Kunming

The sights, sounds, and cities are all beginning to blur. Much like the cities in Canada, each place is unique and has its own feel, but they have similar characteristics too – good food, many people, and no rules on the road.

Being the only white guy around, I continue to get strange looks in the many places we visit. This is especially true when I am walking with Alice, Sunny, Nancy, and Alan. Sunny is Alice’s associate and operates East Sun Overseas Consulting CO. Nancy and Alan work for Sunny. We celebrated Sunny’s birthday with cake in his office.

The pace of my trip has increased greatly. Here is a brief summary.
On my first day in ChongQing I met with several parents and one very bright student over dinner. This young man, a student in grade 11 and I had a conversation in English for over an hour. Next year I hope to see him in Hamilton. I also managed to take a cable car ride and watch some kite flying at the opera house.

Yesterday, we left ChongQing at 6:00 am for Guiyang. In Guiyang we made an afternoon presentation in a local hotel to a group of 40 potential students and parents. After the two hour presentation, I met a young person who shared with me his story of being introduced to Christianity through a foreign teacher at the University of Nanning. We had a long conversation and his final words to me were that he really believes that the Lord has a heart for the people of China. I’m still thinking about those powerful words.

Besides the presentations, we also enjoyed two extravagant meals with parents of Alice’s students. The father of the student is a controller of a major media company and the mother is a top official in a nearby city.

Later in the evening, we caught a flight to the city of Kunming. Due to poor weather, it took two attempts to fly to Kunming. I finally got to my hotel at 2:00 am.

Today, I was up by 7:30 for my first HDCH presentation which took place at the Communist Party Department of Education Headquarters of Yunnan province. Outside the headquarters there were two engravings on stone sculptures which said “Education should be driven by the heart” and “True education happens by genuine love.” These sayings proved to be useful when I spoke about what we do at HDCH and why we believe in Christian education. After the presentation, three people approached me and wanted to know more about the place of Christianity in our school. More people to pray for.

After a three hour presentation this afternoon and another big meal, I finally made it back to my room. Although the presentation did not raise any immediate questions about Christianity, later at dinner, we discussed and shared stories about the similarities and difference between Chinese and Canadian cultures. In many of the connections I make, I sense an openness and desire to learn more about the meaning of life.

If you are reading this blog, it is because my beautiful wife has edited and posted it for me.  (Petra do not edit the preceding sentence.) Thank you, Petra. Looking forward to seeing everyone again soon. Blessings from China.