Touring the City

Family and friends,

We are so thankful that you are thinking of us.  It really means a lot.  To know that there are people who love us, support us, and think of us on a regular basis is more than “greatly appreciated” it’s VITAL to the success of this team.

Last night before lights out (@10pm) we had a team debrief.  We talked about the morning thought and considered how it would take shape in our lives for the next 2 weeks.  We also talked about culture shock and what kinds of choices we need to make when we experience the inevitable dissonance we all are encountering.  We also talked about our team covenant and committed once again to striving for excellence as we relate with one another and serve our host.  The vibe was good and there was a real sense of “unity of vision” and a deep sense of “commitment to excellence” in the room.

Now, onto today.  What a day!!!  Today was another cultural exchange day where we got to see some amazing places in Beijing.  We saw Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven, and got to walk through Beijing’s most famous market (which even had a Starbucks….in which our tall-curly haired team leader got a hot coffee on a VERY VERY HOT and SWEATY afternoon which made everyone very confused...but anyway, I digress).

We had three great meals today, first at the hotel and then lunch and dinner at two different restaurants in Beijing.  We have always had private rooms and VERY FULL meals.  Tonight, we had dumplings galore, and for lunch….Peking duck! 

The team seems to be doing well.  We are tired, mostly because of our long days and still getting over jet-lag.  But overall, people seem to be doing really well.  We haven’t heard of anyone being up the whole night or not being able to sleep at least most of the way through the night (most of us are waking up still between 2-4am, and then going back to sleep).  We are hoping this changes soon!

As I write this (8:45pm), we are traveling from Beijing to our host.  We are looking forward to starting work tomorrow.  Tonight, the plan is to get settled and have an early night lights-out in the hope that we can rest up before tomorrow’s first day.

People are mostly healthy (one sore throat and one leader who lost her voice) so please think about that, but we are all hydrated and happy….which given how much we have been able to pack in…..is great! 

Thanks again for thinking of us….love you all.

Keep thinking about us regarding:

-jet-lag

-a sore throat and 1 lost voice

-starting work tomorrow with our host

love,

CST11

The Farm!

Please note: the previous email we told you to use is not consistent. Please use the following email for notes:

joseph.david.white@gmail.com

Today was a good start to our trip.

 

We started the day at 7:30 for an amazing breakfast at our hotel.  When I say amazing....I mean, AMAZING.  At least that's what every team member said as they ate every kind of Chinese delicacy they could and had speciality coffee at their fingertips.  WOW.  But this 5-star amazement was suddenly conflicted as we boarded the tour bus and headed 1.5 hours into the countryside to meet a local farmer and his family.  It was the same family we visited 2 years ago...but this time, he invited us into his home.  It couldn't have been a bigger contrast. A 5-star hotel and a 2nd-world estate.  We have a lot learn here. 

 

The family was very hospitable and allowed us to pick many types of fruits from his farm.  We left for a very hearty lunch (i.e. 30ish course meal which included peking duck and an assortment of desserts), all provided by a friend of one of our team leaders.  It was a VERY generous gift, and we were VERY full and took the food that was left over back to our farm friends.  We left lunch ready for some work.  So we returned to the farm and worked for a couple hours in the fields, picking weeds under fruit trees.  We all took our jobs seriously and did the very best that we could. 

 

After that, we were all feeling very tired, but were treated to another meal, again, very large, right next to the forgotten city.  It was really really good!  During the meal, the youngest member of our team got tired and fell asleep which seemed to remind the rest of the team that they too, were really really tired (we're still getting over jet lag, ya know) and so we decided to cancel the evening activities (which were to tour a market in Beijing）and instead, go back to the hotel for our team debrief and an early night of sleep. 

 

We got back to the hotel, packed into one of the rooms, and went around the room talking about our morning thought located in our team brain and debriefed our team covenant and the day's activities.  

We are looking forward to seeing our host organization tomorrow night.  But before then, have an opportunity tomorrow morning and afternoon to visit museums, restaurants, and markets here in Beijing as a part of our cultural exchange portion of our trip.

 

The team vibe is really good right now.  There is excitement, honest reflection, desire to "do something" and the beginning signs of true bonding.  This is GOOD.  We are very excited about what the coming days may bring.  As I said, we will be at our host organization tomorrow night, so there will not be a blog tomoroｗ.We will try to blog in a couple of days though (its our hope to blog every other day if possible)

 

ｋｅｅｐ　ｕｓ　ｉｎ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈｔｓ　

ｒｅｇａｒｄｉｎｇ：

－ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ　ｓｈｏｃｋ

－ａｄｊｕｓｔｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｉｍｅ

－ｃｏｎｔｉｎｕｅｄ　ｔｅａｍ　ｂｏｎｄｉｎｇ

－ｗｅ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｌｅａｒｎ　ｔｏ　ｌｉｖｅ　ｏｕｔ　ｏｕｒ　ｖｉｓｉｏｎ　ｓｔａｔｅｍｅｎｔ　

 

ｌｏｖｅ　ｙｏｕ　ａｌｌ，

ＣＳＴ１１ 

First Breakfast

At the very nice hotel this morning, before we go work in the fields! Everybody slept great (we needed it) and the vibe is full of excitement both for the very nice hotel and also for the opportunity to serve in a couple hours.

Please keep us in your thoughts regarding:
-health
-continued sleep through nights
-and that today's work would start us off right

Love you! 


You can click on each photo to see it in larger size.

WE ARRIVED!

After a very long flight, we safely arrived in Beijing.  We had no complications going through customs! 

We are all well (tired and adjusting....but the vibe is positive), well-fed, and happy to have some sleep in a VERY nice hotel.

Just a short note to let you all know we are here!  Pictures to come when we find out how to get onto the wifi, here at the hotel (here for 2 nights)

Love you,

CST11

Send off at YVR

Family and friends gathered at YVR after a brief delay in flight time to gather around the service team and send them on their way. Thanks so much for all the love and support!

A reminder, we won't be able to see comments here but we would love you to send fan mail to:  joewhite (at) granvillechapel (dotcom) and we'll pass your messages along!

Love you,

the CST2011 Team

Welcome to the CST 2011's Trip Blog!

We are very excited to welcome you to follow our journey as we serve!

Our trip is for the next two weeks and we expect to blog every other day, but we are unsure as to the wifi availability of our host while we are away, so bear with us as we discover our options.  We will be sending our pictures and day's summary to one of our student's families to post here.  Our team will share the responsibility of keeping you up-to-date on what's been going on...so we encourage you to check back every other day to find our next summary!

Also, we wont be able to see comments here but we would love you to send fan mail to:  joewhite (at) granvillechapel (dotcom) and we'll pass your messages along!

Love you,
the CST2011 Team