Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto!

Japan, October 1st-9th, 2013

Greetings! Before I start, I think I should explain the title of this post. It is a line from the song "Mr. Roboto" by Styx! If you haven't heard this song...look it up because it's a classic! It means "thank you very much Mr. Robot." What does that mean? I have no clue. But it's Japanese!

For the national day break this year (the 4th of July for Chinese) we decided on going to Japan. We had heard so much about how clean, sophisticated, and awesome it was so we wanted to check it out ourselves. We also heard that Japan has the world's best toilets. Japan did not disappoint. The first day we (Andrew Ewings, Brian Gephart, and myself) hopped on a fast train to Shenzhen, and went across the border into Hong Kong. That day we met up with our awesome friends, Andrea and Lyrica! Andrea had prepared goodie bags full of tasty food that we can't find in the Mainland. Doritos. Reese's. Orange Juice. Mmmmmmmm. Thank you Andrea! We headed out for an evening in one of the world's most advanced cities. Hong Kong never ceases to amaze me. The city has more skyscrapers than any city on earth. It's a beautiful jungle of cement and lights. We enjoyed a dinner outside on the street in downtown Kowloon, with some traditional Chinese dishes and some delicious scallops. Afterwards we went to the other side of the harbor and got some great beer. I had banana bread beer. So good! We jumped on a ferry back to the other side of the harbor and eventually made it back to Andrea and Lyrica's place for bed.

Our second day we woke up very early, (our bus to the airport left at 5:15am...) and then flew to Tokyo! After arriving, and right after exiting customs, a Japanese TV crew rushed up to us and started asking questions about what we were going to see etc...it was a hilarious way to start the trip! Then about 5 minutes later, when Brian and Andrew were getting money, another TV crew came up to me and asked more questions! It was pretty entertaining. We got onto the metro and headed into the world's largest city, Tokyo, Japan!

We eventually arrived at our hostel after transferring to a couple other lines. Thank goodness for the Tokyo Railway App I downloaded, because I'm pretty sure the Tokyo Metro system is the world's most complex. Tokyo is HUGE. The metro covers such a large area it's unbelievable. Anyways, we had the evening to explore Tokyo. So we ate some delicious food nearby the hostel (Andy's bowl of soup was as big as his head) and then headed to the world's tallest tower, the Tokyo Skytree! The height of this tower is staggering. It's 2,080 feet tall. To give you an idea of how tall that is, the tallest building in Denver is 714 feet tall. The Tokyo Skytree is the second largest man made structure on earth. We went to the top, and when I first stepped out of the elevator and walked into the viewing platform, my breath was taken away. City lights could be seen in every direction as far as the eye could see. We enjoyed walking around, and also laying down on glass which allowed us to look straight down at the ground. A little scary.

We eventually headed back and hit the hay. The next day, we left bright and early to catch the metro into the surrounding mountains of Tokyo. We were going to go canyoning, but we ended up arriving 25 minutes late, and missed the tour. So sad! So we made the best of the situation and explored the small mountain town we were in. It's amazing how far the metro in Tokyo goes. In fact, all of Japan is connected by fast trains, slow trains, and it's easy to get around the country. We then headed back into Tokyo and went to Shibuya, the world's biggest intersection! It's in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, the scene where they drift through a ton of people at a busy intersection. All the lights would turn red, and everyone would converge to the center of the intersection going in all directions. An occasional tourist would sprint to the middle for a cool photo op. We went to the Starbucks above the intersection on the 2nd floor of a building, and enjoyed watching people, cars, and subways move about. The highlight of Shibuya though was unexpected. We we strolling the narrow alleys filled with signs and shops, when all of the sudden, Brian spotted a KRISPY KREME store! I freaked out. I couldn't believe it! Even in America I can't find Krispy Kremes anymore. So, of coarse we went and indulged our taste buds. So good. Our next stop was the Tokyo Tower. It's a huge Eiffel Tower-looking structure in the center of Tokyo. We walked through the center of downtown and enjoyed the cleanliness, blue skies, and sophisticated nature of the people. Afterwards we went to Ginza, the most popular shopping district in Tokyo. It was huge! Blocks and blocks of luxurious shops, like Ray Ban, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, and many others lined the roads. We were looking for a specific sweater than Brian's co-worker wanted. We looked forever, and eventually found the store. But they were sold out. Bummer. So we continued on our exploration of Tokyo by going to the Tokyo Dome. There just happened to be a baseball game going on, so we bought tickets and headed in! The atmosphere was awesome. It was like a college basketball game. The fans had chants and songs that they continued throughout. The opposing team had their own chants, and their own band! It was awesome. Throughout the 3-4 innings that we were there, something else was very different. Girls with beer kegs as backpacks ran up and down the aisles constantly. Hundreds and hundreds of them! They literally ran. It was insane! I guess it works though. We left after the 3rd or 4th inning and went back to Shibuya, the world's busiest intersection, to see it in action at night. It was a lot busier. The lights were mesmerizing. So many people. So many lights. We eventually made it back to the hostel for bedtime.

The mountains we were supposed to go canyoning in. It was still a beautiful train ride though. 

The Tokyo Tower.

The Tokyo Dome. 

