Church Growth in China

So, one of the last things I thought about before moving here was the concept of church growth here through baptisms – however, by end of day tomorrow we will have had 3 convert baptisms in 5 weeks.

The first was an 18 year old young man (Ashouko) whose mother is Romanian (a former ballerina who now teaches ballet in Shanghai) and whose father is Chinese. Since he was born in Romania, he is not a Chinese passport holder, thus eligible to be taught the gospel. Turns out his family was a recipient of a “lottery” green card issued by the US. They were the lucky winners out of tens of thousands of submissions. Since he would be going to the US and is almost college age, Ashouko was thinking about which US college he should attend. While in a park one day he ran into an American - Neil Haddock, one of our members. He asked Neil what American colleges were good schools to attend. Neil mentioned several, including BYU. Ashouko got online to check it out and ended up following links to the Church’s website where he independently started learning about the gospel. Unfortunately, he did not know how to find the church here in Shanghai. One day he was at his mother’s dance studio and overheard one of her student’s mothers (Karen McGee, also a member of our branch) talking about BYU and quickly asked her how he could learn more about the Church. He was at church the following Sunday, and ended up taking the discussions within a 2 week period. I was blessed to be able to participate in several the discussions with him. Truly golden, he would come to every meeting having studied WAAAY more than expected, and having significant and insightful questions, along with his own (accurate) answers to his own questions.

Almost immediately after Ashouko’s baptism, Athena Messick of our branch, who is Chinese, was walking in her neighborhood and saw another Chinese woman walking and felt inspired to tell her about the church. Because we cannot share the gospel with Chinese passport holders, she naturally hesitated. After striking up a conversation she learned the woman was actually a Russian citizen, and shortly invited her to church. The sisters of the branch enveloped her, and she too plowed through the missionary discussion in a week or two. She testified with conviction of the truthfulness of the gospel. Two weeks ago she was baptized by Ashouko, who had just received the Aaronic Priesthood, in Chinese – their mutual native language. Almost the entire baptismal meeting was in Chinese, with many members translating into English for others – it felt just like we were in the Mission field . . . (oh, we ARE – grin).

During this same period of time, one Sunday a visitor sat behind me. This is not unusual, we get members visiting from many countries almost every Sunday. As I introduced myself I learned that the visitor, Dmitriy Maksimenko from Ukraine, was not a member and was not visiting from another country. He lives here in China, sent by his Ukrainian company. He had seen the new Temple in the Ukraine and wanted to know more about it. He had gone to the Church’s website, found the meetinghouse locator and found his own way to Church. He attended all three hours, and had is first missionary lesson later that night. I was once again blessed to be able to sit in on several of his missionary discussions. Due to holidays, work travels, etc., his desire to be baptized earlier did not take place – but now, he will be baptized tomorrow afternoon – Easter Sunday – and views this as representative of his resurrection into a new way of life.

Still others are investigating the Church, and the blessings of these activities are also blessing the lives of members both active and less active. Our branch meetings are now full to capacity and many of us wonder “what’s next?” I think we all know what’s next, and it’s exciting….

I guess the single thread that goes through all of this is the idea to just open your mouth and be a friend.

Happy Easter to all.

Jay and Monique

Meet Von Sison...

I can’t remember if I’ve told you about Von Sison, but I’d like you to “meet” him.

Von is a member of the church from the Philippines working here in Shanghai. He lives in a factory down the street from us in rural Pudong. His factory makes plastic lids for drink cups for McDonalds and KFC. He helps make sure the machinery is properly maintained. He earns the equivalent of $500 US per month, although his dorm housing and cafeteria meals are all paid for by the factory. He is very grateful for the “good-paying” job, even though it takes him away from his family in the Philippines.

Von is a very humble man – humble in the best way possible. Kind, happy, positive, and friendly. Sees only the good in people and situations. He is in his mid-30’s and got married shortly before coming to China. His wife was pregnant with their first child when he left to come here. She gave birth since then and Von has yet to meet his (now) 8 month old baby. If you do the math you’ll realize that Von has not seen his wife in over a year. He will leave to go to the Philippines in 20 days to see his wife and meet his baby. He is excited.

I home teach Von and have the privilege of traveling to church with him each Sunday morning. Often Monique has early meetings, so he and I catch a separate cab together. It is a very special time to enjoy early Sunday morning with this great person as we make our way to Church. He wrote me this sweet message today (see below) and I just felt I had to share it. You will note from his message that English is not his first language (although admittedly his spoken English is much better than his written English – grin)

Von cannot afford a white shirt and tie, and dummy me didn’t even realize it. On the way to church last week he said he looked forward to the day that he could afford a white shirt so he could go to church properly dressed. “Fortunately” I’ve put on some weight and had a white shirt that no longer fit me. I was honored to give it to him. He told me this was a meaningful blessing to him. How many of us would count being able to wear a white shirt to church as “a meaningful blessing”? We probably don’t even think twice about it. When he references the “polo” shirt below, that is what he’s talking about. When he talks about my “companion” he’s talking about Monique.

I sometimes forget how AMAZINGLY blessed we are. When I say “we” I’m mostly thinking of Monique and me. I’m humbled to consider this great man who really has very little, but remains happy and upbeat – and I feel like it is ME who is blessed to share his acquaintance. Much more valuable to me than my white shirt.

 ********

Jay good evening,

I was looking for you and your wife monique after church meeting again that i want to thank you for this polo shirt ,this morning after church meeting i meet former missionary from salt lake city he was assigned in philippine cagayan de oro mission,he speaks our own dialect ,he just visit for business

- software i think. jay thank you again for polo shirt and for pick me up during sunday.

i'm just thinking of companionship. i'm thinking of my wife together soon and just 20 more days to be with her and my daughter.,it is said that you should never leave your companion ,i'm thinking of going to church on sunday when you pick me up and leave your companion alone, i worry I take some special moment together with her away from you. maybe we have to create different approach of having family home evening or scripture study in your home instead so you wont be apart from her because me. i know jay you are very busy man but still have time for me i really value your time spend with me but your companion need you much more. The gospel which is in me thought me to develop my relation to god, although i sometimes make mistake but the commandment of god made me a better man .

Thanks a lot jay may god always bless you and your wife .

von

Our Christmas Experience...

Merry Christmas from Shanghai…

I understand I can be verbose. That’s OK. If you care to read on, hopefully it will be worth it.

Being away from all our children for the first time since we combined our families 15 years ago, we’ve been trying to figure out how to best honor this holiday season. We’ve chosen a couple of activities that we felt would be meaningful and fun. By sharing these with you, it is simply to provide background to explain some heart-warming (and heart-wrenching) experiences we had today.

It is Saturday, December 17. Like many of you, for us, this is one of the last big days of preparation before Christmas.

One of the activities we’ve chosen is to hold an American-style Christmas party on Christmas Day for the many friends who have helped us through this year and have been a part of our experience so far. We’ve decided that we will only invite our Chinese friends – no Americans or other foreigners. Some of these friends you’ve already heard of. For example, in attendance will be King, our English speaking taxi driving friend and his wife and baby. King was literally a Godsend at a time when we really needed his help. Li Jing, our 22 year old friend with Down Syndrome and his entire family will also be in attendance – he has brought joy to our lives and helps remind us of our son Brig. Bryan Ma and Joanna Cai, my two trusty cohorts at work and their respective spouses will be here, along with about 25 elderly English students from the retirement community where Monique volunteers teaching English. We’ll also see Sissy, a college Co-ed who attends college across the street from our compound and who teaches Monique Chinese, as well as Henry and Phoebe, two of Monique’s friends who do her hair and nails respectively. Additionally, loyal Mr. Pan who recently has started driving for us will be here with his family, along with a bevy of others who have been kind and supportive of us during this past year.

Our goal is not only to “thank” these wonderful friends, but also to give them a peek at what a true American Christmas party is like, and to learn a little about baby Jesus, Santa, and that little kid who keeps drumming. They are all so excited and intrigued. It will be fun to watch as they are exposed to stuff they wouldn’t normally see or taste. Other than egg nog (which is virtually impossible to find here, and which we don’t dare try to make from scratch) we anticipate many of the things you’d normally see at a party in the States. Hot apple cider, hot chocolate, some American meatballs (OK, they actually came from IKEA, so not technically “American”), fruits, a veggie tray with Ranch dip, home-made Christmas cookies of all sorts and crackers and a cheese-ball (Yes, Monique is a cheese-ball, but we’re also serving the other kind). We’ll teach a couple of Christmas carols and try to sing them together, and have each family get a family photo taken in front of our Christmas tree. I think it will be fun.

So what’s so interesting about this? As I write this our Ayi, Xiao Ni (remember the pronunciation: shout without the “T”, and knee as in “knee”) is downstairs with Monique learning how to make your standard American Christmas Sugar Cookie. It is a HOOT. Once again, these two women who don’t speak each other’s language are somehow communicating about how to make the cookie dough, how to roll it out “just so” adding flour so it won’t stick to the weird rolling-pin thing, then using cookie cutters to cut the cookies. Xiao Ni hasn’t ever seen a snowman, seldom seen the shape of a Christmas tree, and couldn’t figure out what the bell shaped thing was (it was a bell - grin). Xiao Ni is having a blast, LOVES the taste of the cookies (we had to scold her for eating too many of the product), and it is hilarious to see her with flour all over her. As you watch these two women, you can sense the love they share. Funny how something as mundane as baking cookies can bring two people from WORLDS apart (not just in terms of distance) together in a bond of friendship. We will never forget our wonderful friend Xiao Ni.

This is also very meaningful to Monique on a couple of levels, not the least of which is that, were it not for Xiao Ni, Monique’s annual tradition of baking cookies with a mother, sister or daughter would have been passed by this year. She reported to me that she’s been doing this with one of the above cookie-making partners every year for over 40 years. More poignant is the sense of awe and wonder Xiao Ni exudes as she learns these little things. Even as I write this, I hear the two of them downstairs giggling over something. Who says you have to learn a language to communicate?

So that was the heart-warming part…

Like many of you, one of the other activities we’ve decided to do is to try to help some of the VERY poor families in the neighborhood near our home. We’ve gotten to know these families as we’ve driven through on our electric scooters. We’ve taken the opportunity to get to know them, to be in their humble homes and learn about their challenging circumstances.

One family we’ve become friends with is the Jia family. Despite the “one child” policy, Mr. and Mrs. Jia have a total of SIX children, ranging from 24 years old down to 8 years old. The oldest two have married and moved out. The remaining family members live a stone’s throw down the street from a stinky plastic recycling plant in a one-room concrete home lined with bunk beds and a table with a small gas stove. Their numerous belongings are stacked here and there – pretty much NO room to sit, other than the beds. They moved to Shanghai from central China in the hopes of making more money.

The Jia’s are members of a local Christian church and are strong believers. Mr. Jia – in his late 50’s – is a cook in the cafeteria of the local elementary school. His wife works in a nearby factory. Their 19 year old daughter dropped out of High School a couple of years ago to help earn extra income for the family.

We were in their home tonight trying to tactfully assess what their family might need. Over and over again this stoic couple stated that God has treated them so well, and that their cozy home is a blessing beyond belief – they really have need of nothing, and it truly felt that way. As we spoke, we were introduced to Mrs. Jia’s older sister who just moved from their ancestral home in central China. Her husband recently died and Mrs. Jia felt her sister should be closer to family. She moved into another shanty across the pathway from the Jia’s.

No sooner had older sister returned to her “house”, we learned why Mrs. Jia REALLY wanted her sister to move to Shanghai, and – unfortunately – I learned the Chinese word for Leukemia. Sister is dying from Leukemia but does not even know it. Doctors diagnosed her, and told Mrs. Jia, but did not tell older sister. They’re afraid to tell her. The family cannot afford the medications that might help her, so the best they can do is have her take herbal medicines in the hope that the symptoms will be lessened and the pain will be eased. Mrs. Jia did not ask for “things” or even for money – for her OR her sister. With true faith, she simply asked that we pray for her sister. “With God, all things are possible. He can heal my sister.” And she meant it. The family believes that as Sister learns to believe in God, she will be healed. Of course, with the government’s request that we not discuss religion, all we could do was smile and agree. We understand in one way or another she WILL be healed.

As we departed this sweet couple’s tiny home and started to say our goodbye’s Mrs. Jia and Monique fell into each other’s arms, tearfully parting – knowing what each other was saying, without understanding the words that were being said. We’re not yet sure how we can help this family. Sometimes God places people in positions to help, and THAT is how he creates miracles. We hope that we can find a way to help this miracle come about. Regardless, in the end Mrs. Jia’s faithful approach underscores what this season was originally intended to convey. The heart-wrenching story of older sister’s dubious future – and younger sister’s love and resolve, somehow strengthens our own love and resolve.

In our desire to give, we have unwittingly become recipients of a priceless gift and lesson.

It is our holiday wish that each of you might have similar experiences that bring us all to a deeper understanding of what this season is all about.

Merry Christmas.

Sheng Dan Kuai Le.

Jay and Mo

Drummer Boy...

Dear Sisters,

Well now its Christmas evening and I'm finally sitting down to rest from a busy day. Our combined sacrament meeting with the other branch was amazing, then we had 40 Chinese guests over for snacks and a Christmas sing along. Great fun but I'm ready for a little break.

How was your day? Are you exhausted? Take a deep breath and relax, you deserve it.

Have you opened your gifts? Did you see the one that's possibly hiding? This is the best gift of all and it will never get used up or go out of style. The Savior of the world gave us this gift with his birth this day, and that is his atonement. Can you think of how to use this gift? Does it come with instructions? Have you ever received A gift but put it on a shelf or closet somewhere and never used it? Where do you find the instructions on how to use the atonement. (Scriptures tell us)

Since this is a day for exchanging gifts, what gift will you give him?

This holiday directs our focus to gift giving. In fact I think back on the time in my life that I have spent making gift lists, going shopping, wrapping gifts , then stressing and wondering if the receiver of the gift will be satisfied with my offering. Ive even had nightmares over it, sounds crazy right?

The drummer boy being very poor gave the only thing he could, a song. What is your song? What can you give the Savior this year?

Many times I’ve considered the drummer boy. From the song we know this boy had nothing to give, but he wanted to give something, something that was meaningful. I wondered if he feared that his gift wasn’t good enough, that it wouldn’t be received with the intention it was given? Lets take a look at the words to this song and see if we can learn from this little drummer boy.

Little Drummer Boy

Come they told me
Pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see,
Pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King
Pa rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum
So to honor Him
Pa rum pum pum pum,
When we come.

Little BabyPa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too,
Pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give our King
Pa rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pumShall I play for you!
Pa rum pum pum
On my drum.

Mary noddedPa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for HimPa rum pum pum
I played my best for HimPa rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pumThen He smiled at me
Pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum.

So, this leads me to the important question and that is, What gift can we give the Savior?. As far as I know, none of us are drummers. So what is our best that we can give him?

Sisters I encourage you to make it a matter of prayer to consider what gift you are offering to the Savior this year. Maybe it is more of your time in scripture study, or service to your neighbors. Maybe it is more time devoted to husband and children in an expression of gratitude for having a sweet family. Maybe it is giving up a bad habit, or coveting, or others things that steal our peace away. How do you think the Drummer boy felt as he offered his gift. The song tells that the baby Jesus smiled at him. Can you begin to imagine how peaceful that must have been. We all could use a little peace right now couldn’t we? So I encourage you to close your eyes, put yourself in the shoes of the drummer boy. Imagine yourself at the feet of beautiful baby in the manger and decide what gift you will bring to Him. He LOVES you, more than you can even imagine, and is so pleased to receive the gift that you have to offer.

Sisters, the Lord has revealed to me that you are amazing women. He has entrusted you with amazing gifts and talents and so much to offer the Savior and also those around you. You have been blessed to be here at this time and giving yourself to this experience in China is gift to all of your associates. Do not take this point lightly, You are a gift and a blessing. Take that gift today and challenge your self to share it with those around you and in turn, you will be just like the drummer boy. That will be your offering.

I feel so blessed today and I bear testimony that Jesus Christ was born, died and rose again so that He made it possible to atone for our sins. This is His gift to us. Search for yourself and find out how this can work in your life, and bring you closer to Him.

Please know that I can't even put into words my love for you and desire for you to feel His peace today, and to know beyond a shadow of a doubt how much He loves you.

Merry Christmas my dearest friends,

Monique Larkin
(Pa rum pum pum pum, Rum pum pum pum, Rum pum pum pum)

Disguise? What Disguise???

Thought I’d give you a laugh…do NOT post this anywhere. You know who I’m talkin’ to!!!  (Mo is the guilty one on this.) :) :)

Our Ward is having a Christmas Party this coming Saturday – theme is Polar Express. I was asked to be the conductor. It’s hard work – so hard that my facial hair appears to be falling off.

Monique did a FANTASTIC job converting an existing suit into this Conductor outfit. Added a few metallic buttons on the lapel and hat, fastened the “conductor” label on the hat, we had a vest made in 2 days for $21, added some gold colored cord we already had for the watch chain and “poof”. Oh yeah, that’s not really my moustache – just in case you couldn’t tell. Duh.

I’ve been practicing my best Maine/Conductor accent and made up some fun tickets to give out to the kiddos (see below). Got a long list of “good” names that I’ll check against when the adults try to board. Not on the list? Hmmm, may have a problem. Oh yeah – the names I got are all Czech. Now if I can just find a train….

Merry Christmas and love to all.

What a Difference a Year Makes...

Hi team -

It is Thanksgiving here today. Its a BEAUTIFUL fall day in Shanghai. Although I have to work today, tonight we hope to scout out a western hotel that will be serving a traditional turkey meal and at least enjoy that part of the tradition...

Mo and I were reflecting on where we all were a year ago. Some of you were flying in, others were stuck on the icy roads of Idaho (or where ever), Mo was trying to make last minute changes to our T-day plans in light of the major winter storm that came through and I was trying to prepare ourselves for the big move...

What a weird and wacky weekend THAT turned out to be!!! Can't think of too many other situations where plans were so completely destroyed. Certainly a key entry in the Larkin/Armstrong/Tanner book of funky events - right up there with "listen to the sounds of nature...PPHHRRAAAPPPP - ewe, Drew?!?!?"

I sent a broadcast email a couple of days ago outlining some of the things we are generally grateful for. On a more personal note just to family members, we wanted to add to that more specifically how much we are grateful for, and how much we love each of you. Pretty much DAILY I have conversations with taxi drivers about our large family (they can each have only 1 kid) and the question always comes up about the different personalities and situations for such a large family. We are a diverse group - and all the better for it.

May I encourage you to stay connected to one another. Besides texting or facebooking each other, I hope that you actually TALK to each other and get together from time to time. As time goes by, friends and jobs will come and go. Later in life you will realize there are few constants in life. In the end, family members are one of the only true constants. Remember to love one another.

In the day-to-day grind it is easy to focus on our immediate challenges. We all have them . . . they may be financial, or health related, or relationship oriented, or other. I hope that you frequently take the time to reflect on the GREAT things going on in your lives - but especially today (your tomorrow) I hope you pause to focus on just the blessings.

Yesterday I had to explain to a taxi driver what Thanksgiving day represents to Americans. In my poor Chinese I simplistically explained that a except for a boat full of Englishmen who almost didn't make it through the first year, America as we know it would never have existed. They could only make it through by virtue of the kindnesses extended to them by strangers - the natives in the area. I can think of no better example of how we should live our lives - reaching out to others and sharing our friendship, our skills, our abilities and our resources. Even if that is the ONLY thing we do in our lowly lives, it will be great.

Mo and I have MUCH to be grateful for - far too many things to list. This Thanksgiving, we cannot be there in person, but we can be there in spirit. Here's wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving with a suggestion that you make this the beginning of a full YEAR of thanksgiving wherein you and your family find a way to reach out to others and help pull someone else along.

We love and miss you all. We hope to find a way to be near a computer at times that might allow us to Skype. Watch for us....

Dad/Jay and Mo(m)

Happy Thanksgiving from Shanghai...

So Thanksgiving is around the corner. As you can imagine, it is not celebrated in China – no days off from work, no “Black Friday”, indeed pretty much nothing more than a passing nod from the locals. “Yeah, I think I’ve heard of that holiday in the US”. For families from the US, on the other hand, it’s one of those holidays we try to make happen just to keep some semblance of our “Americana” while away from home. It’s not easy. Turkey? Fish heads yes, but they don’t eat Turkeys in China. (Our Ayi has only seen a picture of one once, never seen or tasted a real one.) Cranberries? Nope. Pumpkin Pie – well, they have pumpkins, but not the easy canned filling stuff. Mashed potatoes? Why would you spend so much effort mashing those things up?

This coming Sunday several US families from our church congregation will gather to share a Thanksgiving meal. Since we have an oven (lots of homes don’t have ovens – the Chinese can’t figure out how or why we’d use them) we offered to supply and cook one of the Turkeys. Keep in mind, this is our first Thanksgiving here – we didn’t really know what we were getting into.

Six months ago we found a meat store that supplies imported sausages and hard-to-get meats – mostly from Germany. While there, we discovered a single Turkey hidden at the bottom of a deep freezer. From the amount of frost on the thing, I suspect it had been there a looong time. We sorta decided then and there that come November we’d try to find a Turkey elsewhere. This week Monique went out scouting for a Turkey and eventually found one at a store where we can sometimes get stuff you can’t normally find in China. Thanksgiving is all about gratitude. We were grateful to be able to find a Turkey. Once found, we were grateful to be able to afford it. This little 12 pounder came in at a whopping USD $71.00 – ouch. For those doing the math, that comes to about $6.00 a pound. How much are Turkey’s going for in the US? Isn’t this something like 6 or 7 times the going rate?

So get this, when we’re trying to find the weight of the Turkey, what do we notice? Old Tom Turkey comes all the way from . . . Moroni Utah!! Almost our backyard! Small world.

Every food item imported into China has to have a Chinese label slapped on it, showing ingredients, chemicals, country of origin, etc. Unfortunately, the label was placed right over the tag that shows the weight. Since the new label is in Chinese, and since they use kilograms, of the 5 or 6 sets of numbers, we couldn’t tell exactly which was the weight. So how did we know it was actually 12 pounds? We asked Xiao Ni, our Ayi, to come read it for us. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it out either!! But, she came to the rescue – she had a scale! Of course we expected her to produce the square thing you stand on in the bathroom. Nope – check out the attached image.

She comes in from outside with an antique spindle balance scale, complete with soapstone weight and carefully inlaid silver gage markers. It’s been in her family for at least 3 generations. She remembers her Grandmother taking it with her when she went shopping oh so long ago. Now how cool is THAT!?!?! She never ceases to surprise and amaze us. Some things in China aren’t “backward”, they’re brilliantly simple.

Putting this unusual, uniquely China weird event aside, we’re grateful for a number of things this year. We’re grateful for our large family who, like many of you, have experienced some significant challenges this past year, but continue to plug away. We’re grateful for healthy grandchildren already part of the family, and healthy additions soon to join us. We’re grateful for our own health, as well as for the improving health of friends and immediate family members who have struggled mightily recently. We’re grateful for employment. We’re grateful for our numerous Chinese friends who continue to prove to us that despite what the news may report, or what our two governments may say about each other – we’re all pretty much the same with the same desires for our families and future. We’re grateful for the conveniences of life that allow us to stay warm (or cool, depending on the season), to get around this enormous city, to fly back and forth to the US when needed, and to easily talk or email or Skype with our family at will. And we’re grateful for you – our friends and family who add beauty and meaning to life.

For us, this Thanksgiving is somewhat more poignant than past years. Our time here causes our numerous blessings to be illuminated like never before. Here’s wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving from Shanghai. Please take an extra moment this year to count your blessings too.

Jay and Monique

Mr. Sun's Lost Love in Pudong...

Monique and I live in Pudong China, the fast growing sister-city to Shanghai, which is located on the opposite (west) side of the Huangpu River from Pudong. A mere 20 years ago, in an effort to help catapult China into the 20^th century, then President Deng Xiaoping announced that the sleepy little farming district of Pudong would become China’s new financial hub. The traditional cityscape you frequently see that represents Shanghai today, is actually a view of Pudong, and it did not exist 20 years ago.

With tremendous growth comes change at an amazing pace. In our district, that is manifested by new buildings, high volume roads, and two new above-ground “subway” lines being built nearby. Each day as I pass this subway construction I’m curious about what shape it will take – the subway supports seem enormously tall! Much taller and larger than similar lines I’ve seen elsewhere in the city.

In Communist China, the State (on behalf of all its citizens) owns all the land underlying homes and offices and leases the land out to homeowners and businesses with the understanding that the State can take the land back when needed. Accordingly, when progress needs to be made “for the good of the people”, individuals pay the price. In this case, the people who lived in the path of the subway line were given alternate living arrangements elsewhere, and told to move out. Shortly thereafter their homes were razed and any evidence of their previous lives was erased from the landscape.

This afternoon, wanting to understand where the subway station would be and where the above-ground lines would submerge underground and where the new bus lines would connect, etc., I set off on my scooter to the construction sites to get some answers. As I neared a flattened neighborhood, I spotted an elderly gentlemen standing in the rubble who I assumed would have a good grasp of how things were developing. Instead of explaining how the subway lines would run, he shared with me his story of long lost love.

Mr. Sun is 76 years old. He lived in this neighborhood when he was growing up. In those days it was pristine farmland with clean clear air, the cropland traversed by pathways and canals and creeks. As a boy, on hot summer days, Mr. Sun and his buddies would swim in the creeks, and in the evenings they would try to scare or bother the girls of the neighborhood.

As he got older one of those girls caught his eye and they eventually started “dating” (as it were). Over time they fell in love. She was much prettier and smarter than the other girls in this little village, and he was so proud to be with her and loved her deeply. When he was 22, and she 21, he finally asked her to marry him.

There was a problem, however.

Mr. Sun’s father was moving out of the area, and as a dutiful son, he would be expected to move along with his family. The girl he wanted to marry, also wanting to be a dutiful daughter, felt that she needed to remain near her family who was staying in the village. Against this backdrop of competing responsibilities and filial duty, on a fateful fall day over 50 years ago, Mr. Sun and the love of his life tearfully parted ways, never to see each other again.

Now, a lifetime later, his wife having recently passed away, Mr. Sun returned to this little village to try to find the girl he loved so deeply so long ago. Standing in front of the pile of rubble that had previously been her home, Mr. Sun could find no one who could tell him anything about her. Had she gotten married? Is she still alive? Where does she live now?

Making matters worse, there was no one with which Mr. Sun could share his memories or his pain – except for the strange foreign guy on the electric bike who was in the right place at the right time. With wistful fondness he tried to communicate her exquisite beauty, her soft femininity, her stoic strength. As I discerned a crack in his voice and a tremble in his lower lip as he shared these tender memories there was little I could do. I didn’t know what to say, nor how to say it.

At long last, Mr. Sun allowed me to take his photo, after which he tucked his jacket under his arm, turned and slowly shuffled down the dusty pathway amid strangers and rubble in this little village that used to be his.

Service Opportunities

Many of you know that my Taiwan Mission President from 35 years ago, Frederick Crook and his wife Elizabeth serve as the in-country coordinators for LDS Charities here in China. Through our friendship, I have had the luxury of being privy to some of the interesting and uplifting activities they are a part of.



Recently they participated in a donation ceremony where 100 wheelchairs and 100 hospital beds were donated to a hospital for the elderly in a rural community north of Shanghai. The attached photo shows Elizabeth (in green in the front row) and Frederick (white hair on back right with red coat) as they participated in the festivities.



The Chinese are a naturally loving people and it is a blast to get to know them on their turf. You can see from faces and gestures the kindness and acceptance that greets sincere friends.

