Shanghai

Wow, what an amazing week I had in Shanghai! I just spent seven days opening worshiping and praying along with a couple hundred people in a closed country where it is illegal to do so. I went to the annual conference for AO which is the ministry that The Centre is under. There were missionaries there from all over Asia and it was so great to hear about all the different ministries that exist in this part of the world. I was so inspired by the people that I met there.

Shanghai is such a beautiful place, I must have taken at least 250 pictures. I put some of them on my photo blog if you would like to see them, the link is on the sidebar. At night when the conference finished for the day, we went out to explore the city and that is when I took most of the photos. Shanghai is huge and there are so many high rise buildings, it is incredible.

Most of the time in Thailand, I don't mind the fact that I look and sound different from everyone else. But every once in awhile, I long to disappear in a crowd or stand in a throng of people and understand the language that they are speaking. Being in China was a different level of culture shock for me. Even though I don't understand the language in Thailand, I usually have someone with me who speaks and understands it. In China I not only did not understand the language but I was having to translate the English to my Thai friends that were with me. I did not mind doing it, it was just a weird experience for me and a whole new level of culture shock. Coming back to Thailand was so comforting. As soon as we got off the airplane in Bangkok, I felt like I was at home. Suddenly I was surrounded by people speaking Thai and even though I didn't understand it, it was familiar. I didn't mind that I looked different and sounded different, it was all okay because I was home again. It was a great feeling and left me appreciating Thailand on a whole new level.

It was a great week in China and it is even greater to be back in Thailand!