After touring the seminary, we sat down and talked to Rev. Richard Tsai, the General Secretary of Sichuan TSPM. He gave us an over-view on what the TSPM and Christian Council does and its purpose to the Chinese Christian churches.
Day 5: Chengdu
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
As the sun rose upon the city of Chengdu, our pilgrimage bus was moving forward. Our first stop was the Sichuan Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and Christian Council and Sichuan Seminary. We learned that the seminary contained 60 students, and unlike the Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, the students had to pay tuition. Actually, Sichuan Seminary is a regional seminary, taking care of the theological education for the neighboring provinces. Graduates of this seminary may go to Nanjing Seminary for further graduate studies or serving as church workers in their hometown. The seminary only has one building with offices, classrooms, library, dormitories, etc. The dining room downstairs is shabby and simple. There is an old church in the seminary, and we were told that the church was ruined in the wars but rebuilt afterwards. It is easy to tell the layers of newly built walls from the old ones.
After touring the seminary, we sat down and talked to Rev. Richard Tsai,
the
General Secretary of Sichuan TSPM. He gave us an over-view on what the TSPM and
Christian Council does and its purpose to the Chinese Christian churches.
After our visit to the council, we set out for lunch. We walked into the
restaurant and saw a sign of respect that would seldom happen in the States. All
of the staff in the restaurant stood up as a sign of acknowledging our presence.
In fact, as we later knew, they were having their daily meeting before noon
session. The lunch was beautiful and delicious.
From lunch, we headed to the Panda Research Institute. On our way we just
happened to drive down the bumpiest road in the world. At the Panda Research
Institute, we took a glimpse at the giant pandas in the breath-taken heat. The
experience showed us that importance of keeping these beautiful animals
alive.
Our next stop is the Wuhou Temple. The temple contained stories of Chinese folklore. These stories date back 10 hundred of years, but for the Chinese, this is nothing. We spent an hour or so touring the site and by that time, everyone was hot and tired, and just a little grumpy. We really just wanted to have our dinner and go to bed, but to our great surprise, we were given the chance to see Sichuan Opera. This is a wonderful open-air theater in which young artists resurrect art forms such as puppetry, gymnastics, mask dancing, and more. The set, the costumes, the entire production is a riot of colors, and we were amazed at the talent of the young artists. During the production, the staff brought us tee and nuts and, if you so desired, upper body massage or foot massage was available as you watch the show. Everyone in our group was thoroughly entertained for the evening.
Finally we called it a day. We dragged ourselves to the bus and, with our bodies and minds full; we headed off to the hotel for another sleep filled night, dreaming about what the next day would hold.
Continue to keep us in your hearts and prayers as you are in ours from the other side of the world,
Your loving band of pilgrims,
Daniel McDuffie and …
Dana Baker, Pamela Koller, Peggy Matteson, Alicia Perras, Joe Tripp and Megan Weymouth