Shibuya, the world's busiest intersection. 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll summarize the next few days in one run-on sentence in order to make this blog shorter. We woke up early and got on the train to head to Mt. Fuji but for the first 2 days it was raining and cloudy and we couldn't see anything so we went to some caves that were really small and definitely weren't worth paying to go into. BUT, our last half day was spectacular. We woke up early and climbed to the top of a small mountain to see the sunrise over Mt. Fuji. It was still cloudy and drizzling. Disappointed, we continued on and hiked up to the viewing platform atop the mountain. On the way, though, something very frightening happened. Something that caused me to sprint as fast as I could. We were attacked by monkeys! It's ironic because before the trip, I was telling Brian and Andrea how much I like monkeys. That they aren't scary at all. So on our hike, we saw a few signs warning about bears. Towards the top, after turning a bend, all I hear is a loud screeching sound and Brian screaming! I glance back and see a monkey right next to Brian that had just randomly jumped out of the bush. I bolted because my initial reaction was that it was a bear! Brian starts to run away. But Andy on the other hand, takes out his camera and starts taking pictures of this screeching monkey! It was quite comical. Scared, we finished the hike to the viewing platform. We were then surrounded by around 5-8 monkeys. On the railings. In the trees screeching and breaking branches. And directly sitting on the path we had just come up. We were trapped! Thankfully, they settled down, and so did we. But the clouds never parted. We saw, maybe, a sliver of black that could have been Mt. Fuji. Disheartened we hiked back down. As we hiked down we noticed that it had considerably cleared up. We looked back at the peak where we just were, and a cloud was covering it. We were too high! We turned a corner and between two clouds we could see a massive slope going into the sky. We rushed back the hotel, and rented bikes. We biked around to the other side of the lake, and found that it had cleared up! But.....Mt. Fuji was still covered by clouds. We thought we'd never see it. We waited in a meadow by the beach. It was a brisk fall day. Sunny and beautiful. Fresh air. After around 20 minutes, the clouds parted, and the peak of Mt. Fuji showed itself. We were so happy! Such a majestic and mystical mountain. Mt. Fuji is Japan's tallest, and it is the most random mountain I've ever laid eyes on. Being a volcano, its cylindrical peak dominates the sky. It slopes up, and up, and up from both sides. The surrounding forest (which we hiked during our cave-day) is made of trees growing out of volcanic rock. It was quite the haunting hike. Myst. Drizzle. Black volcanic rocks. After soaking the mountain in, we rode along the waters edge back to the hostel. This lake is the most majestic during fall-time. If we had arrived a few weeks later, all the mountainsides and forests would have been glowing orange and red. We jumped onto the train and headed to Kyoto! After some transfers, we got onto the fast train and bolted to Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital.

Evil monkeys....

Mt. Fuji teasing us!

No wonder we couldn't see anything up there!

Mt. Fuji, teasing us once again!

A beautiful brisk bike ride on a fall day. 

FINALLY! Mt. Fuji!

Fresh sushi dinner in Kyoto. 

Delicious. 

The next day, our last full day in Japan, we had free in Kyoto. So we rented bikes, and rode around the ancient city! We saw some of the world's largest wooden structures, including a massive temple. Japan is mostly Shinto (aka ancestor worship). They also mix Buddhism and Shinto. We saw quiet a few Chr-stian ch-rches though, which was really great. We went to Nijo Castle, The Imperial Palace, and saw a group of old people in a temple-like building practicing with samurai swords. We stopped at a Mexican restaurant for lunch (yup, it was amazing), and headed back to the hostel eventually, and got on the fast train back to Tokyo. Once in Tokyo, we went to the harbor that overlooked the skyline, by Rainbow Bridge. A big city. Not as impressive as a skyline as Hong Kong, but still pretty cool. We made it back to the hostel and went to bed. Our last day in Japan, we woke up early and went to the world's largest fish market. People, cars, and trolleys bustled about everywhere. It was very busy. So we left and went to Asakusa (the oldest part of Tokyo). There was a huge tower built in typical Japanese fashion, and Tokyo's biggest temple. After another Starbucks, we walked down the river to the sumo wrestling arena. It was closed. We ended our Japan trip with a delicious noodle/soup/dumpling meal. Very tasty. We went back to the airport, and caught the flight back to Hong Kong. Once in Hong Kong we bused back to Andrea and Lyrica's apartment, and hit the hay. The next day we took the fast train back to Wuhan.

One of the temples made entirely out of wood. 

We found Darth Vader. 

Back in Tokyo, at the Rainbow Bridge!

Asakusa, Tokyo. 

All in all it was a fantastic trip. We saw so much in just a matter of a week! Japan is a great country, it would be cool to return someday. Things are back to normal in Wuhan. It's great weather. The short period between extremely hot and extremely cold. The pollution has been pretty bad. I just read in an article that the World Health Organization considers a rating above 20 to be hazardous. A very clear and perfect day in Wuhan is around 50-60. It probably averages around 150. A few days ago a city in northern China reached 1,000. 

Please keep in your pr@yers us and our Chinese friends, who live somewhere surrounded by pain and despair, pollution and congested roads. Pr@y for a renewed and strengthened faith in Him! Please pr@y for continued blssing on our Work here as well. Gd's blssings!

David

P.S. I completely forgot to expand upon my reference at the beginning to the claim that Japan has the world's best toilets. The toilets have remote controls for heat control, and when you're done, it sprays you clean....yeah....that's it.

China, Year 2!

Hello all!

Arriving back in China for my second year I had a lot more culture shock than last year! The traffic is still bad, and it annoys me a lot more than last year! People still act very uncivilized (like when a busy bus/subway door opens, people inside and outside just push as hard as they can to get in/out....instead of the people outside letting the inside people out...) the pollution is still here, and crazy drivers still narrowly pass me while biking down the road. Last year it was all new and exciting, this year I am very excited to be here, but it is not new. Anyways, more culture shock the second time around! It's all good now though! I have had many lol moments while exploring the city by bike (I bought a new mountain bike! Definitely needed with the construction/mud/terrible roads). Such as seeing children doing their business on the road, on the sidewalk, on the indoor tiled floor....holy cow! We also had a water guy come to replace the water filters to our drinking water, and we were the first foreigners he had ever seen! He was ecstatic! He laughed almost the entire time, he was the most animated Chinese man I've ever met, he blew kisses, and saluted me when he left! Hilarious!

