A friend of Diane's invited us to her traditional Chinese orchestra rehearsal at the Children's Palace on Saturday. Ms J is learning to play the erhu, the Chinese equivalent of the violin being demonstrated here by a fellow erhu-ist:


The orchestra members welcomed us warmly and enthusiastically as we made our way around the room to get an up-close look at each type of instrument and the preparations involved for playing them:

I told this flutist that I play the flute as well, but I was glad later not to have been invited to sit in on the rehearsal. The sheet music was written in a very un-Western format, and I was quite happy just to sit back and listen to the masters play.

Such a variety of instruments!

This musician insisted that Maggie sit down and try out his dulcimer. He had her copy what he was doing so that she finally played a complete scale.

But all of the pre-rehearsal merriment ended the moment the Old Man sat down on his throne. No warm-up, no tuning note, just a big downbeat and the room came alive with the most thrilling sounds! I can't say I've ever particularly cared one way or another about Chinese music, but the piece they were working on was lovely. I found out later that it's a brand new piece composed by the conductor himself. You can hear a snippet of it HERE (hopefully). Unfortunately the moment ended all too abruptly when an orchestra member ran in late, grabbed the chair I'd been sitting in earlier, and immediately knocked over the entire cup of water I had foolishly left under the chair...

This experience has proven to be one of the highlights of my trip -- as Diane says, it was quite a score! The setting, the people, the music and the opportunity to make connections through photos was a joy I hope to never forget.

Praise the Lord.

Praise God in His sanctuary;

praise Him in His mighty heavens.

Praise Him for His acts of power;

praise Him for His surpassing greatness.
Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise Him with the harp and the lyre,

praise Him with tambourine and dancing,

praise Him with the strings and flute,

praise Him with the clash of cymbals,

praise Him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 150

Last Friday was one of the most hectic days of our trip. We stopped by the Lesh Girls' school to take some photos of their summer language program, then ran across town for a pedicab tour through the Hutong. That's one of the oldest neighborhoods in Beijing where the houses are built around small courtyards. Maggie pondered the scenery as our driver pedaled us from a busy downtown street into the hidden world of the Hutong:

Our very knowledgeable tour guide shared all sorts of interesting facts with us, including architectural details I now can't quite remember because I was too busy snapping photos. Dang.

I do remember that businesses line the north-to-south roads and homes are along the east-to-west roads. I think. Aren't you glad I'm not your tour guide?

These two big sisters had their hands full chasing their little brother up and down the street. They paused just long enough for us to say hello and capture a few adorable shots:

Our tour ended with a visit to this nice lady's home. She was a great hostess and had her living room furniture set up to accomodate our group of about 20. She served us hot tea then shared history about her home that has been occupied by her family for several generations. Her children are grown and have moved into newer high-rise apartment buildings, but she still loves being part of the close-knit Hutong community.

The second big event of the day was dinner at Bai Jai, affectionately called the Princess Restaurant by the Lesh Girls and their posse. This is Chinese dining and dinner theater at their best, set in beautiful gardens at the end of a lantern-lit walkway and staffed by beautiful young people in period dress. It's what Disney's Epcot Center aspires to recreate:

As we passed through the beaded curtain and into the restaurant, we were nearly knocked to the floor by YELLOW! which is the Chinese symbol for power (and certain blindness):

We were treated to a sampling of traditional music, graceful dancers and ear-splitting Chinese opera:

Old World truly meets New World at Bai Jai. Our authentically costumed waitresses took our orders on Blackberries and received constant guidance via Bluetooth technology:

But the very best thing about the evening was that The Queen was pleased:

Every good thing I have is a gift from You.

Your people are wonderful,

and they make me happy.

Psalm 16:2-3 CEV

I can't keep up! We're seeing so many terrific things and I'm taking sooooooo many pictures (I know you're shocked). Here are some from Tuesday's visit to a wonderful place called Bethel on the outskirts of Beijing:


Bethel is a training center for blind orphans, children who would otherwise have no chance for adoption or training for a career. The increasingly self-sustaining facility is spread over 70+ acres with plenty of room for growing organic produce and raising animals. Here's Maggie visiting the bunnies:

Bethel is currently home to just under 40 children. A staff of 70 care for their needs -- nannies, teachers, cooks, housekeepers, farm workers and administrators. Here a class is being taught to read braille by a teacher who is blind herself:

Love pours from all of the caretakers at Bethel. They are overjoyed by each milestone and miracle their children achieve, whether it's learning to eat, learning to walk, or learning to button:

Beautiful little faces:

Right now all of the children live in dorm rooms within the main Bethel building, but new "family homes" are nearly ready for additional children:

This beaming smile tells the truth about Bethel: joy lives here!

The heart of Bethel is the Gauvain family. Guillaume and Delphine set out to find God's will for their lives, and they ended up serving His children in China. Guillaume recently published a book chronicling the first 30 years of their adventurous lives. He says, "China is a huge country. Caring for its poor and needy with such a large population is a challenge. We simply do what God has called us to do -- care for blind orphans -- and are thankful to China for allowing us to do it." (Love Is Blind) I was privileged to do a family mini-session for their family, beginning with some quick shots of Benjamin, David and Emilie:

L. O. V. E.

I would encourage you to visit Bethel's website, http://www.bethelchina.org/, and consider offering them your prayer and material support. I've been there. It is indeed a wonderful place.

The Lord says,

"Clear the road! Get it ready for My people."

Our holy God lives forever in the highest heavens,

and this is what He says:

Though I live high above in the holy place,

I am here to help those who are humble

and depend only on Me.

