This Just In...

The boys represented Hope Gardens very well and most of the patrol leaders verbally acknowledge that to me and our kids. It was amazing watching the boys work together to reach goals and finish the activities. Our boys also encouraged each other and respected each team member for their strengths and short comings and helped when another need help. I am so proud of all of the 7 boys I took.

Gabriel: He led our troop in points scored by knowing and tying 4 knots in 2 minutes.
Eric: He lead us in points by scoring very good on marksmanship hitting his target 4 out of 5 times. Also, for showing leadership and accepting the responsibility of being Troop 2911 Senior Patrol Leader. He was responsible for getting the boys up, and helping me out in many ways.
Malik: He proved to everybody that no matter what problems a person might suffer from he can be just as competitive. I’m very proud of Malik because he tried every activity and he always gave it his all. Malik has SPIRIT.
Michael: He led us in archery by hitting the bulls eye scoring pretty good for his first time shooting bow and arrow.
Marcus: I want to thank him for always staying positive and for cooking me some chicken. YES, all the boys had to prepare and cook their own meals and Marcus cooked and fixed my plate for me.
Tamir: He led our team in identifying different plants and animals. Thanks because I didn’t have a clue.
Joseph: He helped out by getting all the boys together and helped coordinate our play that we performed for the other 200 Boy Scouts.
Me - well I was just there to supervise and guide but they did everything. Well, except for FEAR FACTOR!!! I won this years Boy Scout Camp fire award because the kids signed me up for FEAR FACTOR. I had to eat cow HEART<>

posted by Andy Bales @ 3:31 PM 1 Comments

China Blog

Friends,

I had a wonderful, challenging time while I was in China. One of our speakers told us that on your first day in China you think you are an expert. On your second day, you are a student, and on your third day, you are confused! That was certainly true for me. I went with a class to study the growth of Christianity in China. I read books about China before I left, but I was not prepared for what I would see and experience.

We visited a 7th Century Christian Pagoda (tower) in Xian. We visited the Temple of Heaven where Shong-Di (the God of Heaven) was worshipped by the Emperor. We walked on Tiananmen Square where students were killed by Tanks in 1989-our group picture was even dispersed by a police truck that resembled a tank.

We also had opportunity to hear from many church leaders and visited a number and variety of churches throughout China. My wife and I rode a tandem bike on top of a 10 mile ancient city wall that circled the city and reminded us of Jericho! We probably set a record covering the distance in 38 minutes and outrunning many Chinese teenagers who raced us to no avail, laughing as we passed them. I also climbed a challenging hill and then a ladder to scale to the top of the Christian Pagoda so that I could see an ancient Nativity scene inside.

Wherever I went in China, just like at home, I was drawn to the folks who were homeless on the sidewalks. My heart and my yuan (¥) went out to them. I tried to invite them into restaurants for meals, but they did not feel welcome to enter, so I went against my own advice and gave them enough for their next meal. I would have rather had them join me for a meal so I knew that the money went to feed them and not a bad habit.

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting with a top government official. He shared that China is moving bit by bit to a market economy, and, much like in the US, he shared that their top social issues were not enough housing, not enough jobs, and a growing number of elderly who have no social security system, causing a great deal of homelessness among the elderly, and not enough medical services for elderly citizens. I met with another official who shared that non-profits and churches will be the key to adding heart and love to China and bringing about the harmonious society which they are seeking. I offered my help and Union Rescue Mission’s help in the area of homelessness. We will see what happens.

Another highlight was being with my classmates from all over the world and hearing their perspectives. Before I left, my classmate from Myanmar asked me to help him solve a hunger problem. It seems that even though they have so many rats, 1 Million people went hungry in his country last year, as the rats were eating all of the crops. I am going to see if we can send them some stray wild cats. Another classmate from Ghana shared that while we were in China, floods came into his house and took out the local bridge. He asked me to bring a team to rebuild the bridge. There is a lot of work to do in Christ’s name in this world.

Please keep China in your prayers. If you are fortunate enough to attend the Beijing games, go expecting to be surprised. I hope you will take God’s grace and love with you, and set a wonderful example of kindness and warmth for the people in China.

posted by Andy Bales @ 3:00 PM 1 Comments