Beijing Adventure

On Monday and Tuesday, after the conclusion of last week's amazing Fire Conference and crusade, Rebekah and I decided to take a couple of days and visit mainland China as tourists (for once). Our first stop was the Great Wall of China. When our tour guide saw Rebekah, realizing that she was pregnant, she suggested that Rebekah stay down at the bottom and admire the wall from a distance. “It is too dangerous,” she said, “for a pregnant woman to climb the wall.” But Rebekah decided that she was not content to merely look at the wall, she wanted to conquer it. So up we went. If it was up to me, I think I would call the “Great Wall” the “Great Stairway.” The section that we climbed which leads to the highest point was a seemingly endless staircase. Each time we reached a summit that we was “sure” was the end, we would be greeted by yet another section of wall/stairs winding into the horizon and out of sight. Everyone passing us had a chuckle at Rebekah and her baby bump, but we kept on climbing. Once we reached the top we were rewarded with a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains and a wide panorama of the expanse of the huge wall (which is about 4,000 miles long in total!)The Hero's Monument at the Great Wall says, "You're not a plucky hero until you climb up the Great Wall." Rebekah is therefore a "Plucky Hero."

The Summer Palace

tiananmen square

We proceed on to visit a local tea shop where we had a fascinating demonstration and taste testing. Then on to a Jade market and a pearl market. Then on to the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and Tiananmen Square. All of that we did in LESS than 24 hours. We arrived home on Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning it was time to get back on the road. I am now in Taiwan where the Fire Conference here will kick off early tomorrow morning. We are looking forward to a powerful conference. There are some 18,000 registered delegates for this conference. It is being held in the largest venue here in Taipei. Two weeks after the meetings were announced, every seat was reserved! Please keep us in your prayers.

Here are some pictures of our adventure: