. Because it is hot here, people do more outdoor activities at night. Many stores do not open until 11am or noon.

There are many double decker buses taking people around. There are also red taxi cabs in Hong Kong. In China, taxi cabs are green.

A lot of work is being done on buildings but the scaffolding is different than in the US. Scaffolding is made of bamboo rods secured with bands. Bamboo s a very sturdy wood but it does not look that way to those of us not familiar with it.

Several people had gone to the Hard Rock Cafe Friday night but John and I did not go then. We went on our own on Saturday night. We had never been to a Hard Rock Cafe and apparently these restaurants have quite a following. It was interesting. They served American food, had lots of music memorabilia and played oldies. People can buy Hard Rock Cafe collectibles from each location, quite similar to the other fads such as the beenie babies a few years ago. The biggest thing appears to be collecting the t shirts. The shirt from Beijing says Hard Rock Cafe Beijing. The shirt from Hong Kong says Hard Rock Cafe Hong Kong and so on. We did not buy any, but many from our group did buy them to wear.

Our group loved buying things so Japan, China and Hong Kong loved seeing our group coming I'm guessing. It has been fun.

Randy and Vicki's Hong Kong Saturday

Saturday in Hong Kong was a nice day. Having had many days of rain (and flooding) just prior to our arrival here yesterday, I’m sure that the locals were glad to see a couple of sunny days—even if they were somewhat hot and humid. That might explain why there were so many people out on the streets last night and this evening. Of course the fact that there are 7 million people in Hong Kong might have something to do with the crowded streets, too.

This morning we took one of the oldest funicular (cable) car rides in the world. The tram, which first ran in 1898, took us to the top of Victoria ’s Peak on the island of Hong Kong for some breath-taking views of the harbor below. Before the installation of the tram rails people used to be carried up the mountain in a “sitting chair” carried by one tall man and one short one (so that you wouldn’t be dumped out on the steep incline). They still have “sitting chair” service at least once a year as a “chair-ity” fundraiser.

Following the trip to Victoria’s Peak we visited the Stanley Market for some shopping, took a boat ride in the fishing village of Aberdeen (where fishermen actually live on their boats year round) and had lunch at the Jumbo floating restaurant. Lunch consisted of Cantonese fare (very different from Chinese) called Dim Sum. After lunch we visited a jewelry factory and a bird and flower market before returning to the hotel around 5 pm.

Hong Kong may have been returned to China in the late 1990’s, but it was allowed 50 years of self-government under a Chief Executive who is approved by, and reports to, China. Many young Hong Kong couples, however, chose not to start families in the mid-1990’s for fear of what the transfer back to China would mean. Consequently, the “one child, one family” rule does not apply to Hong Kong .

Only about five percent of the residents of Hong Kong have a car. That might be partly due to the lack of parking spaces and partly due to the 100% government tax on automobiles (yes, a $30,000 car will cost you $60,000). Gasoline prices now are at $8 per gallon—that surely discourages car purchases, too. Most people use public transportation (which is very affordable) or walk. A very small percent of people own their own home; in fact, 55% live in government subsidized housing.

One thing Hong Kong does have is a Christian presence; unlike China and Japan , it is not unusual to see a cross on a building, or in a jewelry store, and we even saw a Christian bookstore on our walk tonight. Unfortunately, it was closed for the weekend. Tomorrow I will be visiting the part of Hong Kong called the New Territories to preach at the Shatin Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Our brothers and sisters in Christ in China, Japan and this part of the world need our prayers as they face difficulties and isolation for their faith that are difficult for us to imagine.

Vicki and I appreciate hearing from you all and we appreciate your prayers for us. We’ll begin our journey home at about 11 pm on what will be your Sunday evening. Your prayers will certainly be appreciated for that journey as it will take around 13 hours to get to San Francisco and then another 3 hours to reach Springfield , MO that day. We’ll be flying “back in time” so that although we fly for over 16 hours, we will arrive in the U.S. in only a few hours after the time we leave Hong Kong. It’ll probably take me a few days to get over this dis-“Orienting” experience.

Love to all,

Pastor Randy and Vicki

We Are In Hong Kong

Our day started early in Kunming, China. The hotel restaurant opened special for us at 6 am I am told. After a nice breakfast buffet, we gathered to board the bus for the airport at 6:45 am. The travel agency was able to check our bags as a group so the warnings of yesterday about overweight were non issues.

The flight was pleasant but cramped. Even though we were only in the air for an hour and 40 minutes,they served us a meal. I have been happy with the meals we have been served on each flight,though some are better than others. Today we had some very good smoked turkey, fresh melon, mushrooms, rice and some very tasty rolls.

Hong Kong is beautiful! There are enormous high rise buildings and the sea with the boats is breathtaking. Hong Kong is also very crowded.There are people everywhere. The buses are mainly double decker.

We had the day on our own. Some people went to the pier but we did not go at that time. Our little group of 6 including Grady, Paul Blair, Judy, Vera, John and I went to McDonald's and ate. The guys had big meals and the girls had Happy Meals which have smaller portions. It was good to have American fast food. McDonald's has something called McCafe which is like a Starbucks. We enjoyed espresso and cappuccino and fancy dessert.

We went back to our rooms for a short time then walked together about a mile and a half to see the light show down at the pier. The light show was pretty and consisted of lights on the buildings moving to the music with a few laser lights in the background.

On the way back we did some shopping. Hong Kong is beautiful but very warm and humid.The air conditioning in our room works very well which is wonderful.

Randy and Vicki's Friday in Hong Kong

We left for the Kunming airport early this morning and arrived in Hong Kong around mid-day. Hong Kong is a beautiful city to fly into. Many tall and aesthetically beautiful skyscrapers adorn the coastline and are framed from behind by mountains which are crowned by cottony cumulus clouds. The new airport—opened around 1998—is located on one of 260 small islands located near the main island of Hong Kong . We are staying in a nice hotel located in Kowloon . Fortunately, the folks in Hong Kong have outfitted their buildings with good air conditioning systems (something that was lacking in Kunming and mainland China in general). This is fortunate because today was the hottest, most humid day of the trip.

Today was a free day for the group so a number of us took a bus down to the Victoria Harbor pier (where the buildings are especially impressive along the bay) and enjoyed a mid-afternoon feast at the Hard Rock Café. It felt like we were at home in the USA . In fact, Hong Kong as a whole feels more like home. Due to its 100 year stint as a British colony (which ended in the late 1990’s) it has a much more western feel. Most citizens speak English and the native Chinese language of Cantonese. Mainland Chinese primarily speak Mandarin. Signs and products and chain stores in Hong Kong are familiar names in America . Even the hotel toilets bear the familiar “American Standard” branding (the toilets in mainland China are another story altogether—let it suffice to say we are glad to be in Hong Kong ). After eating we walked the piers and took the ferry across the harbor and back before enjoying an award-winning light show featuring many of the buildings along the harbor displaying colorful lights in sequences keyed to a musical accompaniment. After the show—hot and tired from the day—we walked back to the hotel to shower, relax and rest up for our tour of Hong Kong on Saturday.

More later, Love in Christ—Pastor Randy and Vicki

Randy & Vicki's Thursday in Kunming

The weather forecast for Kunming today (Thursday) had called for rain. What we got instead was a beautiful day. It was sunny and about 70 degrees with a gentle breeze. We enjoyed the weather during our morning visit to Minority Village—a Silver Dollar City-like park (without the rides) which features shows and shops around the theme of some of the 56 official minority groups in China. I say “official” minority groups because I’ve heard that there are actually 500 some different minority groups in this country. Our guide in Xi’an boasted about China ’s kind treatment of their minorities by pointing out that the one child per family rule does not apply to minorities—they are allowed two children by the government. Vicki and I identified several of the groups at the park from our experience at the “Dynamic Yunnan ” dance show the night before. We also visited Kunming ’s lake and park to take pictures and stopped at a silk factory on the way back to the hotel. Rather than another traditional meal Vicki and I—and a lot of others—opted out of supper in order to prepare our luggage for our early departure on Friday to Hong Kong . We visited Dico’s—a McDonald’s-like restaurant just a couple of blocks from our hotel—for ice cream and French fries (a much appreciated break from our traditional Chinese fare). Note: Watermelon is in season here and is the featured dessert for every meal. I think I have had my quota for the next few years. Blessings to you all…next time you hear from us we’ll be at our final stop in Hong Kong (where I will preach on Sunday).

