Beijing to Manila: night and day

After a semi-harrowing day of travel arrangements that began Sunday morning in Nanchang and ended last night in Manila (we had to buy my airfare to Manila in the Beijing airport on Monday morning, then I was on a different flight than Dori, then I had a strange layover in the southern China city of Xiamen just to go through an immigration checkpoint), we are now with Justin and Erin McDonald in The Philippines. What an amazing, enchanting place. Justin and I spent the morning exploring the part of Manila right around their condo, which is located on the eighth floor of a 22-story building. My love of cities was rekindled in this lively place filled with warm, friendly people. I can also see over almost everyone's head when we're in the train.

Needless to say, I've already taken hundreds of pictures here in Manila. Tonight, we'll ride the bus 12 hours south and ride a ferry to the island of Bicol, where Justin and Erin will eventually be living as missionaries. We will return on Friday, then head to a Chris Tomlin/Louie Giglio concert. After spending Saturday and Sunday checking out the city and hanging out with our long-lost Fallbrook comrades, we will fly back to China on Monday to continue our work with Bring Me Hope. Thanks for staying with us as we jet around Southeast Asia...

Here are some of the photos from last night and this morning.

Last night, after our arrival at the Manila airport, Justin and Erin picked us up and took us back to their condo. After dropping our stuff off, we headed around the corner for an amazing dinner of chicken inasal, which is basically barbecued chicken that's spread over garlic rice. It was surprisingly good.

And, of course, the hand-made sauce was key to our meal.

This is the view from the top of Justin and Erin's building.

And here is the view looking up from the street.

The train is super cheap to ride, and we rode it twice this morning on our way to a nearby mall and to get haircuts, which was also a great experience. Justin and I walked into a barbershop full of Filipinos with about a quarter-inch of hair apiece and asked for haircuts. It's the first time I've ever had my hair buzzed down to my scalp, but I still have my beard. After the buzz, my barber put no less than three different products on my head, wiped it down with a hot towel and rubbed my shoulders. The whole thing cost about $2.

There are regular taxis here, and then there are the "Jeepnies." I can't really explain them, so have a look for yourself:

Please continue to pray for us as we spend the next three days at Bicol. Traveling mercies and health, as usual, are still at the top of our list. But we also praise God that we have already had some sweet fellowship with Justin and Erin in the 18 hours we've been here. Until next time.

Two weeks of camp are over

... and the next leg of our adventure begins. On Monday, we will fly to Manila in The Philippines to spend a week with our dear friends, Justin and Erin McDonald. They're in Manila learning Tagalog while they prepare for the mission field, which happens to be a tropical island in the southern part of the country. We will also be visiting that island with them for a few days, so I should be able to post some great photos from the Philippines.

After that, we'll be flying back to Beijing and hooking up with the other Bring Me Hope group, including David and the Bolt sisters, who are located about six hours from Beijing by train. There, I'll be working on the book for three weeks. Dori will be coming home on Aug. 10.

These two weeks have been eye-opening and heart-breaking. There have been some amazing stories happening right before our eyes, and I look forward to relating those to you when we get home. For now, though, I'll leave you with some photos of our time, including two that were taken inside a Chinese orphanage.

This is Jonny doing what he did best: Coloring.

This was taken inside the orphanage in Nanchang.

Two of "our" boys walking to their home inside the orphanage complex.

And every Thursday night, there are fireworks that the staff set off in the hotel parking lot.

Please keep Thinking of us as we travel around Asia and love our Brothers, Sisters and orphans, and anyone else Dad puts in our path to love. We are so blessed to be here, and blessed to have such wonderful families and friends back home. We love you all.

This...

... is Jonny. He's a little slow, but he remembers one phrase very clearly. And he doesn't talk a whole lot, but he repeated this phrase several times into my translator's ear tonight when we asked him if he could remember anything about his childhood. It was the last thing his parents ever said to him.

"Wait here, and I'll come back for you."

A Nanchang Saturday -- in photos

We had some free time today, so set about the daunting task of hand-washing the week's accumulation of dirty laudry. After that, we headed into downtown Nanchang, to an all-too-familiar retail store. There was more than a little irony to shopping at this particular store in this particular country. Then we ate at McDonald's and came home. Enjoy.

The task...

The instructions...

The washing machine...

Add a little elbow grease...

A little music...

And a little more spin cycle... (I really did help, I was just taking the pictures at these precise moments.)

Now we're off to downtown Nanchang and...

That's right, Wal-Mart. The lightning rod of labor unions across the United States, hated for its low wages and low prices. Well, guess what? The prices are even lower in China. Plus, there were these sweet escalators in the middle of the two-story store that were outfitted to accept shopping carts as well as customers. Pretty slick.

And no shopping trip would be complete without candy. Lots of candy.

Tomorrow is a well-deserved and much-needed day of rest, then we start the madness again. Thanks for staying up to date with us, and please continue to remember us in your Thoughts as we labor in love for the orphans. We love and miss you all.

