We went on hiking to some villages up in the mountain on the boxing day and we hoped to distribute some packaged gifts to the villagers. It was a very nice day and most of us wore too much. One of our member wore 3 pants and 5 layers of clothes!! My bad I did expect a very cold day and told my roommate to prepare for a skiing weather. It turned out to be sunny and dry. This was the first time I hiked in China and we had a chance to take a closer look to the damages caused by all these "離石流".On our way we met some people and we gave gifts to those "approved" by the local guide - she was an elderly woman who has relatives living in those areas. Though she is the oldest among us, she had no problems hiking those unnoticeable trails and she is so skillful that she even carried some of our backpacks. It was a nice hike and we were just so close to those landslide sites that an aftershock could send us to heaven. The weather was very good in the morning and we met some elderly people and a little girl on our way(surprisingly there are still people living in that area). To our dismay that little girl doesn't want to go to school. Not sure what are the reasons behind, but she is shy and seldom talk and I think she really needs to get in touch with other children at her age so she can have a healthy childhood and emotional/relational
growth/development. At least she needs to learn Mandarin!!! We tried hard to encourage her and her family (her dad?) to go back to school but due to language barriers and may be other reasons they don't seem to be convinced by what we said. I wasn't quite surprised by the fact that there are children in China not being educated. But I was surprised how hard it is to encourage them to get education - or just get in touch with other people. What a pity it is? she survived the earthquake and she has a lot of potentials in the future! At times I have the feeling that there is so little we can do - and we are so 無能為力 about helping this people. The story about this little girl is just one the many stories in China. When we sat down for lunch, I was told to just leave our plastic 
bags anywhere we want in the mountain. I was puzzled and confused and started to realized why there are so many trash when we hiked up (though there are not many people living here). Villagers living here probably don't know what harm it caused by leaving behind these non biodegradable materials in the mountain. And again this may be just one of those important things they need to know about being environmental friendly. On the way to another village in the mountain area, I was so strongly convinced that it is not materials that they need it the most, and issues in China (whether it is about faith or in general) will not be resolved by monetary resources. More counseling and social work resources are needed. More godly influence is needed. More Christians are needed to walk with the locals, to pray for them, to teach them to live their lives to the fullest and what is and is not pleasing to God.
This hiking trip was a very inspirational one. We didn't do a lot to help out these people and actually we didn't meet a lot of people. But just like the story of the old man picking up starfish and throwing them back to the sea, it matters to the one whom we met and talked. And this is why were there. I'd never been so close to villages in China. And this was a close contact with the people there. Other first in a life time experience includes riding back home on a 電動三輪車. We had 9 people in that small wagon and we sang along the way (on the high way actually ...).
And can anyone help me remember the song "青青的河水喲，何時才停流 ..." ?
On a related thought, China is strong now in terms of foreign currency reserve and its economic growth. More Chinese people is moving to the middle class and at the same time poverty and wealthiness is also polarizing the society. But what bothers me is not the financial strength (or weakness) that could corrupt the people or government, it is the lack of a divine value system, a character that corresponds to the creator of human being. From rich people to poor people, the deficiency of this significant element is bringing the country to a bankruptcy of integrity/spirituality/characters ... I just feel the whole country needs education, needs to believe the right thing and stop doing things that hurt themselves (and others). Disasters don't necessarily come from financial incapability, but more often they are consequences of ignorance, greediness, hatred and angers. More fundamental changes need to take place in China. I am very shocked and concerned about the fact that children in China may not be getting the "right" education - broken characters and values are slowly developed in the life of these children. And while I am writing this, the image of that little girl who still live in the mountain constantly reminds me of the situation in China. The theme for Obama's presidential campaign applies nicely to China - change! China will be a country of super power not by charisma and wealth, but by characters and wisdom. China will walk out from poverty, not by acquiring more, but by retaining less. I agree with Obama that it is the faith and virtue that build up a country and the people. China needs changes as much as US does.