Pastor Randy and Vicki

Kunming Thursday

It is Thursday evening Kunming, China and it is beautiful outside. The temperature here is similar to southern California. We are looking out from the 21st floor of a beautiful motel onto the city and we can see for miles. I love it. The day has been beautiful! We were told yesterday that it was going to rain and we should pray for good weather for our tour. I did and so did some others and God answered our prayers.

Fresh fruit is in season and we have had some wonderful things. We are served watermelon every meal, but it is only a small amount. John and I love watermelon and could eat it every day. Another dish I really like is a tomato dish with egg. The hot sour soup was wonderful, as was the lemon chicken. They feed us well.

Tonight John and I did not go with the group to the restaurant. We had some wonderful cheesecake and local coffee with Vera and Judy in the hotel restaurant overlooking the city streets. Wonderful!

We started the morning early, going to an ethnic village and seeing locals perform and wear their cultural dress,which is beautiful! I took lots of pictures. We saw the various types of housing the tribes live in and listened to their music. There was a lot of walking so they rented carts for us. That was our favorite spot. Lunch was the same style as I have described before. We spent a lot of time on the bus and our tour guide was very helpful in telling us all about the area and teaching us some Chinese. She is cute and energetic.

After lunch, and it takes a while to feed around 70 people, we went to a beutiful lke in the middle of Kunming. We walked around for over half an hour and took lots of pictures. After that we went to a silk factory for tourists. They explained about silk and tried to sell us many beautiful things. Several in our group made purchases. Tour guides love to take us to these places because they get a percentage of the sales for bringing the tourists.

Our people have loved to buy things everywhere they go which has led to a new crisis for most. China loves to sell as much as possible but they work against themselves. From America, we are allowed to check up to 2 bags of up to 50lbs each on the airplanes. Our tour company neglected to tell everyone that China has different rules. They are telling us that we can still check 2 bags but the total weight for both bags cannot exceed 20 kgs or 44 lbs. That's a far cry from the 100 lbs we were told we were allowed.

There are people out there having melt downs (of course most will deny it so do not ask) because the travel company is not helping people understand how to deal with the discrepancy. Hopefully they will by morning, but we are putting our luggage out tonight at 10 pm so the bellboys can take care of it for us. We leave at 6:45 am.

In China the tour guides want people to do everything for us because then we are expected to tip them. It is adding up to a bit more than many of us expected. Any future travelers reading this should plan for it. It is not a huge expense,maybe $7 to $10 a day. It is nice to be helped.

John and I went for a walk around the downtown area. They fix food on burners in carts on the sidewalks. It smells wonderful. A favorite is grilled corn but they have things like dumplings, noodles, fried potatoes, chicken on a stick, rice, cooked foods I have never seen before and lots of fresh produce.

There are lots of small,open front stores with things for sale all along the streets,a little bit bigger than a booth or kiosk at home. There are so many people and such variety,it is fascinating, something worth experiencing. John tried out a spicy rice dish in one of the restaurants.

We went into a couple of little teashops and got some tea.It is difficult to make ourselves understood. One lady let us try the teas and I was able to get just what I wanted. Tea that costs the equivalent of $20 in the place we toured yesterday costs $3 in the little stores. We went into a store and got more batteries for my camera. Normally Ipay about 60cents each but these were about 30 cents each. We had a good time walking around and seeing the town.

The little kids are so cute to see. There is a one child rule for most people, so these little guys are only children and are very pampered by parents, grandparents and great grandparents. The children are out with their parents and appear to go to work with them. The minorities and a few other groups are allowed to have two children now if they want. If an only child marries an only child, they are also allowed to have two children.

We got our suitcases ready in plenty of time and have the window open to let in the cool night air. We are on the 21st floor so this is different. The window opens out about 12 inches and there is a ledge right under it. There is no screen but there aren't any bugs. We have noticed very few
bugs. I don't know if it is a fluke or if there really aren't very many. It is very nice though.

Randy and Vicki's Wednesday in Kunming

Wednesday in Kunming was a lovely day. The threat of showers gave way to a mostly sunny day…and in Kunming that means blue skies. It is not as polluted as Beijing and Xi’an where a sunny day meant that the haze was a bit lighter than usual. As Chinese people more and more can afford to buy a car they are going to have to deal with the effects of automobile emissions. This local problem has global implications.

Anyway….we visited the Stone Forest (which is located just about an hour and a half from Kunming ) on Wednesday. The Stone Forest was created, according to our guide, many years ago when the area was under the sea. An earthquake caused the rocks to be thrust upwards and the waters to recede. The effect is breathtaking—acres and acres of massive stones protruding from the ground. We had lunch at the site and then returned to Kunming to sample teas before our evening meal. Kunming’s meals are similar to what we have had elsewhere in China with the exception of a scrambled egg type of dish and a tasty pastry which we were told are served to VIP’s usually. Unfortunately, we only merited VIP status once. After the familiar evening meal—large round tables with turntables filled with food and comments such as “this looks like….” Or “look out that one is really spicy and hot!”—we had the choice to spend an evening at the hotel or taking in a music and dance show of the various local ethnic groups of Yunnan province. Vicki and I chose to go to the show—“Dynamic Yunnan ”—and were very glad we did. “Dynamic” is certainly a good word to describe the 50+ dancers in the program. “Elegant” and “amazing” would also be appropriate words—especially when describing the two numbers featuring the show’s star: the Moonlight dance and the Peacock dance. We were tired at the end of the night, but certainly glad that we got to see the show.

Random thoughts: Kunming is a farming area and they plant right up the side of the steepest hills and mountains. Sometimes they have created terraces (like steps) upon the hillside and sometimes they plant right up the steepest incline. The farmers can be seen working their fields by hand and wearing the conical shaped straw hats that you have probably imagined. A horse drawn wagon seen on the streets of Kunming is probably a farmer carrying his goods to the market rather than the tourist transportation that we would expect if we saw a horse in the large cities of the U.S. Winter wheat has already been harvested and I recognized corn and rice among the vegetables and other crops seen from our bus. It is clear that the Kunming area is a “growing” community…they are growing things everywhere that you can plant a seed.

Pastor Randy and Vicki

Wednesday in Kunming

Today we went to see the Stone Forest and it was breathtaking! The stones are very large limestones, thousands of them, jutting up out of the ground like a huge forest. There are many trees growing among them including pine trees and there are small lakes scattered throughout. Several of the people there were in their native dress, which is beautiful. We rode in trams and went past a village with an ox, a goat that was showing off for us, a chicken, a cat and a couple of dogs running around guarding the huts.

The people of Kunming seem a bit more relaxed than some of the other places we have been. It is very close to some of our CP mission projects. I will write more about it later.

This afternoon, we went to a tea garden and tried several kinds of Chinese teas. It was a lot of fun trying the four kinds, Jasmine, regional Oolong, Black Tea with roses and another tea that is aged. (maybe puer?) I won one of the hot water testers called a peepee boy. When the water is hot enough for tea, the tester does just what it is called.

The ride on the bus to and from the Stone Forest was two hours each way. On the way back, the back of the bus sang. We started with contemporary music, then sang hymns, then sang Christmas carols. After a couple of hours singing, we started to run out of songs that everyone knew.

The motel where we are staying in Kunming is very nice. We are on the 21st floor and have a fantastic view of the city. Everybody drinks tea in China and coffee is very expensive, the equivalent of $4 to $6 for a small cup. There is a pot for heating water in our room and we are drinking instant coffee there.

