China Diary: May 2007
Friday, June 1st, 2007My trip to
China on the last two weeks of May was marked with a lot of turbulence. There was literal turbulence on the plane, being stranded at another airport, having a cancelled flight, struggling with a challenging person, surviving a tough meeting, and the usual delayed flight.
The first flight,
Manila to
Hong Kong , had the last half hour in a most turbulent state that some female passengers were already shouting each time the plane shakes badly. That was the most turbulent flight I ever had, but I was calm and confident the whole time. I believe having prayed that morning and lifted my trip to God made me confident that all will be well, and God’s hand was on our flight so there is nothing to worry about. My seatmate was holding tightly on her seat and looks so frightened. I turned to her and calmed her, telling her to breathe to let out her nervousness. I told her I have been through some turbulent flights and it was necessary we undergo that shaky phase so we can land. She started to smile and relax and for that I was grateful we were seatmates.
The connecting flight from Hong Kong to
Tianjin , China did not land at the destination as expected. We instead had an emergency landing for four hours at another airport in between Hong Kong and
Tianjin , Tai Yuan airport. It was a long wait that delayed my arrival in
Tianjin for a total of 6 hours. The emergency landing was made due to bad weather on the skies towards our destination. I was glad that it was finally over and we had a safe flight and made it to
Tianjin just before midnight.
In
Tianjin , I had a great time overall. However, I had an internal struggle as I dealt with a very challenging person whose personality I had a hard time adjusting with. The good thing is, every time I pray in the morning, I gain guidance and strength and that allowed me to continue to relate to that person better each day. I am also thankful to my support group for praying for me even from afar, I am sure God heard them as my week ended good with that person.
My trip to
China was to two cities:
Tianjin and
Chengdu . I was doing an audit in a manufacturing plant in each city. When I traveled from
Tianjin to
Chengdu on Saturday, the flight was cancelled. We went to
Beijing to take the night flight to
Chengdu . We were put in a bus where not one of the flight attendants who accompanied us can speak English, and I was the only non-Chinese passenger. So when I asked about the new flight number, the FA cannot answer me. Good my contact in
Chengdu traced my flight since I gave her the departure time and was able to arrange my revised arrival at the airport for taxi pick up and at the hotel. Then I just enjoyed the two-hour bus trip to
Beijing listening to music from my mobile mostly from Filipino artists. I also took the time to pray the rosary and lifted the rest of my travel to God. It turned out that we were well provided with food and water and for me that was enough to keep me going in such a lengthened trip.
I spent Sunday in
Chengdu first by attending mass, then lunch and shopping. My Chinese contact in
Chengdu was accompanying me the whole time. She is non-Christian but she went with me to Immaculate Conception church, the biggest Catholic church in that city and we attended the two-hour Chinese Pentecost mass. Wow, if Filipinos are religious, the Chinese are a lot more. I was happy to be in a church full of people and almost all are locals. Structure-wise, the church was nice and well-lighted. Ceremony-wise, that was a very rich celebration especially that it was feast of the Pentecost. My Chinese friend was following in all rituals and even wanted to take communion but I told her she cannot since there are prerequisites to taking communion like being baptized, etc. I was praying for that church and the rest of the Catholic and Christians in
China during the mass. I prayed that God bless them with tremendous growth in number and maturity of faith. I also prayed that I have been a good witness to my Chinese friend and if God wants her converted to Christianity, may the seed was planted in her heart that day. The rest of the day was relaxed though it was so warm - good Chinese lunch, and a little shopping especially for my sister’s birthday gift.
I had a great time with familiar colleagues in
Chengdu . However, since I had my monthly period, I had some physical struggle as I toured around the plant during the audit. I had to listen to my body while I do my job the best I can. Good my contact was so understanding, she would check on me every now and then and allowed me some short breaks. I was also mentoring the lead auditor whom I was qualifying for such role and I was glad that she stepped up and did well. There was another challenge one day though. I had to work day and night including having meetings at night up to 12 midnight. The last meeting which was a conference call was so tough mentally and also physically since I was sleepy already. However, God gave me strength to hang in there, discuss the best I can, and be humble to take inputs to my presentation and left the meeting with learning’s I can use not only now but the rest of my career. I left
Chengdu with much fulfillment even though the things to do and the call to work harder has increased.
Finally, I was flying back home after two weeks. My flight from
Chengdu to
Hong Kong was perfect and landed on time. The flight from Hong Kong to
Manila was delayed but I was blessed to be put into the earlier flight which made me arrive
Manila two hours earlier than originally scheduled. One good thing during that flight was being able to offer my blanket to an old lady who felt so cold and her thankful smile just made my day. I saw Jesus smiling at me.
I have been so tired from that trip. But I am glad I am finally home and will be here the whole month of June! I am also filled with gratitude that God has been with me all throughout and blessed my trips to 5 countries on April and May with good health, safety, protection, fulfillment, joy, and peace. As my gesture of gratitude and also to re-charge, I spent a short time in silent time of prayer with Him at the Pink Sisters Tagaytay the day after my arrival. Truly, I praise and thank God for being my Source, Strength, Provider, Protector, and Faithful Companion all throughout my travels including this last one in
China . All glory and honor be to Him!
