China Trip 2007

             Thanks to TCTC, eleven people from 6 different churches ended up taking part in the TCTC cultural exchange trip to Zhengzhou, China.  It was a long 18 days, preceded by a 37 hour trek starting in Morristown, TN, carrying on to Washington D.C., followed by 13 hours over the North Pole to Beijing, continued on an 8 hour train ride to Zhengzhou, ended by a 20 minute bus ride to the school where we stayed; and that was just the beginning!

       The bulk of our time and effort in China was relationship building.  Chinese students study English for a minimum of 6 years in school, and eighteen Chinese students participated in our "Sino-America Summer Camp."  Although they had varying degrees of English proficiency, all became good friends!  The school there, the teachers, and the students all were such gracious hosts. 

       Our programming in China had many aspects, including:

• We formed small groups composed of one or two U.S. students with 3 or 4 Chinese students, and each group stayed in the same dorm room together.
• Each person participated in preparing and giving presentations about their respective culture, including topics such as high school, college, fine arts, local traditions, holidays and much more.
• Lots and lots of games!
• Each U.S. student had two one-night homestays with different Chinese students, seeing what life is like not only at school but at home.
• We got to visit some places of high cultural importance, such as the ancient capitol Kaifeng, the world-famous ancient kung-fu temple Shaolin, and the provincial history museum to name a few.

      As China is not open to receiving missionaries, we couldn't carry on overtly Christian activities like VBS's and such, but we were able to openly tell our friends who we are and what we believe.  It was a fantastic experience for all who participated, both American and Chinese.  For more information about our activities in China, feel free to contact Andy Clark, TCTC missions director at andyclarkgc@gmail.com.  Below are a few pictures from our trip...

                  Waiting for the train in Beijing                                           Michael and Joseph in the classroom talking with Jack, Leo and Q

             Everybody playing Giants, Wizards and Elves                                                          Practicing our Tai Chi

Our whole group in front of the school