Field Report: Day Three in China

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Day three now. Now in MY. Here to deliver some donated English books to the school here as well as conduct stress management workshop for the students who are facing tremendous stress, with the exams coming. Took about 3 hours for us to get from Lijiang to MY and the principal of the school came to fetch us with his van. Boy, things really happened fast and now I really understand why we have to be at the tip of our toes on mission trips because things changes very fast and may not go according to plan. According to plan, we have till tomorrow to stay in Lijiang and the trip to MY was supposed to only take place tomorrow. But today, the principal said that he is in the area and could fetch us up to the school. So, it we all rushed back to the inn to pack our day pack quickly for MY.

A little cute puppy we saw on the way to MY

Thank God for Preserving my Life
Boy, was there serious cramping trying to fit 7 volunteers, 2 teachers and 1 principal and tonnes of bags into a van meant for 7 persons. But anyway, we did it anyhow and arrive safe and sound in MY. I really want to thank God for preserving my life and for protecting me. When I arrived at MY, I realised that my windstopper got caught on the door of the van, which meant that the door may not have been closed properly. This meant that with the kind of traveling and the turning here and there, I could have fallen out of the van anytime during the trip up the hill. But really thank God that I didn't. As I struggled to get out of the van (it was so embarrassing to have be stuck in the van while everyone is standing outside looking), they realised that the luggage placed on the top of the van have somewhat "jammed" the door. Thank God!

Thank God for Blessing this Urban Kid
I also thank God for the two backpacker friends who came along. You see, I have mentioned that I am the only male in the group. This can be a bit stressful because I somehow felt that others may have the expectation that I know all the outdoor adventure kind of stuff like tying luggage to the top of the van etc... but the fact is that, I am quite an urban kid and these are things that are new to me... So really thank God for them, because their outdoor skills really came in handy here and they helped to move the luggage and tied it to the top of the van...

Nightmare of End Days Again
Actually, yesterday haven't been a good day for me. I had a horrible nightmare abut end days again and this time, it is so real that I woke up hyperventilating. It was just so scary. I can't recall my dream but just remember being in a downtown bookshop, knowing that the end of days is coming. I remember grabbing hold of a few red and white books and "declared war" on Satan. The dream came to an end when I went out of the bookshops and made my way to go save some friends, but along the way, I was stopped by this taxi driver who asked if I needed a ride. Somehow, I can tel "he" wasn't who he seem to be. Then I woke up, hyperventilating badly.

How we kept ourselves warm during the cold cold nights
(Our backpacker friends told us if we see "smoke" coming out of
our mouths when we speak, high likelihood the temperature is sub 10 degrees)

9 April 2007