For most of us the summer is winding down and we are starting to get back to the normal day to day ritual of work, church, and school. This can be a positive or negative aspect of our life. In my life for example it is both. I’ll start with the negative.

Nicole starts back with school this week which means she turns into the spawn of Satan. Just kidding on that one. It does mean that she becomes a bit more stressful because she has 20+ six year olds wondering when the next bathroom break is and if they can sit upside down in their chair while blowing bubbles with their chewing gum. With that case she still does a great job in the classroom. On my part it means that the students at church can become less in tuned with the what is going on and become more in tune to what is going on at school. Though my responsibility is different than Nicole’s it still has similarities.

With Nicole she is required to teach the students a certain curriculum that the state requires. If she does not teach that curriculum (to the students’ understanding) then the students’ performance on the quarterly testing will show that. This means that she will be “viewed” as not doing her job. With myself, I in fact are doing the same. I am required by God to teach the students a certain curriculum that God requires. If I do not teach that curriculum (to the best of my God given ability) then the students’ performance in life may show that. This means that I will be “viewed” as not doing my job.

Both require great work, but come with great blessings. (The positive is next) There is almost nothing else that makes me as happy to get to lead someone to Christ. To my amazement God has allowed me to do this a number of times this past year. God has also allowed Nicole and I to minister to a great number of different students since last school year started. In Nicole’s classroom she is able to share with some of the students because they will ask her about her church or about my job. In my ministry I’m able to share with lots of different folks because of my position as Youth Pastor.

As it has been for the last few years we try to relax when both of us are home together after the “hard” days at work. (We really don’t have it hard at all compared to others) I have learned from the book The 5 Love Languages that one of Nicole’s love languages are quality time. This meaning turn of the T.V., put up the computer and video games, and sit down and talk…….Oh how every man loves that. I on the other hand really do not mind it because we get to talk about the future, about our day, and about the great things that God is doing in our lives.

In all actuality going back to normal really isn’t all that bad when you take into consideration all the blessings God has given you.

Keep fresh and make Jesus Christ a priority,
Chris

Our last stop was the capital of the great asian nation of China. Beijing is home to great things like the Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, and The Great Wall of China. One aspect of China that we figured out was there were lots of Chinese people. I felt great about it, but Nicole on the other hand did not. She said at one time, “It seems like everyone is looking at me.” In my reply to be funny, “They are probably mad at you for taking one of their own as your husband.” She then believed me and we kept on walking.

The journey started with a check in to our hotel a day early because the train ride from Xi’an fell through and we booked a last minute flight to Beijing. One, we were hoping that the taxi driver could speak english so we could tell him where to go. That plan fell through. Two, we were hoping that the hotel would not be full because we needed a place to stay and did not want to go hunting at 10pm in a place we have never been before. That plan cost us. There was a room, but it was the “Superior Executive Rip me off Suite.” Though it cost us an arm and a leg it did have antique Chinese furniture and an antique Chinese bed. That stuff really did not impress me too much. What I did like was the wall mounted flat screen with Wireless Internet and a computer for browsing on the flat screen. Plus, the refrigerator had COMPLIMENTARY drinks. That was a first.

We got a good nights rest, headed downstairs to checkout and checkin to our new rooms, and headed for Tienanmen Square. Luckily Nicole did her research and the Square was only about 1/2 mile down the road from where we were staying. So we walked to find that there was a million Chinese people touring the grounds. Nicole’s reaction was, “I thought all these Chinese people would have seen this already.” I don’t think we seen a white person the whole time we were there at the square. We did see plenty of umbrella’s though. It did not matter if it was a macho asian man, or a little old lady, they had an umbrella. Some of the men even had pink flowery umbrellas, but I don’t blame them. It was super hot out there and with a million folks around you it makes it even more intense. The main attractions there were Chairman Mao’s picture and the gates to the walls of both the Forbidden City and out into the square. We did not spend a lot of time there but we did see the sites, took some pictures, and headed for a place to eat lunch across town. The night was not much more exciting as we toured a bit and then headed back to the hotel for another night.

