***Click here to view the latest pictures from China. 8 AM Mark, Josh and Nick took a taxi to Changping to pick up some of Josh’s things that we’re taking back with us. 10:17 AM Marlene, Alan and I are in a taxi heading to Tiananmen Square. This is the final place I wanted to visit on our trip to Beijing because it’s the eq…
***Click here to view the latest pictures from China. 9:23 AM We had the same thing for supper and for breakfast this AM—little chocolate donuts and Coke. Breakfast of Champions. Ready for a new day in Beijing. Right now it’s clear and cold—pretty much the way it’s been every day. Right now we’re listening to Ra…
***Click here to view the latest pictures from China. 8:42 AM A friend in Chicago wants to know if we know about recent events in China. The answer is yes, but only because of articles on the Internet. Things are peaceful here, in the sense that Beijing bustles with life, the streets are crowded with honking cars, pedestria…
***Click here to view the latest pictures from China. 1 PM We just finished our visit to the Summer Palace, a 700-acre lakeside paradise the Chinese emperors used when the summer heat in Beijing became burdensome. Perhaps the best way to describe it is to imagine a national park reserved exclusively for the use of one perso…
***Click here to view the latest pictures from China. 9:07 AM I slept through the night for the first time. Partly getting used to the time change, partly so tired from climbing the Great Wall yesterday. Mark and Nick went out to a nearby alley and bought some Chinese flatbread (pronounced something like Da Bing). Last nigh…
***Click here to view the latest pictures from China. 6:41 AM Yesterday I woke up at 2 AM, today at 3:30 so I think I’m getting used to the time change. Six of us are staying in a two-bedroom apartment at the Mac Center on the west side of Beijing. Mark and Nick are sleeping on futons in the living room, Marlene and I have …
***Click here to view the latest pictures from China. 6:48 AM The day started around 2 AM when I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. My body is still on Chicago time. Right now we’re packed because we’re moving from the school (about an hour NW of Beijing) to the Mac Center (ELIC HQ) in Beijing. 8:30 AM Th…
***Click here to view the latest pictures from China. 6:15 AM Wake up to a clear, cold day in Beijing. I can hear Nick and Mark stirring in the next room. Marlene turns on the TV and we watch a Chinese game show. Very colorful, much brighter than American game shows. Everyone in the audience seems to be wearing bright green…
***Click here to view the latest pictures from China. 2:45 PM We land in Beijing. Big rush to get off the plane. The terminal reminds me of Terminal 5 at O’Hare. Long lines, long hallways, escalators, all of it keeping you moving toward Immigration. We pass through with no problems. We had heard about Chinese officials…
***Click here to view the latest pictures from China. 8:14 AM We started the day by going to First Watch. I don’t know if Mark and Nick and Alan were quite as enthused as I was to be rolling out of bed at 5:30 AM. Over 100 men gathered for breakfast, Bible study and prayer. I shared a bit about our trip, then Skip Olson pra…