Great Wall Gang :)
I spent this past weekend with five incredible people, each with a different and beautiful story. Each of us contributing something, and all the more, laughter. Fr. Wen, Louis, Nic, Lucia, Lucy, and I ventured to the world’s favorite site in China, The Great Wall.
We departed promptly Saturday after lunch, and went bus hopping. When we arrived at our final transfer we learned that the place we had originally planned to camp was closed for reconstruction. Five Chinese taxi drivers bombarded us and attacked us like sharks, with great hopes to rip us off of our money and drive us to another part of the wall.
We hopped another bus in order to ditch them, and met somebody who helped us find another location to camp on; Gubeikou, a part of the wall still original.
6 hours of bus rides in total, and we arrived as the sun was going down. We found the entrance to the wall and started up. We hadn’t reached step one when a man confronted us that we must buy tickets to climb the wall (which was expected), but that they were no longer selling tickets at this time of day.
And thus, we wandered on, looking for another entrance. We ended up learning of a path that led up as well, but was more narrow, and not paved. Thinking we had found that, we began a rocky trek up the mountain; it was most definitely not what we thought. We reached the top before dark, but our venture was a silent struggle, persistently upward. Loose rocks, large inclines, narrow space. This was certainly not a place for the common crowd.
We realized after we had reached our destination at the top that we had all kept quiet in prayer for one another’s safety. Amazing.
Tossing our backpacks from our shoulders, we inhaled a deep breath. Very little light shone, yet in that glow was the awe-inspiring scene we came to see; the reward for our difficult path.
Dinner time came. I had asked each person to bring something, but it turned out enough to last us a week in the mountains! Within the little stone tower we shared the feast. Evening came, and stories filled the air. A fire was short-lived, as there was no wood but kindle to be found.
A little cold in the mountains, a little windy, yet manageable. I lay awake in my warm little cocoon, peeking over the edge of the tiny tower, watching stars til’ all my thoughts blanked. Incredible peace.
Sleeping rugged among the dirt and the rocks was perfect; completely beautiful, whether comfortable or not. (and it was the latter…)
We woke to a sunrise, and then Fr. Wen celebrated Mass for us. A wonderful way to celebrate the 8th day of Easter, if I do say so myself. Mass was part-Chinese, part-English. It’s a moment in time I’ll never forget, it was so, so special.
Following Mass was part II of our feast. “The more we eat the less we have to carry, guys…” Ha!
That morning we challenged ourselves through a good length of the wall. Fr. Wen and I went the furthest, going to the highest visible tower of the mountain, which was achieved by maneuvering through a climb of cliffs only armored with a few limp poles. With that adventure alone, I was in awe.
Later reaching the bottom we gazed up; just a mere 12 hours before we had been looking up at the mountain and joking, “Hey! If we can’t get in an entrance, let’s CLIMB that!” - and we had done just that.
I have no doubt that this time was incredibly Christ-filled. It’s probably the best (or maybe top 3) of times I’ve had in China.
Enjoy the pictures!
A jam-packed Holy Week, with a grand Easter barbecue and picnic to conclude!
…was having too much fun… forgot to take pics, sorry!
Happy Easter!:)
For some of these kids, it was the very first time to dye Easter Eggs!
Some of the group home kids came by Saturday.
Each of the little kids would dunk their egg in a color, wait about 20 seconds, and then dive their hands into the bright colored dye to fish out the egg. Lack of patience made for some ugly eggs at times, but they had fun!
They’d all huddle around a the newspaper to let their eggs dry. One egg broke. I turned to Fei Fei and gestured, “Hey, can you help him with another egg; his broke!” And in seeing this, the kids learned, ‘OH! If I break my egg, I get to dye another one!’ , and thus, we had many cracked eggs! Oh, what did I teach them?
67 eggs boiled; many eaten; the kids in total took about 9 home!
By the time they departed, the parking lot looked as though a tornado had run through a hen house! What fun! :)
This past Good Friday a bunch of the group home kids put on a play of the Passion. Fei Fei and Joseph were directors, and Fei Fei, Sr. Scholastica, and I put together costumes and worked backstage.
All of the kids were so reverent, and also very excited. Very powerful.
A few of us visited the Summer Palace the other day; Fei Fei, Nicolas, Joseph, and me.
It was beautiful, but packed because everybody was on holiday (a special day of remembrance for the dead). The weather was sunny, the sky was bright.
I don’t blame the empress; this place was beautiful!
Gardens and artwork and a magnificent lake surrounded her magical world.
Teaching Fr. Wen, the Chinese priest, has been the greatest joy.
Looking over the past two months I can easily say that I always had a reason to smile when I’d return from class. I learned that this reputably impossible student has many possibilities with the English language.
It’s part of my mission to help him carry out his. As an Oblate, he won’t be leaving China to do mission work until he learns English well enough; that is the challenge given to me. And it means so much that I’m helping him carry out his passion.
It’s strange being the teacher of a priest. And why is it strange? I think that people often forget that priests are human too. We laugh so much fun in class, we have such great stories; priests have their own lives, too :)
Fr. Wen has exceeded the expectations of everything I have asked thus far. He’s the ideal student, but he’s also - without realizing - given me a lot of hope here in China with my mission here. He’s like a friend, or another great uncle.
My time here in China is coming to an end soon. And yet in the next few weeks I must stay positive and enjoy everybody and really carry through until the end.
Thanks so much for your support.
Have a great day!