The 2nd day would prove to be the most enduring. After having a great buffet breakfast at the hotel we got a taxi to take us to the train station which takes you to one of the main locations of the Great Wall. The hardest part about the taxi rides are hoping that you get to the location because you cannot communicate with the driver nor do you have any idea where you are going. Not to my surprise the taxi driver dropped us off at a place where we could see the train station but not get to it. He motioned us to walk around the corner and cut through the back of some building. I should have took a picture of where we were going because it seemed as if it would be the last picture we would ever take. We listened to the taxi driver and walked around the corner to where about 4 asian men with no shirts were sitting down. As we walked past I kept my eye on them and they stood up…..at this point in my mind there were a lot of things going through. Should I say something to them, ask them a question, get my fists ready to fight, etc. I told Nicole to get ready to run if they come toward us and that those guys would get a Camera, iPad, and headphones to the face if they tried something. Then I would take off running. If you know me you know that i’m not a fighter, but I can run like the wind. Nothing happened and who knows what they thought about us coming back there. As we figured, there was no entrance to the train station from there so we had to walk back to the street, walk up the street, and make our way to the front entrance. This train station was a bit better than the one in Xi’an in that there wasn’t 10,000 asians trying to get to the Great Wall. Easy as pie we bought the tickets and then made plans to head to the Bird’s Nest and Watercube before our train left.

The Bird’s Nest and Watercube were the main spots for the 2008 Summer Olympics and a main attraction now for Beijing. This would be my first experience to go to a Summer Olympics site overseas. The Chinese know how to build it big and uniquely. The Bird’s Nest looks to be a building designer’s nightmare, not in a bad way. This was the most out of ordinary design for a building I have ever seen. Props go to all the little Chinese people who help build that place. The Watercube was also neatly built, but in the day time you do not get to see it’s glamor because it’s presentation exemplifies at night when the whole building lights up. After a few pictures we purchased some tickets and then headed into the Bird’s Nest to walk around and see the inside. Spending about an hour there awestruck, we realized we needed to go back to the train station and hired another taxi. Again hiring a taxi was no easy matter. The first guy we talked to said 150 rmb ($23), which is about 3 times as much as we paid to get there. I told him real quick he could kiss my tail feather. Just kidding of the tail feather part, but that is what I was thinking at the time. We then found another taxi about 100 feet away and he drove us there for about 20 rmb ($3.50). The only problem was the guy brought us to the same crazy alley way the other guy did and said that we could walk around back. By then I looked up how to say “NO” and told him in a stern voice and motioned to the front of the station. He then dropped us off at the correct spot and we headed for the train.

At the terminal we met a couple and their kids. I started a conversation with the husband (John) because he had a pizza, and I wanted to know where he found it because we did not want Asian food anymore. After a few laughs about the culture we kind of hit it off. Nicole conversed with the kids and John’s wife and we actually were on the same section of the train together. At this point, Nicole and I had not eaten anything for lunch so we were a bit hungry. Out of the blue, as we are in route to the Great Wall, I hear “Pizza Delivery” and John’s wife brought Nicole and I three slices of pizza. This was a blessing from God! It’s crazy how God meets your needs even though you are not even expecting or asking when you are in his will. So I gave him a quick line of “thank you” and that it was the best pizza I’ve had in China. In which, he knew that it was the only pizza we had it China. Oh, and I forgot to add, one of the reasons we started talking was because he spoke ENGLISH! Very uncommon in China if you were wondering.

The train made it to the station and we headed to the entrance of the Great Wall of China ta Badaling with our new friends. Oh my, this one of the coolest aspects of the whole trip. A wall that has history before Christ’s time and has been stretched of upwards to 10,000 miles. Some believe even more. This thing was grand and I was glad I did not wear flip-flops on this day. On a small estimate we probably scaled, climbed, hiked, and walked about 3 miles of this portion. In my mind, if we do 3 miles a year of the great wall we will have the whole thing explored in a bit over 3,333 years. Even if we did 3 miles a day, every day of the year, it would take over 9 years to walk the whole thing. I think the Chinese food would get to me before then. Total time spent there was about 5 hours and then we headed back to the train station for the trek back to the hotel. On the way back John told me if we wanted something good to eat (American) we should checkout the Hard Rock Beijing.

So as any hungry person looking for American food would do, we hired another taxi. Not to my surprise again the taxi driver dropped us off at some hotel and motioned his hand for us to go around back of the hotel. We paid him and got out and went straight to ask someone else how to get there, finding out it was about 2 blocks down the road. Word of advice if any Chinese Taxi Drivers are reading this, IF YOU DON’T KNOW DON’T NOD YOUR HEAD AND SAY YES IN ENGLISH. We found it went in and “to my surprise” seen all the white people of Beijing. I guess this was the hangout place for Americans. The funny part was the Emo Asian band (The Hurricane) that was singing a bunch of old 80s music. They were actually good. Next to us at a long table were about 10 tall black guys and 2 white guys. Nicole then asked, “Who are they?” like I am suppose to know who tall black people are. Though this time I did. The And1 Basketball Team was taking a tour of China and playing at some local hot spots. I did not find this out until I went over and chatted with them. They were really polite and had the same humor about the band as we did. After eating the best BBQ Sandwich and Chicken Tenders ever, Nicole and I went back to the hotel and hit the bed.