Some things are abundant in China like tea and marble in the buildings. Other things are in short supply. They are very careful with paper. Napkins with dinner, if offered at all, are very tiny. There are no paper towels to dry our hands after washing. We air dry. We provide our own toilet paper many places.

Another thing in short supply is water and other things to drink in restaurants. We get one 4 ounce glass of something for meals and anything more costs extra.

There is a lot of conservation going on in China, just like in Japan. Our rooms were a bit warm last night and we were told it was because the whole hotel was set up so it would not get any cooler than what they had decided, which was not real cool. We are told that in some cities, all coal burning plants have been shut down because of pollution. There has been a haze in the cities so it is apparent it is an issue. The US started taking care of the same type of pollution issues years ago for the same reasons. Everything is recycled.

The airplane ride last night was pleasant. John and I had the very last seats near the tail. It took two hours to fly from Xi"an to Kunming.

Yesterday we went to a Jade factory and they explained all about Jade on the tour. There was an opportunity to buy jade and other jewelry which many people did. A few of us sat at a counter and talked and sipped free hot green tea and tried a free piece of hard candy.

We went to see the city wall and walk aroun on top of it. It is big but not as big as the Great Wall. Grady got a ride in a rickshaw around the top of the wall. He said it was his best experience so far. A man in a bright yellow silk outfit pulled the rickshaw around the wall. There was a problem with understanding English so he, and another couple that took the ride, got back to the bus late.

We went to a museum to see all of the artifacts from they dynasties. I was allergic to something in that one so had to leave before too long. We visited another temple and saw more people worshipping Buddha and making wishes to him. It was a busy day. I took lots of pictures. Many things are different than what we see every day.

We are getting to try lots of new foods, including many new fruits and vegetables. Each meal is a little bit like a potluck with many dishes to try, and it is okay to take some of every dish. Today one of the new things was a type of melon soup. We also tried burdock and enoki mushrooms.

Everyone is havng good time.

Randy and Vicki's Tuesday Update

Well, Randy has suggested I (Vicki) write this update. I think this is because I woke up super-early and am already ready to go, while he is just getting in the shower.

We started our Monday morning with a breakfast buffet at the hotel (good, but not as good as in Japan ) and boarded the bus for our trip to see the Terra Cotta warriors. They are amazing – gave us goosebumps! An emperor had the warriors, horses, and chariots all made and entombed because he wanted an army with him in the afterlife so he could still be in power. He even had the warriors armed with real weapons. At a later time, the peasants revolted, broke into the tombs, smashed most of the warriors and stole many of the weapons, thus using the emperor’s own weapons against him! The site was discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well, and has been partially excavated. The original warriors were all painted. Excavation has been ceased since about 1996 because the Chinese want to develop technology to preserve what color remains before continuing. When exposed to air, any remaining color fades.

It was an awesome sight to see and experience.

We had lunch at the site and then were taken to a Buddhist temple. It was not as crowded as the one we visited in Japan , and had some very pretty gardens. Still, we find the Buddhist sites depressing. The people seem so lost.

We were given the option of attending a performance of Chinese music and dance in the evening and we willingly paid the extra fee to go. It was very enjoyable – excellent music, beautiful costumes, and graceful dancers. We especially liked the ribbon dancers, as well as sharing the experience with our traveling companions from Colombia , South America . I’m working on my Spanish, and they are working on their English!

Today we go to climb the city wall of Xi an and we fly out later in the afternoon to Kunming to the South. We will fly over the earthquake area, but as hazy as it is here much of the time, I doubt we will be able to see firsthand any of the damage.

Well, it’s time to get the suitcases ready for bellhops to pick up. They take them to the airport and pre-check them in. We won’t see our checked luggage again until Kunming ! It’s a little scary, but that’s how our tour company has it set up – it’s worked so far.

Have a great day – or evening – I forget – it’s Tuesday morning at 7:05 am, so that would be 6:05 Monday evening for you!

Thanks again for all the messages you have been sending – we do love hearing from back home!

Vicki (and Randy)

Monday in Xian

There is a job in China and Japan that does not seem like much fun. All bathrooms have a person whose job it is to stand in the public washrooms, help people and clean. It is a nice service though. Toilets in Asia are not like toilets in America but they do have some western style for the tourists.

There is a lot of building and renovation going on in China. They have beautiful new buildings among the old styles.The pagoda styles with the gold trim paint are elegant. We are staying in a new motel, the Paradise Resort, on a new street.

We visited the tomb area of Emperor Shi of the Quin Dynasty with the realistic, and detailed terracotta soldiers and horses. It is impressive. They have found over 8,000 life size terracotta warriors plus many horses buried around 2,000 years. They are beautiful and no two are alike. Every soldier has a different face, different outfits and different features, just like real people.. They were definately advanced in many ways long, long ago.

The emperor was conqueror who unified China by doing battle and killing many people.The culture is hard for me to grasp but their religion played a big part. When he died, we are told his 1,000 concubines were buried alive with him. The peasants did not like the way he treated them so, just after he died,they revolted and tore up a lot of the country. It was a very different way of life.

There was a lot of walking to get to the terracotta soldiers, about a mile to get there, but it was worth it.

We visited Shaanxi Provincial Historic Museum which was nice. There are a lot of good things to see.

One of the things I cannot get used to is the people who follow the tourists around and try to sell them something. I know this is their living, but it feels like flies buzzing around a picnic when they follow you. I want to be polite and treat them like human beings but, if you are nice to them,they are in your face. If you buy one thing,they want you to buy more and more. For someone who wants to be kind but does not have a lot of money to spend on tourist items or a desire to own a lot of the items,it is a no win situation. I have heard about these vendors in many countries around the world, so it isn't just here.

Poor people in many countries will go to great lengths to make money. I am told that some of the beggars on the street who are physically handicapped,such as missing a body part, were born normal but their parents did it to them so they could beg and earn more money. It is very hard for a Christian to imagine doing such a thing to a child. Every human being is of value to God and we must respect that and act accordingly.

We visited a large Buddhist temple and area.There was much incense being burned and many people were worshiping there. There were many statues of Buddha for people to pray before throughout the complex and they were doing so. There were huge crowds,as in every city in China.

Several people went to the theater tonight,about half of our group. The rest of us are tired and opted to come back to the hotel. John and Grady, and a few others, like to walk a little bit at night after sitting and touring all day. They do that at home too. They are out walking around a few blocks. We're in a tourist area so it should be safe.

We have new game here. We have heard of the children's books called, "Where's Waldo?" and you have to look at a very busy picture to spot the Waldo character. We have "Where's Grady?"going. Grady is having a great time exploring everywhere we go, but we often have to look for him when it is time for the group to move on to the next place. He is never very far away.

The group likes ice cream. Most places we go sell ice cream bars so there will be a bunch of people standing around eating ice cream. We are eating very well on this trip. Rice is a staple of every meal but there is plenty to go with it.

The people in the group are buying many things. We haven't bought much yet though. I heard a rumor that a few people are going over their weight limit for their suitcases. Speaking of airports, they vary in what they allow. China is not like the US. The US allows liquids up to 3 oz in a plastic ziploc bag but they did not allow that at the airport yesterday. They made people throw away their shampoo and hand sanitizer and other things. Rules vary a lot but we try to be careful to follow them.

Randy & Vicki's Sunday in China

Greetings. Today you will be with me in Paradise (The Paradise Hotel in Xi’ an, China , that is). We finished our tour of Beijing yesterday and arrived in Xi’ an during a rain shower late last night. Most of our group is very tired. We saw the Forbidden City and the Emperor’s Summer Palace yesterday in Beijing . They are massive! It’s hard to describe in words. The Forbidden City was used by two different dynasties for hundreds and hundreds of years as the center of power, and the dwelling place of the Emperor. The whole plan of the city was designed to instill awe into any who might challenge their power. Even today, it is awe-inspiring. Since the structures are actually primarily wooden and the golden adornments are not actual gold but paint, it requires constant maintenance and refurbishment. We ended our day in Beijing at the Summer Palace by taking a dragon boat ride across the Kunming Lake—a man made lake in front of a man-made mountain which was built at the bidding or the Dragon Lady—an empress who ruled the dynasties of her son and nephew from behind the scenes…literally, apparently.

