First Meals -- in China

Breakfast at the hotel. Wonderful!! There are many chefs in tall white hats behind stainless steel cook stations. The raw ingredients are on display. They cook it right in front of you. There were many choices of fruit, cereals hot and cold, pancakes and meats, many things I recognized and many that I did not.

We could choose whatever and how much we wanted. I was ready for an adventure. I tried the boiled tofu, surprisingly delicious. an omelet. some rice cake, a filled "puff" of bread, a wonderful green vegetable, and of course Tea!

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Lunch was at a local restaurant. Our guide, Jerry Wong, order for us and we shared everything. pork slices with cabbage, soup with egg and seaweed, steamed celery and carrots. There was enough to eat. It was good.

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I am learning to eat with chop sticks!!

Supper on the other hand . . . .well, suffice it to say, "I do NOT like Peking Duck!"
It was quite a show. they slice it into exactly 108 pieces. You brush the sauce on a small "tortilla", place a few pieces of duck, vegetables and onion and then roll it and eat it.

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After supper we were all still hungry so we walked to the local grocery store to buy some snacks. We shared a box of ice cream bars -- 5 bars for 15 Yuan is about $2. A can of Coke cost more.

First DQT in China

Acts 13:1-5

Paul and Barnabas were getting ready for whatever God had for them to do. prayer and fasting.

Lord, today I CHOOSE to sit in YOUR presence. Sitting at the feet of Jesus, like Mary.

Zeph 3:17 The Lord is in my midst. A might one who will save. He will rejoice over me with gladness. He will quiet me with His love. He will exalt over me with loud singing. Amen.

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know I AM God.

You are God. Amen.

As I prepare to go see the sights of this awesome place today, let me be ever ready, prepared, and eager to give a WORD for you if an opportunity arises. Let every word of my mouth and every action be pleasing and glorifying to you, O Lord, my Strength, my Redeemer. Amen.

Beijing -- just arrived . . .

The 6-29-2009 at 9PM "China Time" I am here.

Beijing, China. 24 hours of flight time . . I could not sleep.

Months of planning and preparations went into this trip. Meetings, lesson preparation, making copies. Writing letters and thank you notes. Prayer, prayers, and more prayers. Working the garage sale with Zizi. Telling everyone about it. Reading books about China.

I got no sleep on the trip over . The first leg -- I had a window seat beside a young sailor returning to Groton, CT. I used to teach computer systems for the submarine crews there. We had an interesting conversation.

The second leg- I had a MIDDLE seat between a

graduate student returning from her first visit to America and a Chinese studies professor at Princeton. The student was interested to talk about her adventures on her vacation and learn how to crochet. The professor wanted to tell me the whole history of China. I was quite interested in both.

Our hotel in Beijing, the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel, is luxurious! I am sharing a room with Phyllis Mills, she would have preferred to have her own room.

Some of the local Christians met with us in the lobby the first day we arrived. It was exciting to hear their stories of how God is still working miracles in China these days. The fellowship and stories were wonderful and amazing, but I was exhausted, so my thoughts kept wondering off.

Hopefully, a quick, quiet dinner, then off to bed!!

The day before I leave . . .

Well, Sunday at 4 am I will will be at the airport. With less than 12 hous to go I am trying to figure out how to blog for the first time. Is that a good use of time?? Probably not.

But the point is: I depend on your prayer support. One way to get that is to keep in contact with you all.

I reached my goal to get into these jeans again before I go. I am not taking them -- too heavy, too hot. See the "stain glass" pot in the window? I made that. Look thru the TX kitchen window and see it about 102 degrees here today! Whew!

My lessons are as done as they are going to get, for now. Bags are mostly packed -- I keep remembering "one more thing". Robin is napping. I am writing to you.

Thank you for your prayer support. I hope this site works in China!!

Blessings,

Anita Thompson 6-27-2009

Support Request Letter

Dear Family and Friends, Spring 2009
I am writing to tell you about an exciting opportunity that God has opened for me. My church in TX, Champion Forest Baptist Church, is taking a group of people to Zhengzhou, China on a mission trip, June 28 to July 25, 2009. Zhengzhou is in central China, the ancient capitol, and where the terra cotta warriors are buried.
We will be primarily teaching conversational English to elementary school teachers at a private school. This mission trip is unique for we have contact with our students five hours every day, which gives us time to develop relationships and more opportunities to share Jesus. We will worship in one of the three churches in the large city.
Those of you who know me well know these two things: that I have wanted to go to China as a missionary for a very long time and that I have a passion for sharing God’s love and teaching English to my international friends.
I am writing you to ask your help in two ways. First, could you possibly help me financially? The trip is $2200 plus spending money. If you can help me with this, you can receive a tax contribution credit by making the check to Champion Forest Baptist Church. In the memo area, please put “China trip-July”. Do not put my name on the check. Please place the check in an envelope with my name on the outside. You may give the envelope to me personally or mail it to me at my address below.
Second, I realize that everyone who receives this letter can’t help me financially and I understand that. However, I do have one need that everyone can help me with . . . and that is prayer. Please pray for lives to be touched with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Also pray for our group to be safe and healthy.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I appreciate your support and prayers.
Sincerely,
Anita Thompson
3911 Coltwood Dr, Spring, TX 77388
phone: 832-482-0037 email: anita0257@yahoo.com