Globe-trotting China: The Awesome Transition in Beijing and Xi'an

Guess where I am right now.

Give up?

Well, I am currently aboard on a train somewhere in China, going to HK. Amazing, isn't it. My prayer of around 5-6 months ago has been answered. I believe I wrote that prayer/plan in my web journal. Thanks to my UB (Ulaanbaatar) friends who provided for my ticket, accommodation and other stuffs to travel China for 10 days before I leave Mongolia for good. You know who you are. Thanks to my sisters in Christ too, Nelly and Berlie, who came with me to experience Great Wall and 17-km biking on the city wall of Xi'an. My utmost gratitude goes to our ultimate Provider who never fails to surprise me. My loudest shout of praise goes to Him, who uses every people and circumstances for His glory. Although thank you is never enough because this language is limited and nobody yet has invented a more powerful word other than those phrase, all I can ever say right now is thank you. Thank you, God. I owe it all to You.

Now the cabin light's turned off, a music of Surrender by Lincoln Brewster on the background, I have the perfect time to reflect on the good things that God has done in me on my last days in UB and my 10-day China journey. 

Ming's Tomb
Tianshou Mountain, 50km NW of Beijing

1. The people in my life I called friends. Especially those in my inner circle. They're the one who helped me see God's grace through their very lives. I thank the Lord for them. May the Lord bless them a hundred fold. I couldn't repay them physically but my Father will. Behold His unfathomable provision friends, The heavenly realm is already doing its work for you. Embrace it with awesome praises. I'll say it again, God bless you!

2. The people who loves me, even when we're not on the same skin pallet. I mean, we are not related when it comes to race or from the country where we came from, but they treated me as if I'm a long time friend and/or relative. I was able to see a glimpse of heaven because of their lives. I felt the love and care they showed me in my Mongolia stay, even to the point of:

• driving us up to the airport at 4 AM
• taking time to come up with a beautiful description of who Aunt Jef is for them using scrabble tiles
• giving a cute hair tie and a letter I could understand even if it is difficult for her to express her thoughts in English
• meeting us up even in her inconvenience to give her gift of my framed name in mongolian/cyrillic script 
• throwing us a lunch despedida with matching precious gifts and pabaons
• giving me a cute baked clay rose that she hand-made with a short word of affirmation: You are awesome Aunt Jef
• throwing me a huge hug a week before I leave because she'll be going to Japan and she won't be able to see me on my last Sunday at church
• a simple, "I'm gonna miss your worship leading"
• hugging me tightly and saying, "promise me to visit us in Java or Papua on our break!"

My American Family made this for me. Sweet.

Hayy Lord. The sad thing about this is that, it will likely be difficult for us to see them again because they are living in different places around the world. But the connection will still be there. Lord grant me the time to catch up with them. Bless them more and more.

3. My prayer partners. They may or may not be with me physically, but their prayers are more powerful than any other gifts I received. They love to be seated on the backstage but in fact, like me, we are on the front line in advancing God's kingdom. I don't exactly know how many they are. Sometimes they disguised themselves as my friends (see point#1), sometimes they exist as a member of my church or previous churches I've been to; or my best friend. Whoever you are, I am grateful for your unceasing prayers. Thank you for tapping God's power and helping me release His blessings for me to cope up with life.

4. Great Wall and Shopping Adventure.

This picture welcomed me when I reached the top at Mutyaniu/ Mutianyu:

A peek from the wall window

We went uphill on a cable car, and descending was a lot more fun. We rode on this thing called toboggan. It has a stop-and-go controller between your legs and all you have to do is to pull it back to you or push it forward to stop or move respectively. More like our old school wooden scooter way back in our pre-teen years, but a techy-er one. Another entry has been crossed out from my bucket list again. Woohoo. 

Berlie and Nelly on toboggan ride

I also got to experience a shopping market where the seller's the one asking, "how much?". Ha! Quite strange but yeah, Silk Market is  a place where you can discuss the price of an item you wanna buy. People said that goods are usually overpriced 3-5 times it's normal price so even if you buy it for half its selling price, vendors will still earn a profit. Now that's something to learn from Chinese businessmen. Berlie bought a bag with a price of 750 RMB and she got it for 150. How's that.

Food is also one thing in China. I've been to a lot of Chinese restos in and out of my country before I visited China but curiosity goes out of me when I wonder how do Chinese food really taste in China. Well, not anymore 'cause I got the chance to try some of them: from their famous and exotic street foods to  their not-so-Chinese foods. *drools*

5. Xi'an's Terracotta Warriors and the 17-km biking on the city wall. Back in the days between the stone age and metal age (well, more like the Flintstone age where all people walk in barefoot, was the exact feeling I had during our day-long visit at Terracotta, Xi'an. The numerous piles of thousand years old clay soldiers in a war position that covers almost two football field amazed us as we enter the first pit. Woa.

These are original ones. I have to over-emphasize it.

Pose with the replicas.

It was gloomy the whole time while we were in Xi'an. We took the train from Beijing for 6 hours and continued our adventure there. My two friends who had been in Jerusalem last year were repeatedly saying that the wall was just about the same as the wailing wall they'd seen in the Holy Land. And it felt like I've been to Jerusalem too, thanks to the two. Added to my happiness is that we were able to rove around the wall using our rented bikes oyea! It took us almost two hours to finish the 17-km long bike ride. Did I say we were on the top of the wall when we rode our bikes? And did I mention it was 13deg above zero and was raining when we did it?

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It's 10:30 PM on my watch. Series of songs were already played on my song list but I can still remember the first song that came up as I was starting to write this blog.. for that song fits perfectly on my next life journey:

I'm giving You my heart, all that is within.
I lay it all down, for the sake of You my King.

Surrender is probably my life's favorite theme as of today. A good reminder that He is our highest good, that everything is meaningless compare to the joy found in Him.