***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…
10:49 PM Here are two new entries on the Crosswalk weblog: It’s Time to Go to China Why Pastors Should Blog 3:24 PM Alan just arrived from Mississippi. The China team is now assembled. We leave for the airport in 17 hours and 21 minutes. 8:56 AM Special thanks to everyone who contributed to the fund for Tsunami Disaster Rel…
9:18 AM Here are three new entries on the Crosswalk weblog: “It Would Be a Joy” The Church in China Six Books I’m Currently Reading Men! Don’t forget that First Watch starts again this Thursday morning. Hot breakfast in the Dining Room … 5:55 AM … fellowship … laughter … Bible teaching &helli…
8:56 PM In my sermon yesterday I mentioned the explosive growth of the church in China in since 1949 (when the Communists came to power). Here are a few articles that discuss how the church grew despite persecution and repression: Jesus in Beijing China’s Christians on a Global Mission God TV and China Religion in China Tod…