Group Journal Addendum

June 28, 2010

Dear friends of the China English Exchange,

The first installment of our Group Journal did not introduce who we are. You who are receiving this are friends of one or more of the participants. But just to let you know the “players” whose names you may not know, here they are:

Pennsylvania:Wanda Sowell, Sharon Taylor, Dan and Barbara Ernsberger, Susan Tusick, Mike Vetovich, James Salyers, Will Scott
New Jersey: Pam Bowman, Evan Schneider, Erin Raffety
North Carolina: Anne Gordon
Georgia: Virginia Dilkes and Margaret Robbins
Texas: Suzanne Rosario-Davis
California: Marie Melrose
Kentucky, but currently living in South Korea: Becky Ritchey
The Outreach Foundation: Peter Lim and Jeff Ritchie

Some additional tid-bits from our time in Shanghai:

Erin Raffety was the one whose baggage was taken by someone else. Talk about a non-anxious presence! She was amazingly calm. Erin and husband Evan had to spend the whole day at the airport waiting for the bag’s return, but “all’s well as ends well.”

Wanda Sowell discovered a foot massage place on a previous trip and got 3 of her Pittsburgh gang to get a foot massage the first night. “Best $20 I ever spent,” says Wanda.

Pam Bowman remembered a “Friendship Store” (shopping area) from previous trips and gathered a group after dinner Friday night to see what bargains were available there. Glad we have people who like to shop and who can let us non-shoppers go back to our hotel!

Those of us who went to the “Bund” area also stopped by the main offices of the National China Christian Council. Mr. Ou En Lin, head of the office of Overseas Relations for the Church, gave us a tour of the refurbished “Holy Trinity Church,” which is on the same compound. It was returned to the Church by the government a few years ago, and they have been restoring this wonderful sanctuary. Two of our group members who have been to Cordoba, Spain, said that the architecture reminds them somewhat of the church in Cordoba that was once a mosque then became a church.

We were able to purchase Christian materials at the bookstore at the Church’s headquarters, and Peter also led us by a foreign language bookstore where members found all sorts of other interesting books.

The rain certainly didn’t inhibit this group!

Jeff