The last full day would be filled with the Forbidden City tour, shopping at the Pearl Market, and dinner at Outback Steakhouse. It was neat to see where the country of China was managed from in the old days. We took some pictures, but really did not spend a lot of time there because we wanted some pearls. The pearl market was really neat in that it had everything you could imagine electronic, clothing, and jewelry wise. Though it was all “knock-offs” (except the pearls) that would be the fun of it because it was JEW time. Our first stop was the top floor where we met Wang Shen Yang, a girl, that sold us some pearls. Wow, these things are beautiful, and cheap. We were able to purchase some and then we headed down to the clothing for some cheap Pashminas, Polo’s, and all kind of other stuff. Nicole went for the Pashiminas and I went to start and bargain for some clothes. We had a good time at that because the Chinese people are good sports when it comes to that. I probably paid too much for the shirts, but it was fun going back and forth lowering and raising the price. After that experience we then traveled to the greatness of Beijing, Outback Steakhouse. I knew this would not rival the Ruth Chris Steak that I had in Hong Kong, but it would be filling. It was great and we made our way back to the hotel to pack up and get ready for the flights home.

All together I would give Beijing a 7/10. It was really spectacular to see the main sites of the city, but other than that there was nothing that impressed me about Beijing. I can tell that they are slacking off the “hospitality” that was presented during the Olympic games. Hopefully it will not go to far down hill and it will still be a place where lots of people travel to see the main attractions.

I look forward to posting a few more stories on the blog so keep in touch and don’t forget the Jesus is the MAN!
Chris

Xi’an pronounced in Bayou English (She-Ann) was the stop after Hong Kong for our journey around Asia. The main attraction in Xi’an is the Terracotta Warriors. You can get more information about them at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_warriors.

Nicole and I watch the discovery channel fairly often and when we seen the special on the Terracotta Warriors we knew that we wanted to check them out on our trip around Asia.  Coming from Hong Kong and Singapore we really did not know what to expect from the people because both Hong Kong and Singapore are very high-class.

Upon landing in Xi’an we knew that it was going to be really different because it was pitch black darkness.  It reminded us of when we went to Africa and landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport.  Total darkness as far as you could see because there were no buildings.  Taking that in to consideration we put our happy faces on, made it through customs, and hired a taxi.

About an hour down the road we arrived at the hotel to find out that Expedia had upgraded us to better room……and was it better.  Oh my goodness, this room was magnificent.  Probably the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in, and the nicest room that we have ever been in.  The office area….yes office area….in the room was larger than our Hong Kong or Singapore room.  Need less to say we started in Xi’an with a great attitude.  The next day would turn our smiles upside down though.

After talking to the hotel staff and checking out we headed to the train station to purchase our tickets to get from Xi’an to Beijing on an overnight train ride.  We had a “plan” to get the first class room with 2 beds and our own bathroom.  After making our way through the craziness of the Xi’an train station we found out that there were no more seats available on the train to Beijing.  We found out also that a “plan” may not go how you like it when you are overseas.

Putting our travels to Beijing on the back burner we made our way to the bus stop headed to the Terracotta Warriors.  May I also add that the traffic in China is purely ridiculous.  It seems like there are no laws when it comes to where your vehicle may travel on the road.  Numerous times while we were in line we had to break line because a car was cutting through the bus stop parking lot.  More to come on the traffic situation of China.

One aspect I did like about the bus trip to the Terracotta Warriors was it only cost about $3 US.  This was no short ride either.  It took us about an hour to get there.  On the bus we met the little Asian that could TALK YOUR HEAD OFF.  I’m guessing he was telling us about ever single thing we were passing but I couldn’t understand him.  He talked for the entire hour bus ride…..through his microphone and belt mounted loudspeaker.  I mean come on, we are on a bus, not on a football field.  I did in fact pull out my video camera on my phone and recorded him.  It is funny to watch now and think back on how someone could talk that much.

The bus ride ended with much enjoyment to us and the “little Asian that could” telling us in the only English he knew, “LAST STOP, GET OFF THE BUS!”  So we jumped off the bus and headed into the main attraction of Xi’an, the famed Terracotta Warriors.  Let me tell you, this was probably the most spectacular thing I have ever seen in my life.  The intricacy of the statues were phenomenal given that these date before Christ’s time.  Total we spent about 3 hours there looking at the multiple sites of the warriors, taking pictures, and just being mesmerized.

