Wow!! Northern China is really cold! We left Hong Kong Sunday morning and took a 3 hour bus ride through the border of mainland China. Thank the Lord we all got through the border with no trouble, including the South Africans. We then went to a very busy train station, a lot like Grand Central, to board our train to Northern China. The people are constantly staring at us because we stick out like sore thumbs…haha.
I’m not sure what I was expecting on our train but it wasn’t what I thought. There were 6 beds in each compartment with no doors and I was on the top bunk. The top bunk bed had only 1 foot of space from my head to the top of the train while I slept. There were no showers and the toilets were squattie potties. Just a hole in the train with no seat that goes directly to the train tracks! That was quite an experience for me…I think I am going to have to practice…haha. Most of the places here in China don’t have Western toilets and you have to carry toilet paper everywhere.
On the train there was no room to change or get anything out of our backpacks so we spent 2 nights and 2 days in the same clothes. I havn’t showered yet…hopefully tonight!
The train ride was beautiful. We drove through many towns and I was able to stay in an attitude of prayer most of the time for the people of China. After our train ride we boarded a taxi for another 1 1/2 hours to the town we are in now. In the taxi we drove through snowy mountains and towns…the ride took my breath away. God’s creation always seems to amaze me!
The town we are staying in is primary Muslims. The men wear white hats and the women wear black hats. There are Mosques everywhere around us. The people don’t speak any English, but for some reason think we understand them…haha. Right now we have about 2 translators but they are not with us all the time. Without a translator it can make things quite difficult.
Currently we are in a hotel that we are told has hot water but the 5 minutes I was there I don’t think we had heat in our room. So we will have to see. Please keep us in prayer as we embark on our ministry soon. I don’t have much to tell you yet since we just arrived but I did want to let you all know we arrived safely.
Thank you for your comments and notes on my blogs. They bring a smile to my face. Don’t forget to look at our Blue Team blog as well. Much love to you all from China! Sarah (pix soon!)