Speaking of man-made wonders…we were still feeling the after-effects or our climb on the Great Wall from the day before. Our tour guide told us that the Great Wall is one of two man-made things which can be seen from space. He didn’t tell us what the other one is but I suspect that it is the national debt. There are two directions that you can take at the Badaling section of the Wall—the hard section to the left and the easier section to the right. And I, I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference….for my knees anyway.

Quick notes: the food is good in China , Pat White had surgery and it went well…we’re hoping she can join us in Hong Kong for the trip home, Xi’an has a nice hotel and we’re looking forward to seeing the famous terra cotta warriors today. Blessings to you from China, Pastor Randy and Vicki

Beijing to Xian- Sunday

It is 11:30 pm and we are waiting for our luggage to be delivered. We arrived at the hotel in Xian about half an hour ago. The airplane ride lasted about two hours and the ride on the bus to the hotel lasted about an hour. Asian people are a little bit smaller and slimmer than American people so the seats tend to be smaller.

It has been a very busy day. We were asked to have our luggage outside of our room by 7am and then to eat breakfast.The breakfast buffet was fantastic with many selections. At 8:15 am, we gathered to board the buses for the day's tour. Bob reported that Pat White came through surgery okay and was recovering.

We started the day with a group prayer, as we have every day. We were not able to go to church because of the distance, so we had our devotions on the bus. Our bus was led by Tommy Jobe. We sang several songs and had a prayer.

As time goes on, we are more disappointed that we did not get to go to a Chinese church to worship. We read so much about Christianity and its growth in China.

Our first stop was the Forbidden City,the residence of emperors and their families. The place is enormous. Emperors and Empresses killed a lot of people for things like making too much noise or being in their area. Human life wasn't considered worth much. If they wanted to keep place that was being built, like their tomb, a secret, they killed all the workers as soon as the work was done. A person had no choice as to whether or not they worked on anything either. You were compelled. They followed Confusionism and were always striving for harmony. They killed a lot of people to try to achieve it. Our guide kept referring to them as kind but there was nothing kind about them that we heard.

The architecture of the buildings and arches is beautiful.They use lots of gold and bright colors Much of the design and artwork is based on their religious beliefs. Feng Shui, which is popular in the US, is based on religious beliefs and good luck. It is definately not Christian.

We ate another wonderful lunch then went to learn about oysters and pearls and how they make jewlery and grade the pearls. There was time for shopping afterwards.

The next stop was the Summer Palace. Part of the tour went through what they called the world's largest art museum. It was a long covered walkway and the artwork was on the beams. We rode a dragon boat on a very large man made lake. It is called a dragon boat because it is in the shape of a dragon. The trees, lake, rocks, gardens and art was all related to their religious practices. The gardens were lovely and peaceful, even with many crowds of people going through. China is very crowded all the time, like the malls at Christmas. People are all around us.
Everywhere we go there are the street vendors. They yell, "Hello"and follow you around trying to get you to buy something. "Only one dollar" is a common phrase. We are told this is the way many people in China earn their living, selling tourists. They sell things like postcards, watches, hats, umbrellas, t- shirts, tourist books and things like that.

We had another meal before getting on the airplane. We pray together before every meal to bless the food and the people. They fed us yet another meal on the airplane so we had 4 meals! We walked a lot today, probably a few miles or more, so maybe we won't gain quite as much weight.

Randy & Vicki's Saturday Letter from Beijing

Saturday night, Beijing .

First of all…we were not in Japan when the earthquake hit. Our entire group was in Beijing well before that. I only heard about the quake via email from back home. Even if we were still in Japan the quake was 250 miles from where we were ( Tokyo ).

Today we toured the Ming Tomb and the Badaling section of the Great Wall. We also walked the huge area known as Tiananmen Square (made famous back home as the site of the 1989 democratic protests by students).

Random observations….

It rained most of the day today which made the visit to the Tomb dangerous and the visit to the Great Wall less enjoyable than it might have been (the haze prevented you from seeing more than 20 or 30 yards in front of you). We were saddened when one of our tour group, Pat White (the editor of the Cumberland Presbyterian), fell on the wet surfaces in the tomb and fractured her ankle in two places. As I write this she is undergoing surgery in a Chinese hospital and is foremost in our thoughts and prayers.

The hazy conditions at the Great Wall created an eerie sort of atmosphere. The wall ascended in front of you up into the sky and disappeared into the mist…something like a stairway to heaven. It also provides quite a metaphor for our journey of faith: often we wish to see what lies ahead of us and God only allows us to see what’s right before us. We continue on the journey by faith, not knowing what lies beyond the next bend—new challenges to climb or havens of rest and refreshment. Sometimes we meet others on the way who encourage us because they’ve been where we are once before; they are able to encourage us to keep going because
what we seek is not that far to go. After we have climbed the wall, we become those who encourage the one’s we meet on our way back down. I have been blessed by those who have encouraged me through their own faith journey and now it is my job to do the same for others. Okay, thus ends my own Sermon on the Mount (or in this case, Sermon on the Wall).

Tiananmen Square was an eerie experience, too. Our Chinese guides tended to gloss over the events of that protest in 1989. The official spin was that the square is a symbol of the love the people had for Chairman Mao (whose mausoleum sits on one end of the vast square). “We worship him” one said. The eerie part of the evening came when a huge crowd began to assemble in the square and police cars could be seen driving back and forth amongst them. It felt to me like I was witnessing a re-creation of that bloody day of 1989. It turns out that it was just a crowd of people gathering for the ceremony in which they lower the flag in front of the building bearing Chairman Mao’s portrait. Apparently this is a big deal in Beijing .
8.5
I described Beijing...in a recent update...as looking like the after effects of a battlefield....architecturally anyway. I quipped to a friend that there must not be any famous, modern Chinese architects as the buildings were so unimaginative and ugly. To be fair it may be that it depends on what part of Beijing you are in at the time. From our drive last night I realized that if you visited the hotel row on one of the main thoroughfares you would think Beijing was one of the most attractive and interesting cities for architecture in the world. Most of those buildings seem to be no more than 15 or 20 years old. In addition, their is destruction of the old and new construction going on literally everywhere in the city. Our tour guide last night said something to the effect that China wanted to be like America. I believe that is clearly true. They've got the rude, aggressive driving part down pat...and it appears that they are working on the architectural part, too. For now, however, although the new parts (i.e. as the impressive new buildings of the Olympic village) look amazing, the old slums, as my friend Kevin says, "look slummier."
Blessings,

Saturday Afternoon in Beijing

China is wonderful. There are so many new things to see.

The bus rides are very long but the tour guide tells us all kinds of things about China as we travel. I think it took us more than an hour to get to the Great Wall.

It was still raining when we got there and pretty foggy, so we could not get good pictures or see very far. We still went up on the wall and walked all around. John made it to the highest point and bought a plaque that says he did inscribed with his name. I wandered around on top of the wall for over an hour on my own. Some of it is very steep. Everyone in the group was walking all over and laughing and having fun on the steep places. We had to lean at quite an angle. Everyone took lots of pictures.It was cool and rainy the entire time but that did not matter.

Next we took a long bus ride to Tiannimen Square. It is huge with several buildings and statues. Many people were there.

Everywhere they are getting ready for the Olympics. There are huge, impressive buildings that have been built, The landscaping is beautiful. China is obviously very proud to have th Olympics in their country and are going to a lot of effort to make it wonderful.

