China 2010

Finally......I can see I am in trouble in the future....... it has taken me days, many emails to Matt, and a telecon before I figured out how to even get to this point, and I don't even know if what I am writing here will get posted in the right spot.....? :)

I am not sure how this "blog" will post my blog, or if it will identify me.......so in case it does not in some way........ this is Dave.

What can any of us say about the trip .......except first of all thanks so much to sanyi....... without ALL that you did, this trip would not have happened. You deserve all the thanks, kudos and credit. Hopefully, our posts will be a "reward" for all your countless hours of effort...... not only in organizing the trip, but all the previous trips in negotiating with the various groups in China and in getting the "family" biography of grandpa written as well as the English translation. Thanks so much to Chinnie for the many hours of help you contributed for this as well.

There was so much that I enjoyed. As shaoyi put it ...... "China is a country of contrasts"...... and I would say my emotions ranged to both ends of the spectrum as well. As I remember and reflect, some of the items that stand out for me the most were:

* spending time with relatives and getting to know everyone better. There is nothing that can
take the place of spending time together and creating memories. I loved Steven's
translations for me at the group foot massage and how we could laugh at the humorous
ways these translations could differ from their intentions. :):) The term ".... she would like
to clarify....." was immortalized in my memory and will always make me laugh.....

* to see that "progress" has barely touched the lives of the villagers, that their lives appeared
to remain one of basic subsistence.......and that the governments' uncaring attitude for
these villagers (making them walk miles and miles to their farmland rather than being
allowed to farm the land right at the edge of their own village) remains in stark contrast to
how grandfather treated them .... to the extent that they protected the grave stones during
the Cultural Revolution and the continued respect they have. What a contrast in how
these villagers have been and continue to be treated. To know that there may never be a
way for any of us to help these villagers/relatives? monetarily or in any other way.....

* The magnitude of what both great grandfather and grandfather accomplished from such
humble and meager beginnings. Having a small business allows me to glimpse at the
enormity of their accomplishments in building successful businesses and keeping them
going through so many trials....... many of which we do not have to face in this country.
But, throughout history there have been, and will continue to be, many people who have
been, and will be, very successful in building businesses....... What truly made grandpa/
grandma different was not just what they "made", but what they "gave back". A person
who can build a large corporation is very very rare, but to do so while caring for other
people with their actions and money is far far more rare in the history of mankind.

* getting a better appreciation for our family history back through great grandfather. To see
how far they had to take the firewood each day......12 km ........ and to see the church that
was so instrumental in their lives, and realizing this is where Pastor Couling and his wife
brought grandpa/great grandpa to the Lord, which laid the foundation for the values that
they operated their business empires by.

* To witness a two examples of how grandpa's concern for the people of China is appreciated
even to this day ....... by that security guard at the train station in Tianjin and the camera
man at the Tianjin Textiles Museum. It was rewarding to see that even with all the
beautiful buildings, glowing accounts, books written and to be written, etc., that these
everyday people in Tianjin could see through all of that and appreciate the real value of
what grandpa and grandma accomplished.

* realizing that the probable reason the "government officials" rushed us through our visit to
the village and the church because they had a lunch for us and the #1 official had his other
3:30pm meeting ....... so we had less time to meet with the villagers/relatives?, yet the
villagers masked any disappointments they may have had and cheerfully waved goodbye.
And the church elder who obviously had planned for us to sit for awhile ...... and when we
were ushered on how he "gifted" the fruit to us to take..... again masking any disappoint-
ment he may have had. Examples of "caring" by the officials? Contrasted to the
memories these local people had of how they were treated by grandpa/grandma?

* seeing how hard some people had to work, such as carrying heavy burdens up Huangshan,
and how little they were compensated. Contrasted to our 6 star hotel, the Shangri La......
and contrasted to the "partying" by the large group of government people on the cruise
ship as observed by shiaoyi........

So how does one summarize their final thoughts? Without question, for me, it comes down to grandpa's/grandma's "legacy"? One cannot help but be awed by how their Christian faith sustained them through the countless tragedies in their lives ....... how that faith gave them the strength to continue caring about people regardless of their own circumstances. That legacy was confirmed in my mind by the Tianjin railroad security guard, and the Tianjin TV station camera man ....... true love is not selfish ...... so I believe that grandpa/grandma will be remembered for generations to come in Tianjin and China. As I reflect back in my life, it is not lost on me that grandma did her part to pass on the "legacy" in her own humble way. Before she passed away, she gave me a present for Christmas in 1973 that she signed and that I believe she was passing on to me as the heart and soul of their legacy ....... the Holy Bible. As Christ sacrificed himself on a cross for all of us, grandpa/grandma lived their lives sacrificially for their family, employees, friends, acquaintences, the villagers, and their country, China. Sacrificial love for others endures, so Christianity will endure, and therefore, I believe the memory of how grandpa/grandma lived will as well.

So as I look forward......what will I do to further what I believe is their legacy?