Requested Prayers Mr. Dan Fischer | Zion's China Mission Trip 2011 Our Prayers & Blessings Go With the China Mission Group Mr. Fischer, Mrs. Hanford, Mrs. Longhurst, Haley, Kalena, Keanna & Trevor as well as students, parents & teachers from Yuma Lutheran and St. Pauls Pacific Beach – all leave on Thursday night to begin their 10 day mission trip to China. Stay Tuned Here For Daily
Updates...Mrs. Tamara Hanford (Zion teacher & parent chaperone) will be calling in daily to give us updates on how everyone is doing during their stay in China. Sunday, 10/30/11 Here we go, a challenging and scenic day of hiking the Jin Shan Ling to Si Ma Tai section of the Great Wall of China!   Mrs. Hanford at the Great Wall of China!  Trevor & Pryce preparing for the Great Wall hiking excursion...  Tour of Tiananmen Square  Peking Duck dinner at the world famous Quan Jude restaurant Saturday, 10/29/11 We enjoyed a morning pedicap ride through the Hutong District of old Beijing followed by worship with the Beijing International Christian Fellowship. We also toured The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.   Friday, 10/28/11 Today was a special day. We had the opportunity to visit the sweet children at Shepherd’s Field Children Village. We played and read with the children, led some fun activities and learned about their ministry. There are 70 children in need of a home.       Thursday, 10/27/11 Today we visited the Capitol Museum and the Beijing Planning Museum for an overview on the history and layout of Beijing. We also visited the Temple of Heaven and the Silk Market.  Here we are at the Beijing Museum...  Having lunch at Master Kong Chefs Table in downtown Beijing... Wednesday, 10/26/11 (6:00 PM PST) Below are pictures from WUHANLIANG LIGONG XUEXIAO, the school where Zion sponsors students.  This is Shelly. We had the opportunity to visit with her at school and her home. We have supported her for 3 years through our chapel offerings. Tomorrow she takes the test to become a travel guide. Yea Shelley!     Our group with "the amazing Bullet" (next to Mr. Fischer), once again making sure that all plans go as scheduled.  Three new students we were able to award scholarships to... (7:16 AM) We had a great cultural exchange with middle and high school students at a school in Kai Ping. Students exchanged email addresses and learned some Chinese. We are heading to Beijing tomorrow after we visit one of the families we sponsor. Tuesday, 10/25/11  (8:17 PM PST) Kalena, Mr. Fischer, Pryce, Haley, Keanna, & Trevor preparing for their final bike ride to visit the ancient, highly revered, Guo En Buddhist Temple. 7:00 AM (PST) Our travelers are currently sleeping and preparing for another great day biking and visiting villages along the way... Monday, 10/24/11  Dragon fruit farm with Pastor Peter along for the ride... This is the same dragon fruit farm that our group visited several years in a row. They had just planted all the trees about three years ago and last year, the farmers waved our bikers over to show them all the beautiful fruit being harvested.  A pitaya is the fruit of several cactus species, most importantly of the genus Hylocereus (sweet pitayas). These fruits are commonly known as dragon fruit – cf. Chinese huo lóng guo "fire dragon fruit" or strawberry pear. The taste has been described as being "very bland... like a melon or kiwi", with a "mild sweetness". It contains vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B, calcium, iron, phosphorus, protein, carbohydrates and fiber - yummy! (wikipedia)  Good Morning Zion! Trevor, Pryce, Haley, Kalena & Keanna relaxing after a full day of biking (30 miles)! The route included a tour of a basket factory on the outskirts of Doushan, the Chen family “Floating Moon Village” where there are 13 Gold Mountain Mansions and ending at a picturesque scene all the way out to the reservoir. "When we run out of sunlight, we’ll bus back to Taishan" --Mr. Fischer.  Kalena and Mrs. Longhurst preparing for a long 30 mile bike ride! Sunday, 10/23/11 Our group will be in Taishan for two nights. Zion students had the wonderful opportunity to teach Sunday School in a village church. We later biked about 26 miles and stopped at the villages along the way. More biking ahead today!  