Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

As I was preparing for what I would see and do for the weekend here in China, I was presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity - a trip to Beijing. So, this weekend I will fly from Shanghai to Beijing. While in Beijing, I plan to visit the Great Wall, the Forbidden City (the Palace Museum), and Tianamen Square on Saturday. Saturday evening I will take a train to visit some friends who are staying in the area and will stay the night with them. Sunday, I will spend with them and with other believers in China! I am so stoked at the opportunity!

Please pray for safety in all the travelling. To tide you over a bit until I return with a plethera of pictures from the Beijing trip, here are a few pics of the ride to and from the office each day - Shanghai to Kunshan.

 There is construction going on everywhere!

 More Construction!

This is rice drying on the road near the office.

In a Land Far, Far Away...

On Saturday, I left home for my trip to China. (This is posted late because you cannot access blogger from China, the government filters it out) I left Grand Rapids at around 1:30 pm and arrived here in China at around 7:00 pm Sunday. The one thing I can say about a 14-15 hour flight - boring. After watching 3 movies, listening to MP3s off my laptop, napping, and reading, I found myself with 5 hours left to go... You may say, "take another nap," but that was the last thing I wanted to do. If I had taken another nap, I wouldn't have been able to sleep when I got to the hotel last night... I have included some pics of the plane I flew on and the hotel I am staying in. Enjoy...