We headed back to the bus hoping that the “little Asian that could” would not be there (and he wasn’t) and trying to make a plan on how we would get to Beijing.  Our hotel had an internet cafe so we went straight there and looked at some flights, but could not book them because it was less than 12 hours before the flight departed.  Come to find out that this hotel had a travel agent that spoke great English and was able to book us a flight to Beijing that night.  All praise to Jesus on that.

Figuring out that we had only about two hours before we needed to check in we headed down to get a taxi. And boy were we in for a treat. The hotel staff must have told him to drive like his life depended on it, when they translated, because he did. This guy would drive off the road, through red lights, and through the bicycle lane. This guy had no regard for human life. The hour trip with traffic turned into about a 35 minute high-speed off-road race to death. Thanks to God for still having a plan for my life because I thought I was going to see him a few times on that ride.

In summary, Xi’an was only good for its Hotel and attraction. Everything else did not win my satisfaction. Stay tuned because there is more to come about our journey to the capital city, Beijing.

Make sure Christ lives in you and through you,
Chris

As the travels moved on from Singapore, Hong Kong was the destination next in the “Orient” for Nicole and I. I hate to start on the negative, but I have to warn anyone about this airline. JET STAR ASIA SUCKS! It was 2 1/2 hours of Hades. I guess you get what you pay for ($106 for one-way/each). I think that I posted that, “if you were CHINESE size” it would not be a problem. But since I am taller than 5′ than it was a huge problem. Especially when the person in front leaned their seat back.

Enough of the negative and on to the positive about our Hong Kong Experience. We arrived at 10:30a got to the Cosmopolitan Hotel, ate a $20 BLT and went straight to sleep. FOR 18 HOURS STRAIGHT! We were so tired from the Singapore trip, and the time difference that our bodies just wanted to sleep…and that is what we did. Probably the best sleep I’ve had since Steven Sanders and I went running for a few weeks at 5am in the morning then went back to his house to sleep until Lighthouse called at 11am for lunch. (Little side note)

Day 2 in Hong Kong was a bit more promising since we were rested up. Lantau Island was the place and the Big Buddha statue was the attraction in our sights. Nicole’s book said it would be about a 5 hour trip total. We walked to Times Square (Hong Kong edition) from the Hotel and hopped on the MTR Subway to take us to the bus stop for the Big Buddha. I was glad I brought my walking shoes because it was 268 steps just to the bottom of the Buddha statue….not counting the 1/2 mile you walk to get there from the bus stop. (Need less to say we have gotten our fair share of walking on this trip – another side note.) This is more of a “Been there done that” kinda thing. I think I enjoyed the view from Big Buddha’s butt more than the front. To explain: from his “backside” you could see the South China sea, which was very beautiful. After a bag of chips some Gatorade and some more unhealthy food we headed back to the hotel where we slept for another 14 hours. I think we missed Dinner on this night also.

Day 3 was wide open as we were saving the best for last. After a McDonald’s breakfast we headed for the MTR to take us to the Ferry to Kowloon. Our search was to find the Jade Market. After a “quick” 2-mile HOT walk we ran into it. It made Nicole and I feel like we were back in Guatemala because of all the people asking us to buy stuff like we have money because we are white…..well, she is white….I’m just half. We did buy a Christmas ornament though. (That is one of the things Nicole and I started when we were dating was to buy ornaments from everywhere we visited for our Christmas tree. Side note number 3.) The night for us was to not go to sleep and head for another country. This country being owned by Portugal and the top Gambling site of the world: Macau. I was craving Snow Crab so we headed to the Venetian. I found it on Wikipedia and it said it had Snow Crabs so we were on our way to find out that it did not have snow crabs. We then went to the Sands and located the Snow Crabs. Nicole was very picky as they had some crazy food there (not as crazy as Beijing, but that’s another post). We headed back about 9pm and passed customs again to get into Hong Kong and went on our way to sleep.