Typical sight on a Chinese street: A man carrying a TON of Styrofoam by bike!

I'm teaching the same kids as last year. Still cute. They are learning fast and impress me often. One of my students names is Lion King. Epic name. He likes to dance Gangnam style randomly, as many times I've found myself turning around only to see him doing the dance! I'm excited for this school year.

Golden, one of my smarter students! (With a complimentary Daisy photobomb). 

We have added another B-ble study this year as well. We now have Monday CSI classes (Chr-st-an Studies Institue-basically a more advanced study) and Women's study, Tuesday song study (in which we sing a lot of songs and study one in depth, Wednesday topic study (we are studying the book of Hebrews) and Thursday men's study. We don't go to all of these, since we are here not only to lead studies, but to meet new people and invite them! So I lead the Hebrews Wednesday study, and I go to the Thursday men's study. Monday and Tuesday I go to meet new friends at a coffee shop where people go to learn English, and Friday is usually a time to hang out and build upon current relationships. Saturday I try to ride my bike somewhere green and pollution-less, Sunday we have morning Chinese worsh-p service and afternoon English service. During my free time I ride my bike, and hang around the house.

One of my roommates, Andy, and our Chinese friend Jason at our apartment ch-rch. 

In 5 days we are heading to Japan for a little over a week! It is China's National Day (Independence day of China). We will visit Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, and Kyoto. I'll write a post after the trip!

That's about all. As always, Gd's blssings now and always!

David

P.S. Below are some pictures from some bike rides I've been on around Wuhan.

Free Beer!

May update time!

First of all I can't wait until summer! It's going to be amazing...great family and friends, great food, clean air, great summer job teaching tennis and swimming, short trip up to Minnesota and a great road trip back to Colorado with friends to see Fun at Red Rocks, mountain time, and sunny days!

I'm ready to take a break from China life, and also excited to come back to China next year and do His work, and to do bigger and better things, improving on what I've learned from this year.

This month I've still been recovering from foot surgery. I have almost 100% movement back, almost all flexibility back, and I've been walking with all my body weight on my foot for a week. It's still sore, and not back to normal though, but in 1 month I think it will feel normal! Hopefully! This weekend we hosted our FOC friends from Hangzhou. It was a blast with many random things happening. Firstly we went to a restaurant called "The Toilet Restaurant." It's theme was......wait for it......the bathroom! The seats we toilets, and their food/ice cream came in mini squatty potties (Eastern toilets). I got chocolate ice cream served in a squatty pottie. Pretty hilarious haha The best part was, that when we arrived at the restaurant, a baby was pooping right by the door!!!!! What are the chances??!!! Did the parents know that their kid was pooping next to the toilet restaurant?? We had a good laugh because of that. Afterwards Brian wanted to show us a ridiculous billboard. So we walked a little ways and arrived. It was a 10 foot tall by 30 foot long billboard behind a crayfish street vendor/restaurant. On it were 5 men in jock straps and they were wearing ski boots in the mountains.........wow.......most provocative ad I've ever seen! We also had a good laugh because of this, and the restaurant owner/staff/customers started to gather around us. Our friend Nate King, who is sometimes, or I should say almost all the time, crazy! (In a good way). He has a motto, "Suns out guns out." Even though it was nighttime he still took off his shirt to get a picture by the billboard along with some others. Well.......the restaurant owner said "Free beer!" The staff began taking out some tables and setting them up outside by the curb, and then they brought out two large beer 'vases.' They weren't kegs, but large glass containers. So our group of around 10 got free beer, crayfish, and food! We sang Christian songs and American songs, then all the Chinese customers sang Chinese songs in return. A fun competition.

We left and hit the hay. The next day we enjoyed a birthday celebration of Adam and Sherry's 3 year old at Aloha, an American restaurant with AMAZING food. I had a Big Kahuna, which was a burger in between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. Mmmmmmmmmmm! We left, and spent 2 hours by foot, bus, and motorbike taxi, to get to East lake. We walked around, enjoyed the views, and headed back to Sarah and Nathan's for a call day party. Four of our American teachers here received calls from our synod, to teach at a Chr-stian school somewhere in the USA. Call day is very intense, because no one knows where in the country they are going, or what age they will teach. We stayed up until 3am and watched the live stream online. It was a great chrch service, and our teachers received their calls. The teachers all definitely trusted in G-d for comfort in knowing that wherever they go, it is part of His plan for them. It was a fun night, and a life-changing night for the 4 teachers leaving China to teach at Chr-stian schools across the USA.

Today is hot, it will only get more hot. This week I also went to the 25th anniversary of my school party...thing. Very fancy. Visited other Maron International Education Kindergarten's in Wuhan, they are all extremely fancy, nice, and definitely for wealthy families. That's all for now! Gd's blssings!

7 Flights of Stairs x 2 x 1 month=A Huge Right Leg

I just realized I haven't wrote anything at all for April! So, here goes.

This month, nothing has happened because I have been recovering from foot surgery.

The end.

