Asia - Day 2

Ni Hao!  That is the traditional Chinese greeting that is equivalent to our "hello."  It's funny because when people here see Americans, they yell out, "Hello!" to which we respond, "Ni Hao!"  They always look shocked or amused that we can say hello in their language...even though they themselves can say hello in ours!

Anyway, today has been a great day to this point.  We got rolling at 6 a.m. heading to the park to do what we call "power walking."  Power walking is an exercise in talking to Dad while we walk around.  We talk to Him about the people we see.  We listen for His directions.  We sometimes quote His Book as we walking, knowing that the things we are saying and reading have never been spoken in these places before.  It's an awe inspiring thing to speak the name of His Son for the first time in these places.  It weighs heavy on my heart that His Name is not known here.  But, it weighs heavy on my heart, too, that His Name is so taken for granted in our country.  Such a great name should never be ignored, abandoned, or abused.

While at the park this morning, we played Jien za with some Senior Adults.  Now, first you must know that the park is full every morning with Senior Adults who are in better shape than you or me.  They are doing Tae Chi, sword practice, martial arts, and other highly energetic things.  Some sections have places for stretching, and the senior adults can do amazing things like stretch their legs over their heads!  I have been amazed.  So, when I say we "played" with senior adults, understand that these people are athletes that could rival most 30 somethings!  Jien za is like hacky sack, but is played with a really big badminton birdie that is flat at the weighted end instead of having a rubber ball.  The name Jien za literally means "kicking the feathers."  And these older ladies could kick from behind their heads, do scissor kicks, and had amazing speed.  We looked like toddlers trying to hacky with university students.  It was a lot of fun, though, and we are invited back in the morning.  Over the next couple of days, I want to learn how to tell them the name of The Son in their language, and be able to part ways each day by telling them that Dad loves them very much.

From there, we met up with friends and went to a Buddhist mountain that has many shrines and worship places.  It was quite a hike to the top.  We actually rode a chair lift 3/4 of the way up.  At the top, we had a great conversation with new friends about Father, and how much He loves His children.  We also had a great talk about the spiritual deception of other world views and spiritual oppression.  Perhaps our new friend and his wife will have their eyes opened soon.  Please talk to Dad about that.  After the mountain, our new friends took us shopping, and we got to experience this city's version of Wal-Mart!  It was pure chaos!  But I found a box of cherries for $80!  They have to import them.  Of course, I didn't buy them since I hate cherries.  Some things are expensive here, and other things are stupid cheap!  We charted a bus today to take us (4) and our friends (3) to the mountain.  It was a 4 mile trip, and the bus driver waited 3 hours for us to finish, and then brought us the 4 miles back into town all for $14.  Go figure.

We are about to head out for an evening of board games with local university students.  We invited our friends from today to come, and we hope they will.  We will be playing Twister, Sorry, Genga, Trouble, Monopoly, and Uno with about 40 college students.  Talk to Dad over the next couple of hours for us.  We would like for Him to grant us favor with the new people we will meet.  We would also ask that He gives us words to speak and ears to hear as we have these important conversations.

For those of you at THF, we will be doing a live broad cast for the youth on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.  It's a time for them to ask questions and hear about Dad's work here.  Feel free to drop in, but please remember that this time is for them.  If we have further time, we can answer questions from you, but I'd like the students to have first crack at it.

As always, you are so very important to this trip.  I am thankful for your support and look forward to the great things that Dad will do; knowing that you have made them possible.  I'll send more update stuff when we have time!

Peace,
Jase