On a small hill in the middle of the city of Ya’an stands an old school building that was built by Baptist missionaries in the early 1900’s. On park grounds today, it is no longer in use. One sign on the building indicates that it was most recently the office of the local park administration. […]
Moon Bridge
When we were staying at the Hongzhu Hotel in Emei last week, I got up early (but not too early) and walked around the small lake that was across the road from the hotel. Thought I’d share with you something I saw.
A Tale of Two Bells
Mr. B crawled around the cement beams near where the giant church bell was mounted, reading out the letters engraved on the top as Noel frantically wrote down each letter: C.I.N.C.I.N.N.A.T.I. Cincinnati! Then: “Buckeye Bell Foundry, 1886.” The rest of the inscription read: “First Baptist Church, Coffeyville, Kansas. Presented by W.S. Upham 1886. Praise Ye […]
Tea and Games
I have spent my entire ‘China career’ living and working in the north and up until now have only spent a few days in a few cities in the south, most often passing through on my way to somewhere else. As a result, this trip along the back roads and to the smaller cities of […]
A Rescued Book
We had stopped on the old street in the village of Zhaochang (now on the edge of Yibin) to talk to an elderly man and show him the photo book that we carry with us everywhere we go. Like everyone else we have shown the book to, he was excited to see old pictures of […]
Shovel Ready
Yesterday afternoon we visited the village of Zhaochang, on the outskirts of Yibin. It is one of the places where Esther worked in the late 1930’s. For some reason, one old street remains — lined with leaning wooden structures and sleepy storefronts. It was quite easy to imagine Esther walking these streets, talking to people, […]
