Fish and Ducks

These pictures were taken in Beijing, where the closest you can get to nature is goldfish in the hotel lobby and tame ducks in a scuzzy pond. Titus doesn't mind.

Changing and Opening

Hi there,

As you know, we've been visiting a few of Beijing's historical/culture centers, including this Catholic church that was established in 1605. The present structure was built in 1905. On early Sunday morning mass is said 3 times in Chinese or Latin.




Another of Beijing's historical/cultural sites which we visited was this gov't-registered Protestant church. Sunday morning offers 4 services and 9 classes. It's so packed that attenders (mostly university students) sit on stools in the aisles and in the foyer. To me, it is blaring evidence of astounding change in China.



You can't even wrap your mind around how much China has changed and opened in the last thirty years. It's incomprehensible. I read about China in the 1950s/60s/70s and can't believe that I'm living in the same country! What will China be like thirty years from now?

I write more about Beijing's cultural/historical places in our next paper newsletter, which should be in your mailbox soon. [And this is the place where I always mention "If you're not receiving our newsletters, but would like to, just send me an email."]

Have a blessed week.

Rachel & Drew


p.s. on Monday we finally leave Beijing and go home to Changsha.

"This is such a great wall!"

Hey there Dear Readers,

How are ya doing?

Looking back over the last few posts, it seems that the tourism aspect of our lives has been well represented. What I haven't been telling you is that we sit on our behinds in class every morning and afternoon. Pictures of us awake in class are less exciting than Titus sleeping on the Great Wall. When they release us from (very valuable) lectures, and we finish our homework, we bum over to some Beijing sites which define or display Chinese culture. Actually, some of our homework has been to observe The Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven.

Here we are on another Saturday-morning escapade to the Great Wall. It was a killer hike up and down. No, sorry, you can't see it from space.

My favorite part of the day was chatting with an adorable leather-faced Chinese grandma, about 4'2", who was collecting tourists' empty plastic bottles. She liked Titus.


Hey, you have a great day. Thanks for stopping by to read.

love Rach

Wait, Joy?

You've read it.

"Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

What? Consider it all joy when facing trials?

I'm unqualified to write about trials. Most of my challenges have resulted from my own mistakes, and they've been minuscule compared to what many have endured. But I've watched some friends and family experience the most horrific of trials, and I can attest that joy is not the first descriptor that comes to mind.

Maybe I have a distorted view of joy.

Maybe I have a limited view of eternity and our purpose in this life.

A guy once said that 'the creator would rather make me holy than make me happy'.


Still...joy?

James is way bold.


- Rachel

Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven is a six-hundred year old marvel, with spiritual symbolism dictating every aspect of architecture and design. Emperors came here once a year to ask and make sacrifices for a good harvest.





Our Beijing friends Tom and Lila joined us for the day. Both are self-proclaimed seekers.



- D, R, T

Inside The Forbidden City

once boasted 9,999 rooms

covers 178 acres

established in 1420

seat of 24 emperors

over 500 years

Excerpt from my reflection paper:

As we entered the Forbidden City, I felt as though we were approaching the Holy of Holies -- through several deeply tunneled gates, over moats, past expansive courtyards, finally ascending to Taihe Hall (太和殿). I imagine that those approaching the emperor’s thone in 1420 and after must have felt the same sense of meekness, as if coming before a god in the Most Holy Place. And in fact, I understand that the emperor was regarded as divine. He must have looked as such, with huge vessels of incense ever burning before him, draped in his ornate yellow robes, seating on a throne of golden dragons. The many gates, moats and courtyards perhaps served two purposes: protective barriers in the occasion of siege and procuring a sense of holiness.

If the Forbidden City was a holy place during its centuries of royal occupation, it has been desecrated by commercial tourism. Although the structures and artifacts are well maintained, the masses of tourists discard popsicle sticks and candy wrappers about the courtyards. I want to know how Chinese nationals feel about this once-hallowed space: Is it still sacred or is it equivalent to the Beijing theme park? Does a remnant of something meriting worship still dwell here? If I were Chinese, I imagine that I would feel a deeply spiritual connection to something massive and ancient, as the progeny of a great civilization.

rubbing for good luck

Taihe Hall, the throne room

tourists press to look into the throne room

resplendent artchitecture

- Rachel

Not The Average Town Square

Tiananmen Square. Means Gate of Heavenly Peace Square. Largest urban square in the world. A favorite for national and foreign tourists. Adjacent to Mao's mausoleum, the Hall of the People (congress' building), the Monument to the People, the Forbidden City (emperor's palace) and the National History Museum.

See that famous structure in the background? The building and the maroon-colored wall is the face of the Forbidden City, constructed in 1420. Twenty-four emperors lived here over five hundred years. It was from this wall that Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

- Drew, Rach, & baby T.

Happy Memories from Home

Nai Nai adores Titus.

Paul took us flying in his aircraft!

The Greats: Grandpa Gordy, Grandma Bonnie, Grandma Elvie.

Picnicing with Grandpa Mike and Uncle Ethan in Colorado.

Auntie Jen and Uncle Paul. I was amazed at Uncle Paul's nurture and protection of Titus; he will be a good Dad!


Uncle Mark.

You can't believe it! Auntie Mandie surprised us by flying from Montana to Colorado for a visit!

Titus turns 10 months with Grandpa Jon and Baba.

Uncle Paul.

Wai Gong and Wai Po enjoy Titus immensely.

Grandpa Mike turns 45 in Colorado.

Family Love is such a blessing.

More pictures from our US trip at "I Like Minnesota".