The document summarizes the author's experience living in China from 2007 to 2010. It describes arriving in Shanghai as an adventure and living there for 3.5 years, attending an international school where classes were similar to American schools but also included Mandarin lessons. It discusses aspects of daily life like traveling by driver to school, playing after school, and having dinner with the family. It provides context about China being ruled by a communist government and contrasts this with American democracy. It also shares about the author's Christian ministry, inviting Chinese friends for dinner and games and seeing many come to faith. Additional travels within China and other Asian countries are mentioned.

1. CHINA

2. THE BEGINNING
In September of 2006, my Mom and Dad asked my
sister and I if we would like to live in China for 6 months.
We were shocked! We had never been out of the
country before and never even flown on an airplane.
After we talked about it for a few days, we decided it
would be a great adventure! So, on January 2nd, 2007
we boarded a plane to Shanghai, China. Little did we
know that we would not live in the U.S. again until 2010.
Shanghai was just the beginning…

3. A DAY IN THE LIFE
During the 3 ½ years we lived in China, I woke up at about
6:00 every school day. I got dressed in my school uniform,
and went downstairs for breakfast. Then, our driver, Mr.
Huang, came to pick us up to drive us to our school,
Concordia International School Shanghai, or CISS. It was a
K through 12 school, with 6 buildings on the campus, and
students from around the world who spoke English. I studied
the same subjects as American students, plus 45 minutes of
Mandarin each day. After school, I went home, ate a
snack, and jumped on the trampoline, or played with
friends. Our ayi, or maid, fixed dinner for us, and we ate
together as a family. My life wasn’t all that different from
kids in America, I was just living it in a different country.

4. THE GOVERNMENT
China is ruled by a communist government, which has
far more control over its people than the democracy
we enjoy in America. The communist government
claims to own all property in China, and professes to
distribute it equally amongst all citizens. We know this
isn’t true, because when we lived in China, we saw
beggars on street corners, visited babies in
orphanages, and knew people with disabilities who
were supported by our church, because the
government wouldn’t care for them. The Chinese
government doesn’t encourage religion, but it does
allow people to worship in state approved churches
and temples.

5. OUR MINISTRY
When we arrived in China, we decided we would share our
Christian faith whenever we had a chance. We found the
Chinese people to be very interested in Christianity, and
eager to learn more about it. Several times a year, we invited
Chinese friends over to our home for dinner and a game
night. We talked and laughed over pizza or Chinese food,
and then we’d invite our friends into the living room. Around
holidays, my sister and I would recite the Christmas story, or
share “resurrection eggs” near Easter time. Our Chinese
friends were fascinated with our Christian faith! They often
wanted to talk more about how they could become a
Christian, too. After sharing about our faith, we would all play
Chinese mahjong, or dominoes. Those were such fun nights!
The Lord blessed us to see 14 of our Chinese friends become
Christians in the last year and a half we lived in Shanghai;
including our driver & his family, our Chinese tutor, our piano
teacher, and two of my Dad’s co-workers. We look forward to
seeing them again in heaven one day!

6. OUR TRAVELS
While we lived in Shanghai, we traveled to 12 different
cities in China, and a total of ten countries, including:
China, America, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam,
Malaysia, Japan, Korea, and Singapore. My favorite
country was Singapore, because there was so much to
see and do. I really liked riding the Singapore Flyer (one of
the biggest ferris wheels in the world), visiting the world-
famous Zoo and celebrating Chinese New Year. It was
warm and beautiful there! Our other favorite destinations
were Cambodia and Vietnam. Although so many people in
these two countries are poor and without many things we
take for granted in the US, they were kind to us, full of
smiles, and content with their few possessions, their
families, and a close-knit community.