Just kidding. Some stuff has happened. Recovery is going well so far. It has been almost 8 weeks after surgery, and over 2 months since I've walked. Crazy! It's amazing how fast you loose muscle mass, movement, and rotation in your body! At week 6, the doctor pointed at my crutches and said, "Don't need those!" That's the extent of my physical therapy advice from the doctor. Yep. SO, I took some initiative and did some online researching. Not helpful, because it all depends on the patient's circumstance/type of surgery etc...etc...etc....So I'm just going with the flow. Week 6 all I did was move my foot, up, down, sideways, stretching it gaining movement back. Week 7 I did the moving, and also just setting my foot on the ground. That's it. The swelling and pain has significantly gone down since I've been putting my foot on the ground. Week 8, I am 'walking' slowly with crutches, putting maybe 25%-50% of my body weight on my foot. Next week a little more, and hopefully by week 10-12 I will be walking unassisted by my crutches. I'm going shopping for an old man cane!!!! Epic. Always wanted one of those........not really. My goal is back to normal walking without pain by week 12-14. Then, it's time to build the muscles back! I'll probably end up building muscle back for another 3-4 weeks until completely back to 'normal.' So, 6 weeks from now I think I will be walking normally. YAY! Can't come soon enough. Twice-3 times a day I've been hopping up, and down, 7 flights of stairs to and from our apartment. My right leg is HUGE!! My left leg......is very small.

So, just been doing my own rehab, and working again at school. My kids are still awesome and extremely cute! Fun job. Tomorrow I have opening day, in which I will do a lesson with the kids in front of all their parents. Fun......

That's about it. Not much new this month, just a lot of sitting around and recovering. B-ble studies are also going great. Last night we had a new friend come. He has never seen a B-ble. I got to explain the basic message to him from OT to NT. So blssed for the opportunity to do His work.

 

225 Hours

WARNING, DISCLAIMER, ADVANCED NOTICE: THIS BLOG WILL INCLUDE PICTURES OF BROKEN BONES, STAPLES IN FOOT, AND NOT-SO-NICE-DETAILS OF CHINA HOSPITAL LIFE ;)

Well, the past few weeks I have experienced a lot of things that I never would have imagined ever doing in my life. After getting another X-Ray at the hospital next door (which was a very old, dirty hospital), the doctor recommended getting some screws put in. YIKES! He squeezed my foot quite hard, for some unexplained reason...maybe he didn't believe that it was really broken...and said I should spend the night. Obviously, I refrained and wanted a second opinion. So with the help of some American/Chinese friends I went to the best hospital in Wuhan about 20 minutes north of our place. They suggested the same. So, it was decided that I should get surgery. This is where the fun began.

I met with some doctors, did some commuting back and forth from our place to the hospital, did a bunch of medical tests (including one in which they hooked me up like Frankenstein to some 'jumper cables') and set up a time for the surgery. Early on the morning of my surgery day I arrived, and got some blood drawn. First of all, I HATE needles. Second, I had had nothing to eat or drink (on doctor's orders because of the surgery), and after drawing my blood I became very dizzy and nauseous and puked. Great way to start my surgery day! After waiting a little, they hooked me up to an IV after missing my vein, and rolled me away to the surgery room. The doctors spoke a little English. I was not as nervous as I expected. It is all in G-d's hands, what a great comfort that is for our daily lives. I watched the ceiling above as I rolled around on the bed, up/or down a few elevators, and to the operating room. We could have been underground, or on top of the building, I couldn't tell. I didn't know any details of the surgery. How will they kill the pain? General anesthesia? Local anesthesia? A shot in my foot to numb it? NOPE. One doctor told me to hold my knees, and then he held me and said "This might hurt.......a little." They applied some cold gel to my lower back around my spine area. I had a bad feeling about what would come next! Someone unseen behind me proceeded to stick a needle into my spine. It was an epidural shot! I thought they only did these for childbirths! For about 5 minutes they wiggled, pushed, and pulled the needle (which I'm really glad I didn't see). A few times they had me re position my back and spine because it wasn't in the right position. At one point the whole right side of my body twitched, they must have nicked a nerve. Then the doctor said, "Okay, hold it right there for another.......5 minutes." Ahhhhhh! All I can say is that those 10 minutes were the worst 10 minutes of my life. Just as mentally painful as physically for me.

Hooked up like Frankenstein! 

So they began working on my foot. They put a plate and 6 screws in. I was awake during the operation, and didn't feel a thing. It was great! I was listening to my iPod, taking pictures, and playing Angry Birds throughout the surgery. Only in China! Wow. They finished up, an brought me back to my room.  

Then I spent 10 days straight in the same bed, 6 or 7 of those days I was hooked up to an IV getting some sort of fluids. They really believe in the IV here. Even for colds, I've heard they hook you up and pump you full of fluids. There were 2 others in my room. To my left, an old man whose smile seems to have been surgically cemented onto his face, and to my right, a guy who smoked every day....in the hospital.....The old man was getting his whole left leg amputated because of a tumor the size of a basketball, and was waiting for more blood to be donated for the surgery. The middle aged man to my right was getting some pins removed from his leg and foot. A year ago he was drunk driving and ran into a tree, breaking his leg and foot.

Doctor's talking to my 'old man' friend, and his wife. 

I spent the days reading, reflecting, watching crazy Chinese TV shows, and trying to communicate with my new friend, the old man to my left. Communicating at first basically consisted of me offering him food, them him saying "No, that's ok." Then him offering me food, and me saying the same. Eventually we overcame this "food barrier" and had some nonverbal/basic word conversations. His wife stayed with him overnight. Hospitals here in China are the exact opposite of America. My room was dirty, old, and the bathroom had no toilet paper or soap. We had to provide our own. The nurses also don't do anything for you except hook up the IVs. There is no food service. Basically if you're in the hospital here, because of their deep cultural roots and the importance of family, it is expected that your family will stay with you at the hospital sleeping in the chairs, getting your food, and helping you etc...I am super blssed for all my FOC family here. I had a ton of visitors, Chinese friends, and other American teachers visit and bring a ton of food. A tremendous blssing in helping me get through this experience.

Two Chinese friends! Dr. Luke, who was incredibly helpful, and Vivian! 

Andy and Ivy!

