Sorry that it has taken so long to get back on deck, but will do my best to keep more info coming your way.

Don’t forget, this Friday night we have the Photo Hunt on, starting at 7:30pm to 9:30pm. Cost is $5 and for more info, please contact Cameron in the church office.

Today (Sunday) is our last day in Xian, and I’m typing this from the Bruce and Cheryl’s study, waiting for the rest of our team and the China workers to come over for a Sunday morning gathering. It’s been an amazing week or so. Eye opening in many ways, and life changing in others.

On Wednesday night, after dinner, a few of us decided to head back into the city and have a look at the Big Goose Pagoda. The building itself is very old and spectacular, but we found the things happening around it caught our attention. AS we came around one corner, there were about 400 people doing what appeared to be a Chinese version of the Macarena. Susan couldn’t help herself and jumped in right away. Fortunately she’s got the right stuff when it comes to street dancing and was able to pick it up quickly. It seems that this was just a normal event in which somebody brings a portable stereo and everybody else joins in.

Around the next corner, a small orchestra was playing and the crowd was singing songs about Chinese history and the ‘achievements’ of Chairman Mao. The singing happens every Wednesday night, and it’s open for anyone who wants to be there. Song books are handed out and the conductor does a great job of encouraging some heart and enthusiastic singing.

The next day, we caught a bus to see the Terracotta Warriors. We’d all seen them on telly before, but being face to face with a statue that is 2200 years old is quite an experience. As we stood there, gazing over the different pits, we tried to imagine all that had happened in the years between when they were made and now. If only these statues could speak!  Interestingly, the emperor that built them did so to ensure his power and leadership would continue beyond the grave – seeing how much effort the government is putting into preserving and promoting the site, it seems that the Qin Emperor may have been successful…

Melissa Bencik from Werribee Baps joined us for the trip and will stay with us for the rest of the trip. She’s been a great addition to the team and I think Belinda and Susan appreciate some moral support leading a team full of blokes.

In the evening we took part in our second English Corner, this time at XISU. Like last time, we chatted with students in the Uni grounds about anything and everything. What was different was the sheer number of students – anywhere from 300-400 people both from the university and the local area came to practice their English!!! It was an intense time as people crowded, pushed and jostled around us to ask questions, see our photo’s and basically learn more about the West. Three hours later we managed to extract ourselves from the crowds, but were pleased that we were able to share about our lives and faith and families, and ask the same sort of questions in return.

On Friday, we walked around to gain an appreciation of the religious life in Xian. We spent a few hours at the Buddhist Temple in the city – a large complex of many buildings, tranquil gardens and a community of monks. Buddhism here is a mix of traditional Buddhism, ancestoral worship, Animism and Taoism, making for an interesting mix of imagery and symbolism scattered through the temple.

We had lunch at a Muslim restaurant and then headed off to the Hui Quarter to visit the Mosque for afternoon prayers. Another very old complex of buildings, and a privilege to finally meet and see the Hui in real life. The Muslim people were very friendly, and a group of Muslim Pakastani students insisted on taking our photo’s and talking about the cricket!

In the evening we spent some time with half of the China team, hearing of their work, dreams and passions. They’re an inspirational lot, and we left thankful for the time we have had with them.

On Saturday we had a day off. Susan, Melissa, Asher and I hired bikes and rode the 14km around the top of the city wall around Xian. The girls risked it and rode a tandem, while the boys rode BMX bandit style on hybrids. It was lots of fun, but the pollution took it’s toll on the lungs when we came to the sprint stages.

For the rest of the day, we wandered around to do some people watching, and practiced our negotiation skills with the local stall holders. I think many of them will be lamenting the departure of that group of gullible foreigners later today! The evening was spent with the second half of the China team workers, and again, some inspiring stories of what is going on around the place.

We’re still all healthy and probably quite a but fitter than when we arrived. However, we’re each about 5 kilo’s heavier as a result of all the oily food, so we’re taking a collection to pay for the excess baggage fee for the trip home. The interaction with the Chinese people has been fun and we’ve managed to communicate through a mix of poor Mandarin, points, grunts and the Lonely Planet phrase book.

