Pictures
3/3/06
Below you
can see additional pictures that I could not include in the Prayer Update
e-mails.
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Some of the
smaller Wallers actually handled the chopsticks better than I did.
- Much to
the enjoyment of our Chinese friends.
Peter had
arranged for a small bus to provide transportation in
At Peter's
home, this was the favorite table. People sat on the floor, and
put their
legs under the table, taking advantage of the electric blanket
under the
rug. (The homes in
much in the
winter time.)
David led
the training for the Children's Seminar teachers. Here Derrick
and I did a
skit demonstrating how not to
teach.
The city of
buildings
of
Traffic was
quite interesting. It was something like
faster
speeds. The drivers skillfully race for position, often narrowly missing
each other
in the process.
Our staff
posed outside the school in
before the
first Character Family Seminar.
In the
Children's Program, David had me help with one of the stories.
Here,
"Sloppy Joe" learns an important lesson on responsibility.
The
patterns that "Sloppy Joe" built in his life as a boy became the
foundation
for his character as a sailor.
The
students listened to stories, and learned songs in the large group setting.
And then
had further teaching and craft activities in their small groups.
Here a
little boy folds his hat after learning about responsibility.
Each
student got to make a paper hat to remind them of responsibility.
Derrick's
team tries on their sailor hats.
The
Children's Seminar team.
At a
restaurant after the
a "steam
bowl." A large bowl of boiling water is in the center of the table,
heated by a
pitcher of burning coal. You take chopsticks and dip finely sliced
meat into
the water for a few seconds to cook it.
Trying to
find a lost strip of chicken, we found a whole crab at the bottom
of the
steam bowl.
Our family
was able to have our usual time of Bible reading and singing
together in
the morning. On this day, a good friend joined our family time
after
traveling several hours to meet us.
Mr.
Fahrenbruck and Peter.
Mr.
Fahrenbruck led the main sessions for the parents, and some
breakout
sessions for the English speaking attendees.
We all felt
like it was summer outside after coming from
It was fun
to see the grass and trees in
This is a
large sundial.
Visiting
some of Peter's character companies, we enjoyed hearing how
they have
applied principles of character to their business.
Matthew's
string tricks drew quite a crowd at the train station as we
waited for
the rest of our team to arrive.
The
overnight train from
The
compartments were plenty warm, but otherwise we found the
train quite
comfortable.
Arriving in
Character
Family Seminar.
Peter
presents a special gift to the main coordinator of the Beijing Seminar.
Discretion
is defined as: "Recognizing and avoiding words, actions and
attitudes
that could bring undesirable consequences."
Visiting
another company, my family had the opportunity to participate in
a question
and answer forum. Many people had questions about how to apply
principles
of character to their family and home life.
David poses
with the Beijing Children's Seminar group after telling
the
patience story.
This three
wheeled bicycle looks pretty heavily loaded.
Most of the
children in
two
parents, and four grandparents.
We had a
good laugh one night as I tried using chopsticks the "logical" way.
One of the
interesting parts of living in
appliances
when all the buttons are in Chinese. -Yes, we did manage
to get the
heaters working. :-)
I was
impressed with the color and greenery in
Mopeds,
scooters and bicycles seem to be one of the most popular means
of
transportation through the city.
I was
amazed at the number of American style restaurants in
We enjoyed
eating pizza several times. -With the price of cheese, we
don't get
that too often in
Mr.
Fahrenbruck looks over the fish section of the Carrefour store.
- No, he
didn't buy any.
Where else
can you get fresh fish heads and eels?
Or, even
fresher yet, you can buy them live!
I am not
sure what these were, but they sure looked pretty.
Taxis
provided a good way for small groups to get around the city.
- Quite a
bit fancier than the Mongolian ones. :-)
This
Christian bookstore is a bit of a rarity in China. They can sell most
everything
short of Bibles.
Following
the tradition of removing our shoes, we made quite a sizeable
selection
in the entry way.
On the last
day of the Chinese New Year, we had the opportunity to walk
through the
park after dark, watching the fireworks, and setting off a
few smaller
ones. Real Chinese lanterns made the walk even more festive.
Stopping by
the river after dark one evening, we rode a ferry across the
river to
see the lights.
