This large temple is at the summer palace. It is an extremely large ornate Buddhist temple. It is reached by about a million stairs. The building and paintings are unreal.








The Temple of Heaven. Beijing This is a very large complex covering many square miles in the center of Beijing. It is built by an emperor who had a vision. Many of the elements of this temple mirror the elements of the Old Testament temple. Once a year sacrifices, a Holy of Holy entered by one person one time a year. A three door entry speaking of the three parts of God. I was a fantastic day.




I'm so sorry this is rather mixed up, but I can't figure out how to get the pictures where I want them. Maybe next time I'll get it.













Another day we visited the Summer Palace. It was farther out of town and sported a very large man-made lake. This is a picture of an outside walkway that is said to be the worlds longest art gallery. There are 40,000 paintings along the inside of this walkway.
























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Nine beds in 25 days

We finally made it to the Philippines and we can now begin our tale of this adventure. The very large country in Asia we were in would not allow facebook and we felt it was not safe to share on any electronic method.



Our time in the Capital was fantastic. We both walked and walked....about 15 miles per day. We were jammed into subways like sardines. One friend said her cell phone rang and she reached into her pocket while on the subway and discovered it was her neighbor's pocket. That is about the story. There is so much to tell. The weather was good and the people friendly and helpful.



I am going to put a separate page to tell of the things we did, so those who want to know more can read those more detailed pages. If I can figure out how to do it.



After the Capital we took a train ride (overnight sleeper with two other people) and then took a bus to a very northern city near the North Korean border. Some friends there booked a boat ride on the river that separates the countries. We were within 30 feet of the north Korean border. At on place a soldier wanted to show his power, so he showed his gun and pointed it at the boat. He did it about three times, letting us know he could shoot us if he wanted. A little intimidating.



Then we took a day in Dalian to see this beautiful city. There is where we met the only RUDE person so far on the trip. The taxi driver was crazy!!!



Next stop was Guangzhou and we had a wonderful two bedroom apartment. My friends were in the mainland so we had their place to ourselves. My other friends have been able to 'foster' two orphans (special needs children) so we got to spend time holding two beautiful babies that would not be alive if my friend had not taken them home.



Our next adventure was a train ride to Hong Kong. That is a most fantastic city!!! Words cannot explain the glitz and energy of that city.



That is three weeks in Ch*na in a nutshell!!! Then we flew to Manila. Another friend picked us up and took us to a hotel until the next day when we could fly up north to visit the Cortez's.



On Sunday, we drove about 150 kilometers toward Manila to see a new work with tribal children that CR is doing. The drive was very rough because the roads were in bad repair, however, the sights along the way were amazing. The people were harvesting their rice, drying it along the side of the road or wherever they could. There were water buffalo in the fields and pulling carts on the road. Words cannot explain the living conditions of these people. You must experience it.



I'm sure Pam will add her spin on this when I give her the computer. More to come



Joanne

Pam did get her visa and passport. Just so you know and are not concerned.

Time is getting short. I went to the Weather Bug and found out it is -2 to +4 in one of the cities we are going to. So I tried to find a heavy down filled coat on the island of Maui where it never gets below 65 degrees. Was blessed to find a brand new one (wonder why?) for less than $20.

My Testimony

I am really going hi-tec. Today I signed up for skype, so I can call anyone from anywhere on the trip. I figured out how to store my pictures on line, learning my facebook. My mind is really going crazy.

Here is a short testimony I taped for our base concerning our trip.

Thought you might enjoy it. I have not seen it or I may not send it. Ha Ha

Pray for Pam, her passport with Chinene visa has not come yet.

Welcome to our new site. Pam and I are having a time scheduling flights at the lowest cost. Today there are 16 flights to coordinate. It is fun finding the cheapest day to fly, who flies from Vanuatu to Samoa, how long we really want to stay in each country.

We will be going to one asian country where we cannot blog about or talk about, sorry. We will begin posting when we get to the Philippines, after April 23.


I received a letter from Sister Cortez in Tuguegarao. We are changing our itinerary to visit them the 23 of April to May 4. Then on to New Zealand.


Our itinerary is tentatively set.

March 30 Maui to Los Angeles (Pam Colorado to Los Angeles)
March 31 flight to Asian City
April 8 Overnight train to Asian City
April 15 Flight to another Asian City
April 19 Train to Asian city
April 22 Flight to Manila and Tuguegarao
May 4 Manila to Wellington New Zealand
May 15 Aukland New Zealand to Santo Vanuato
May 28 Vanuato to Apia Samoa
June 10 Samoa to Brisbane Australia
July 1 Brisband to Bangkok Thailand

While in Bangkok we will visit India, Mynamar, north and south Thailand and perhaps Cambodia or wherever the air pass will take us.

I return to Los Angeles July 24 to spend two weeks in Palm Springs with Brett (for his 40th birthday) Then I fly back to Maui August 5th.

Keep us in your prayers.

That's all for today.

This is my first blog. Just a test run so you can begin to follow Pam and me on our incredible trip.

Hope you add this site to your "favorites" and read about our adventures often.

Joanne