Inn the evening we went to another wonderful restaurant with delicious food. This time we tried Peking Duck,which was very good. Like the meal last night and the meal at lunch, there was glass turntable in the center of the tablet that they kept filling with all sorts of food for us to try. Each time we had at least 10 different dishes to share. Chinese food is very good and much of it is very similar to what Chinese restaurants serve at home. Delicious!

Saturday Morning in Beijing

We had breakfast in the hotel and it was very good. There was a huge variety of American and Chinese foods,and not just breakfast type foods. There were many main dishes. I had dumplings, fried rice,egg foo young, bacon, watermelon an lots more. People keep talking about losing weight but it won't be me. While here, I want to try everything. Well, maybe not quite everything.

We went to the Ming Tomb this morning. It was pouring down rain but the gardens were still beautiful. Inside the tomb we had to go down steps about seven stories to get to the tomb. We were very careful because the concrete steps were wet and a little bit slick. There was no elevator. On the way in,we saw a lady fall but she was okay.

When we got to the bottom of the tomb, Pat White slipped and fell hard. She broke her ankle in two places. Judy stayed with her and later Janet Sun, also a nurse, stayed with her. They brought a stretcher to carry her out and it had to be carried up the steps with her on it.

They took Pat by ambulance to a hospital. She transferred to another hospital and a friend of Lawrence's, a doctor,took a look at her (both Janet and Lawrence are CP tour guides for our groups). Pat had shattered a bone and needed surgery to have pins put in her ankle, which they did about 9pm.

Bob Watkins is going to stay with her until she can go home while the rest of us go on the tour.

Randy and Vicki's Letter- Friday

It's Friday at 5:40 pm in Beijing, China. Yesterday we wrapped things up at General Assembly in Japan with a wonderful worship service in the morning featuring a message by Sarah Lee--a missionary in Laos--and a message from Michelle Gillis, serving as a missionary in Seoul, South Korea. Their passion for spreading the Good News of Christ was infectious.

Renaissance, the show choir from Bethel College, provided inspirational and energetic music which brought the assembly to its feet more than once. After lunch we were treated to traditional Japanese music by the Hosana Ensemble (on what might be described as Japanese harps and a bamboo flute) and drum and piano pieces by sampo-kai and Danda. Tatsuyuki Yanagawa of the latter group amazed us with his drum talents. You may recall my mentioning that the opening General Assembly was called to worship by a drum solo that was "moving." This was the same guy. For the remainder of the afternoon we could choose between visiting Japanese culture experiences ranging from Japanese instruments to kimono, flower arranging, tea ceremonies, origami and calligraphy. Since we had done many of these at the Women's Convention, Vicki and I visited the Japanese instrument exhibit where we saw a group play on what was called a Japanese "guitar." It had three strings and sounded alot like a banjo.

Thursday night many of us headed back to the hotel because we had to prepare to leave early in the morning for Beijing. Consequently, I missed the closing worship service.

Our flight arrived in Beijing around 1:30 pm...Beijing is only 13 hours ahead of Missouri time, so that would be 12:30 in the morning for most of you guys. I'm frankly too tired to tell you much about my initial impressions of China but I will say, for now, that the new Capital airport in Beijing is huge and lovely. It has only been opened for a few months and it looks like China is doing everything to make it a wonderful greeting to the Olympic travelers who will come through here in a couple months. The people have been very friendly and signs of rebuilding run-down neighborhoods surround us in the opulent, beautiful hotel we're staying in. (Much larger rooms than we had in Japan). More soon....it's supper time.

Pastor Randy

Part 2

Just got back from a delicious meal here in Beijing. It was a beautiful restaurant and the food was very good. We were seated around two very large tables with a glass turntable in the middle of each upon which were placed dish after dish of food. Well-fed...we felt a bit refreshed as we returned to the hotel. The remaining members of our tour group will not arrive until pretty late tonight...it's too bad that they won't get the restaurant experience we enjoyed tonight.

Here's some random observations about Japan and what little we've seen of Beijing so far:

* It is a rare thing to see an American made car in Tokyo. China is full of them. That may be partly because the Japanese drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is thus on the right side of the car (like in Great Britain) but the Chinese drive on the right side of the road and have cars with the steering wheel on the left (as in the U.S.).

* There is much more concern about being ripped off by con artists and thieves in China than in Japan. We were warned to be wary of friendly natives who try to lure you away from familiar surroundings so that they can make you pay them to lead you back.

* Driving...and even walking...in China is a much more dangerous experience. The people drive like mad-men and take little notice of pedestrians and other vehicles. Sometimes the sidewalks and the streets are hard to tell the difference between...and marked, if at all, only by painted lines on the ground.

* The service people in the hotels have been polite in both cities...but you must not tip them in Japan as it is considered rude...while NOT tipping them in China would be considered just as much of an offense.

* The neighborhood where we stayed in Japan was very clean and well-kept. Even those that were unoccupied or under re-development were attractive and impressive in design. The neighborhood around where the amazingly beautiful hotel in Beijing sits looks like the bombed out remains of a battle zone. Old buildings are falling down....or being torn down everywhere you look. It is clear that China is in the process of rebuilding...or renovating...itself. The people are glad to see us and very friendly. Especially those who would like to entice you to buy something from them with the much-desired American dollar.

* In Tokyo you will find it very difficult to find a trash can anywhere...and yet, you don't see trash on the streets either. Japan is very big on recycling and conserving resources (ie. they won't let tour buses idle with air conditioners running while unoccupied.) Japanese restrooms seldom have paper towels and sometimes do not have air dryers either. (Don't be surprised to have the cleaning woman join you in the men's restroom while you're there) There isn't any problem finding a trash can in Beijing.

Okay...I realize that this is way too much information for you. Sorry. Tomorrow we're going to see the Great Wall! It's been an awesome experience...as you can probably surmise.

It's been great to hear from you guys, too! We love you guys.

Randy and Vicki

Beijing

We made it to Beijing and it is raining outside. It gets dark here earlier in the evening. It was a warm and humid day.

The ride in the airplane was pleasant. We met in the lobby in Tokyo at 6:45 am and took bus for around an hour to the airport. I took lots of pictures of all of us at the airports. Basically, we wait in lines. There is a line to check your luggage and a line to go through security. There is a line for customs and a line to get on the airplane. Everybody was friendly and efficient and it really did not take that long.

Judy had to step aside and have them pass a wand over her. Of course,they found nothing. Other than that, it was uneventful. They gave us plenty to eat and drink on the plane.I had a couple of cans of Perrier, a cup of coffee, some snack things and a fish meal. I thought the fish meal was pretty good but several others did not like it. It was different. It had things like scallops, imitation crab, rice, noodles,mushrooms, fish, vegetables and pudding. Not much at all like what I would normally eat.

The Beijing airport is only three months old and it is very pretty and very big. They are getting ready for all of the traffic of the Olympics. We rode a train to get to our luggage. Our group had 19 people.The rest of the 72 or 73 people were coming on a later plane. Grady and Peggy were on the later flight.

We took a bus to the hotel for about an hour. Our luggage came separately and was delivered to our rooms. We went out to eat in a pretty restaurant. There was a lazy susan in the center of the table and they put rice and several dishes on it for the 9 of us at each table to share.There were things like pepper beef,eggplant, lemon chicken,cabbage, spicy beef with vegetables, noodles in sauce, beef with melon, chicken with vegetables and watermelon, plus hot tea.
It was good. We ate with chopsticks. The other table ate more than we did so they came over and got our big bowls to finish off. The only one in our group that did not go was Vera. She is resting with a bit of a cold.

Before we took the bus, we went for a walk a few blocks. You have to watch out, even when the light is green for pedestrians, traffic des not stop. They just keep going. There is almost no difference between the sidewalk and the street. There is no curb, just painted lines in some places, and cars drive on what we would call the sidewalk. Traffic is very busy. Cars just push their way in traffic. It would be stressful for me to drive in it.

What's With the Falling Cranes? #2

Two more construction cranes have fallen this week in the US and injured or killed people. Last week I did not read the news so others may have fallen. This is a pattern, but why?

