Josh’s Thoughts

60-minute full body massages for $8 just rocks. I know how I’m spending tomorrow evening…

Well, we just got back from the university and from dinner. We made some new friends today and had a really great time. I wasn’t playing ball because I was playing photographer instead, but the guys who were playing ball were just planning on warming up some on the first day and just shooting some hoops. Unfortunately for them, that didn’t go as planned haha. The university team showed up for practice, and their coach told them they could play our guys instead. So they played 4 games back to back. The university team won 3 and we won 1. Still, our guys put up a good fight, and since they had never played together as a team before we were pretty proud.

The pictures that I took of the games are not that great since my camera is not that high quality. Elizabeth took some really great pics, so I’ll try to grab them off her husband Jason’s digital camera and post them later. I’ll go ahead and post some of the ones that I have, though.

And then after the game we were out to eat at a Cantonese restaurant for supper. Ironically, the Cantonese food was closer to the Chinese food that we eat at home than the Chinese restaurant that we ate at last night was. Still no egg rolls, though. I’m starting to suspect that the Chinese food we eat at home doesn’t exist in China. I think they just made it up for us Americans.

A few of the guys we met at the university joined us for supper, so that was pretty cool. It’s always great to make new friends.

And then we walked home through what we call Times Square (although that’s not the real name of course). It’s a square in the downtown district that we’re in that resembles Times Square, though. It’s definitely pretty at night! Here are a couple of pics…

Well, it’s time to go wind down by going and getting a 45 minute scalp and shoulder massage for $3-4 U.S. Ahhhh, life is rough. I’ll post more tomorrow! Good night, or good day, depending on where you are in the world…

Morning folks! If you’re in the U.S. reading this then it’s 2 a.m. EST. For us it’s right at 2 p.m. It’s hard to remember the time difference. I just sent Mom a text and asked her to check on something for me with AT&T and her response was “I’ll check in the a.m. it’s midnight here what time is it for you,” or something like that. Ahhhh well. At least she knows I’m alright.

Anyway, the weather over here is really close to what it’s like in South Carolina. Humidity and temperature are about the same for this time of year. It’s in the high 50s today, and this week is supposed to be in the 50s and 60s, so it’s very comfortable.

This morning we met to plan for the day…

And then we walked to a nearby university where we will be playing ball this afternoon. The pictures below are taken in the walk to the university (it’s about a mile from the hotel). The area we’re in is fairly close to the building that Tom Cruise jumped off of in MI 3. I’ve been watching for him all day and haven’t seen him, so I’m a bit disappointed.

The last picture was one of us crossing the street. That’s actually a pretty dangerous sport here in Shanghai. The law here is that if you make eye contact with the driver and they hit you then it is your fault because you saw them. If you don’t make eye contact, though, then it is the driver’s fault if they hit you. So the idea is to get across the street without making eye contact with anyone, and yet dodging them at the same time. The streets are filled with cars, mopeds, gas-powered bicycles, and regular bicycles. Crossing the street is actually a lot of fun. It should be a sport with points to whoever survives the most crossings in a single day.

Anyway, the pictures below are taken at the university campus. It is nestled in the heart of all the businesses and apartments. It’s pretty quiet and peaceful. I could definitely go to a school like this!

And finally, this last picture is from the largest Best Buy in the world. At least I’ve been told it’s the largest…I haven’t verified that. It’s 6 stories tall, though, so if it’s not the largest then it’s still pretty big. They have an Apple store in there, which I thought was pretty cool. I met an employee there named Magic and he told me that the Apple store just opened two days ago, and that they are the only authorized Apple store in Shanghai. I told him that the Best Buys in the U.S. don’t sell Apples (at least I have never found one that does) so he was pretty proud when he found that out.

Well, I’m going to sign off now since we’re about to leave to go play ball at the university. I’ll post more tonight!

Well this will be a short post because we’re all dead tired after the trip! The flight to Japan from O’Hare went very smooth…well, mostly smooth. There was some turbulence, but not much. The flight was packed though so none of us slept much, so we were all pretty tired by the time we hit Tokyo.

Speaking of Tokyo! Here’s a couple of pics of us all looking very tired and waiting for Scott to get our boarding passes sorted out. We were almost unable to get checked in, so we almost missed our flight, but thankfully we made it just in time!

And then…on to Shanghai! This is my first time in the East, and it’s amazing to me how there is such a difference between the Japanese and Chinese cultures. The flight attendants on the planes (I might as well just say stewardesses, since they were all female) were all very polite on JAL (Japanese Airlines). The passengers were almost as polite, with everyone bowing and smiling if they thought they might have offended you. Before you knew it, they had you smiling and bowing instead of saying thank you.

Then as soon as you China everyone’s yelling and running and pushing and cutting line. It’s very chaotic. This isn’t to say anything for or against either the Japanese or the Chinese. Kerrie and I were just talking about how it is so interesting that the countries are so close to each other yet their cultures and social norms are completely different.