Note the large red banner in the back which has the LDSC logo on the top and identifies LDSC as the donor of these needed items. LDSC's activities in country are understood and accepted. This is just one of MANY projects Frederick and Elizabeth oversee. "Missionary work" is not allowed in China, but true Christian service is alive and well.

Jay

Xiao Ni...

When I first arrived in Shanghai, I had only a few weeks to find a home, negotiate a satisfactory rental arrangement and get the home ready for Monique’s arrival. The undertaking was an interesting and challenging one, but one which was well-aided by some cool technology now available (electronically posted pictures, Skype, etc.), and not a small amount of providence.

After looking at 20-30 different options, including high-rise apartments, attached townhouses, and stand-alone villas, one home that was particularly nice was a villa in a small compound some distance from where most foreigners live. Although it was far from other westerners, it was quite convenient to both my office, and our church. Compared to all the other places I had looked at, which were in consistently bad condition, I was surprised at the quality of care the home had received, and asked the rental agent what made this home different. I learned that the landlord was from Taiwan, and actually owned 3 homes in the same compound. She employed a full time “Ayi” (pronounced “Eye-eee”) to look after the homes that were vacant, with strict direction that everything was to be kept at move-in ready condition at all times. Not a bad strategy. It worked for me.

I looked at the home several times, each time checking up on questions posed by Monique, or taking pictures of specific things that Mo wanted to know more about. Each time I returned, I noted that the Ayi was always there, scurrying around the house making sure to correct anything that might seem out of place. She was very responsible and seemed humble and reliable. At one point it dawned on me that by renting this last vacant home (the others in the neighborhood owned by the landlord were already rented), the Ayi would most likely be out of work. Although there was only Mo and I, it seemed that if we hired this woman as OUR Ayi, it would keep her employed and would also help us out a little around the house. I asked if she would be willing to stay on with us, and she indicated she would. We agreed on a price (her starting rate was incredibly low, so I felt foolish trying to negotiate lower) and determined that 3 hours a day for two days a week is all that we would really need. At the time this seemed like a very spur-of-the-moment decision, but in retrospect it was one of the best decisions we’ve made since arriving.

The Ayi’s name is Xiao Ni (like the word “shout” without the “t”, followed by the word “knee”). Xiao Ni is 50 years old, thin as a rail but fit as a fiddle – not an ounce of fat on the woman. She is from Anhui Province, a notoriously poor province about 10 hours west of the Shanghai area. It is clear that despite her diligent work effort, Xiao Ni is (and always has been) extremely poor. She is the 5^th of 9 children. Her parents are still alive, still eeking out their own living by farming in Anhui at age 85. For Xiao Ni nothing is wasted, and she is grateful for work. She will not accept hand-outs, but willingly takes on any and all means of additional income or other means to get by.

She is a workhorse that can outwork most men I know – including me. We have grown to love her and admire the way in which she overcomes difficult challenges in her life. She is responsible, thorough, and always happy. Despite her inability to speak English, and Mo’s inability to speak Chinese – these two women have become friends, often taking off together on their respective electric scooters to go buy plants at the local farmer’s market, or other places. It is a treat to see them giggle and try to communicate.

When I was originally looking at the house I noticed a vegetable garden in one of the corners of the yard. Eventually I realized this vegetable garden was one of the way’s Xiao Ni made ends meet. She grew her own vegetables in the yard of this previously vacant house. Trying to avoid a situation where she would have to ask me if she could keep growing things, I asked her if she would be willing to grow vegetables that we might occasionally eat. I could see the worry dissipate from her face as she willingly agreed.

We also learned that Xiao Ni fished and netted crawdads from the small dock that lines the river behind our home. Often just as the sun comes up we hear the creak of the front gate, then look down from our bedroom window to see Xiao Ni in her traditional bamboo leaf hat gathering in the long rectangular net trap. There is seldom very much of a catch, but I guess it is enough to get by each day. One day Xiao Ni proudly came to the door with a large bucket of 30-40 crawling half-shrimp, half lobsters each about 3 inches long. (See picture) Although cooking for us is not one of her responsibilities, she burst her way into the house, informing us she was making us crawdads for dinner. She stood at the sink for over two hours, painstakingly hand-cleaning every crawdad. She then fried them up in a garlic hot sauce for us. Although we had been wary of what we may have to “choke down”, we enjoyed a yummy dinner and Xiao Ni found a small way to show her gratitude to us.

As is sometimes the custom in China, husbands and wives go where ever they need to and do whatever they need to in order to make ends meet. Although we’ve met Xiao Ni’s husband and only son once or twice, the husband is usually away somewhere working some sort of manual labor. Currently he is back in Anhui helping his brother build buildings of some sort. They have been apart for months and cannot afford to visit one another.

These things concern us. This is a wonderful woman. The phrase “there, but for the grace of God, go I” has echoed in my mind a thousand times. The disparity between her life and ours is gigantic. It takes so little effort on our part to make such a HUGE impact on her life. How could we not find a way to try a little harder to help her out? Occasionally we’ve tried to just give her some extra money, but she is too proud and honorable to take it, so we often make up extra work that “needs to be done” above and beyond her regular duties. Although even the small amount of time she helps around our house is really not needed, still we asked her to come more frequently. Sometimes we receive gifts of food that, frankly, we know we won’t like. Rather than waste these by tossing them, we give them to Xiao Ni. She is always so grateful when we give these “gifts” to her. She may think we specifically went out and got these for her, and we never do anything to change that assumption. Because it encourages her to accept these little food items, in the grand cosmic circle of life, we chalk up this little white lie as “ok”.

We don’t really know where Xiao Ni has been living, but she recently asked if she could “borrow” some water. When I inquired what was going on, we learned that whatever her living situation was, it is now changing. Apparently she had found a temporary place to sleep, but it had no electricity or water. I envisioned her sleeping behind a wall somewhere. While it has been warm, fall is upon us and it is just a matter of time until it is too cold to live “just anywhere”. We’ve been blessed with the means to live in a home that has one more bedroom than we need, so we’ve asked Xiao Ni if she would be “willing” to live in our home to help ensure the house looks lived in enough to keep intruders away. She consented, and moved in with us today. We had dinner together tonight for the first time as a “family” and, acting as interpreter, I was able to share some of Xiao Ni’s unusual background with Monique. Once again, the connection between these two amazing women was heartwarming.

You know, it’s hard to understand how life’s lottery works. How one person or family is so blessed and another has so little. Oddly, we frequently want so much more than we already have, whereas Xiao Ni seems so satisfied with … almost nothing. We feel honored to have Xiao Ni staying with us, and can only hope that each of you someday has a chance to meet this amazing woman. To us, she is a walking lesson on how to live life.

Discovering Lao Wang's Orphanage

Shortly after arriving in Shanghai, Monique learned of a woman in our neighborhood who had started a charitable group called “MiFan Mama” (literally “Rice Mama”). This organization is comprised of mostly expatriate women from all over the world living in China dedicated to helping meet the immediate needs of privately run orphanages in Central China which do not receive assistance from the State or National agencies. Originally the needs of these orphanages surrounded food – mainly rice – thus the name. One of the orphanages supported by MiFan Mama is called the Lao Wang orphanage, “Lao Wang” translating to “Old Mr. Wang”, who runs the orphanage. Monique, now in a new country with fewer responsibilities and with time on her hands, armed with a desire to help others, arranged to participate with this worthy effort.

