+ The Community

Before we head back to Chengdu and our flight back to Texas I would like to close this part of the report with a series of four pictures that shows the community as seen from the top of Turtle Hill. The community wraps around the end of the hill like the letter C.

We will begin on the right side of Turtle Hill looking at the town below us. What a beautiful view it was after the snow melted and it felt more like spring.

This is the center of town with the largest building being the temple in the center of the picture. Life is so different here than what we are used to in the west where I come from.

This is the left side of town where the school is located. Behind the buildings and at the base of the mountain is another stream that is out of view. The two streams meet at the end of the great pasture beyond town as can be seen in the first picture of this group.

This picture is the extreme left side of town and shows the edge of the school on the right side of the picture. It is a simple little town of poverty, but you will find cell phones and some TV’s there, but no inside running water.

I couldn't leave without showing one more picture. It is a picture of the local saw mill. I wish I had a picture when it was in operation. The pile of lumber was cut with hand saws by two men while we were at the school. They rolled the log up onto the top of the stand and using a two man hand saw, with one man on top and one man on the ground, they would pull the saw up and down and cut off the lumber seen in the pile. As I watched them one day, without my camera, I was totally amazed. But that is how it is done in these remote areas.

We began this report with the question; “Do I want to fly halfway around the world, spend a day on a bus and then a day and one half riding in a SUV over roads fit only for a tank to do health screenings of 180 school children?” I wonder if I came anywhere close to answering it. What do you think? Here is a people group that is lost because they have not Christ. They will live in spiritual darkness until someone brings the glorious light of the Gospel of Christ to them in such a way that they will hunger and thirst for it. We have learned that we through work and prayer must create an environment that will stimulate this hunger and thirst. We can start by loving them in a practical way. We can help them live better lives and pray that they will soon wonder if we have something else for them that they really need.

There is so much more one could write about but it is time to move on in the adventure. We retraced our steps and finally ended up back home, totally worn out but blessed well beyond our expectations. I got some rest and then got out my pictures to relive the experience when one caught my eye and flooded me with emotion. 

Our work was finished at the school and the students knew we were leaving. As I stood across the courtyard I saw the children in their classrooms looking out their windows. It was like seeing them behind bars in bondage and without receiving the gift of salvation they would grow up without any hope of eternal life. As I look at the picture I wonder if there was any chance that the work we are doing will ever result in any of these finding joy, peace and freedom of life in Christ. It is pictures like this and the experience associated with them that has gripped my heart and draws me back to experience more life under their conditions. We must continue to go and work and pray. We can’t do any less than this can we?

As word got out here at home about the work we did and the conditions of the children, it wasn’t long before people wondered if it were possible to sponsor a child if arrangements could be made. As plans were being formulated, it was discovered by a government official in the area that we had failed to fulfill a requirement of theirs and as a result we were asked to suspend any further work there until the issue could be resolved. That is part of the learning process of working in a different culture.