faithrunner

Last week, 10 of us from Legacy attended the Willow Creek Association's Small Group conference. As usual, the conference leaders and content were for the most part helpful and insightful. Erwin MacManus , Donald Miller , Randy Frazee , and Bill Donahue topped the speaker list. Their experience, insights, and practical advice gave each of us something to bring back to Legacy's small group initiatives and to grow in our understanding about how to do church together. However, it was not the speakers and the information that made an impact on me or will be the thing that will impact Legacy. The difference maker for the group was the community we experienced while riding in the van, sharing meals, working out, and simply hanging out together. Community does not result in more information. That would have happened after the first breakout session. No, community arises from shared experiences over time by those who are themselves and help the others in the group to trust Jesus . The ...

I rode the Cotton Patch Classic , a 63-mile tour in the rolling hills of North East Texas, this morning with some of the guys I rode the HH100. It started in downtown Greenville, TX, as part of their Rally Round Greenville festivities. When I walked out this morning about 6:00, I realized it had not cooled down a degree from the day before. It was humid AND the wind was already blowing. I clicked on Weather.com and saw the high would be in the 90's F and a steady wind would blow from the south all day. The route turned out to be more hilly than I had hoped, and the wind lived up to its potential. The last 10 miles were into the wind, and I was glad we did not have 37 more miles to go at the finish. Thanks Jim, Kevin, Keith and John for a good ride. We celebrated by stopping outside McKinney on the way home at the Bel Air's and Burgers (no, they don't have a webpage) for a cheeseburger, fries and chocolate shake, my diet buster after a long ride or run. Kim left before I...

Made it home Friday about 1600 Plano time. Eight days on foot made driving from the airport a treat (?). Actually, the urban transportation scene is not so bad. Sure saves on all the stuff that goes with cars. However, I'm sure I would long for the wide-open spaces of suburban travel after a little while. I said good-bye to Kenny and his father about 0615 at the Chengdu airport and began my 22-hour trek home. I made all the connections and had a little lay over in Beijing . They really have clamped down on the pollution there, and the skies were much clearer than anywhere we had been in the county. They were building at the airport to prepare for the 2008 Summer Olympics which will be hosted by the country. They'll make it. Every country seems to when its their time. I am looking forward to re-connecting with everyone who is Legacy and sharing God's future for us together. I return with a renewed certainty that the ekklesia is alive and well the world over and that we s...

This morning I rose after a great night's sleep at the Zheng's flat. Kenny had told me they had learned to make the products from a class taught by foreigners, and soon found a niche market here for homemade salsa, chips, and tortillas. Yes, this Chinese couple is making a living providing Mexican food to Americans and Latinos in the city ...of 12 million, I might add. They were up until midnight and up at 0600 filling orders. Here's picture of what I call "Betty's Tortilla Factory." It's the kitchen of their flat. (Btw, they hand deliver every order using public transportation. Now, that's business. I had a sample of their wares this morning for breakfast (along with traditional Chinese vegetables and scrambled eggs). I'd order some for my next gathering! Kenny has a friend who taught him English at the university he graduated from , and the teacher invited me to the class as an English speaker so the students could ask me questions. They were ki...

Wednesday turned out to be a travel day. (Kim, you'll love this.) We missed our flight to Chengdu, and spent all of the morning in the Guangzhou airport. It's a new airport, and the accommodations were fine, but we had rather had been on our way to our next stop. It was partially my fault (I wanted breakfast, which cost $88 Yuan; Kenny has not let me forget that yet), and Kenny said you could walk on the airplane right up to the last minute. Well, I got my breakfast, and you can't walk on at the last minute! (That added $130 Yuan to the mishap to "change" our tickets; so, that was a very expensive breakfast.) We made it to Chengdu by 1600 and made our way to our destination where we would meet with people that night. The city has grown since I was here three years ago. A sort of '80s boom that some fear will end soon and the people will be caught with devalued property and goods. But, for now, the growth is incredible. I am glad people are here offering hope...

We spent the day teaching through the book with leaders who gathered from across the city. Five different groups were represented. We went from 0900 to 1630 with a bring-in lunch. The fellowship was warm, and the people were so receptive of the content of the book. Kenny did an awesome job of translating, the harder part of the duo. He bailed me out on an occasion or two. This is a great partnership. We ended the day at an Indian restaurant Kenny came to often when he worked here for six months several years ago. He went back to Chengdu after that stay. Here's a shot from the flat that was our central connecting place while here. The view and the surroundings were cosmopolitan and very livable. It's a good location for the work being done there. Oh yeah, you can get anything here, cheap! But you may not get exactly what you thought you were getting. Check out the logo on these sandals.

Monday here was a full day of travel. We got up in time for a Starbucks...$29.00 HK, about the same as home. I could get convicted if that number kept coming up at the cash register at home. Btw, we ended the day at a St. Arbucks in the China Mayors Plaza in Guangzhou . We left Hong Kong in the MTR about 11:00 a.m. local time, and took the train to the border town of Lo Wu. Here's the Lavern Hilton (500 sq. ft. flat, 13,500 $HK/month, on the 19th floor) where we connected every day while Hong Kong. We got through customs and then went shopping for unauthentic merchandise and ate lunch in Shenzhen . Here's a picture of the train station we entered to go into the mainland and a look at the mall where we did the wheeling and dealing for our goods. (Okay, Kenny did. I just paid.) We will spend our day training leaders today. Please remember us. Thank you for the books you provided for us to use and leave with the leaders.