Day 4 would be our last full day in Hong Kong and we wanted it to be the best. We started by making the trip to the South China Sea at Repulse Bay. We didn’t know that we were about to meet our maker with the bus ride though. I thought I was riding with one of the youth…..this guy was crazy. We arrived, hit the beach, got some ice cream, and started taking pictures. The view was spectacular. The interesting aspect of the beach was that it was almost like gravel because of all the small rocks. The gulf beaches trump these by far. While there I started getting messages from Eddie Turrentine (better 3rd of the brothers). Teddie will not read this so I can talk smack about him a little. Just kidding, Love ya Pastor Terry. (That’s what my mom calls him sometimes). Our plan was to go to The Peak for the lookout over Hong Kong. Eddie wanted to meet us and have dinner with us so we planned to meet at the Peak then head to Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. After arriving at the Peak, Eddie had changed gears. More on that in a bit. The view from the Peak was marvelous. The skies were clear so we could see for miles. We stayed up there about 30 minutes just viewing and taking a few pictures then headed to Eddie’s choice for dinner, RUTH CHRIS HONG KONG. This would be a first for Nicole and I so we were pumped on the inside, but didn’t want to act out of order on the outside. The steak was probably one of the top 3 steaks I’ve ever had in my life. WOW, was that thing good. Nicole loved hers and said, “We should go back when we get back home.” Since Eddie generously offered to pay I didn’t mind going. Since I would have to pay when we get home, I might choose to go to Food Tiger and pickup a steak. The meal was great, but the time spent with Eddie was much better. One word sums the day: Fabulous!

The last day was pretty much a travel day as we were headed to Xi’an, China. Hong Kong was super nice, but I’m not sure if we will ever plan to come back. It is very expensive like Chicago and busy like New York, and since we are cheap folk our next vacation may be to Lucedale, MS. I look forward to having many stories about China so stay posted.

Remember as always to keep Jesus first,
Chris

Verified by Nicole and I, Singapore wins as the cleanest country in the world.  Even though we haven’t been many places, I can tell that they mean business by having a $500 fine for spitting on the street. (which I did twice by accident and hurried to run from the police)

The main part of this trip was to see my family and spend time with them.  Most of them met us at the airport and it was great to see them.  I could recognize my Aunt Angelena by her face because she looks just like my mom.  Total we got to see 11 of my family members, 8 of them I have never met before.  

Hotel 81 was what we called home and it was about 7 feet wide and 10 feet long not including the bathroom/shower combo .  Though it was small it was in the perfect location.  We were in the heart of Chinatown and very close to the MRT subway station.  My family was gracious enough to not allow us to pay for anything so we were given the rooms, and MRT cards for free.  The first night was late as we went straight eat dinner and then back to the hotel to get settled.  This was fantastic because we had just finished traveling about 30+ hours (about 6 spent in Seoul, South Korea).  

Day 2 started fairly early with going to eat at the local McDonalds (for free Wi-Fi) and then meeting up with my aunt to eat again.  I would have to say that we ate more in 3 days here than we eat in a whole week in America.  After a breakfast, brunch, and then lunch we went to the Hippo tour.  This gave us a quick tour of downtown Singapore and took us to the Singapore Flyer (tallest ferris wheel in the world).  Before eating again we took a trip to Mt. Vernon and took some pictures on Grandmother’s grave.  Mom has never seen this so we brought a flower in her honor and shot some video to show her when we get back home.  The dinner planned to be interesting because I knew we would be trying some things we never have eaten before.  I think the only weird food we ate that night was Octopus.  Nicole almost choked because it attached to her throat on the way down.  Once we stabbed it a few times it was ok…..(just kidding, it was dead). 

Day 3 was again another day of eating and touring.  Uncle William didn’t meet us for dinner the night before but planned to spend the whole day with us on this day.  This was the first time I had met Uncle William so it was a very nice encounter.  The first question he asked when we met was, “Are you hungry?”  From eating we went on a walking tour of the downtown area with a history lesson about what the family use to do before the “modernization” of Singapore.  It was really nice to hear about mom’s childhood.  We did get to go to the highest sky park in the world on top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  This place was AWESOME!  Probably the finest hotel I have ever been in.  Then night plans where to see the only Night Safari in the world.  Though we have already been to the Serengiti this was to be a cool experience because of being able to see some nocturnal animals.  It was great as expected and my Uncle Stewart picked us up and brought us back to the hotel.  

The last full day consisted of a little bit of relaxing, shopping, and yes….eating.  By this time Nicole was getting tired of the local food so we found her a Subway.  Later in the evening my Uncle William suggested we go to Sentosa Island.  We didn’t have much else planned so we went.  Come to find out that this Island is popping with excitement.  They have a resort with tons of attractions, a Hard Rock Cafe, and there very own Universal Studios.  None of my family mentioned this so we were very surprised and already want to come back to Universal in Sentosa Singapore.  We toured the island, got into the (water) and spent a nice few hours on the island.  Again the night was topped off with a boat load of Asian food for dinner.  The crazy thing about being a guest is that they think we can consume just as much as they can….

As I am writing we have left the family and are heading for Hong Kong.  I really wish I could spend more time with them.  I am hoping with this trip that I can keep in touch more and make future plans to travel with mom back to Singapore.  

Remember that Jesus Christ Reigns,
Chris