Above is a picture of the basket factory we visited today in Baisha. All their products are shipped to the U.S. Saturday, 10/22/11 (7:07 AM PST) Update from Mrs. Fischer...Bullet, our trip translator/guide called in this morning (10:07 PM Saturday China time), to let me know that everyone had arrived safely, were in their hotel rooms, and were probably already sound asleep. (2:47 PM PST) Our travelers are up and on the go... They are leaving Zhongshan hotel and heading to church with Pastor Peter and then will be biking to Baisha and Taishan. All is well :) Friday, 10/21/11 (4:00 PM PST): Our travelers have landed safely in Hong Kong and are enjoying their first day of adventures starting with a beautiful walk around Victoria Peak. Picture to follow soon :)  Victoria Peak Tram  View of Hong Kong on the way to Victoria Peak... Thursday 10/20/11 (Day 1)  ...at the airport awaiting departure! (Picture courtesy of Mrs. Yerkes :) School has been dismissed and our travelers are doing their last minute packing before their BIG trip. Stayed tuned for updates from Mrs. Hanford. Trip Itinerary – (October 2011) China Missions Trip: Hong Kong, Southern China and Beijing Zion Lutheran School, Fallbrook, CA St. Paul’s Lutheran School, San Diego, CA Day One October 20-21 All students, parents and teachers will rendezvous at the airport and check in with Mr. Dan Fischer before embarking on their flight to Hong Kong. Dinner and breakfast served on board. Day Two October 22 Our flight touches down in Hong Kong in the morning. Travel by chartered bus and visit: Victoria Peak, Wan Chai Market, lunch at the American Restaurant, Stanley Market, Hong Kong International School and board the ferry for Zhongshan, China. Evening at the Zhongshan International Hotel. Day Three October 23 A very early breakfast and bus ride will enable us to make the morning worship service at the small town Christian church where one of our translators, Pastor Peter, will lead worship. After lunch in we will bike out into the countryside. The route includes cycling to Baisha and the historically fascinating city of Taishan. Dinner will be followed by an evening “walk-about” to see Taishan at night. Day Four October 24 Breakfast and a tiny teach on the "Taishan-U.S. Connection" will be followed by a full day of biking! The route will include: Tour a basket factory on the outskirts of Doushan. Four kilometers outside Doushan is the Chen family “Floating Moon Village” where there are 13 Gold Mountain Mansions. Bike all the way out to the reservoir where our biking day will conclude. When we run out of sunlight, we’ll bus back to Taishan. Evening activities in Taishan. Day Five October 25 Students will visit Taishan’s wet market and then prepare for a moderate (40 km) day of biking: Taishan – Sanhe – Baisha – west towards Sanba – into the city of Kai Ping. Bus to Longshan for the evening. Day Six October 26 After breakfast we will visit the ancient, highly revered, Guo En Buddhist Temple and then bike the “reservoir run”: Siu Hing Tin – Miu Dong – Gongchen – Sunhing (Xinxing). We will then travel by to KaiPing. Evening school exchange with FengCai Middle School. Day Seven October 28 This day is dedicated to our service projects in the KaiPing area. After breakfast we will travel in vans to visit the homes of “our” students. After lunch we will take a bus Shenzhen Bay border crossing back to H.K. International Airport for our 7:00 PM flight to Beijing. We will arrive in Beijing at 10:30PM and head to our hotel! Day Eight October 29 Sleep in! After a late breakfast we will visit the Capitol Museum and the Beijing Planning Museum for an overview on the history and layout of Beijing. We will also visit the Temple of Heaven and the Silk Market. Day Nine October 30 The day will be spend at Shepherd’s Field Children Village: playing with the children, leading activities and learning about their ministry. Evening cultural show: The Legend of Kungfu Day Ten October 31 Morning pedicap ride through the Hutong District of old Beijing followed by worship with the Beijing International Christian Fellowship. Tour of The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square will take up a majority of the day. Evening: Peking Duck dinner at the world famous Quan Jude restaurant. Day Eleven November 1 Challenging and scenic day of hiking the Jin Shan Ling to Si Ma Tai section of the Great Wall of China. Evening dinner in Beijing. Day Twelve November 2 Following breakfast at the hotel our group will be picked up and taken to the Beijing Airport for the flight back to Los Angeles via Hong Kong. We will arrive back at LAX on Tuesday, November 1. The group should be ready to depart the terminal at 2:45 PM. |