Saturday and Easter Sunday

Sat. 4/11
Had a busy day yesterday, went to soccer practice with the boys then had my hair done, ( about an hour and half procedure here with two washes and a rinse, a head and shoulder massage then the hair cut, another rinse and a final blow dry. I exited ready for my glamour shot)

Around five Eric and Kahla dropped Susan, Freya, Finley me off at the Rainbow Plaza near the lake where we played on the sculptures in the park, large bronze ones of pigs, deer and one with a baby with his pants pulled down and a dog sniffing his butt (the kids loved this one)
Near by in one of the canals we had our pictures taken on the back of a giant crock coming out of the water. Yards a huge bronze witch with fingers about fifteen inches long arched ready to snatch us and carry us away.

We ate at an expensive but poor Mexican restaurant on the water and then were lucky to see the giant water display in the harbor, a 20 minute event with rings and lines of water shooting up sixty or so feet lit by multicolored lights and laser beams dissecting the evening sky.
We got a cab home and the kids were anxious to get to bed so as not to delay the arrival of the Easter bunny.

Easter Morning: 4/12
We awoke to a sunny day and after a lovely breakfast of fruit salad and croissants, Susan and I headed off in a cab to visit Suzhou Protestant Christian St. John Church.
It is located on a busy narrow street in an older section of town. The church itself is an impressive structure, one of three exactly the same. The other two are in Japan and the United States.The church community here dates from 1881 when it was founded by a Methodist minister named Dr Pan. It was rebuilt in 1915 and became one of the largest buildings in Suzhou. The church was designed by Dr. John Moore and financially supported by the St. John’s Congregation from St. Louis Missouri.
The church was used by the First People’s Hospital from 1959 to 1995 when it was approved to return to being a church. Some people living in the building refused to move out until one day a big storm hit and made a hole in the roof – they interpreted this as a warning from God and promptly moved out allowing the church to resume is mission.

On arrival we were ushered to the third floor where we were greeted in English by a Chinese man who had lived in United States for 25 years. Several other westerners were already there. As we entered the entire congregation was singing, practicing hymns. Promptly at 9:30 the service began. We were provided with earphones where we could hear a simultaneous translation of the service.

Afterwards we met the Minister, Rev. He and his intern, Rev. Bing who had preached the sermon. He explained that he has a three year assignment here and then will become a senior pastor himself. Rev. Bing speaks very good English and seemed up to speed on American seminaries. He mentioned positively Union in Richmond, said that Union in New York where Susan and I have a relationship is a bit “too progressive” for most Chinese, and that he, personally, would like to come to US and study at Princeton. He was impressed that my father was a graduate from there.

Everyone greeted us warmly and urged us return and if we were staying long consider teaching bible study during the week.