We have landed at the Hong Kong International airport. The airport is very nice and has free wi-fi. Brent and I decided we love the internet because even though we are on the other side of the world we feel so close on-line. It’s about 9:oo am Monday morning. (We lost a day of our lives.) Our flight to Beijing leaves in a few hours. The flight wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be…the 13 hours just flew by. (That was a dumb joke…I apologize!) We both slept a lot, although we are still really tired. I woke up halfway through the flight and was wide awake because it was about 8 am CA time. So I watched a movie, The Painted Veil (enjoyed it). I didn’t have much anxiety on the plane. I felt filled with the peace of God (or maybe I was just too tired to care if the plane crashed). We hit some turbulence when we landed so I just buried my face in Brent’s lap and prayed…other than that it was great. (Show me more…)

So far God has answered all of our prayers the way we wanted!!! We arrived here in Beijing about 3:30 PM. I was really worreid about getting through customs with 4 bags filled with gifts but it wasn’t any more difficult than going through the drive-through at McDonald’s. Beijing is hot and smoggy. There is lots of construction going on all over the place. New juxtaposed with old. We took a 45 minute cab ride to our hotel and it cost less than $12. Our hotel, is a Chinese 4-star - the key word being “Chinese” 4-star, so sort of like a Holiday Inn by American standards. I’m not complaining at all it’s great. (Show me more…)

We are leaving by plane in a few hours to visit a smaller city in a different province to the West. Please pray for our flight and for the families and teachers we will be meeting. Please pray for strength and unity between Brent and I. Please continue to pray for creativity and wisdom while shooting the documentary. We miss you.

Here is a brief overview of what we have been doing. I would love to share the details but due to time I must keep is short. So far this trip is going beautifully and God is answering prayers the way we wanted them answered!!! (Show me more…)

The flight went well and we have made it to the next city. We even made it to the airport in time to grab a Starbucks, which is a perfect example of one side of the contrasts we are experiencing on this trip.

This city, which I can’t remember the name, is different than Beijing. Of course this city has crazy drivers, (and I mean CRAZY by American standards), constant sound of honking horns, people everywhere, large boulevards, lots of shops but if Beijing were a 4-star city this is a 2-star city. Everything is a little dingier. The cabs are older. The streets are dirtier. The air smells a little more like urine. And it’s obvious that they haven’t seen very many foreigners (this has nothing to do with the 2-star rating). (Show me more…)

We’ve had a rough day. This morning the children we were going to meet in the park couldn’t come because their father wouldn’t let them. Brent was really looking forward to capturing that footage so that was a disappointment. When we found out we couldn’t meet them we decided to go to a nearby city called P-something (can’t remember the name again.) This is supposed to be one of the oldest walled cities in the world. Although off the beaten path, tt is usually a favorite tourist destination.

(Show me more…)

We’re leaving for Chennai, India tomorrow morning. Our time in China has been so full, our arrival here a week ago seems so long ago.

Yesterday was the highlight of our time here. We were invited to visit and film a house church sunday school, the same sunday school that the two boys who’s home we visited two days before attend. This was a real honor. Our guide, who has been working with Christians in China has not had the opportunity to visit such a group in the nine years she has been here.

The classroom was a small 15 x 15 foot room that is at a separate location from where the adults meet. There were large Biblical decorations on the walls, small folding children’s chairs and two small tables. Children of all ages began to file in until every seat was full. The teaching was animated and the children were completely engaged. (Show me more…)

We were finally able to update our photostream now that we are out of China (flickr is blocked there). To see our China or India Photosets first click on the title of this post above then click here or visit http://flickr.com/photos/nims and click on the “China” or “India” photosets.