My last night there, I tried to give the old man a Chinese/English B-ble. He refused. At first I was disappointed  until I realized what he was saying. He said "I have one already, I have one." I was communicating with him via my iPod Google Translator App and my basic Chinese. I asked if he was a Chr-stian. He smiled and nodded his head "yes." Wow! Out of all the people G-d placed me next to, I was next to a fellow brother in Ch-st! So I gave the B-ble I was going to give him to my helper friend, a really nice 50-60 year old who would help me on a daily basis with some basic things. He seemed to really like it, and was paging through the book to some places I marked as he left my room for the last time.

My last day I watched as the old man was wheeled out of our room to get his leg amputated. He looked terrified. He was able to have the surgery because one of my Chinese friends, Ivy, called 8 of her friends. They all donated blood to make the surgery happen. So I left the hospital, after 225 hours of laying in the same spot (with maybe an hour total of bathroom breaks). G-d is good, and has taught me so many great lessons through this experience. He is in control. His plan is best. And we can have comfort and peace no matter what because of that! There are a lot of details I left out of this blog, but I could literally write an entire book on the 10 days I was at the hospital. If you run into me someday, ask me about it and I will tell you some things that I didn't want to write here! This will do though. Gd's blssings to all of you reading this!









WARNING, BELOW IS A PICTURE OF MY STAPLED FOOT











SECOND WARNING













Ok, here it is

I'm sorry, I had to add this photo! My apologies, but I did put a disclaimer at top so you can't sue me ;)

His Plans, Not Mine. Spring Festival 2013!

Spring Festival 2013. After months of planning, we were ready to head off on our 3 week trip through Thailand, Hong Kong, and Guilin. Little did I know the unexpected obstacles waiting! Just to sum up the trip in a series of words, if you don’t like reading and if the blog seems to long, here it is: Jungle, spiders, caves, kayaking, snuggling with tigers, passport and money stolen, broken foot, new China visa, missed train, met someone who should have died twice, and G-d opening many doors to spread His word! Now, here’s the rest of the story!

 

January 31^st: Our first day we (myself, Andrew Ewings, and Lisa Nickel) hopped on a 13 hour overnight train to Shenzhen, a massive industrial city just north of Hong Kong (best known for its Apple factories). I really enjoy overnight trains! They are very cheap ($30 to get across the country) and even though they’re noisy, I just pop in my iPod and fall right asleep. After arriving we went through customs (Hong Kong and China are the equivalent of Puerto Rico and the USA) and got on the MTR (Metro) to head into the metropolis. Hong Kong’s MTR is arguably one of the world’s best city transportation systems. I remember watching a History Channel show about it, now we were riding on it! Very smooth, very fast, reasonably cheap. We arrived and got off at the Tsim Tsa Tsui Station, right by the harbor overlook of the skyline. We met up with the rest of our group, Kelsey Steffens and Hannah Klusmeyer. Since our plane left in the evening we spent the entire day sitting, laying, and reading with the massive city in front of us. Huge. All built in the last generation, truly a modern marvel! While walking along the Star Walk (a long harbor-side ‘Walk of Fame’ with Chinese actors hand prints in cement) multiple small groups of school children came up to us for what seemed to be an assignment for their English class. They asked us about Hong Kong and our thoughts about it, and I was very impressed with their English. Children in America should start learning foreign languages earlier than High School! For lunch I ate a bowl of cream soup with noodles, shrimp, Caesar salad, and drank a mocha. Delicious! We went back to the platform overlooking the city, sat down, chatted, and watched the sun set over the bustling city.

Then we headed out to the airport. We definitely should have left earlier! The MTR ride/airport Metro/checking in took longer than expected, and the Hong Kong airport is huge! We rushed through security, and jumped onto the airport subway to head to our gate. After a few minutes, the doors opened and our next subway ride was directly across from us about to leave. So we looked at each other, and sprinted across the hall! Just after getting on, the doors closed. Phew! It was funny looking at all the people who decided to walk, we could tell that they wish they would have ran across to catch the subway. After a good laugh, a 3 hour flight, and a short taxi ride we arrived at our overnight hostel in Phuket, Thailand.

February 1^st: We woke up to the beautifully green landscape, and the sound of exotic birds. So green! Fresh air! Thailand is heaven on earth compared to Wuhan. We got ready and caught our next flight to northern Thailand, to the ancient city of Chiang Mai. The flight was quite scenic the first 30 minutes. Flying over blue and turquoise waters, hundreds of islands, and mountains, 2 hours later we landed. We were surprised after landing by Lisa’s grandpa and Thai wife. He bought us all Burger King, which was very kind. He also drove us in the back of his pickup truck to the Arcade Bus station, the station we needed to go to to catch our 4-5 hour bus ride up into the wilderness. On the ride there, I noticed how similar Thailand’s big city was to Wuhan. Crowded, many cars and scooters, little shops all over the place, and street food. The only major difference was all the green foliage. Vines growing up buildings, flowers everywhere, trees, and best of all blue skies! We arrived, and met up with the rest of our FOC family who would be joining: the Roberts family-Matt, Jody, Josh, Caleb, and Kyrie, Eric Melso (who was waiting at the station next to us, but we were worried he was out lost in the city, or dying of his sickness he got from a mosquito bite in Laos), Nate Reich, and Mike Marsh. After discovering that we missed the last minivan to Soppong Pang Mapha, we decided to take one to Pai, a city about an hour from there. But our driver offered to take us all the way for an extra 100 baht. Score! The drive was beautiful for me, but torture for others. It was 4 and a half hours through the most windy mountain roads I've ever been on! Plus the driver was going very fast. So a few people got car sick…and puked…and eventually we made it to Soppong Pang Mapha. Just another 3 miles north was our destination, The Cave Lodge! All 13 of us jammed into one covered pickup truck. So fun! 3 people sitting up front, and 10 people packed like sardines in the half-sized pickup. 15 minutes later we arrived, and saw a hoard of stars above. We were now literally in the middle of nowhere, 3ks from the Burma border, up in the jungle covered mountains.