A brilliant
display of color lit up the evening sky, reflecting across the river.
This
beautiful piece of architecture is called the "Pearl Tower".
I don't
think it was "Ben", but it was big, whatever it was.
One thing
that I had never seen before was the concept of using the entire
side
of a building to display motion pictures. Imagine watching a humming
bird hover
over a flower, but a hundred feet tall!
Walking
through some of the streets we saw another brilliant display of
lights.
Notice the McDonalds sign in the center.
During one
of the days, we visited a few shops.
Food of all
different kinds was available for hungry travelers.
We settled
for something a little more standardized, -McDonalds.
Matthew
enjoyed the exercise equipment.
We enjoyed
another "steam bowl" adventure with a kind friend.
You mixed
your own sauce, but the exciting thing was that all the labels
were in
Chinese... :-) Our friend was very kind to translate them for us.
Many hours
were spent planning out the logistics and details for the
Character
Family Seminars.
Jenny
shares a personal illustration in the teenager class.
I was
impressed with the technology as the waiter took our orders on his
handheld
computer (PDA).
Lydia
studies the menu, trying to decide what kind of food to order.
In Beijing
we had the opportunity to visit the Summer Palace.
Poor David
only ended up behind bars once,
But it made
for some great pictures. :-)
A hole in
the rock above revealed his secret.
A number of
old and restored buildings made for a very interesting tour.
The setting
sun also gave us a great opportunity for pictures.
Lydia and
Rebecca ran with me to round the bend so that I could catch
some
pictures before the sun went behind the mountain.
- And we
just made it.
"So,
what's your name?" Matthew looks at a frog, fresh and ready to order
at one of
the restaurants. (No, we decided to get something else.)
We toured a
factory where beautiful hand-painted ceramics were made.
Some of the
bigger pieces were priced at over $50,000.
Erin poses
with one of the families that helped with the seminars.
A group
picture of the staff.
I am not
sure which one was actually steering, but they seemed to enjoy
the
"ride".
Yes, there
is a bicycle under there, as evidenced by the front wheel.
A Chinese
home. Note the scooter parked on the walk.
I wonder if
Hudson Taylor of years gone by would have looked at scenes
such as
this...
After some
long days and lots of Sprite, Matthew was getting a little silly.
Rachelle
and Sarah. The Summer Palace is visible across the lake.
Matthew
tries his hand at a quick picture.
On our last
day, we were able to visit the Great Wall.
This
section of the wall is further away from the city, and has not had
quite as
much restoration work.
Most the
Waller children hiked out to the end of the section open to tourists.
There were
a few "friends" waiting to sell you anything you needed,
or didn't
need.
Climbing on
the Great Wall is a memory that we will not soon forget.
The Wallers
on the Wall.
Matthew
poses for a picture with the guard at the apartment just before
leaving
Beijing.
More
Pictures after the Morely Fire
We took
these pictures on the day after the fire at the Morely home.
We helped
pour some water on some of the sawdust in the roof that was
still
smoldering after the fire the night before.
The roof
was basically destroyed.
The
greatest damage was in the center of the home, near the coal
furnace.
The two ends of the house sustained serious smoke damage,
but
otherwise survived the fire.
With
temperatures at -22F, the spray from the leaking hoses covered
the
surrounding area with ice.
Fire
extinguishers helped to slow the spread of the fire while the truck
drove back
to the city to refill the water tank.
This one
must have gotten a little too hot.
Derrick
looks at the damage on the roof.
Not much
remained in the back bedroom after the fire.
They were
able to throw some things out the window before the fire
engulfed
the room.
It was on
this pile that I noticed the words "Great is Thy Faithfulness"
David
surveys the damage near the coal furnace, where the fire
probably
started.
Being made
of brick, the walls were still standing, even in the areas
more
damaged by the fire.
As the
guard reminded us, the important thing is that no lives were lost,
and no one
was hurt in the fire.
The Morely
family had recently moved to another building, and were not
living in
this home at the time of the fire. They were grateful to be able to
save most
of their furniture and valuables.
Because of
the cold temperatures, they will probably wait several months
before they
begin the process of cleaning and rebuilding.
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