Not so fast. Less than a week after Monique’s decision to help with Mifan Mama, and only 6-8 weeks after arriving in Shanghai, her “spare time” was rearranged as she was unexpectedly asked to serve as the head of our Church congregation’s Relief Society. The Relief Society is a women’s organization with units in every LDS Church congregation world-wide, tasked to seek out the weary and down-trodden, the sick and afflicted – whether members of the LDS Church or not – and find ways to provide “relief”. Much of her time would now be dedicated to this new responsibility.

As she stepped into this new responsibility, one of Monique’s first assignments was to identify a suitable humanitarian project and coordinate her efforts with a newly-assigned set of LDS Humanitarian Representatives who had just arrived from the US. As another of the interesting “coincidences” we continue to experience, this set of Humanitarian Representatives is none other than our friends Frederick and Elizabeth Crook, who I knew in Taiwan over 30 years ago, and with whom we have been associating in our efforts with China Rural Education Foundation!

Through this renewed relationship, Monique learned the Crooks were involved with wheelchair donations in southern China, care for the elderly in extreme western China among the minority Uigher (Wee’ gur) population, and with asthma prevention programs throughout China. She also learned that they had hopes to round out their humanitarian activities by finding a worthy needy orphanage somewhere in eastern China. Monique shared the goals of Mifan Mama and the three of them determined that this may just be the kind of orphanage support that was being sought.

Monique put the Crooks in touch with our neighbor Julie Martens, co-founder of MiFan Mama. The Crooks were invited, and accepted the offer, to visit the Lao Wang orphanage during the next regularly scheduled monthly visit (in May) to the orphanage located some 8 hours away in rural Anhui province. During this visit, the Crooks were able to certify that the needs of the orphanage properly met the strict guidelines set out by LDS Charities – their sponsoring agency – and submitted the orphanage for inclusion in the list of approved LDS Charities efforts. The request was quickly granted allowing donations from LDS Charities to be made to the orphanage.

Monique and I were also able to make our own trip to Lao Wang’s Orphanage a month later in early June. Here's how it all played out. On the afternoon of Saturday, June 4, twelve intrepid volunteers departed on the ~6 hour trip to the capital of Anhui province, a “third tier” city called Hefei, a city with a population of “only” 5.7 million people. We arrived in Anhui at about dinner time. During the trip the group alternately slept, talked, read and sang songs with the accompaniment of two of the volunteers – a French woman with a guitar, and Monique with her Baritone Ukulele.

Our group arose early the following morning starting off with a traditional Chinese buffet breakfast that, to westerners, actually looks a little more like a buffet dinner with noodles, boiled vegetables, fish and other items I am still not accustomed to eating for breakfast. Fortunately there was a lot of fruit (grin). We then completed the remaining 2 hours of the trip arriving at the remote orphanage at around 10:00 am. It was already hot - about 85 (sweaty) degrees. Upon arrival we were immediately touched as the group of 200+ orphans, who knew we were coming, gathered at the front gate of the orphanage to cheer and welcome us. Next, the older orphan boys and some of our group unloaded the truckload of supplies that had arrived separately earlier in the morning. To see some photos of this trip (housed on Photobucket), click here.

MiFan Mama organization collects various "in-kind" donations, as well as financial donations that are used to purchase rice, flour, oil and other food related items. Every monthly distribution to the orphanage is unique. In addition to the standard food and other collected item distribution, this month’s delivery included several additional types of donations, including:

- A larger-than-normal distribution of Similac baby formula, arranged as a donation from Abbott Labs;

- "Boxes of Love", including games, small toys, and small food items donated by families, schools and churches from around Shanghai;

- Hygiene kits put together by LDS Relief Society organizations from 6 ex-pat congregations in South-Central China, including Ningbo, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai and Pudong. These kits include such things as soap and shampoo, toothpaste and a toothbrush, hand sanitizer, a comb, wipes and toilet paper, sanitary napkins, etc.

- Boxes and bags of children’s coats, clothing, shoes and games also collected by local LDS church congregations;

- Boxes of sweets and other goodies for the Ayi's (live-in workers who help take care of these kids - they seldom get anything for just themselves) ;

- Brand new shoes and stuffed animals donated by a two local manufacturers

After the truck was unloaded, each child received their own personal distribution - it was like Christmas for them! They stowed their items in their personal space, then we all gathered in the cafeteria to sing songs and have some activities. Unfortunately we did not think to get Chinese versions of some of the old favorite songs - that would have been nice – but we were still able to sing songs in French, English and (some) Chinese. “Popcorn Poppin’ on the Apricot Tree” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” proved to be favorites of the kiddos.

When approached with the proper attitude, these trips to the orphanage are happy occasions for all involved, but for some this could be a sad place. There are many physically and mentally disabled people there. Although there are many “normal” kids, babies or children with Spina Bifida, Cleft Palate, Down Syndrome, blindness and other maladies are common. For those willing to jump in and share their love, the sadness disappears and the joy of supporting a fellow human being emerges and uplifts. We discovered one blind young man, Xiao Di, has an AMAZING voice, and he sang for us. It is interesting how loss of one faculty often improves the use of another - he seemed to have perfect pitch. Later in the day, we made personal visits to each of the dorm rooms and chatted with each child personally, sometimes singing songs, sometimes just hugging.

Through efforts of MiFan Mama, as well as the efforts of others, the local government has recognized the need for a state-supported orphanage in the area and has built one within a few kilometers of the Lao Wang orphanage. (This phenomenon is common – once a foreign group highlights a problem and steps in to help, the Chinese government finds a way to address the problem. This proud country is not comfortable admitting that there may be a gap in their infrastructure, and certainly not comfortable allowing foreigners to do what they should be able to do themselves.) Our group had the opportunity to go inspect the new facility under construction. By Chinese standards it is wonderful! It is expected to be complete by September, at which time some of the orphans from the Lao Wang orphanage will move in. Even though Lao Wang and his team continue to do a great job with what they have, we are hoping the orphans will received improved nutrition and care at the new facility. Unfortunately not all of the residents at Lao Wang’s current facility are eligible to move. Only children under the age of 18 will be allowed to transition. Many of the residents at the current orphanage are mentally disabled persons ranging from 18-56, so there is continued concern, and there will be continued need to help support these lovely people. Another two-edged sword is that Lao Wang and his family and other helpers (Ayi’s, etc.) have been assigned roles at the new orphanage, so there remains a HUGE question mark around who will take care of the remaining residents of the old orphanage. We worry that by fixing one problem, another bigger problem will have been created. I’ve seen this before – it is called “the law of unintended circumstances”.