Anyway! Enough of my insights into culture. Here’s a few pics of us at the airport…

And then at the hotel…

… we finally winded down the night with a meal at a Chinese restaurant by the hotel. I was a little bummed that I couldn’t find a single thing that’s on the menu at American Chinese restaurants, including egg rolls. I wanted to know where all the real Chinese food was (just kidding). I was thinking about going a little wild and trying out the fried squid or pig’s intestines, but my roommate (Chris Arnold) talked me out of it for some strange reason. Anyway, here’s a few pics of us at the restaurant, and with that I’ll call it a night!

Well, the big day is finally here, and now I’m sitting in Chicago O’Hare International Airport waiting on our flight to Tokyo.

For those who don’t know, our original itinerary had us scheduled to leave Friday morning and fly from Greenville-Spartanburg to Chicago, and then straight to Shanghai. Unfortunately there was a flight cancellation; we were rescheduled to leave on Saturday morning and fly from Greenville-Spartanburg > Chicago > Tokyo > Shanghai. So the bad news is that a day was cut off our trip and an extra layover was added. But the good news is that I get to see Tokyo, even if only for a few minutes!

I’m going to post as regularly as I can. I have been told that I’ll have Internet access at the hotel we are staying at in Shanghai, so posting should not be a problem.

Please keep us all in your prayers as we travel. There’s not much to report so far except that I’m having a great time and meeting some great folks. Oh, and I owe Scott a huge debt of gratitude for making this trip possible for me.

This is a passage of Scripture that I love: Lamentations 3:17-33. The background of the passage is that Jeremiah is "lamenting"the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. The prophet Jeremiah had urged Judah repeatedly to repent, and they refused. Jeremiah’s message was one of hope: He constantly told Judah that there was hope for them if they would just turn back to God. They refused to turn back to God, so when their city was destroyed by the Babylonians and they were lead into captivity, Jeremiah himself briefly lost hope. This passage records his turning from despair back to hope. It is beautiful.

Lamentations 3:17-33 (NLT)

Peace has been stripped away,
     and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
     Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
     is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
     as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
     when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
     His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
     his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
     therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
     to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly
     for salvation from the Lord.
And it is good for people to submit at an early age
     to the yoke of his discipline:

Let them sit alone in silence
     beneath the Lord’s demands.
Let them lie face down in the dust,
     for there may be hope at last.
Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them
     and accept the insults of their enemies.

For no one is abandoned
     by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion
     because of the greatness of his unfailing love.
For he does not enjoy hurting people
     or causing them sorrow.

Hosanna: A cry of praise or adoration to God

And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!"
(Mar 11:9-10 ESV)

(Watch on YouTube)

Lyrics:

Verse 1
I see the king of glory
Coming down the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes
I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

Chorus
Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

Verse 2
I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith
I see a new revival
Staring as we pray and seek
We’re on our knees, we’re on our knees

Bridge
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what is yours
Everything I am for your kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

Hosanna…

I came across this song by Rebecca St. James and loved it! When I searched for it on Youtube I found that she put the music video up. The song is incredible on its own, but the imagery in the video adds even more to it. (Watch on YouTube)

Lyrics: 

For all the times I’ve failed You, Lord
Forgive me
For all the ways I’ve fallen short
Lord, forgive me now
God, I’m so in need of grace
I fall upon my face
Forgive me

You see the tears fall down my face
Forgive me
Take my fear, Lord, take my shame
Lord, forgive me now
Purify me, make me new
Like only You can do
Forgive me now

Lord, we come to honor You
We are forgiven
We bring our love and thanks to You
We are forgiven now

God we praise You for Your grace
Before You we are raised
Forgiven
God we praise You for Your grace
Before You we are raised
Forgiven
Forgiven

These are some pics taken when Kripa, Maria and I hiked to Moonshine Falls (in Caesar’s Head State Park). It’s a nice, moderate hike through some pretty forests. There are plenty of unofficial campsites along the trail as well. Although the hike is moderate, there is one place where you have to cross a small river on a cable (see pics). However, the river can probably be crossed without using the cable if you don’t mind getting your feet a little damp.

Moonshine Falls is not very spectacular, but there is an overhang behind the falls, and a pool that’s 3-4 feet deep at the bottom. It’s not a place to go if you’re looking to get a great view (I’d recommend Raven Cliff Falls for that), but it would be a nice place to take the kids to play and give them a sense of adventure. There are still some barrels and things left over from when people used to make moonshine there.

More info on the hike (including directions and a trail description) can be found here: http://www.sctrails.net/trails/ALLTRAILS/Waterfalls/Moonshine.html.

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These are some pics I took of Raven Cliff Falls. There are also some pics from the overlook at Caesar’s Head State Park. There are two ways to view Raven Cliff Falls, and these pics are taken from the first view point. The second view point is from a suspension bridge over the falls, but I didn’t have time to make the whole loop.

More info on the hike can be found here: http://www.sctrails.net/trails/ALLTRAILS/Waterfalls/Ravencliff.html. It’s a 2-mile hike (one-way) to the overlook, and 4 miles to the suspension bridge. It’s a pretty hike with a pretty view, and it’s not strenuous at all, so it’s a nice place to take the family, or even to go by yourself if you have a little time to kill.

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