Imagine this………. Walking with a group of white skinned, American, sweaty, bearded men, and girls with greasy hair and head bands through the streets of Beijing China. You’ve just awoken from a night of sleepless sleep. You’re body is not adjusting well to the time difference. Your walking as a group of over 40 people who are all carrying their load of 40 pounds on their back, and 25 pounds on the front. You’ve all got a pillow, teddy bears, gadgets hanging from each pack, and big camera cases strapped around your side. You’re hanging onto all of your possessions for dear life. You’re walking as a big group lining the streets of Beijing China. While walking through alleys, streets, and long sidewalks, you quickly gather a large group of Chinese people who seem as if they are the pauperize looking at you as if you are the coolest alien they’ve ever seen. After what seems like miles of walking your shoulders begin to terribly ache from your heavy packs, sweat is accumulating in every area of your body, and you’ve finally made it to the subway that will transport you to the train station.
Imagine piling onto the subway with 40+ Americans with all those pounds still sitting on you. You realize you’ve got a good 30 minutes until your stop, so you help each other take off the load and rest. When it’s time for your stop, you ask a male on your team to help assist you with getting your large pack on. But oh no……. you fall to the ground. Your teammates are laughing so hard that they watch you lay there on top of your pack in the middle of the subway. Hilarious right? Yeah, it was.
Imagine this………… waiting in the train station you begin to cause turning heads and a large crowd gathered around you for hours. They watch the way you eat, the way you laugh, the way you interact, and stare at you as you simply just sit. Cell phones are out snapping pictures left to right. The Language barrier vanishes as you make silly connections through laughter and hand gestures.
Imagine this…… As you pick up your heavy load once more you walk through the long hallway and up the tall staircase to board the train you’d be riding in for the next 19 hours. Your imagination is creating a beautiful picture of what this magnificent train is going to look like. After the 17 hour long plane ride you have all the faith in the world that this is going to be an upgrade. As your shoulders are aching you can’t wait to just get on that train, spread out, and SLEEP. As you step onto the train you’re lungs and you’re nose shrivels up while your eyes start to water. The overwhelming amount of smoke that fills the space immediately takes over your body. As you turn the corner you see a very narrow isle of seats facing each other that line the train. Your heart is starting to be disappointed but, you’re holding onto hope that you’re whole group will be together for all 19 hours to ease some of the pain.
Imagine this………. you were wrong. The 19 hours turn into packed sardines mixed with Asians and American missionaries on top of each other. Cigarette smoke consumes the train. Mine as well have smoked two packs that day! Now imagine when you’re bladder tells you that you have to go to the bathroom, you have high hopes for a bathroom that would be on an airplane. Makes sense right? Clean and definitely manageable! Wrong. You walk to the bathroom area but before you can walk into the room with the hole in the ground, you must step over a group of Chinese men who have passed out in the isle. You walk into the bathroom and see a hole in the train. You can see the tracks through the hole. Is THIS where I do my business?? Looks like it. So then you squat.
Imagine this……… You’re sitting next to your Asian grandma in the middle seat. Grandma doesn’t speak English. But she sees that your legs are bare so she grabs her jacket and spreads it over your legs and tucks you in. You instantly have a bond. It starts to get late but heaven forbid the lights go off through the night to calm you for sleep. Granny gets sleepy so she passes out. A couple of your teammates take some sleeping pills that knock them out as if they were in some sort of coma. You have one teammate laying on top of you while granny is snoozing next to you. You’ve got another teammate on the floor that leave no room for your feet. You’ve got another teammate knocked out on sleeping pills with their legs in the only place that your legs could possibly go. So now you’ve got granny and all your teammates peacefully sleeping. At least THEY were comfortable. Being the awesome friend that you are, you let them sleep….. but more like pass out on drugs. You have no other choice than to sit up straight with your legs crossed and your toes placed in the only inch left available. The sleeping pills are really working for your teammates. They’ve been knocked out for hours. You haven’t slept a wink. But thank goodness you’ve got granny’s coat to keep you warm! After 7 hours of not standing up you are almost certain that you are producing bed soars on your butt. You can’t feel certain parts of your body.
After 19 hours you finally arrive to Harbin, China. Glory to the highest heavens! You never thought this moment would come. You can’t wait to get off the train infested with cigarette smoke to catch a huge breath of FRESH air. Wrong.
Imagine a city of over 5 million people that never see the sun… or the clouds. Imagine living in a city of such severe pollution that even the domestics wear masks around while walking through the streets. Imagine one in four people who smoke…….. absolutely everywhere. Imagine layers and layers of smog that fill the air. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Now imagine the cigarette smoke that fills every space with the smell of sewer and Chinese food. It’s absolutely nauseating.
But now imagine this…….. You’ve never felt more blessed in your life. You’ve never loved a group of people more. The people on your squad are instantly your best friends that will be forever. They choose joy in every circumstance. Positivity is stronger than the smog that fills the air. You laugh about everything that doesn’t go your way. Imagine meeting God in a whole new way and falling in love with him all over again. Imagine forming a new intimacy with him that you’ve never had before. Imagine walking in the spirit each step you take. It’s only week one, month one, and you’ve already been changed forever.