Tokyo Thursday

The keys on this computer are very small, so I can see I have made many typing errors. Oh my!

Last night John bought some snacks, including donuts and a rice ball for me. Since everything is in Japanese, we have to look at the pictures to figure things out. I ate some of my rice ball and broke it in half to eat more. Out tumbled whole bunch of little eel looking fish about 3/4 inch with the tiny fishy heads still on. I decided I had eaten enough rice and ate the donuts instead.

Like others have mentioned, we were able to sleep in a little bit, waking around 6 am instead of 4 am. It was raining and overcast, which may have had something to do with it. It is the sun that wakes me up at 4 am.

The trains were interesting today. We went with a group to the Tama Center for the worship and final activities but came back on our own. People on the trains tend to be healthy and almost no one ever coughs or sneezes. The Japanese people do tend to be tired and lots of them fall asleep on the trains.

I have seen a lot of kindness. People get up and let the elderly and those who are less able to stand sit down. Today we had long train ride and I noticed another drawback. The ventilation is not real good and it tends to get warm on the trains. Somebody near me had gas. Every few minutes the air didn't smell so good. Another person sat next to me who was a heavy smoker and smoked a stinky kind of cigarette, apparently, so they didn't smell so good either. Maybe those things are why some people wear surgical masks in public. It was a relief every time the doors opened to let people off and on the train. Of course the people with the issues went the whole way with us.

People in Tokyo are always in a hurry. It is not unusual to see them running from place to place. Not too many people look happy or smile when they are going about their daily business, although many will smile back when I smile.

The worship service this morning was put on by the CPWM and was led almost entirely by women. The sermon was given by Rev. Sarah Lee, missionary. She spoke Japanese and the English translation was on the screen behind her. Michelle Gillis spoke of the work she and her husband are doing in S Korea.

The Japanese choir sang the opening hymn and it was beautiful. Renaissance sang several songs and did a beautiful job too. Both of the choirs were female and male.

The CPWM gave everybody a nice tote bag that says, Cumberland Presbyterian Women's Ministry 2008 in Japan. It has some beautiful origami in it and a booklet telling the history of the CP church in Japan. The men who got the tote bags will give them to the women in their lives when they get home and the women will appreciate it very much. It would take an extremely secure male (or an oblivious one) to carry around a tote bag that says Women's Ministries on a regular basis. So the ladies benefit. I'm going to use mine proudly.

After the worship service, the Japan Presbytery provided lunch for everyone. We had a Subway lunch consisting of a barbecue chicken sandwich, a very small potato salad, a bag of chips, a tea cake, a bottle of water and a tiny package of Jello. It was very good and very generous of the presbytery to do that.

We met several new people and had a chance to talk to some we knew. One of the people we visited with was Glen Watts, missionary to Japan. He will be back in the US soon for six months on a furlough and then will be going to Hong Kong to do mission work. We invited him to come and speak to our church when he can.

There was a concert in the afternoon.The drummer and pianist were impressive. Before the concert,John and I walked around the area and stopped in Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a donut. The waitress was so cute! She came with the pot of coffee and her little basket of cream and sugar to refill our cups. She would bow and smile and was very eager to please.

The rain stopped by mid afternoon and the sun came out. It was nice walking around then. You do a lot of walking in Tokyo. In order to ride the trains, you have to go up and down long flights of stairs. Some people think they lost weight by being here with all the walking, low fat food and almost no sugar. In the US, everything contains high fructose corn syrup. I doubt if we had any of that stuff here. Most food is not sweet. It's just a different way of eating. Green tea is very popular.

Randy and Vicki's Letter

This is Randy and Vicki Shannon's letter to their church on Thursday morning. We will be leaving on the same early flight Friday morning, along with Judy and Vera. Grady and Peggy are on a later flight.

We were awakened by our alarm clock for the first time this morning. Not that the alarm clock isn’t reliable—we just haven’t needed it so far. We have usually been unable to make ourselves stay in bed past 5 am, no matter how late our scheduled start time has been. We apparently are becoming accustomed to Japanese time just as we are going to be leaving to head for Beijing , China . Vicki and I will leave on an early flight tomorrow morning with a group of 19 of the 72 tour participants.

Yesterday the General Assembly recessed and it was a day of Japanese culture. We visited the site of the Imperial Palace where hand cut stones almost the size of a small house have formed a wall around the grounds for over 400 years. The Japanese style garden was a beautiful arrangement of colorful flowers, lily ponds, waterfalls and manicured trees. Every pine tree on the Imperial Palace grounds is trimmed so that only the branches that turn upwards are left.

Lunch took us to a restaurant next to the national stadium and training area for the Sumo wrestlers—some of whom ambled by us on the sidewalks outside the restaurant having finished their morning workout. The lunchtime fare was traditional Japanese food as fed to a Sumo wrestler. It was a very healthy meal—according to our guide—and I’ll have to take her word for it since I’m not sure what some of it was. Part of the meal involved cooking something like a stew in our own individual pot and fire. Yes, Milton, they served raw fish. I confess that I cooked mine in the stew pot before eating it, however.

Our tour ended by visiting the Buddhist temple in Asukusa where a major shopping district has evolved similar to the shops near Bagnell Dam. (My reflections on that experience will require a devotion or sermon at a later time).

Overall, the day was useful as it is important that we understand the people with whom we wish to share the Good News. We’re off to the final day of the General Assembly. Since we’ll be leaving for China very early tomorrow and don’t know if they will have internet access there, don’t be alarmed if you don’t hear from us for awhile.

Blessings to all,

Pastor Randy and Vicki

Tokyo Wednesday

The weather forecast said 100% chance of rain but it is not raining. It is overcast.

John went out to the little quick shop early this morning and bought us some coffee with cream. We are waking up around 4 or 4:30 am each day. The sun is coming out about then.

Now it is late afternoon. The sun came out and it was a pleasant day.

Our tour guide told us some about families in Japan. Because housing is so expensive, unmarried young adults often live with their parents. They have a word for them here. Parasites. I think they pronounced it something like parentsites.

Our tour guide left us with a thought for the day. Ichgo Ichie It means we ive each moment only once and then it is gone forever . The message is to make the most of each moment. She talked a lot about celebrating and enjoying life.

We started our tour at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Observertory. The building has beautiful statues and artwork on the bottom floor. There was a huge decorative rake on the wall with all kins of pretty things on it like flowers, fruit, animals, and more. A rake is good luck because you rake good things toward you. The objects are for good luck with those things so that good things will come to you.

Tokyo is very conservation minded. The rain water that runs off the patio is collected in trenches and used to flush toilets in the building. Shintoism is very concerned with nature so conservation and taking care of nature is an extension of that faith practice.

We rode n elevator to the 45th floor of the building and looked out over Tokyo. Even with the fog, we could see a long way and it was impressive.

In the toy store they were selling cute little Hello Kitty's. It's a little cat with it's paw up waving. This is good luck symbol in Japan. A Hello Kitty with it's right paw up brings good luck with money. If the left paw is up, it brings good luck with family and friends.

Next stop was the Imperial Palace East Garden. It was surrounded partially with a real moat that is 12 meters deep. Koi fish and swans swim in the moat. There is a high stone wall on the other side of the moat. We went over a path to high wooden doors that were open. A few feet inside was a statue of a fish. The fish has been there for many years for good luck and protection of the palace. On top of the second gate is trim that looks like waves of water on the roof. The wave looking trim is for good luck to protect the building from fire. Many buildings have this trim on them. It is nothing more than a decoration put up for good luck.

Inside we saw the guard houses, the foundation of an old palace, a palace built by an emperor for his wife with many good luck symbols on it, and beautiful gardens, There were hundreds of pines trees, trimmed in a bonsai fashion so they were not as tall as pines in the US. The trees were trimed in such a manner that branches and pine needles went up only. That is for good luck. It would bring bad luck if any go down.