As the day wore on, with a looooong ride ahead, it came time to leave. All of the orphans, but especially the ones from 6-10 were sad to see us leave and clung to us as we boarded the bus. They followed the bus to the gates of the orphanage, running behind us waving good bye. After we crossed the bridge to the main road, about a quarter kilometer away, and turned south again, we saw the children all lined up on the entrance road still waving goodbye in the distance across the broad rice paddy. Very touching.

We’ve come to recognize some stark differences in the magnitude of need here. Events at the orphanage are just one of the many sets of needs we see frequently. It seems few are truly “homeless” here – but for many, their homes are not much better than living under a bridge, even just 5 minutes from our own home. But even still, most of these people seem to be doing SOMETHING – whether it is sweeping “their” stretch of road, or selling bottles of water anywhere they can, or chipping concrete off bricks in the ever-present buildings being dismantled. While they know the challenge of their financial circumstances, they seem to be proud enough to keep putting one foot in front of the other. When confronted with these scenes, how could we do anything except buy another bottle of water, even if we don’t really need it?

Relief Society Activity

Hello Sisters!!!

Wow, it feels like forever since I have seen most of you. I really miss you
all. I'm often moved to hear how you all take care of each other when the
need arises.

The reason for my absence yesterday was I was able to take a trip to an
orphanage in Anhui Province (about 7 hours away) to deliver the hygiene kits
and the clothing we worked on during our District Relief Society Conference.
It was such an amazing experience, both uplifting, and sad at the same time.
The hygiene kits were really needed as many of the children were quite dirty
and they have no showers or bathtubs in the facility. The children were so
excited to see us and receive food, clothing and misc. supplies.

I have enclosed some pics so you can get an idea of the scenes, (so sorry
this email is sooooo big) For those interested,  I will load other photos
onto photobucket.com and will forward the link later.

Here's how it all played out. On Saturday afternoon 5 of us traveled by
small chartered bus from Pudong to Puxi, where we picked up another 7
volunteers, then proceeded on the ~6 hour trip to Hefei, arriving at about
dinner time. Hefei has the nearest acceptable hotel. We arose Sunday morning
to complete the trip. Upon arrival we were immediately touched as the group
of 200+ orphans, who knew we were coming, gathered at the front gate to
cheer and welcome us. Next, the older orphan boys and some of our group
unloaded the truckload of supplies that had arrived separately. The Mifan
Mama organization collects various "in-kind" donations, as well as financial
donations that are used to purchase rice, flour, oil and other food related
items. Every monthly distribution is unique.

In addition to the standard food and other collected item distribution, this
month there were several additional types of donations delivered, including:

- Hygiene kits and clothing which you helped with
- Similac baby formula, donated by Abbott Labs with the kind assistance of
Roger Bird of the Puxi Branch (and Country Manager for Abbott)
- "Boxes of Love", donated by families, schools and churches from around
Shanghai (this would be an EXCELLENT family service project or FHE activity)
- Brand new shoes donated by a local shoe manufacturer
- Stuffed animals donated by a local toy manufacturer
- Boxes of sweets and other goodies for the Ayi's who work with these kids
(they seldom get anything for just themselves)

Keep in mind, this orphanage is a privately run orphanage with little-to-no
state or local assistance. It is a pretty humble place. Also, the orphans
include both the able and disabled, ranging from just weeks old to as old as
46. As you will see there are several cute "normal" teenage girls. Can you
imagine growing up in such humble circumstances, wanting to lead a normal
young girl life among so many mentally and physically disabled people? They
are amazing, though, helping with some of the younger kids, etc.



After the truck was unloaded, each person received their own personal
distribution - it was like Christmas for them!  They stowed their items in
their personal space, then we all gathered in the cafeteria to sing songs
and have some activities.  Unfortunately I did not think to get Chinese
versions of "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" or "Head Shoulders Knees
and Toes" - that would have been nice.  We discovered one blind young man
has an AMAZING voice, and he sang for us. It is interesting how loss of one
faculty often improves the use of another - he seemed to have perfect pitch.

Later in the day, we made personal visits to each of the dorm rooms and
chatted with each child personally, sometimes singing songs, sometimes just
hugging. In some cases it was particularly hard - for some this could be a
sad place. There are many physically and mentally disabled people here.
Babies or children with Spina Bifida, Cleft Palate, Down Syndrome, blindness
and other maladies were common. As some may know, we have a son with Down
Syndrome, and we were particularly grateful to share with the Orphanage
Administrators, that there is more hope than they think for these kids with
Down Syndrome. Some were amazed that our son Brigham graduated HS and can
read, write and use a computer, etc. We even showed them pictures of him
with the President and they were shocked!

As the day wore on, it came time to leave. All of the orphans, but
especially the ones from 6-10 were sad to see us leave and clung to us as we
boarded the bus. They followed the bus to the gates of the orphanage, waving
good bye. After we crossed the bridge to the main road, about a quarter mile
away, and turned South again, we saw the children all lined up on the
entrance road still waving goodbye across the way. Very touching.

Separately, let me update you on some additional items...

Announcements for this week:

Church Chinese - may 10th 10:30 - 11:30 at Judy Sharps home. If you need
directions, please let me know. Please come and learn how to speak Chinese
in church subjects.
We already had one meeting two weeks ago and it was wonderful!!!!

PLEASE NOTE THIS IMPORTANT CHANGE TO OUR GOING AWAY PARTY!!!!!

It will be held at Tami Dyers home this  Saturday, may 11th  from 6:30 -
8:00. Please bring a dessert to share. We will be saying goodbye to many of
our dear families who have lived in our branch for a number of years and we
want to express our love and gratitude for all of their service. I will send
out another notice in this regard.

Have a wonderful week!!!

Love you all so much,
Monique Larkin

China - from the back of a Harley...(ok - a Bingfang electric scooter)

The vast majority of foreign expatriates we know here in Shanghai (pretty much all of them) have drivers and minivans to get them around. This is a benefit usually afforded by an employer to help make an expatriate’s life a little easier.  The drivers are Chinese, and if one is lucky, their driver speaks enough English to allow non-Chinese speaking families to communicate with them. It all sounds convenient enough, however we frequently hear problems arising between an expatriate family and their driver. The drivers here tend to talk to one another and know how much money different families will pay, so there are frequent demands for pay raises. They also swap information about little tricks of the trade to earn a little extra money along the way – such as forging parking receipts which they then want to get reimbursed for. Don't get me wrong, not all drivers cause problems. I also hear stories about great friendships that have developed between families and their drivers.

Even if one wanted to drive themselves, it is pretty difficult to arrange. Obtaining an international driver’s license in China is difficult, and purchasing any gasoline powered vehicle in China is extremely expensive once you take into account the pollution tax, the road registration tax, and other licensing and fees. The fees associated with purchasing a vehicle can amount to the actual cost of the vehicle itself, thus doubling the purchase cost. The intent is to allow market forces to hold back the ever-increasing number of cars on the road. (Yes I said “market forces”. Even in a communist country, this concept is widely used – especially when dis-incentives are involved.)