This afternoon, we leave for Xinning. the train trip will be a 15 hour trek through the Chinese country side, but we’ve been warned that it could be quite an uncomfortable ride – the ‘hard sleeper’ is not made to sleep tall people, so a few of the team are bracing themselves for a long train ride.

I’m not sure if I’ll have internet access for the next week or so, so don’t panic if there are no updates for a while.

Thanks again for your prayers and support!

Susan, Belinda, Cam, Asher, Brad, Richard and Matt

It was a bright and early start on Monday morning, but all seven of us made it to Tullamarine with ample time to spare. We had no problems checking in, though Asher did manage to get his toothpaste and Promite confiscated by customs!

The Cathay Pacific flight was very comfortable and uneventful. Cam was fortunate enough to get the requested exit row seat (he’s 192 cm tall), but as the plane was only half full, we all managed to spread out for some extra space when we needed it. The best effort on the 9 hour flight was Cam, who managed to squeeze in three movies. Brad finished on par in the golf. Susan was giggling at some comedy series most of the time. Belinda is still a bit bewildered by the bookworm game, but is hoping to master it on the way home…

The changed over at Hong Kong worked out very well, and we ended up not having to wait at all for our Dragon Air flight to Xian. Basically, we left one plane, got on a bus which took us to the next plane, got on it and took off.

We arrived in Xian just after dark, and were a little surprised by how few people we could see around the place and on the roads. The pollution was bad, but didn’t seem to affect us much. We boarded a bus to take us into the city and as we approached the city center, the number of people and amount of traffic increased dramatically. By the time we entered the city itself, we weren’t sure if we would survive the night, with cars, trucks, busses, motor bikes, scooters, bicycles and pedestrians travelling in every direction, seeming to ignore traffic lights and the general direction of the traffic flow. Quite a few motor scooters were seen traveling in the wrong direction, no helmets, no lights, with multiple passengers, the driver having one hand on the handle bars and the other sending a text message. Welcome to Xian!

We found a restaurant for dinner and managed to bumble our way through ordering. My dish was a little bit hotter than expected – a two chilly rating in Xian is NOT medium – but I managed to get it all down. Cam ate an eel dish with no ill effects!

Then it was time to find a bus to the Xian International Studies University motel where we would be spending this week. This was our first experience of the Xian public transport system. We quickly discovered that buses here are not designed for people with large backpacks – especially 192cm tall people with large backpacks! However, we managed to all get on the same bus and find our way to the university, where we were met by Bruce. After a quick run down of what was happening for the rest of the week, we retired to our rooms for what we hoped was going to be a long nights sleep.

At around 6:30am or so the next morning, we were woken by the sound of students outside practicing their English in the courtyard next to our rooms. Then at 7:00am the music started playing over the loud speakers. Then we just gave up and got up, ready for our day walking around Xian.

As we had arrived in the dark, this was our first real look at the city. It is enormous! It seems to keep going and going. Lots of people, lots of noise and lots of pollution. The city itself seems relatively free of litter, but the air is thick with smog. There is a mix of modern buildings that are very new, as well as traditional buildings that are hundreds of years old. We met Bruce and Cheryl mid morning and they accompanied us into the city, taking us on a walking tour of the area. We walked through the ‘arts precinct’, visited the wall sculpture depicting the history of Xian, saw some of the significant historical buildings, visited a Taoist temple, and had lunch with Geoff and Chrissy in a shopping centre that looked very much like Melbourne Central. After lunch, we walked through the Hui Quarter and met Helen, admiring her beautiful caligraphy and hearing some of her story. 

In the evening we spent some time in a casual English speaking class (called English Corner) where about thirty students came to ask us questions about where we lived and who was in our family. Brad proved to be popular with the Chinese girls, but were quite disappointed to learn he was engaged. Cam’s height, again, seemed to attract a lot of attention, with many of the students wanting their photo taken with him! The evening was lots of fun and the students would have happily chatted all night if we had let them.

At the end of a long day, we collapsed into bed with tired bodies and sore feet.

Today (Wednesday) we have been taking part in the English classes at XISU with Bruce, Cherly and Puii. All of us quickly realized that we don’t understand or speak English very well! The students practiced their English on us by asking similar questions to the night before. Our photo’s of home were particularly well received - the photo’s of any blonde children were favourites by far!

