Olympic Peace

Dear Jesse,

Are you coming to the Olympics? Well, I didn’t think so, but thought I would ask! The Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics will begin 100 days from today!

Everyone here is so excited about the Olympics. Chinese people feel that it will be a great way to show others how progressive they are and what a great country they have. Athletes and sports fans are excited about the actual competitions. But lots of people just want to be a part of the huge international event. Can you imagine how exciting the Olympic Village will be?

Last week I talked with some Chinese friends about the Olympics. They told me that having a peaceful Olympics is more important than the number of medals they win, or the number of world leaders who attend the Games.

You know, I think that just about everyone in the world is looking for peace. And true peace can come only through knowing Jesus. The Bible even talks about a “peace that passes all understanding”. Now that is serious peace!

So that’s my hope for China this Olympic year! Not only do I hope the Olympics will go smoothly. But even more than that, I hope that many millions of Chinese people will come to know true peace.

Love from China,

Auntie D

Dinosaurs in China

Dear Jesse,

Would you believe that people are still discovering dinosaur bones in China? Last summer a Chinese grandmother and her grandson were taking a walk along the banks of the Jialing River near Chongqing in the central China province of Sichuan, when they stumbled upon an almost complete 55-foot long dinosaur fossil.

Because the annual summer floods were coming soon, researchers knew that they only had about 20 days to excavate the fossil before it would be immersed. As they worked frantically, thousands of Chongqing residents stopped by to observe. The dinosaur fossil had a neck several times longer than the neck of a giraffe! Chinese researchers think that the discovery may fill in some missing links in the understanding of the prehistoric creatures. Isn’t that amazing?

Actually there are many dinosaur remains in Zigong, a lesser known city about three hours from Chongqing. There is evidence that many dinosaurs died in Zigong about 140 million of years ago. Remains of the huge animals form a cemetery covering a huge area. Only 10 percent of the site has been explored so far.

I think that you would love to visit the Zigong Dinosaur Museum and see some of the dinosaur skeletons. China’s President Hu Jin-tao even paid it a visit last year.

Well, it’s true that the past is fascinating. But it is the present that requires my focus. I am living in China to tell Chinese people young and old about God who has been from the beginning, even before the age of dinosaurs! And I am here to tell them about salvation through His Son Jesus that will give them eternal life, even beyond millions of years. That’s even more special than finding a dinosaur!

Love from China,

Auntie D

Many curious visitors came to see the dinosaurs on display!

A young friend is posing with one of the many dinosaurs discovered in China.

This young girl is looking at one of the many dinosaurs on display.

Walking Birds and Walking Idols

Dear Jesse,

This morning I saw a man walking his bird! No, the bird wasn’t walking. The man was carrying the bird in a cage.

This is something that I have seen many, many times in China. Bird owners take their caged birds for a walk so that both they and their birds can get some fresh air! Today the man was holding the cage straight out in front of himself so that the bird would stay calm and still. But I have also seen some bird owners who carry the cage at their sides, swinging it back and forth. That always makes me really glad that I am not a bird! Just thinking about it makes me dizzy!

But I will tell you something even more unusual. A few years ago in Taiwan, I saw some people walking their idols! Yes, some of the handmade idols were loaded onto the back of flatbed trucks, and others were balanced on poles carried on the shoulders of men. The idols were paraded by their worshippers through the streets. The Chinese people were setting off firecrackers as if it was a celebration. That made me so sad, Jesse, to see people who actually worship little homemade gods made of plaster and metals and painted in bright colors.

That is why I am in East Asia. God’s commandments remind us that we are not to worship idols or to have any gods before Him. But many people don’t know that because they have never even heard about Jesus. I really, really want everyone here to know about the love of Christ and to know that when He enters our hearts, there is no need or place for idols or any other substitute “gods”.

Please pray for me today, Jesse. Pray that God will use me to tell many people about Jesus so that they can believe in Him. Then their hearts can soar like birds that have been freed from their cages.

Love from China,

Auntie D

There are many varieties of birds at the Bird Market!
This gentleman is out walking his bird. Even birds need some fresh air!

This is another beautiful creature made by God.

Kings and Warriors

Dear Jesse,

Not long ago I had a very special opportunity to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. Have you heard about them? It is an army of thousands of life-sized warrior and horse statutes that were buried underground in the China countryside for thousands of years. In 1974, some Chinese farmers were digging a well near Xian in central China when they discovered the army.

A lot of people believe that the farmers’ discovery was the greatest archeological find in the 20th century. So since I was visiting Xian, I thought I had better ride a bus into the countryside to see what everyone was talking about.

When I arrived at the site, I had to buy a ticket and then I had to walk a short distance up to a sort of stadium shaped building. As I moved with the rest of the tourists into the enormous room, I realized that we were standing on a huge platform that had been built up around the Terra Cotta Warriors so that we could look down at them. Most of them were in the exact same place that they had been buried about 2000 years ago. And the amazing thing was that every single warrior looked different! Their faces were so life-like that it was hard to imagine that they weren’t real.

Thousands and thousands of terra-cotta soldiers were standing at attention. Row after row of men in military formation were lined up to protect the imperial tombs. Jesse, can you believe that anyone went to so much trouble to design and create lifeless soldiers to guard dead leaders? That is SO amazing.