February 2^nd: The Cave Lodge is paradise. With the bungalows tucked into the jungle hillside facing a river, we finally had fresh air.

Today was our hill tribe trek. After breakfast and getting ready we all headed out. We didn’t know a lot of details about the trek, but it ended up being a full day of 14 miles of mountain hiking! It was a perfect day, and we went over the river, then up, up, up, until a beautiful view of the mountains was revealed. The mountains are so mystical in Thailand, because of their extreme roundness and sharp limestone cliffs.

During our hike we also discovered thousands of daddy-long-leg-type spiders pouring out from a tree. It was crazy! We ran past as fast as possible. We hiked and hiked, past cows, streams, and mountains. Our guide showed us all the medical uses of local plants. Ate some too. After a while we made it to our first stop, a cave. We put on helmets, lights, and crawled through a small, muddy opening. Inside awaited bats, more of those nasty spiders, and beautiful cave formations. We explored, and headed out eventually.

On-wards we hiked to the tribe. It was around 200-300 people, and it looked very tribe-like with the architecture and surroundings (except some of the huts had satellites…) The tribe consisted of 80% Buddhists, 10% Animists, and 10% Chr-stians. It is amazing, even in the remotest parts of the world, Chr-stians are meeting together to w-rship their G-d. We bought some hand-made bamboo cups and scarfs etc…and rolled out. On the hike back we hiked mainly in the river, in flip flops. Not convenient, but fun! The guide showed us these awesome plants that close when you touch them. Incredible! After hiking all day long, we made it back to the lodge, ready for supper (cashew chicken and rice) and a beer. Successful day.

February 3^rd: Today we went adventure caving to 3 separate caves, with around 8-10 miles of hiking. Fossil cave, waterfall cave, and Christmas cave. We drove in the back of a pickup into the mountains, unloaded, and started hiking. Another beautiful day, with very round mountains jutting out of the jungle surrounding us.  At the first cave, fossil cave, Kelsey asked our guide what his name was. He said “What.” Confused Kelsey repeated “What is your name?” He said, “What, is my name.” Apparently his name is “What!” Hilarious conversation to witness. We headed in, climbed down, down, down, and saw a lot of fossils, and crawled through a small crevasse. We climbed out and headed to waterfall cave. This cave was my favorite. After climbing through the stream leading into the cave, and down, our guide took off his shirt and said “wet!” So we followed suit and took off our shirts. We then crawled through very tiny spaces almost filled with water, squeezing our bodies into positions that were very uncomfortable. Kind of scary, because inches above my bare skinned back was rock and little stalagmites hanging down. Quite challenging, but awesomely fun! We got soaked, and made it to the end, the top of a 90 foot waterfall, a massive hole going into the depths of the earth. We found out later that someone had fallen down 2 years earlier, to their death. Yikes! So we crawled back out of the cave. We hiked through the fields, past huts and amongst the mountains. “What” showed us some cool tribal tricks with plants, including a reed which he could launch 60 feet with his fingers. We finally made it to Christmas Cave after a bit more of hiking. This cave was beautiful beyond belief! All covered in white crystals, huge pillars filled the cavern. It felt like I was in Rome, during the Ice Age! We walked around and eventually hiked back, ate a massive fruit he cut off from a tree, and relaxed once back at the Cave Lodge. Beautiful day, awesome adventure! Once back we also heard the very intriguing story of the man who owned the Lodge, John Spies, who was framed for murder at the Lodge many years ago! He is also a photographer and adventure caver. Cool guy from Australia as well.  

February 4^th:    

After waking up early, as I did every morning so far to get a good start to the day, eat a good breakfast, and do some reading (which I usually never do!) we packed up for our next adventure. Today we went kayaking for 21 miles in 2 person kayaks. It was a 1 and a half hour drive to the river through mountains, a really beautiful ride. I ended up kayaking with Matt Roberts, and the trip proved to be intense! Rapids, waterfalls, jungle, and monkeys (which unfortunately I couldn't spot in the trees…) We paddled and paddled through the wilderness, with only a few small rapids. Eventually we stopped for lunch, ate our fried rice, egg, and muffin, and headed out again. The second leg of the river was a lot more intense than the first! We stopped at a natural hot spring coming out of the ground, and enjoyed the warmth between our toes. A little farther down the river, I could see Andy and Mike stuck on a rock. Their kayak was literally bent in half on top of a big triangular rock. Quite a hilarious site at first! But then we started to head right for them. With rapids all around, we barely missed them and maneuvered to calmer waters. After a while they finally figured it out and met up with us. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. Thankfully I wore sunscreen. We paddled past massive trees, vines, and cliffs. At one big rapid, Hannah fell out of her kayak! Thankfully, after 30 seconds or so Kelsey helped pull her back in. We arrived at the end, and hopped into a pickup truck to head back. It was a really fun ride back to the Lodge, as the driver zoomed along the mountain roads. He was crazy! We could have died if a car came around the corner as he passed multiple vehicles in the opposite lane. But I guess he knew what he was doing…We stopped at the top of the mountain, looked out as the sun set over the mountains (the ones in the distance were in Burma) and sang songs in the back of the truck as we headed back. Once at the Cave Lodge, I ate an amazing, delicious, incredible burger with an ice cold beer. SO GOOD.

