Hebrews 11:1, 3 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Wow, this in a nutshell tells us who made us and the world. This also explains why Darwin’s theory of evolution cannot be proven. God made the universe and Is the one in charge. I am thankful for my faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ. I could not imagine living life without Jesus by my side.
Today we had a great day touring Beijing. We started early with the Great Wall. The girls amazed me by hiking all the way to the top of the wall. Annabelle graciously helped me carry the backpack up and back down the wall. I was very proud of all three girls for their will to keep going and not give up. It was quite a work out!
Many tourists were at the Great Wall. I must say we were in much closer quarters than I am used to in America—even in very busy venues. One thing I have not mentioned is that the Chinese culture is different from American culture when it comes to personal space. All day today we were having to respectfully push our way through masses of people. My arms and even hair touched more bodies and heads than I can count. Oh, did I mention the smells? Yes, you can only imagine many sweaty bodies in very close proximity on a summer’s day. I don’t need to say more.
After the Great Wall experience we went to lunch. The girls were very hungry and ate a lot. They are very good eaters! After lunch we went to the Forbidden City. This city is a series of courtyards where the Emperor used to reside until 1924. It was hard to view inside all the buildings because as the Chinese people left the front of the viewing area, more just pushed their way in. It was a good experience for the girls to learn more about their history and heritage.
After the Forbidden City we went to the famous acrobatic show. This is truly an amazing show. It is well worth the money and time to see it. The girls loved it and were so happy and excited after the show. The day was one of the best days we have had in China. I am really glad we decided to come here to give the girls an opportunity to see these important venues that are a big part of their Chinese heritage.
I forgot to mention the hotel room and the culture with smoking here in China. The only hotel that has truly been smoke free is the China Hotel at the Marriott in Guangzhou. In three years of staying there I have never smelled smoke! It is like staying in a 5 star hotel in America. I say that because we are now staying in an equally expensive hotel here in Beijing called the Beijing International Hotel and it is NOT smoke free even though they say it is! We smell smoke constantly and are in rooms that are so old I cannot even speculate the age of the rooms. We had to tell the front desk today that just across the hall from us was a room full of Chinese men SMOKING with their door open. The staff acted surprised and said they would get maid service up to stop them. Well, I do not know what happened as we left for the day, but it will continue to happen as this policy is not enforced.
The last think I want to note is that I think every American citizen should do the following two things in their lifetime:
1. Serve in the armed forces to defend the country, one country under God, that gives them the freedom they enjoy and take for granted each and every day.
2. Visit a foreign communist country for at least two weeks! This would help those that freely want to vote away our liberties and freedoms a chance to see what it really looks like to live in a country where there are few liberties and freedoms with complete government control. The loss of freedom is a slow fade so be very cautious when you vote to end a freedom our founding fathers granted us as a nation because that will lead us to the path of living like the controlled, freedom-less Chinese citizens.
Tomorrow we fly back to the United States. We land at 1730 in Dallas, TX! I will be relieved once we get through immigration and the girls become citizens of the United States!
I will post an additional posting after this one to tell you the story about why we named the girls what we did. Thank you for your company on our journey. May God Bless You!
Captions: First: The girls and Annabelle at the top of the Great Wall; Second: Mom and the girls at the top of the Great Wall; Third: Tired girls in van traveling between tours; Fourth: Forbidden city; Fifth: Me, driver, guide, and girls
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