We had lunch at the Ryogoku restaurant. It is next to the stadium where sumu wrestlers compete. Sumu wrestlers eat there and there is even a platform where they can wrestle as people eat as entertainment. This place was also filled with good luck symbols. The decoration that looks like clouds with lightening bolts coming down is for success and good luck. Those are all over Tokyo.

Our meal was an event. We each had a pot in front of us that was boiling and had flames coming up underneath it. In it were chunks of chicken, and many vegetables including chinese cabbage, mushrooms, leeks, carrot and tofu. The food was raw,but cooked as we sat there. We also had a bowl of rice, a raw egg, a plate of many kinds of vegetables like okra,carrot, burdock, peppers, and radish, a big fried shrimp, a small piece of fried fish, a small amount of beef, some imitation fish, some raw tuna, some raw mackerel, seaweed, two kinds of Japanese pickles, wasabi, a scallop,tofu, Japanese scrambled egg and more.

It was a real Japanese meal. After we ate the contents of the pot, they again lit the fires under them to reheat the broth. We then added some of the rice we had and cracked and scrambled the egg, and dropped it in the boiling broth for a soup. We had ta or water with the meal and almost all of us ate the majority of the meal with chopsticks. I'm pretty good at it.

Sumu wrestlers came into being as a part of the Shinto religion. In the beginning,the wrestlers wrestled naked and the outcome was a way of foretelling the future. Our guide did not explain all the details on this but, they knew certain outcomes meant certain things. A lot of the ritual Sumu wrestlers do s still a part of the Shinto beliefs even though it is considered entertainment now. Much of what they do has to do with good luck and keeping away evil spirits.

From there we went to the Asakusa Kannon Temple. This is a large Buddhist temple. Our guide told us a lot about the practices. At the entrance to the temple there is a Shinto shrine. It is unusual to have them together in the same location. At the entrance to the Shinto shrine, there is an arch ]I=. It has a top curved piece (up of course for good luck), a middle straight bar and two side bars holding it up, similar to a football goal post. It is good luck to walk under it. Shinto shrines always have these arches at their entrances.

At the shrine,there are good luck charms and symbols. Shintoes worship nature and have many, many gods. Everything in nature can be a god. They also worship their ancestors. At various times of year, they put food out for their dead ancestors as part of a celebration.

In order to pray at a Shinto shrine, you put money in a box, you clap two times, you fold your hands (I think) then you clap again. Shinto shrines are for happy occasions. The people of Japan go there to get married and when they are happy and want to celebrate. When babies are a month old,they take them to the shrine to be prayed over. The baby is dressed beautifully for this time of celebration. The mom hits the baby so it will cry so the gods will know it is there and bless it. For the first month of life, a baby is dressed ugly in the hopes that the evil spirits will not see it and kill it.

Children are dressed up and taken to the shrines at age 3, 5, 7 and 15, which is considered a very good age. They also go at age 20 when they are officially an adult.

Japanese people practice both religions at the same time. While they do not consider themselves religious, their practices are very religious.

The Buddhist temples are for the bad times in life. Funerals take place there. Outside of the temple,here was a very large pot of incense burning continuously. People were standing around it trying to get some of the smoke on themselves. If you have a pain, such as a headache, you try to direct the smoke toward that to help get better. If you need good luck you use your hands to encourage the smoke to come toward you and cover you,depending on your wish. You can buy extra incense to burn if you feel you have a very big need.

There is a fountain outside of the temple with a statue in the middle of it. People pour the water on their hands and touch it to their faces for good luck. People were coming in waves,person after person dipping in the water. Some even seemed to be drinking it.

We went up steep steps to the inside of the temple. There was a screen that you could see through that had the temple furnishings on the other side an included statues and many worship objects. Only those who belonged to that temple were allowed to go into the part behind the screen.

In front of the screen was a large raised grate in the floor about 12 feet wide. People were throwing money into the grate. Our guide told us aht they were doing. They throw money into the grate, then fold their hands in prayer and wish for what they want. The bigger the wish, the more money you should throw in the grate. They aren't praying to anyone in particular, just wishing. The place was full of people who just kept coming and throwing their money in.

The Buddhist temple was not a small building. On the wall of the temple was a cabinet of many, many drawers. For 100 yen, about $1, you could shake a small stick with number on it out of a box. The number corresponded to one of the numbered drawers. In the drawer is a piece of paper with a fortune on it. If their fortune is good,they are happy.If their fortune is bad, there is a place to tie it and do somethings so maybe the gods will not give you a bad fortune after all. There are also many good luck charms for sale to counteract bad fortunes and/or to give people good luck.

As we walked around, many Japanese people were doing all of these things.There was more that our guide did not explain going on. We know that a person could pay and light a candle for prayer.Our guide seemed to think that was a Christian practice and said very little about it except it was way the temple gets money. It is a Catholic practice and we as protestants do not do that.

Near the temple and shrine were blocks of small booths selling all kinds of things from clothing to food to good luck charms to touristy items.

Outside the Buddhist temple, in garden areas, there were statues of Buddha. There are things the people are supposed to do in front of the statues that they are told will bring them good luck.

Numbers are good or bad. Lucky numbers are 3,5,7,and 15. The number 4 is very unlucky.

We learned that,when wearing a kimono, lap the left side over the right and not the opposite, Right over left is only done on bodies at funerals and is very bad luck.

In this culture, blue is for males and red is for females. Colors bring luck too.

This is a very superstitious culture with some very beautiful spots to visit. Almost everything seems to have some kind of meaning. The Chinese symbols stand for things.

It was interesting to note that our guide's name today, Maoko, means honest girl. The symbol for honest is a right angle line at the bottom then, with a bit of white space between, three boxes stacked up vertically and,on top of that a cross. Interesting. She had no idea.

It is easy to see that this culture could be only .1% Christian. This is a people without real hope. They wish in their prayers. There is no personal God who loves them,who cares about the things they care about and will intervene in their lives. They are wishing instead of praying to the one and only God, who answers prayer. This culture is materialistic and hard working but that nleve them feeling empty and tired after a while. They like to celebrate.

This culture is very resistant to Christianity. Many missionaries have been here and many missions have started here. The work has been a failure in many ways,even though a few have been won. What is the reason for the failure? What is it we are missing about the culture that we need to consider?

We know that it is high context culture and more is communicated nonverbally than verbally. We know that it is a conforming culture. The emphasis is on the group not the individual. How much difference do those things make?

Many Adventures in Tokyo

Yesterday was an unstructured day for all of us on the tour so we each went out and did different things. John and I went to Kozo, General Assembly, rode the trains, visited with others in this hotel and walked around the area.

Grady and Paul waked the entire area, street by street and saw many things. Vera and Judy went to the CPWM convention and went on a mission tour with them. I have not yet heard how that went. Sandy and Shirley set out to find the Hard Rock Cafe. Kevin and Gay went to General Assembly and listened to the proceedings the whole day. Martha hung out at the hotel.

The following is from Randy and Vicki's newsletter for their adventures yesterday. We did not see this part of Tokyo.

Update 5

It’s Wednesday morning in Tokyo . Today we will take a tour of the city of Tokyo . Yesterday, Vicki and I toured the neighborhood around our luxury hotel and discovered that Tokyo is a day (and a night) in the park for some of the residents here. While visiting Shinjuku Chuo Park —just a block from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and two blocks from our full-service hotel—we noticed a blue tarp village in a rather unkempt part of the otherwise beautiful park. Naively, I first thought that it was a family campground. Soon, however, I realized that the people who camped there had all their possessions in the world bundled up and strapped together beneath the same blue tarps they used for shelter. Just a stone’s throw from high rise government and business buildings where almost all the men and women wear nicely tailored black suits and exude a sophisticated air, men are sleeping on the sidewalk, park benches and grass. Beneficiaries of poverty and opulence are found breathing the same air, viewing the same sky, and sharing the same space. Yards away from our hotel where uniformed bell hops anticipate our every need, lay people for whom no one cares. Well, that’s not entirely true. I know of at least One who cares.

