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.