Week one kids are gone

This update won't have pictures because I haven't had the time to process them since we got back from the orphanage this afternoon. We had the privilege of driving the orphans back to their home, since this group lives about an hour away from where we're having camp. What a great experience. We walked them each to their respective houses in the compound, where each house's "mother" met us with a smile, set out stools for us and dished out water and snacks. They were very sweet, and made us feel a little bit better about having to leave these precious kids. One of our girls, the younger one who has, perhaps, experienced more abuse, went with a separate group of orphans to a facility about three hours away. All in that cohort of kids were thin, and several always ate as if it was their last meal, so I'm not sure if I have confidence about her living conditions.

Mom, the orphanage we visited today is where Peam lives, and we had our picture taken with her on the front steps of the main building. I'll send it to you separately.

A little more on our travel plans: None of our flights will need to be changed. Dori is still flying to Manila next week, and I'll be seeing her off and picking her up in Beijing on either end of that side trip. As for me, it looks like I may be traveling to the earthquake zone by train during the week she's gone, then hooking up with the rest of Bring Me Hope for the remaining three weeks of my trip.

Our health has still held out, aside from a few headaches and upset stomachs. So much about this trip is different from last year, however, and it's been fantastic experiencing a completely new side of China. Come to think of it, I haven't seen a white person who was not attached to Bring Me Hope the entire time we've been in Nanchang.

Thank you all for your Thoughts. We are having a wonderful time, and I can't wait to get home and tell you all--over a cup of genuine, strong coffee--what our Father has done and will do with the rest of our stay in the People's Republic.

Nanchang, China: Week one

Finally, my first 2008 post from China! So much has happened already, and so much that we had anticipated has changed. I can’t detail it all here, but hopefully I will have more time to blog later. The local authorities have clamped down on us out of simple suspicion (dozens of Americans and Australians in the rural hills invites all kinds of attention), and there are only three Internet connections in the whole hotel. That's why it's taken this long for me to post an update.

After 32 hours of traveling, we arrived on Sunday evening in Nanchang—actually, in the mountains outside of Nanchang. The setting looks like this:

There are forests of bamboo on the hills—huge bamboo with leaves and six-inch-thick trunks. I’ve never seen anything like it. Then, surrounding the road to downtown Nanchang are dozens of terraced farms like you see in the movies. My translator told me while walking to lunch on Tuesday that this area is one of the oldest in China, with thousands of years of history. As we drive through the countryside, I wonder which abandoned buildings are modern and which are ancient; which terraces were in use last year and which were abandoned before cars and printing presses were invented. It’s certainly a rich place, and much more interesting than last year’s setting.

The hotel we are staying in has four floors of rooms, with the first three overlooking a large plaza where we hold assemblies and play games with the orphans.

It’s oppressively hot outside, and the 10-minute walks to the restaurant where we eat lunch and dinner are among the hottest I’ve experienced. The room that Dori and I are sharing has ice-cold air conditioning, though, so we have a convenient haven when the heat gets the best of us.

Both of us have been healthy and safe since we left California. So far, I haven’t had any problems except a small headache Tuesday morning. Dori had a headache and upset stomach that same day, but after spending the morning in the AC, she was feeling better and downstairs that afternoon, helping our two orphans with their crafts.

This week, we were assigned one translator and two girls as a couple, so the five of us get to go everywhere and do everything together. It’s nice being in the same “family” as Dori, although she can relate to the girls better than I can. I hope to have a couple of boys next week to roughhouse with and toss around in the pool.

Which brings me to the final item I’ll describe in this post: the huge public pool in the center of Nanchang where we’ll be spending a portion of almost every day with the kids. It’s an Olympic-sized lap pool only half filled with water to accommodate children, and the orphans love it. I was fascinated the first time we went there because it’s surrounded by 10-story buildings on every side.

A few things for our supporters to keep in your “Thoughts”:

1) Quite a few things have changed this year from what we originally expecting. Bring Me Hope’s Beijing camp had to move elsewhere for reasons I can’t get into, and it definitely affects what I was supposed to be working on and our travel plans. Family members, we’ll update you by phone on when and where we’ll be going, but none of the big stuff has changed…

2) “What I was supposed to be working on.” Things are a lot tighter than last year, and moving around the country could get interesting. With Beijing out of the question, I’ll be relying on my Father to help me seize the right opportunities and meet the right people. Please keep this foremost in your Thoughts.

3) The leaders of Bring Me Hope. They’re having to adjust and be creative in the face of changes and challenges flying in from all directions, and at a dizzying pace. The Bolts preparing for camp in a city most of us have never heard of, less than a week after they were going full-bore with plans to set up shop in Beijing. With the Olympics in town, things can change at a moment’s notice.

4) Even with all of the difficulties I’ve described, there have already been some blessed, inspiring moments, and we rejoice in the simple relationships that are forming between us and the various orphans who are our entire purpose for being here.

Thank you all for your Thoughts and support. We will try to keep you all as updated as possible through this blog and our e-mail loop at tom.and.dori@gmail.com

We love you; stay in touch.

Two more random photos. This is downtown Nanchang:

And this is one of the little orphans at camp this year. I don't know his name, but he's malnourished and eats more than anyone else--even myself and the other men--at each meal. He weighs around 40 pounds, I'd estimate, and he could sure use your "Thoughts."