Day 6: Chengdu Part 2
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Listening to the noise of the traffic outside the window of our hotel rooms, it seems that we could be in any bustling city in the United States. But we are not. A look out the window will reveal the beauty and culture of Chengdu. Our first outing today showed us more of that beauty and culture. Du Fu’s Thatched Cottage Museum is a memorial to one of China’s greatest poets. Du Fu lived in a thatched cottage in Chengdu in 759 A.D. It was the topic of many of his poems. As we walked into this historic site, we were met with a group of Chinese women doing exercises. They gather together every morning in this place. We watched in awe as they smoothly transitioned from one step to the next and danced with big, red fans. We made our way to Du Fu’s house and were able to see the room in which he wrote 240 popular Chinese poems. His house is surrounded by gardens full of native plants and flowers. We took time to enjoy the peacefulness of this place. As we were leaving, we were blessed with the sight of young children lined up and waiting to enter. The children were excited to see us and started waving. We learned that they were young journalists coming to visit the house of Du Fu. Du Fu was so popular that even today in schools that students are required to memorize and recite his poem called Song of the Autumn Wind and the Straw Hut.
Our next stop was the Sichuan Radio and Television University (SRTVU). Here we met with Mr. Lee, the Party Secretary of SRTVU, and Seven, an English Professor and translator. SRTVU uses technology to reach students all across the Sichuan province, even the very mountainous regions of Tibet. SRTVU reaches 120,000 students with 23 branches in the city and more than 130 at the county level. SRTVU trains both teacher and doctors and donates supplies to both schools and clinics. With the help of Global Ministries, SRTVU has made an impact in the lives of many Chinese minority children. We were draped with a traditional Tibetan Hada. These are beautiful, white, delicate scarves that are given to the most important guests. After our discussion, we all sat down together to yet another wonderful meal. Then we were off again on a new adventure.
We wanted to see a rural church because we had seen 2 large city churches. Again God provided a new experience for us. We drove an hour north of Chendgu to Deyang to find the Good News Church or the Gospel Church. When we arrived, we were all amazed at what we saw! It was a big church building. This is not the image we had in our minds of a country church. It was here that we met Pastor Wang. She has been serving this church since 1997, and was ordained in 2001. Pastor Wang was very sweet as she told us about the Good News Church. There are 2,000 members, but only 500-600 attend the one church service held on Sunday. The area is rural and many couples take turns attending worship so one of them can stay home to work. Just think, half of the people stay home, but their hearts are yearning to go to church.
It seemed that
just as quickly as we arrived, we were off again on another adventure. Pastor
Wang took us to the closest Meeting Point of the members of her church. It was
a 10 minute drive for us. Here at this meeting point, we were finally able to
see what we all had been waiting f
or: Faith and Love, abounding and unhindered.
We approached a small, unpainted, rundown house and heard the joyful sound of
singing. As we came around the corner, we were met with 40 faces full of love
and excitement. We were given front row chairs, jasmine tea, and watermelon to
enjoy. These people were happy to have us there and to serve us. We met the
woman that opened her house for all these people to meet together each week.
They have been doing this for 6 or 7 years. We listened as they sang 2 songs.
We could not understand the words, but the message was clear and it tugged at
our hearts. It was the message of praise and rejoicing of God’s Love. Then it
was our turn to share our praise of God’s Love. We stood and sang for them
“Amazing Grace.” As we sang, were watched their faces turn from expressions of
happiness to ultimate joy as they recognized the song and began to clap to the
beat. After we were finished, some of them displayed a page in their Chinese
Hymnals. It was at this point that the excitement grew: it was “Amazing
Grace!” We began to sing together; them in Chinese and us in English. We were
two different cultures from two separate places joining our hearts in a song of
praise to one great God. It was truly an amazing “Amazing Grace.” We took our
time leaving this place knowing that this was a rare experience, one that we
will take with us and cherish for years to come. We drove back to the city of Chengdu knowing that somewhere north people are worshipping the Lord.
Still we continue our pilgrimage experiencing new cultural traditions like Chinese Hot Pot for dinner. As we spend our last night in Chengdu, we reflect on the things God has shown us in this area of China and we look forward to what is to come in Xian.
From the other side of the world,
Your loving band of pilgrims,
Pam Koller and …
Dana Baker, Peggy Matteson, Daniel McDuffie, Alicia Perras, Joe Tripp and Megan Weymouth