Love,

Pastor Randy

Tokyo Tuesday

John and I rode the trains today without others to guide us and we got around just fine. Even my Passmo card worked. Japan is a little bit ahead of us in everyday use technology, at least for the part of the country where we live. To ride a train you touch a Passmo card to a round disc at a gate. It tells the machine how much money you have on it. A ride is $3 to $4 depending on where we go.

Our room key is like that too. In order to get in,you touch the card to the door lock. It's wonderful.

Our train ride was uneventful. We watched the scenery go by. It's a city so everybody lives close together. The first place we went was the Koza church.We misread the materials and thought GA was there. We walked around the streets some and looked around in a grocery store. Someprices are similar to the US and some are much higher. Hamburger costs around $7 a pound and beef about $12 a pound. They have all kinds of interesting looking, new to us vegetables.

While we were walking around near the Kozo church, an airplane kept flying overhead, back and forth. It was flying quite low for an airplane and it was noisy. It was one of the big, old planes with 4 propellers.

We met a Japanese man on one of the trains whose son is studying at Washington University in St Louis. I asked if he spoke English and he said scoshie, which means a little (although I probably spelled it wrong). He asked if we were from Africa before we said we were from Missouri. John has a very good tan I guess.

When we walk on the sidewalks, it is best to keep left rather than right, although not everybody does. The sidewalks are full of hundreds of people, and some bikes, so it takes a bit of navigating. The majority of the men here wear suits and ties in black, dark gray or very dark blue,no matter what the time of day or night. Men are clean shaven and have short hair but not shaved heads or crew type cuts. They have hair.

Women's dress varies depending on age and whether or not they are working. Many wear dresses and suits but slacksare also very common. Some of the young ones like to wear very short shorts with high stockings. Very few males or females wear the kinds of clothing that young people who enjoy Japanese culture in the US wear,t shirts, black, dragons and that sort of thing. Less than one person in several hundred dresses like that.

The Japanese people tend to be shorter than the Americans. Most seem to be between 5 ft and 5 ft 7 inches tall. The Japanese people are almost all slim. I see an occasional one with a belly, but none are obese. The Japanese people walk a lot more than the average American and they eat differently. The diet has a lot less fat. They eat rice and soup every day,for example. They also eat lot of produce and fish. There isn't much in the way of deep fried or sugary foods. They drink a lot of green tea too.

Some of the foods I am not so sure about here are the runny scrambled eggs and the bacon that is still mostly white and flexible. I don't eat it. I'm not too sure about eating French fries for breakfast either. It doesn't seem right. The green salad is okay though. I skipped the fish. Too strong a smell too early in the day.

Japanese people nod in greeting and often bow. The nodding comes very easily. It is somewhat automatic. All of my life, I have nodded to people as a greeting. It's really cool to have all these people nodding back. Some smile and look a bit surprised even that an American does that. It is probably a practice that started when my parents and I lived in Japan for a year when I was very young. As our tour guide said, it becomes a habit and you do it automatically without thinking.

The toilets get a lot of attention in Japan. There are the ones with the warm seat and with the buttons that are pushed to wash a person off. There are the squat toilets that are almost to the ground and the elongated toilets without seats. Toilets are a topic of conversation because people aren't always sure at first how to use them.

The streets of Tokyo have signs on every block that are big maps with a "you are here" spot. Among all those sky scrapers, if you are not sure how to find your way back, these are a great help.

Speaking of signs, there is a white board in the lobby of this hotel that says Cumberland Presbyterian at the top. They tell us to watch the board for announcements. We have been watching it, but it has only had something on it once so far.

We went over to General Assembly for a while. They were debating some very small things then deciding there was no need for a vote on them. Some of the people who got up to speak were not as well informed as they could have been. During the break,one of the delegates told me they would get the information just before it was voted on so they really did not have a chance to study anything that was coming out of the committees. Somebody gets up and reads the recommendations of the various committees then the delegates ask questions,make comments and vote. Many delegates each year have never been to GA before, so they can be at a disadvantage. That's a really good point. It makes it very easy for those who are at GA year after year to have a big advantage over the others. I don't know what I think of that.

Some of the Japanese pastors in the hallway had a sign saying they are looking for someone to teach conversational English to Japanese people as an outreach of the churches. The details have not been set yet so it is still in the planning stages.

Tonight John and I walked around the area and bought some Japanese food for dinner from a takeout, quick shop style store. I had rice balls,a couple of them seaweed wrapped. It is sort of like sushi. There was also one fried shrimp, one piece of chicken and one small dumpling. John had some fried chicken and a corn dog and some green tea and Japanese bread. We ate in our room.

It gets dark here early by 7pm and it is light by 4 am so we wake early and go to sleep early.

Vicki and Randy's Monday Adventures in Tokyo

Konichiwa from Tokyo !
This update edition is being ghost written by Vicki. It is impossible to tell you all everything about our experiences here, but I will share a few recent highlights. Randy and I attended a session of the CPWM ( Cumberland Presbyterian Womens Ministries, for those of you in the mailing list who may not know what that stands for). There were 177 in attendance.

It was nice to see women at the convention from the church where we worshipped yesterday among the attendees. During the meeting, there was a presentation from Lilliana, from Colombia , South America , who is in our tour group. (I have been practicing my Spanish with her, and she practices her English.) We also heard from a Japanese mission worker with Japanese International Food for the Hungry.

Our Japanese hosts had prepared traditional Japanese activities for us to take part in during the afternoon session, which was very enjoyable. We took part in a Japanese tea ceremony, learned some origami, tried our hand at calligraphy and were dressed in kimonos and photographed. (Well, I wore a kimono – Randy skipped that activity and just watched!) We had a wonderful time and felt very welcomed by our hosts.

I thought some of you might be interested in what we are eating here – no, we haven’t tried sushi and don’t intend to, however we have tasted a number of very tasty Japanese foods but do not know what they were called! However, I will tell you about the breakfast buffet, which is a mix of western (American) style and Japanese style food at our hotel.

Here are the choices available every morning. The menu varies slightly depending on which of the three restaurants we visit:

Breads and small pastries of all kinds, waffles, toast, honeydew melon, oranges, grapefruit (not as acidic as ours – lighter in color and very good), kiwi, cereal, salad with bean sprouts and a variety of dressings, Canadian-style bacon, grilled regular bacon (not crisp like we do it), little sausages – different that ours, fried potatoes (french fries), fried potatoes which are cut out in cute animal shapes, fried noodles, plain yogurt with a variety of fruit sauces you can put on, prunes, apricots, hard-boiled eggs (chicken), poached eggs (duck), plain omelets, tiny cherry tomatoes, tiny cucumber slices, rice, fresh milk, carrot juice, apple juice (cloudy – very good, tastes fresh), fresh-squeezed orange juice, tomato juice, coffee, tea, scrambled eggs with rice in them (runny – looks like soup, we haven’t been daring enough to try yet), vegetable medley of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, fish, and several other Japanese foods which I am unable to name. We usually eat a large breakfast, and then maybe one other meal later in the day. We are definitely not going hungry!

A memorable experience yesterday involved Randy’s and my train trip to the women’s meeting. While traveling on a local train (local means it stops at every stop – there were 21 stops to our destination) a Japanese girl sat by me. I noticed she was using a pocket translator to do her homework – a workbook reading on Death Valley , California . I offered to read it to her, and did. She was pleased. We practiced a little spoken English, and communicated back and forth by writing in her notebook while she used her translator to understand the words she didn’t know. The end result was an exchanging of email addresses and a new friendship in a most unexpected place.

It is 4:42 PM Monday afternoon for you; 6:42 AM on Tuesday here – time to go down and visit that breakfast buffet!

We love hearing from home – thank you so much to those of you who have been emailing us!

Sayonara!

Love,

Pastor Randy (via Vicki)