Tent Sleeping Festival

What's a man to do with a few days off and a few hours separating him from loads of encouragement and fun? Go to Shanghai, of course. This was the location of the 2nd annual Tent Sleeping Festival. FOC teachers and friends flock from near and far. This yearly get-together overlaps the Chinese break for observing Labor Day/May Day. Fun fact: May 1 is the day when the 8 hour workday was established. Consider yourself smarter as I continue in this fresh blog post. A fast train landed me in the biggest city in the Mainland. Over 20 million folks call this vast metropolis home. The first night I arrived, it was late, but the party had just begun. A few of us took to the streets to slurp down some cheap Chinese beer and swap stories of recent blessings and burdens. Along with the slurping and swapping came some singing. Joel brought along his guitar and some songbooks and we graced the cool, quiet air with our boisterous tunes. Most of them declaring His praises. I love China! The next morning began with a healthy portion of eggs and toast. One batch of eggs had some chicken in it. It was fresh chicken. By fresh, I mean recently killed. My friend Nate had worked his magic and killed the chicken dubbed "Tony Hawk." We were going to the X games later in the day. He was quite tasty. I have not included the bloody aftermath that followed this photo. 

What do brothers and sisters do best when they get together? Sing and praise Him in worship! After the breakfast, we started things off right with an encouraging hour. Then we took to the streets again. We graced the warmer air with songs. We even sang on the subway. Some gave us smiles and others gave us snarls. The brave ones took videos and pictures. Who knows if someone understood the words we sang. We just let our light shine, no matter where we were. 20 foreigners singing on a subway in Shanghai causes a scene no matter what you're singing. Our destination was the X games. I was a little skeptical because I have never cared too much to watch them. When you see guys doing flips and jumps and all sorts of crazy stuff in the air, it's pretty cool. Later, we found out that a record was set on that very day. The first 1080 spin was landed in competition on skateboard. I saw it happen. Oh, yea, you can be jealous now. We caught site of some motor cross, bikes, and skateboards all flying through the air. 

Back to the apartment for some Italian-style supper. Lasagna and pasta! So good. After supper came the first ever Tenties Awards. These awards are compiled by city reporters and the candidates are thoroughly tested to eventually produce winners. The way you win is to come to the Tent Sleeping Festival. They made up all sorts of things about us and awarded us for it. I won the Most Intense Stare of the Year Award. I tend to have few words at times so my eyes do the talking. It can be very intense. Pictured are our gracious hosts (L to R) Richard, Nate, and Tony. Those golden medallions around their necks are the coveted Tenties. After handing out all the awards and having some shenanigans, I stayed in to enjoy the fellowship. Others left for another night of singing in the streets. I played Bolderdash and enjoyed the warmth of friendships strengthened and found. 

Unfortunately, the next morning our train was leaving for Wuhan. These times spent together with other FOC teachers and friends have been huge highlights from my time here. This Tent Sleeping Festival compares with the big retreat in Hong Kong. They were wonderful times to bask in His grace and give thanks for the gifts and talents working over here. These times of fellowship and worship have been so great, I never wanted them to end. One day, when He returns, the joy will never end. Then, we will all dwell together in perfect happiness and never-ending praise. As we pitch our tents here, we move another day closer to coming home. We are not of this place, we are travelers on our way home. While we are here, we invite as many as we can to our home above, hoping to share the joy we have with them. I can't wait for that day when we will all see Him face to face. What love and grace! Shout to the North and the South! Sing to the East and the West! Jesus is Savior of all! He's Lord of heaven and earth!