February 5^th:

We woke up in the morning, bid John Spies and his Thai employees farewell, and took the 4 and a half hour minibus back to Chiang Mai. We stopped at Tiger Kingdom to pet, snuggle, and take pictures with some live tigers! Quite the unique experience. We walked into the cage (which had some trees and 3 tigers inside) and eventually got to pet them, lay with them, rub their bellies, and put their tails around our necks! Apparently they weren't drugged either because they are fed a lot of food, are trained their whole life, and they hunt at night and sleep during the day naturally. Sometimes a tiger would get up and start walking around. The employees didn't seem at all concerned, so I trusted them. Scary at first, but then awesome. I put my head on the tiger’s belly, like in Jurassic Park when Sam Neill put his on the triceratops, and let his breathing move my head up and down. Fun time at the Tiger Kingdom. Afterwards we headed to the airport, headed out and arrived back in Phuket late at night. Spent the night by the airport at the Canal Resort.  

February 6^th:

Today we headed to the airport, and jumped on the airport bus to Phuket. This is where the trip I had been planning for months, every detail so that it’d go smooth, took a turn down an unexpected road. Long story short, sometime when I was on the bus my passport case was stolen. It had a lot of money in it, my bank cards, bus cards, driver’s license, and passport. Yes, I know, I should have spread out everything into safer pockets of my backpack! I must have been playing Crash Bandicoot on PlayStation and not listening when my parents told me not to put all my eggs in the same basket! After realizing that it was gone I rushed back to the bus station to check the bus, but it had already left back to the airport. So I waited a few hours for it to come back. While waiting I opened my B-ble, and it opened to Matthew 6. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Wow! G-d is good. Bringing me back to Him and His promises, and to what is really important in life. While waiting I contacted the USA Embassy and figured out what I’d have to do if it indeed was stolen. The bus arrived, and the journalist instincts in me kicked in. I took pictures of the employees, the bus license plate number, registration tags, and asked a ton of questions. Didn't find anything. My next step, according to what the embassy had told me, was to get a police report. How the heck am I going to get a police report?! Where is the police station? How will I get there? Will they speak English? Thankfully an old lady who worked at the bus station took me on her motor scooter to the police station and translated. 

Her English could barely be understood, but I got to hear about how she knew a lot of people who died in the tsunami 10 years ago. While driving around Phuket on the back of her scooter, I had a moment of joy. I knew G-d was working for my good, such a comfort! We can trust His plan, which is better than any plan I could conjure. So I filled out the report, gave a copy of the New Testament which I had written a note in to the old lady who helped me, bought a hotel room online near the USA Embassy in Bangkok with the help of Stephanie, and caught the next flight to Bangkok! Complete uncertainty was ahead, yet I could go with full assurance in G-d’s promises. I arrived in the capital of Thailand late at night, and took a taxi to my hotel which was a 10 minute walk from the embassy. Thank G-d for iPods, email and the internet! I hit the hay, quite exhausted.

February 7^th:

Time to take care of business. I headed off to the embassy, met with an agent and filled out some papers for an emergency passport. I also called my parents for emergency funds. Well actually the embassy called them first (which I insisted for them to let me call, but she wanted to). The first thing they said to my Mom (or Dad, whoever picked the phone up first), was “Hello this is the US Embassy in Bangkok Thailand, we’re calling in regards to your son David Blumer.” (!!!) That’s the last thing a parent wants to hear! I definitely would have preferred to call myself from the get go and say “Hey Mom and Dad, I’m okay, but my stuff was stolen I’m going to need some help.” But the agent insisted. Anyways, around 3pm I was done and could pick up my new passport and funds the next day. So I hopped on a motorbike taxi and went exploring Bangkok! It was an incredibly fun and crazy ride through the bustling streets as we weaved in and out of tuk tuks, cars, and people. The city looked just like in the movies, and at many points I had to squeeze my knees in tight in order to squeeze through the gaps in traffic. I arrived at the Grand Palace just as it closed, so I walked around the streets past golden temples and spires, until hopping on a boat to cross the river. I climbed a huge structure/temple built 300 years ago, explored, and got back on the boat.

I grabbed a coconut on the way back and drank the fresh juice out of a green straw, refreshing. As the sun started to head down, I grabbed another motorbike taxi and went back to my hotel (ended up getting a little burn on my right calf when I accidentally set it against the tailpipe). At night, I went next door and got the best massage I've ever had. Feet, legs, shoulders, back, neck, head, arms and hands. Relaxed afterwards I hit the hay.

February 8th:  

I woke up nice and early, and headed to the embassy. Got my passport! Then I took an hour taxi to the Thai immigration Bureau to get another entry stamp so I could leave the country. Then right by was a Western Union so I picked up some emergency funds. Went to the airport, and luckily (with help from the Big Guy upstairs) got a flight on standby to Phuket right away. Arrived in Phuket, jumped in a taxi, hurried to the pier, and just in time caught the boat to the island Koh Phi Phi Don to meet up with everyone! I arrived in paradise. Massive limestone islands and cliffs jutting out of the bright blue sea covered in green surrounded the boat.

 Beautiful. On the way to the resort (it’s a small place) I ran into Kelsey and Lisa, a nice surprise! I ate shrimp curry and had a beer for supper. I was so relieved to be with everyone again, and at night we went to go watch a fire show. After the show, people could try jumping over the fire jump rope. So I figured “when in Rome!,” YOLO (You only live once) and I tried. Ended up fracturing my left foot. Iced it for a while and hobbled back to the bungalow in the dark. Ugh! I should have worn shoes but I decided on the flip flops. I hit the hay in a lot of pain.