I know what you are like!

But I will heal you, lead you, and give you comfort,

until those who are mourning start singing My praises.

No matter where you are,

I, the Lord, will heal you and give you peace.

Isaiah 57:14-15, 18-19 CEV

The Lesh Girls live on the 18th floor of the apartment building at the back of this complex. We've made several trips up and down in the elevator, so we took some time to just hang around the house on Monday.


Emily's favorite form of entertainment is torturing, I mean playing with the fabulous Fabio. Their other cat Daisy is a master of passive resistance and wet noodle imitation, so she manages to get left out of most of the fun.


Isn't Fabio gorgeous? Maggie and I have discovered that a daily dose of Claritin allows us to live mostly allergy-free amongst our furry friends.


Monday evening we went on an outing to a pretty lake area.. The big event involved renting a battery-powered boat and gently puttering around the lake. The girls took turns driving with mixed results -- Maggie and Emily loved it, but Abby quickly begged to be relieved of her captain duties:


The Queen and I thoroughly enjoyed the breeze and the chance to do some backseat driving:


Lots of interesting folks were there, like this fellow doing beautiful calligraphy with water and a huge brush on the pavement...


... the carefree men swimming and sunning themselves on the tiny island in the center of the lake...


... a bride and groom having their portraits taken (Chinese brides and grooms typically wear traditional clothing for the actual ceremony and then rent gowns and tuxes for their portraits)...


... an artist who was in great demand for charcoal portraits...


... and these friendly girls also enjoying the lake:


Of course there were plenty of shopping opportunities, and Maggie used her bargaining skillz. This poor guy lost a sale because he wouldn't lower his price enough to suit this tough customer:


It wouldn't be a good day in China without a new group shot:


We're seeing proof that...

What God has planned for people who love Him
is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard.
It has never even entered our minds!
1 Corinthians 2:9

Laurie here! We did indeed find a way around the Great Firewall of China!

Sunday morning we squeezed in a shopping trip before church (yay jet lag!) at the Dirt Market, named for its once-dirt floors that have now been paved. We looked so nice when we left the apartment, seeing as how we were headed to church and all. Within 15 minutes we were soaked with sweat and I had my hair in a ponytail. Oh well. I'm sure God understood.

Here are some glimpses of the wares to be bargained upon at Dirt Market:

Baskets and baskets of old Chinese coins caught Maggie's eye, so she picked out one that she plans to use as a necklace:

The Chinese way of doing business requires firmness and savvy, qualities I am sorely lacking. Fortunately we are being trained by two masters, Diane and Sri.

Maggie is showing more of an aptitude for this type of shopping than I am. Here's a set of calligraphy brushes that she was happy to find:

And here I am with the two flutes I bought after essentially no bargaining. I never realized what a polite, considerate, gentle, compassionate wimp I truly am. The first flute is made out of beautiful blue marble, I think, and was plucked out of a pile of opium pipes. The second one called me from afar when its merchant started playing it. It's made of bamboo and is going to take a bit more work to learn how to play.

Church was a thrilling experience when we finally arrived, and not just because of God's gift to mankind known as air conditioning. As we walked in, the band was playing a song our church learned a couple of months ago. People from every continent were there worshiping together and singing in multiple layers of harmony. A peek into heaven! I'll try to get you caught up on Monday and Tuesday's events tomorrow. If I don't completely melt before then, that is...

Hosanna! Hosanna!

You are the God who saves us, worthy of all our praises

Hosanna! Hosanna!

Come have Your way among us, we welcome You here, Lord Jesus

- Hosanna by Paul Baloche

Substitute Blog, Installment 1

Hello, internet readers! Today's blog post is brought to you by Tyler, son of the fabulous photographer. Mom is in China on her GRAND ADVENTURE, and China is a little stricter about which sites you can and can't visit, so I'll be filling in indefinitely (best case, until she finds a way around the restrictions; worst case, until she returns and recovers from jet lag).

Beginning transmission:

We made it to China! Maggie slept through a good part of the flight... as usual I did well just to catch a few naps. The Lesh Girls have a full itinerary planned for us, so we jumped right in today and headed to the Great Wall. Did you know that it runs along a mountain range? I didn't! We had to walk pretty well straight uphill just to get to the Wall, which then led to more climbing and vertical walking. By the time we got to steps heading down, our knees had turned to jelly and we had to hang on to the stone walls for dear life to keep from rolling down.

Three of Diane's co-workers joined us for the day. Here's a collection of group shots (minus me). In the top photo you'll see Shawna, Donica, Sri, Maggie, Emily, Diane and Abby:

I did jump into this shot with Maggie...

...and this one inside a tower along the Wall:

Just a few more of our gang:

And even a few shots of innocent passersby:

We rode tobaggans to come back down from the Wall:

We were greeted by Gengis Khan, who was eager to have his photo taken but then stuck out his hand and demanded payment. Good thing he didn't see the rabbit ears or he might have charged extra.

The marketplace between the Wall and parking lot was bustling with merchants and potential customers. "Lady, lady! Looky, looky! One dollar! You come and buy!" We stopped to purchase dried fruit and handcarved marble name stamps:

Emily got talked into trying on funny hats. We thought she looked adorable but she refused to buy one:

Just like Abby, we were all exhausted by the time we got back to our van:

I'd better get to bed now. We're supposed to leave at 7:00 am for a visit to the Dirt Market (??? I'll have to explain that one to you after I see it for myself) followed by church, a pedicure and dinner at Beijing's best Mexican restaurant.