october holiday

hi friends!

happy October! It is officially October and with the advent of the month of October comes China's National Holiday. Every year, China graciously grants its workers a holiday during the first week of October. This year, my friends and I decided to take full advantage of the holiday break and take a little trip to Inner Mongolia. 

Traveling in China is always so interesting. You seriously never know what to expect.... This truth was just exemplified throughout our trip. We arrived in Inner Mongolia with a rough plan and "bucket list" of what we wanted to see and do, but then the Lord just took this and took over. He was so faithful to bring people across our path and provided unexpected circumstances and divine appointments. So thankful to be able to trust and rest in the fact that He is in control. 

Here's a few pictures and highlights of our trip....

our super small airplane! we chose to fly out of a smaller airport....on the way there, we confessed to our taxi driver that we were concerned about the safety of the smaller airport and smaller airplane. "Dui a! (Right, of course!)" He replied. Not a super comforting response, haha. 

Nevertheless, we made it safely to Hohhot! On our way to find a place to eat lunch, we unintentionally ran into a starbucks.....latte for lunch anyone? :)

but we did find a place to eat lunch at a little "hole-in-the-wall" restaurant....the lady who served us was super sweet. :) We assumed the man on the left was her son because he was so helpful in serving us, but in fact, he was just a fellow patron. He came over and sat with us (I even shared some pomegranate with him, haha) and gave us advice on where to go and what to visit. Thankful for such friendly people like these sweethearts. 

and the food was delicious, too!

street exploring/shopping

tried some traditional mongolian-style yogurt

met this shop owner who burned art onto sheep's wool. He was hilarious and loved us because we attracted a lot of business to him. :) 

After buying way too many burned wool art pieces, we stumbled upon a local church. We went inside and were amazed at how big the place was!

We spent some time praying here - which was so sweet. Then, we talked to a fellow brother and sister....made me really excited for heaven when we'll all be able to share and praise Him without language barriers. :)

annnd more shopping - my camera doubled as our "dressing room" mirror :)

I was so cold that I bought a fuzzy sweater on the street, just so I could wear it right away, haha. 

squid on a stick anyone?? :) we love street food

lighting a flying lantern

we lit a flying lantern and it actually flew for a few minutes!....but then  kinda crashed into a tree. Pretty proud of our engineering skills, though!

The next day, we hired a driver to take us to the grasslands (pretty much the middle of nowhere...)

Joanna striking up a conversation with a local :)

our kind taxi driver is behind me (and also, this apparently was my face after I saw the communal "bathroom")

exploring the grasslands

absolutely beautiful.

our yurt! 

it was SO cold!!

the next morning,  we woke up early to watch the sunrise....but of course, it was raining. Even still, we ventured out and trekked through the fog and rain and mud to explore more of the grasslands. 

selfie with our yurt and driver :)

on our way back to Hohhot, our taxi driver stopped and filled up with gas. There was a miscommunication with the attendant and they accidentally put in too much gasoline. Our driver refused to pay more, and they refused to let us leave. They even tried to siphon the gas out. Seeing these people yelling at each other about a few dollars of gasoline was both a scary and sad experience. You could just see all of their need for Jesus so clearly in their angry faces. Pray for His presence to permeate these little Jesus-needy towns in Inner Mongolia.

we took the train to Ordos, a modern-day ghost town - these are empty apartments upon which construction has completely ceased....

explored the "night life" in Ordos and this sweet street food vendor persuaded me to try her stinky tofu :)


from Ordos, we took a black taxi to the desert. We were stopped by police and had to all get out of the car and show our passports (not sure why, but we took pictures, lol).

we made it - equipped with our silly sun hats. :)

We didn't realize that the desert was actually a tourist attraction of sorts. We had to wait in line for 2 hours just to take a cable car to the desert. 

but we finally made it! 

we didn't have that long to stay in the desert so we were unable to ride the camels (which was one of my only things on our bucket list for the trip)....

but no worries, we found a camel (trash can) to ride on anyway, haha

we took a late-night train back to Hohot & the next day, Sally and I checked out the local church we found earlier on our trip. It was completely full house! :) While there, we were able to participate in communion with them. Just loved remembering the life of our Lord with Chinese flat bread (bing) and herbal tea. :)




finally! we found yang rou chuanr! (bbq lamb kabobs)

this was next to our table - I think the lamb was pretty fresh.... :S

 this may have been one of the highlights of our trip...while chilling at Starbucks after church, this man approached us with a clipboard. On the clipboard, he had a letter in which he asked us to buy phone holders to help contribute to people with disabilities. This man was both deaf and mute. Through writing and hand motions, we talked with this man and attempted to learn more about his life. In the end, Joanna asked to pray for him. While praying, she began to cry. After she was finished praying. The man wrote down, "Why do you cry?" To which Joanna simply responded, "because Jesus loves you." Naomie stepped in and was able to use her Chinese New Testament to share Christ's love with him.

exploring a nearby park

last minute street shopping before catching our flight home :)

ready for BJ!

BJ bound :)

It was a memorable trip, for sure. :) Although we accomplished many of the items on our Inner Mongolia "bucket list," I think what I will remember the most about this trip is not necessarily what we did, but who we met.  People like Shi Shifu (our taxi driver to the grasslands), fellow travelers, restaurant owners, and street vendors. He used these unexpected encounters with these people to remind me that He is in control. He brings unexpected circumstances and divine appointments across our path. And He gives us the opportunity to share His love, life, and truth with them.

It was a great blessing to have Naomie travel with us. Naomie seriously has been blessed with boldness to share Him with others. Throughout the trip, I would find Naomie talking with those around us about Him. From taxi drivers to fellow travelers, Naomie was able to share what He's done in her life with others. Personally, I was challenged by her boldness (and jealous of her native Chinese tongue!).
One evening, after Naomie had shared the gospel with a lady on the train, I asked Naomie, "How do you know God wants you to share with somebody?" I just loved her simple response. "I don't always know or feel led to. But why not? They ask about my life, and God is a part of my life, so I share about Him." Love it. I want my life to be like that....just overflowing with love for Him that I can't help but interjecting Him into all my conversations.

I wish I could share more about specific examples of how He provided for us and protected us throughout our time in Inner Mongolia, but I'm afraid this post is getting long enough. :) Suffice it to say, He is good. He is love. He is in control. And these three characteristics were just proven again and again to me throughout our time traveling on our trip. :)

thanks for your continued prayers, friends!