This morning, our team set out to the city we’ll be staying in. We’re spending a week in a large city in the middle of China, comprised of 60-70% Muslims. Currently, there is only
one known believer in this whole region. It still feels like winter here, as it is extremely cold, and we occasionally have to dodge dirty piles of snow and ice.
It has definitely sunk in that we are in a completely different culture: we don’t know any of the language (beyond ‘hello’), and we cant read any of the street signs. On the bus this morning, we were all hoping that we would get off at the right stop. Otherwise, we could be in big trouble!! Fortunately, a gentleman on the bus helped us out, and we tumbled out into a big city square, with no idea what to do next.
We decided to send Gary and Ashley to scout out a hotel for us, while Sarah and I guarded the bags. After the two left, we were soon SWARMED by curious onlookers. Praise the Lord they were friendly, but it is definitely unsettling to be surrounded by 30-40 people who just want a closer look at you! I’m not surprised, though, that foreigners would be such an attraction. I doubt very many come this way (15 hour flight, 2 hour bus, 36 hour train ride, 2 hour taxi, 1 hour bus… you certainly don’t end up here by accident!)!
As Sarah and I struggled to remain calm, suddenly the most beautiful sweet sound floated through the crowd… “Hello, do you speak English?” YES!!! Here was one of the ‘Chinese Angels’ we had heard about. You can be lost in a place where millions of people don’t speak a word of your language, then suddenly someone appears that is fluent in English, and arrives to save your day. Our new friend waited with us until Gary and Ashley returned, then led us all to a better and more affordable hotel (government-run, it turns out). He invited us to visit his class (he teaches English to high school students) tomorrow afternoon, and will likely have dinner with us tomorrow evening. Please pray for this relationship, and that he would be open to what we want to share with him this week.
Personally, I am still feeling run-down with this cold, though you may have noted that this did not keep our team from winning the China leg of the race yesterday afternoon! Woo woo! =)
Tonight will be a time of rest and prayer, then we’ve got 5 more days to see what God has in store for us!
