Church in Chengdu

Sorry, no photos with this post. I forgot to bring my camera on this particular adventure. 

This past Sunday was a very happy day. I was finally able to go to church. I would have gone last week, but Tristan was sick, and so he couldn't show me the way. 

I thought that the Wong's would be able to take me...but I was wrong. Religion in China is a complicated subject, even for foreigners. Religious groups can meet in China, so long as Chinese citizens do not participate. Groups of Chinese citizens can also meet as religious groups, given that they converted while traveling or living abroad. Both groups are allowed to practice, but not preach. 

Since the Wongs are from Hong Kong, where religion is actually tolerated, they would normally be able to meet with the congregation I went to. However, they have chosen to attend the Chinese branch. And, apparently, once you pick a side, the two branches cannot interact. 

So, on Sunday, Tristan was no longer sick, so he was able to show me the way to church. We left the apartment at 8am and caught a bus to Chengdu. It was packed, and we barely had enough room to stand. We both ended up standing on one of the steps near the wall of the bus, meaning that while we both were already a foot taller than everybody else on the bus, we made ourselves even taller. We were on this first bus for about an hour. Then we switched buses. Thankfully, this one wasn't crowded, so we both got seats. We then remained on this second bus for 45 minutes. Once we got off, we ran to find a taxi to take us the rest of the way. 

To summarize, this is how much it cost to travel 2 hours into town (one way):

Bus #1: 2.50 RMB  ($0.40)

Bus #2: 1.80 RMB  ($0.30)

Taxi         20 RMB  ($3.15)

We ended up at a nice apartment complex. Once we walked through the gate, I saw many, many nice cars. Now, it's quite common to see very expensive cars here, but these were extra special. Among all of the Land Rovers, Audis and BMWs, I saw two Maseratis, and a few brand new Mercedes. 

And then I saw it...the car that caught my eye quicker than anything else in the parking long. A car that made me smile the second I saw it: a dark blue Honda minivan. Complete with BYU bumper sticker. Once I saw that, I knew we were close.

We walked past a few more apartments, and then went up a flight of stairs. We soon found ourselves standing in a massive apartment full of couches and chairs. There were about 30 people in the room, with the majority of them being children. Church started at 10am, and Tristan and I had arrived with a minute to spare. Turns out, we had shown up for a regional conference. It was strange because the presidency members had flown in from different parts of China to be with us, and they were using Skype to connect with the different people that spoke. We heard from a variety of speakers all across the province, and even had one speaker who was in Provo, Utah. Technology is truly amazing as it allowed us to double the size of the congregation with ease.

Since it was a conference, it only lasted for two hours. Then, most of the families left. However, a few stayed behind. It was at this point that I met a number of ward members. First there was Brother and Sister Weaver who own the apartment we were in. Brother Weaver works for Chevron, so he and his family have lived all over the world for a number of years. I also met a few other young families that worked for the consulate here in Chengdu.

It was so wonderful being around people who spoke English, who dressed the same way as me, and who spoke without an accent! The Weavers then invited a few of us to stay for lunch. It was fantastic. The meal was simple, and yet, it tasted like the best food I’ve ever eaten. Chicken pot pie, a green salad, biscuits, and some kind of casserole…heavenly.

Some of the women I talked to made me feel a lot better about living here. They all said it gets better after a few months. They asked what the worst parts about my experience had been so far, and I told them that my mattress was as hard as a rock. Two seconds later Sister Weaver said, “All you have to say is, ‘Sister Weaver, do you happen to have an extra mattress pad?’ And I’d be happy to give you one.” I looked at her for a second, and then smiled and said, “Would you happen to have an extra mattress pad?” She said, “Sure do. I’ll have my husband wrap it up for you.” And that was that. In a mere 10 seconds I had gone from a rock-hard bed to a very comfortable one. Sister Weaver is amazing.

The Weavers also invited me to stay with them for the weekends. They have a private driver that they said could pick me up at my apartment and take me into town, and then I could stay with them until church on Sunday. How amazing is that? I think that I will finally be able to look forward to the weekends again!

In conclusion, church was fantastic, and I’m glad I’ve already made some friends there. Maybe this place isn’t so bad after all.