While anyone can hire a driver and vehicle, my company does not reimburse this cost (which, with fuel, parking, tolls, bonuses, etc. can reach as much as $2,000 per month) so we have opted to try to do without. We are considered the exception. Indeed, people in our area are shocked to hear that we do not have our own vehicle or driver. Accordingly, since arriving here we have had to rely on pedicabs, taxi’s and the subway system to get around Shanghai. For example my daily commute to and from work is always by taxi, and anywhere Monique goes is by pedicab, taxi and/or subway (sort of like “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”, but on a smaller scale.) I estimate our transportation costs to be about $500 per month – but the savings comes at another cost…freedom of getting around.

At long last, after having wished for a long time that we could see more of our local area, last week we bought two electric scooters. These ingenious silent little vehicles are pretty inexpensive (~ $275-$300  each) and require little more than a trickle charge overnight.  Because they are lumped in the Bicycle class of vehicle, you need neither a difficult-to-get license nor any costly registration (and you don’t have to abide by the rules of the road either – grin.) We have instantly experienced a new level of freedom. Whereas in the past we would have to walk or grab a pedicab just to go to the nearby fruit market, now we just jump on our trusty scooters and make the jaunt down the road. More importantly, we now have the freedom to explore the areas of our neighborhood that are beyond walking distance. WOW – what an eye-opener THAT has turned out to be!!!

Last Monday evening we decided to go out on a ride in our community. Although we have known that we live on the very edge of suburban Southeast Shanghai, and knew there were some “rural” areas nearby, we never imagined how close we are to farms, and even to some poor shantytowns. With Monique leading the way, we drove down a narrow wall-lined road to see what we could find. At one point, Monique spotted large numbers of people coming and going through a break in the wall. Curious, she decided to go exploring and turned into the same trail. We were instantly transported from Shanghai 2011 to rural Pudong 1950. Behind the wall we found some of the most destitute conditions you might imagine. And this less than 2 kilometers from our house!  Who knew!

As we weaved (wove?) our way down the dirt trail between the dilapidated old homes and through garden paths we were amazed at the feeling that we were in a third world country (Shanghai proper is anything but “third world”.) You can well imagine the astonishment on the faces of some of these Chinese people to see 2 foreigners – one of which is a cute American woman – zooming through their little village on sparkling brand-new scooters. To the repeated refrains of “Halloow” we worked our way through the small village, eventually crossing through yet another break in a different time-warp wall. We emerged back in to Shanghai 2011, amidst a brand new complex of 20-story high-rise modern apartments. The distance between hope and despair was no more than 50 yards.

The LDS Church encourages families to preserve Monday nights as “Family Home Evening”, an opportunity for the family to gather together – blocking out all other diversions – to hang out and do stuff together. Upon emerging from our time-warp wall we discovered a new version of Family Home Evening – China style. A warm spring evening… a wide open stretch of newly paved 4 lane road that is not yet open to traffic… and a newly built housing complex full of young new home owners – a perfect recipe to find hundreds of families hanging out together in the middle of the street. Some were teaching their (only) babies to walk. Others were teaching their (only) kiddos to ride a bike. Still others were playing badminton. EVERYONE was gawking at the silly foreigners on their scooters. What a grand opportunity it was to pause and visit with many families, admiring their kids, chattin’ it up with Grandma and allowing as many as wanted to try to practice their English. You know, it is SO easy to make friends here. I wonder if we would do the same in the US?

So eventually we wander off down the road on our silent little electric steeds. On the broad sidewalk corner at the next major intersection we find about 100 women all gathered in a group, dancing in a flowing Chinese way to syncopated music streaming from a boom box. There is almost NO traffic in this new part of town and it seems this street corner is a familiar evening gathering place for these (mostly middle-aged) women. They all know the dances and move in unison – some more graceful than others.

As we stop to watch, all eyes are on us. Monique removes her helmet (only us dopey foreigners wear helmets!) and wades into the crowd of women. EVERYONE – including a large group of onlooking men – watches as she tries to get the gist of these dances. She is a natural, and some of the men swing by to let me know what a quick study she is. But then the song changes, as does the dance. This time it is not so easy to pick up. I can see Mo as she tries to capture the complex rhythms and movements, combined with intricate hand gestures. She’s almost got it, but not quite.  First one woman, then another, ease over (still dancing) to try to help her catch on. They count in Chinese, and exaggerate their steps to help her understand the beat. Now how cool is that? Not a word was spoken (ok, besides the counting), yet here are women of two cultures trying to express their mutual trust, in a most unusual form of communication. It may sound a bit melodramatic, but I’m learning that peace will never be forged out of the barrel of a gun – it will be choreographed on the street corners of willing communities by humble people.

Monique was clearly in her element, and we stayed for a good while. The group of dancers, now swelled to over 120, had accepted her into their midst and many remarked at what a good dancer the foreigner turned out to be. Yet it was time to leave. Before jumping on our scooters, Monique individually motioned appreciation to a couple of the women who helped her. The dancing women all motioned “goodbye” with their eyes and their smiles – never breaking the rhythm of their beautiful dance.

But wait, there’s more (with me, there always is.)

Wanting to find another way back to our home, we wander off in another direction. Once again, Monique is in the lead and she turns down yet another little pathway. This time into what I thought was going to be a dead end in a conclave of “homes”. We come to a “T” in the path and pause to decide which direction to go. A fellow peddler passes us by and turns left – so we naturally think that may be the way to go. Then we look right and see a group of 12-15 locals sitting on crates and plastic stools in the middle of the pathway under a dimly lit streetlight. In unison they all point to their right, motioning that “if you are looking for which way to go, it’s over here”.  We ease up to their little party and find that some of them are taxi drivers, some are engineers on the subway system, and others are truck drivers – pretty much all of them are on the low end of the economic totem pole. But they are friendly and kind. After 5-10 minutes of chit chat, we ask for more specific instructions on where this road will lead. (It heads off into undeveloped areas with little lighting, and no immediate signs that it will go all the way through to our neighborhood.) “Go over the bridge, and around the warehouse. Go past the first bridge on your right, then down the dirt road next to the canal. When you come to another bridge, go right, then left, then over another bridge….”  By now I’m lost – but we decide to proceed anyway.

Somewhere down the dirt road by the canal, we’re REALLY feeling lost. No signs of life anywhere, minimal light, and two goofy foreigners trying to figure out where to go. Then out of nowhere from behind us comes the voice of one of the men from the streetlight riding on his scooter with his wife (these things are REALLY silent – we didn’t hear him roll up.)  “we sorta thought you might get lost – here, follow us.”  They had gone back to their home, gotten on a scooter to come out to make sure we got where we wanted to go. Again, how cool is that? I hope I would be gracious enough to do that for someone else. We follow them over hill and dale, and eventually spill out on to a road a block from our house. Barney and Betty (I didn’t get their Chinese names) are turning right, we are turning left. We holler our best “Thank you!” in Chinese and part company, once again impressed at the kindnesses that can be found if you look for them.

To say we are grateful for our little scooters is an understatement. They have (more than just this one time) opened up opportunities to experience a side of China that would have been missed if we were traveling through with our driver and minivan. A lot of people remark that we seem to have some of the coolest experiences. Oddly, they are there available for anyone – we just happen to keep stumbling into them. And for this we are incredibly grateful.