But there was something that I found even more amazing. One of the tourist brochures that was given to me said that the warriors were carved by craftsman, and that almost every warrior looked like the one who had made it. Wow! That made me think immediately of how the Bible says that we are all made in the image of God. We may not look like God physically, but we are made like Him so that we can have fellowship with Him. And as we accept Jesus into our hearts and grow to be Christ-like, then we begin to resemble God more and more and more.

I wish that the brilliant craftsmen who made the Terra Cotta warriors had known Jesus. I pray that God will use me to help future generations of Chinese people to know Him. Even more so than the lifeless warriors that are a reflection of their makers, I want to glorify my maker, the One and Only True God.

Love from China,

Auntie D

Look at all these terra cotta statues! It's amazing to think they survived after all these years!

These figures reflect ancient Chinese culture and history.

These figures are quite old, yet they have such great detail!

Long Ride Home!

Dear Jesse,

You would not believe what I did this afternoon. Do you want to guess? Okay, I’ll tell you.

Today I visited Hong Kong and rode the world’s longest escalator! It is called the Mid-Levels escalator and is almost one mile long. Would you believe that 27,000 people ride it every day to get to and from their homes? That’s a lot of people!

In the mornings, the open-air escalator runs downhill so that people who live in a steep section of Hong Kong called the Mid-Levels can go down to Central, one of the main business districts. In the evenings, the escalator moves uphill to take those same people back home. But I must tell you that the escalator is not continuous. Actually it is a series of escalators connected by short walks and a few stairs. So my friends and I had to get off and on several times.

It took us 15 minutes to get from the bottom all the way to the top. On the way we saw restaurants and shops and homes that were so close that we could almost reach out and touch them. And about halfway up, we began to wonder what we would do if the escalator broke down. It sure would be a steep climb to the top!

The ride was so long that we could have read a newspaper on the way. Many of the Hong Kong people spend the time talking to someone on their cell phones. But we decided to just look around and enjoy the ride. After all, how many people do you know who have ridden the world’s longest escalator?

Love from China,

Auntie D

This is the beginning of the longest escalator in the world!!

This is a busy time of day, with many people heading home from work.

The escalator keeps going and going and going....

This is a view from the ride to the top!!

The Color of Happiness

Dear Jesse,

What is your favorite color? I can’t seem to remember. Is it blue?

Well, would you believe that the favorite color in China is red? It symbolizes happiness. So anytime there is a celebration, you will see lots of red. Brides sometimes wear red dresses on their wedding day. People in the government and the business community sometimes wear red sashes across their chests at special celebrations such as the opening of a conference or a business.

At Chinese New Year, many people hang long red banners on each side of their front door. New Year’s wishes are written in calligraphy (Chinese script) on each of the banners. And best of all, people exchange red envelopes filled with money to celebrate the New Year. Children receive money from their parents and aunts and uncles. Employees receive money from their bosses.

Chinese New Year is not celebrated on January 1. It falls on a different day each year according to the ancient Lunar calendar. Sometimes the Lunar New Year is in January and sometimes it falls in February. I have to be sure to look at the calendar every year in order to know for sure.

You know, Jesse, red is a very special color for Christians too. It symbolizes pain and suffering and sacrifice because through the blood of Jesus, our sins were washed away. That’s good news. In fact, that’s GREAT news. So for Christians everywhere, red really is a happy color after all. We have a lot to celebrate. I sure hope that I can share this great news with a lot of Chinese friends so that they can celebrate with us.

Love from China,

Auntie D

Red is a very popular color!


This young Chinese person is adorned in traditional clothing from her culture.

Lions and Loyalties

Dear Jesse,

Have you ever heard of the Lion of Dogs? In China, that is the name for Tibetan mastiffs. More than 40,000 of the dogs were purchased there last year. They are now considered a status symbol for the rich.

The Tibetan mastiffs were tamed in the Himalayan region about 6,000 years ago. Genghis Khan, conquering ruler of Mongolia, formed an army of 30,000 mastiffs in the 13th century. Can you even imagine a whole army of dogs?

They are regarded as the oldest, biggest, and fiercest domestic dog. They can be as tall as 31 inches and weigh up to 220 pounds. They are known to be loyal and fearless and will fight to protect their owners. They are also supposed to be able to smell an avalanche ahead of time. Yet most of those currently being sold and purchased in China end up living in cities.

The dogs can be extremely expensive. A Tibetan mastiff that won a dog show in northeast China this year was valued at 30 million RMB (Chinese dollars). That's almost four million U.S. dollars! What in the world could make a big furry dog with sad eyes that special?

Actually, nothing! The willingness of people to pay such high prices for a house pet says much more about their own values than about the animal itself. Animals can be great fun and can make great companions. But God did not create any of them to be worshipped. Nor can He possibly be pleased to see people spend such amounts of money on animals when there is such human need.

When I think about this, it reminds me that my focus should always be on pleasing the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ, and in telling others about the all powerful, all knowing, loving and merciful God. The Bible says, "How can they know unless someone tells them?" That's exactly what we need to do. Tell them about the Lion of Judah!

Love from China,

Auntie D

This Tibetan mastiff is known as the "Lion of Dogs."

Ghengis Khan put together an army of 30,000 mastiffs!