This afternoon is our first break for the trip, and I think most of us will use it to catch up on a bit of sleep. It has been an exciting introduction to Chinese life and culture, but it has been exhausting at the same time.

Health wise, everyone is doing well. Rich had a cold to begin the trip with, but that seems to be easing. Belinda got intimate with a snap-lock bag on the bus from Xian Airport, narrowly missing my legs with her lunch. Don’t tell her I told you that though…

We’re slowly getting used to the volumes of people. We’re working out the best ways to get across the road without risking our lives. We can now laugh (a little) at the kids who have slits in their pants so their parents can make them go to the toilet on the footpath, leaving the ‘deposit’ behind for somebody else to clean up or step in. We’re getting used to the onslaught of stall holders trying to convince us to buy their goods. We’re even getting used to the stares and interest we seem to be attracting as we walk around the place. Yet, it’s hard to get used to people snorting and spitting all the time. It’s hard to get used to pushing in, as there is no lining up for things here. And the toilets, well, I don’t think anyone will get used to squatting over a pit and then leaving the paper in a basket with everybody else’s…

Tomorrow we head out to the Teracotta Warriors before meeting more of the team in the evening.

I think I’ll have internet access again next Saturday, so I’ll update you again then.

Thanks again for your support and prayers.

Matt Glover

(on behalf of Susan, Belinda, Cam, Brad, Rich and Asher)

This decision has not been made lightly to postpone the camp, as all the youth leaders were really looking forward to what was planned for this amazing weekend.

Fortunately we have been able to reschedule the camp to later in the year, August 28-30 in Term 3. Put these dates in your diary as this will not be a camp to miss!

For further information regarding the camp please don’t hesitate to get in contact with Cameron at the office.

Instead of the camp, we will be holding Ignite Friday Night instead, 7:30pm-9:30pm downstairs at CHBC, See you there.

It’d be great to see you there, each week something different will be happening and these are not to miss nights.

Cost is $2, but so worth it.

Look forward to seeing you there!

These “lost” stories really speak to me on so many different levels, and are a great passage of the Bible. In particular the Parable of the Lost Son, which last year we heard a couple of messages on at church in the morning services. I really find the last bit of the reading moving and interesting.

The older brother is a bit upset and angry with the celebration that was being had due to the return of his brother. But his father takes him aside, and lets him know exactly where he stands and then says these words, ” For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!” And this is also a reference to us, and the fact that we have turned away from God, that we were lost in this world, but when we come to faith in Christ, we are found and have life!

For me, I continually focus on this passage as a reminder that even when I fail at times in my life and do things in my own strength, that I can come back to God, and I am found and have life!

I encourage you as you spend time in God’s word, to reflect on that as you engage in a relationship with Christ, that you are found and that you have life in Him.

I find this passage interesting, in particular the final phrase, where the Roman solider states that Jesus truly was the Son of God. In the midst of the darkness around him, with people hurling abuse at Jesus, and the mocking of Jesus for Him to save himself and come down from the cross, the solider still recognised that Jesus was the Son of God.

To think that there are times when I feel the world around me is in darkness, things aren’t going the right way, yet still you can see and recognise Jesus amongst the turmoil. I want to find Jesus among the turmoil in life, as He is the only one that can bring peace comfort and grace to my life.

I hope that as you read God’s Word, that it speaks to you and you grow in your relationship with Christ.

Cameron

Feel free to add comments, suggestions, thoughts and ideas that you have.

Here is also a place to add your thoughts from the readings and to view other people thoughts as we head off on this journey together of discovering who Jesus is and His life as we head towards Easter in April

I’m really looking forward and excited for the year ahead, the challenges, opportunities and all that is going to happen.

I challenge you this year to encounter God the best way you can, be challenged by Him and allow Jesus to shape you, to fulfil the purposes that Christ created you for.

It runs from 3:30pm to 5:30pm in the CHBC Foyer, come when you can, go when you must.

Refuel is an opportunity to build friendships with one another, have fun, talk through what is happening in life and encourage one another.

Recharge 2009 is a camp not to miss, with fantastic activities as well as times to explore life and how we can grow in Christ.

Registration forms will be available shortly.

More info contact Cameron.