Last days in Nanning, Oct Trip 09.......

The Lanterns in Nanning last October were amazing............................

........hundreds of bright red lanterns swinging from the trees lining all the main roads

   celebrating China's National Day on October 1st......

It was lovely just to be there and enjoy........

As always,the view from The Majestic window, looking down on the busy junction below is fascinating, watching the people rush by....buse, bikes, cars, people all in a seemingly chaotic jumble. However there are seldom accidents and somehow people seem to know how to cross :-)

It was even more scary to be ON that road, IN one of the taxis on a bike, weaving in and out of the buses, people and cars !!!!!!

Glad to have survived the ride home in this taxi, it was sad to see the the driver would not take us to the front door of the Majestic, preferring to drop us at the car park.

Think she was actually as amused as us by the crazy journey!

Actually we were not at the Majestic as often as usual - just popping in for some food, and a quick slide on the famous ramps :-)

On this budget trip it was much more interesting to live as real Nanningers in a friend's flat

As we were busy travelling and working we often ate out, but we did have fun sharing with friends at home, making the traditional dumplings.

I was just so happy that mine didn't disintegrate in the wok

It was good just to be "at home", sharing fellowship with friends in China and "belonging"

No longer tourists and visitors, but part of the family :-)

Last few days are  always a hectic rush to fit in the SHOPPING!!!!!!!

This has been my favourite stall for years at the Old Market......where we go through all the usual bartering before coming to a mutually happy price.

This lovely lady smiles  when she sees me coming, now recognising me as a regular visitor, knowing that I will leave with bags of her goods!!!!!!

I love the fun you can have without language :-)

.....and the satisfaction when I come home with my large bag of Chinese knots to sell to raise funds to continue our work, helping the children.

However, even more fun lay ahead.....we finally, after all the years we had been visiting Nanning, had time to go to the Wholesale market. Thanks Sharon, for nagging me to make sure I got all the stuff we needed for our Hope4China stall :-)

I was bamboozled by the rows, and rows of goods.....butof course  didn't take long to spring into action

We quickly got a good system going .....I rushed ahead with Matthew, did some bartering for our supplies, trying to decide what would sell best back home, Matthew passed the details to Iain who paid and collected the goods, while he and I rushed on to the next stall. Our good friend Mickey kept the children safe as we shopped.( These men are good!!!!!!!)

In a very short time we had spent lots of money and had lots of bags with knots, flags, bunting, lanterns, bags, toys,wall hangings etc......

Lollipops to keep the girls going.....

Good Teamwork once again :-)

And of course supplies which have raised lots of money over this year to help so many more children!

Chinese drums.......

amazing lion heads...it took a while to get his man to agree to our price!!!!!!

so we did some dressing up while we bartered ;-)

across the river for some fun people watching....

this lady was having her excess facial hair removed....fascinating!!!!!

and this was definitely a new way to have a smoke :-)

It was fun on one of our last nights to go to a posh restaurant ( we always do buget!!!) with Matthew and his lovely family

mind you...these girls could have been anywhere.......:-)

....finishing off an amazing time in Nanning with some amazing views over the city at night

It was soon time to be heading to another province......leaving Nanning and so many wonderful experiences..........til the next time :-)...when new adventures will begin.........

                                            Can't wait to be back this October 2010 !!!!!!!!

Church at the centre of Old Nanning

Hidden away in the centre of old Nanning we came across the only "official" Christian church in Nanning - and can you believe..it was established over one hundred years ago by Scottish Missionaries!!!!!!!!!
                                                                     Connections :-)

The church looked very "tired" and yet it has all of the common elements one would expect to see.

Here is the chancel area done in lovely wood panelling

The seats are wooden and certainly not of the comfortable variety! You can see screens for power point presentations - so they are right up to date.

The service will last for anything up to two hours and this will be followed by hospitality and fellowship.

This is the view looking from the chancel into the main body of the church. The gentleman at the back is Mickie and like all good Presbyterians he likes to locate himself at the back of the church!

The box is there for people to give their freewill offering.

