A Quick note from China

Dear Friends and Family. I am sitting in the Huaxing Hotel (prounounced wo-shing da-shaw in Mandrin). China is different. It is not what I expected. There is more freedom here than you might imagine. Communism has softened and there is a sense of optimism here.

I watched one of a four part series about China, produced by the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company), called "China Rises." it is all about the changes that are underway in China. It is a sleeping giant in the world. It has the power to dialogue with other nations from a level playground for the first time. People here are bursting with national pride, a spillover form the Beijing olympics. The economy is growing, and this country of 1.3 billion plus is outpacing Canada and the United States. It is China that is a big part of propping up the United States in this world financial crisis (This information is just from the documentary made by canadians). I see the reality of those claims in the cities and towns that I have visited here.

The young people speak English here by the droves. The high schools and universities are full of english classes. Last week we toured a highschool with 5300 students from grades 10-12. Almost every class we visited was being taught to students who spoke English, or the instruction was in English. It was spellbinding... and telling... Until recently students were required to attend classes from 7:10 am until 9:00 p.m. 6 days per week. This has been changed because young people are becoming globalized and expect to learn at the same rate as other national students (this was my impression).

There is so much to tell... and I guess that this "note" has turned into a bit more than that.

I attended an Christian church today. It was about 800-1000 people crammed into a medium sized church building. If you can believe it, we were singing old hyms (American/Canadian/Englishin.. etc) Mandrin (of course). It was a very traditional church. I also was treated to lunch with my Chinese friend "Hier" by the international fellowship coordinator.

All is well... I will--God willing--be home in about a week. I miss my family...

In His hands,

Shane