I HAVE ARRIVED! After a very long flight, I have arrived at my destination.  Somehow, I lost a day while in transit.  I left at 8:30 Thursday morning and arrived 4:30 Friday afternoon.  I never saw the sunset during the entire time I was in the air.  Surprisingly, I haven't been adversely affected by jet lag and I have adjusted to the 12-hour time change quite well. I spent five days in Beijing touring around the impressive capital city.  While I was there I was able to see the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the Giant Pandas, and the Olympic Park.  China is nothing like what I imagined it would be and I am glad I had the opportunity to visit.

THE MAIN STORY (details have been changed for security purposes) I am volunteering with Mission Nannys, a group formed to help overseas missionary families through stressful situations by sending a Mission Nanny to serve alongside them.  We provide "extra hands" to help wherever necessary, doing whatever is needed to free up the missionaries time so that they can invest more time in their mission endeavors.  I am now at my destination and am staying with the family that I am serving.  It has been a wonderful transition and I am learning their daily routine.  It is safe to walk through the neighborhoods and everything that I may need is within walking distance.  Like most people here, we live in a tall apartment with no elevator.   There are over 100 stairs to reach our apartment floor level.  Needless to say, I will be fit as a fiddle by the time I leave this assignment! The food is quite delicious and bears little resemblance to Chinese food back home.  It has been fun sampling all of the different fruits and vegetables that are grown here.   Going to the markets and seeing all of the fresh produce displayed beautifully is one of my favorite things to do.  The vendors take the time to describe the vegetables and fruits that I am unfamiliar with.  My new favorite vegetable is lotus root, which is crunchy and used widely in Chinese dishes.  I also tasted pitahaya (dragon fruit) for the first time and it was delicious.  Most of the fruits have a squishy, unusual texture that I haven't become accustomed to yet.

WHAT DOES "CHURCH" LOOK LIKE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA? UNDERGROUND CHURCHES These are located in scattered apartments all throughout the neighborhoods.  Generally, up to thirty people attend each underground church.  On designated days a member of the church will host a service.  People casually drop by their apartment and a worship service is held.  They sing a few songs of worship....quietly....so they don't alert the neighbors about their activity.  A message is then preached followed by some fellowship time.  Basically, it's a small group meeting secretly in various apartments. I really enjoy the small group interaction.  If we happen to see a member in public, we never acknowledge that we know them and we keep walking past them.  People are being watched all of the time. "PUBLIC" CHURCHES There are a few churches which are able to rent out rooms for Sunday worship.  Others rent out ballrooms in hotels to host their services.  It is difficult to find landlords willing to rent to Christian churches.  There is a lot of pressure on them to NOT rent their properties to churches.  I attended an Easter service which was held in a ballroom of a major hotel.  This particular church has about 500 members and rents out a large room on Christmas and Easter to accommodate everyone who wants to attend.  Upon arrival, police are in the parking lot observing everyone who attends. Only foreigners are allowed into the church. Everyone must have their passports checked before entering the room.  During the Christmas service, police walked up and down the aisles and photographed everyone who was in attendance.  As we left, we had to pass through a gauntlet of official representatives from the government. Despite all of the hassle involved with attending the Easter service, it was one of the most wonderful experiences I've had.  It was a beautiful mix of nationalities coming together to praise and worship God.  In my opinion, it was a small glimpse of what heaven will look and sound like.

REASONS FOR PRAISE:   1.  Arriving safely and not getting lost during my week in Beijing! 2.  No lost luggage. 3.  Internet coverage.      (most of the time)

CHALLENGES One of the biggest challenges I face is keeping up with several energetic children who love to run and play soccer 24/7. The other challenge is learning the language.  I am beginning to think that I will never master even the basic words of conversation.  Maybe in time, with lots of immersion....this will change.

PRAYER REQUESTS Please pray that we all will continue to remain healthy and that I will have the endurance to keep up with three active little ones. Please pray that hot water will once again return to our apartment.  We don't know where it has gone, but it certainly isn't anywhere to be found in our apartment's faucets.