Still inside the church, this is the area used for hospitality. Below are pictures on a noticeboard depicting various aspects of the life of the church.

The Pastor with the Rev.

Two pastors meet. This lovely lady is part of a ministry team that leads the church.

An old lady who lived in the poor, dilapidated community around the church.

This old lady in her late 80's is in very poor health and has nobody in the world.

She lived below street level and allowed Matthew to photograph her home.

Matthew and his camera - an extension of his arm!!!!!!!!

Below are two pictures of the inside of her one-roomed home.

The three pictures below show an old market area. One of the sadnesses of what is happening in Nanning is that the massive redevelopment will simply bulldoze rather than preserve areas like this.

Here is the irony of an area like this.

Two ladies are slaughtering, gutting and preparing chickens on the ground [this is below street level with very poor sanitation!] and beside these ladies, men are busy fabricating a metal structure.

An old world disappearing

in what will create better living conditions for all concerned,

yet the loss of a sense of history in old Nanning.

Iain

June 1st Hope4China'sChildren's Day

Now that June is over, a time to reflect...............

June 1st is traditionally the day in China when children are celebrated.

Two years ago on this special day in China when we first met our Siona, the hotels were full of happy families, children’s entertainers, balloons and great excitement.

However as we know, life is not so much fun for many children in China who have no families, no money and no hope of a future. Bringing together the joy of the day for many children in China, our happiness at meeting our daughter in China and the great needs that still exist, it was simple to decide to bring all these elements together and join to celebrate Hope4China’sChildren’s Day around the world.

The idea had been bubbling in my head for a while….but began to take shape when eating out with friends to celebrate Chinese New Year…Sky Lanterns were mentioned….and the idea of friends of Hope4China around the world setting off Sky Lanterns took shape. Matthew entered the picture and before we knew it, we had 100 Sky Lanterns destined for the skies with good wishes for the children in China who still need our help.

The Internet and Facebook are wonderful springboards and before we knew it all 100 Lanterns were sold to friends around the world. Matthew started off in China with a group of our  Guangxi girls. The girls were so excited to be taking part and set off their Lanterns with many wishes for their future. They followed in USA, Netherlands, Finland, and all over the UK.

In Dunfermline, St Margaret’s Church rallied around as always and we arranged a Sponsored Walk around Townhill Loch for members and friends of all ages, from Siona our youngest, age 3 to some “recycled teenagers” in their eighties!!!!!!!!
The reward at the end was of course the BBQ sizzling away under the watchful eye of our Hope4China Chef, Robert, ably assisted by Moira. The Manse garden quickly filled up with the walkers and the supporters.........

                                        And everyone settled down to enjoy the food and banter.

           At the end of a lovely day we set off the Sky Lanterns, some lighting more easily than others :-)

Eventually they all floated off into the Sky with our prayers and good wishes for our young people in China, joining with all the others around the world.

The good folk of St Margaret’s have so far raised the magnificent sum of £830…and counting…..This will help to make such a HUGE difference for so many children…there are no words to express our thanks for their friendship and support.

Families around the world who bought the Sky Lanterns have contributed over £600 and had special days, events with families and friends sending their own special thoughts and wishes to China.We have had Graduations, Births, Adoptions, Holidays, Tai Chi and just Celebrations of Life with friends old and new....................

A Puppet show was even held in Finland raisng 300 euros........no photos yet.......

I just love some of the magical expressions on these little faces

So many wonderful photos expressing the joy and excitement of our special connections.......

The Bath Ladies hosted a special evening of Sky Lanterns raising lots of money and more sponsors......

                           Buckhaven High School held a wonderful Celebration, raising £250

                                       Strathaven Academy celebrated and raised over £400......

And of course, to complete the circle around the world, our Guangxi Girls met together in Nanning to Celebrate with Matthew

.

The Circle of Celebrations complete,...........

having raised over £2000 to help children in China......

building Connections

we look forward to the year ahead........

when we plan to have a Hope4China'sChildren'sMonth

beginning June 1st........

( start getting your ideas ready now :-)

      Thank you to all who have Celebrated and Connected in 2010!

You have helped make a BIG Difference:-)