days 4-6

sorry for the delay, but monday, tuesday and wednesday have been consumed with 2 things...eating and golf.

monday we got to play the hong kong golf club (hkgc)...sight of the hong kong open. tiger woods i am not, but i am pretty amazed that a course over 100 years old is in the middle of a city of 11+million people. thanks barry for letting us play with you.

tuesday, we traveled to china (the communist part) early in the morning. there we met up with mark and traveled to a course the locals call 9 dragons...i prefer to call it hills, valleys, and murder for a pitiful golfer. while i didn't lose as many balls as i did at hkgc, i did however find it possible to almost pass out from the heat. at one point my caddie told me i needed to put on some suntan lotion. china really is a weather smorgasbord.

after golf we rode into shenzen for some fun and then to mission hills golf club to spend the night.

wednesday we had the privilege of being hosted by william at missions hills golf club to play on the world famous world cup course designed by jack nicklaus. it was an amazing adventure that was only cut short when torrential downpours started and lightning sent us back to the clubhouse.

i would love to say that after playing for the 2 previous days my golf game was in top shape, but that just wouldn't be the truth. my game is fair at best, and will only improve when in get serious about it. so maybe in 15 to 20 years, i'll be good at the game.

the truth about wednesday though is that even if i wouldn't have been able to swing a club, i was amazed. i was paired to play with cm, andy, and james. these three men exude what it means to be a Christian. i don't think i'm ashamed of the word Christian when i think about what God is doing here in asia. i know that these men spend their lives living for Christ the best they can. i know that they trust God with everything and have made HUGE steps of faith just to follow Him. James' story is one of the most amazing stories of someone coming to Christ through adversity i have ever heard or seen. what i see in front of me is a mild man who loves Christ and literally saturates each breath with God-sized passion, BECAUSE he lost a daughter to cancer but gained eternal life. check out his story here. if you don't think God can take something we consider HORRIBLE and use it for HIS GOOD, then please explain to me how this man gets through each day. he and his wife, melissa, lost a son due to a miscarriage at 18 weeks and his wife's mother just passed away as well...but he still chooses to walk daily in faith with Christ. AMAZING.

tomorrow: ladies bible study and special needs parents gathering...