February 9^th:

Woke up and my foot was a lot worse. I could barely walk on it. So I went to the local clinic, and the doctor said it’s probably broken. It’s all a part of His plan though, and I was reminded of the story of Job, who lost everything. But G-d was working for his benefit making him stronger. I limped to the boat and met up with everyone to head to the next island, Koh Lanta. Once there Andy, Eric, and I immediately went to the clinic there. Ended up spending the day there (because emergency victims kept coming in with jelly fish stings, crab bites etc...I just waited around). Got an X-Ray and confirmed that my left 5^th metatarsal is fractured. Bought some crutches, and headed to our resort. Ate some delicious food and went to bed.

February 10^th-12^th:

I spent the next 3 days sitting in one spot basically, reading Lee Strobel’s “A Case for the Creator,” eating food, and enjoying the amazing scenery. Very relaxing. We also went riding elephants one day, and I got a massage from an elephant! It stepped gently on my back as I hoped it wouldn't crush me. I survived. These 3 days were great, wish I could have stayed longer! The last day early in the morning we went by boat back to Phuket, took a taxi to the airport, and jumped on our flight back to Hong Kong!

February 13^th-18^th:

In Hong Kong we had an FOC gathering of all the teachers from around China. In all, including speakers, other presenters, and p-stors, there were around 70 people. Amazing time of spiritu-l growth, presentations on the O.T., personal devot-ons, and other topics. Since my passport was gone, I ended up having to get another China Visa ( I had no way of getting back into China). So I got my tourist visa. I had a great time exploring downtown Hong Kong with a friend; we sat on the tram for around an hour, drank a beer, and ate a big burger for supper. Afterwards I met up with everyone at night alongside the harbor for the light show. Seeing Hong Kong’s entire skyline synchronized to music, with lasers, lights, and buildings, is a beautiful site. The next night we had our closing service and a massive dinner at Fat Angelo’s (Italian food). SO GOOD, AHH! I ended up missing my train with everyone because of my Visa situation, but instead I had a great day with my Hangzhou friends, eating good food, and playing Risk at night (first time I've ever played it, such a great game of strategy! I ended up with all my forces in Iceland....bad idea...) The next day I  headed to the airport to catch a plane to Guilin. On the bus from the airport to the airplane, a middle-aged man of around 45 asked me about my foot. He had long blonde hair in a ponytail and looked like a rocker from the 70s. I told him about what happened, and said that it’s okay though, because G-d is working through it all for my good. A look of amazement came upon his face, and he said “I think you are meant to talk to me today” as a smile crept across his face. I responded “Why’s that?” He went on to tell me about how he was thinking about heav-n, h-ll, and other things that morning, and that he was amazed that G-d sent me to talk to him. How if I hadn't lost my passport, maybe I wouldn't have ended up breaking my foot, and wouldn't have to get a new visa, and wouldn't have ended up missing my train, and wouldn't have had this conversation with him. I shared my fa-th with him. How it is by fa-th alone that we are saved, and how G-d works through every situation for the Chr-stian’s good. He said a few times again how it wasn't chance that we were having this conversation, and he thanked me for the encouragement as we headed onto the plane. G-d works in mysterious ways.  

After boarding the plane, I sat down, and ended up next to a Chinese woman, who was an English teacher in Guilin. She was a Musl-m, and we discussed relig-on the entire flight. We arrived and I waited for my backpack at the baggage claim. I had one New Testam-nt left in my backpack which I had been waiting for an opportunity to give away. I saw the rocker dude in the distance, and after getting my bag I crutched away as fast as I could to catch him. I barely caught him and he stopped, and first thing he did was give me a hug and said “thank you.” I handed off the New Testam-nt with a note I wrote on the cover and bid him farewell. I asked him his name, and he said “Jason Black, look me up on YouTube.” Little did I know, that the rocker I met on the way to Guilin, was actually far from a rocker, but an opera singer who should be dead. Jason Black is a walking miracle, and has been featured on Discovery Channel, TLC, ABC News, the LA Times, Inside Edition, and the 700 Club. In 1999 he was driving home with his fiancée when they smashed full speed into the back of an unlit car. With the amount of broken bones and the severity of his head trauma, surgeons were doubtful of his full recovery. He was institutionalized due to behavioral disorders resulting from the brain trauma he’d suffered. But within a few short weeks he was recovering at miraculous rates, allowing for his release. He recovered fully and married, starting full time singing opera around the world. When all seemed well, in 2001 another tragedy struck. While Jason was carrying a large glass table into a home with a friend, the table was accidentally dropped, the large piece of glass crashed down like a guillotine into Jason’s neck. The gash was critically deep and extended from his earlobe to his chest semi-decapitating him. Jason was rushed to the ER where he was said to have lost more blood than he retained. After looking at the damage to his voice box, both jugular veins, his nicked spine, the severed nerves, the injury of his diaphragm, arm and most importantly his vocal cord, specialists said he would never speak, let alone, sing again. Jason recovered fully, and is now traveling the world sharing his story and his voice, even in Guilin China.

I wish I knew his story before talking with him. G-d knew that I needed encouragement from his story, and G-d knew Jason needed some encouragement from me. I am humbled at how G-d used me to share my faith with the old lady that dinked me around Phuket as I filled out police reports, with the Musl-m on my flight, and with Jason, the walking miracle. Put your trust in the L-rd, always. And as Jason Black said in a television interview, “You can find peace in your pain, if you’re looking to something greater than yourself and you acknowledge that G-d’s got you in His hands and he’ll take care of you.”

I arrived in Guilin, slept, and woke up early for our river cruise on my birthday! It was a great day. We enjoyed the incredible mystical mountains, made some new friends from Switzerland, explored the city of Yangshuo, and I got a birthday cake/presents surprise from everyone. Such a blssing. We eventually hit the hay, and caught our train back to Wuhan.

All in all quite the adventure! G-d really has shown me this break that His plans are better than mine, and that I should not store up for myself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but rather treasures in heav-n. “For where your treasure is, there your heart is also!” Matthew 6.