The Great Wall
So, I literally just got back from hiking/camping on the Great Wall of China. We started from 司馬台（Simatai）and climbed (yes, climbed) our way to 金山岭（Jinshanling). It was about 140 km and took less than five hours to get from one end to the other. Needless to say the hike was tiring, but the view was beautiful. We descended from the Wall, had dinner, and went back up to spend the night on the Great Wall in sleeping bags. It was pretty chilly, but the bags kept us pretty warm. At about four in the morning photographers were already heading up to one of the towers -- 小金山(Xiaojinshan) I believe -- to get in place to take pictures of the sunrise. Light sleeper that I am, I was up by about five with all the photographers crunching their way across the ground and shining their flashlights in our faces. So I got to see the sunrise, although the view from our position was somewhat obscured by another section of the Wall (probably the one all the photographers went to). Nonetheless we stared and took pictures left and right. After going back down for breakfast, some of us went back up again for yoga with an instructor. It hurt. Half of us fell asleep during part of it, since we were supposed lie down, close our eyes, and "relax." That's pretty much it in a nutshell. If you want to know more, you can ask me about it when I'm less exhausted and more coherent. Though, I have a feeling this is one of those things that just escapes description.

~ time to write my weekly essay for tomorrow -_-

Blogger finally WORKS!
and my sister said she had a dream about me so ^^
Just took our third weekly test, and we're going hiking/camping on the Great Wall tomorrow!
I'm very tired, and my body is falling apart... but now that blogger works, I will try to update those who are interested in my adventures and misadventures on the other side.

Our Suffering Savior
It was late on the Thursday evening of Passover week. Jesus was with His disciples at one of His favorite retreats—the Garden of Gethsemane. In great emotional distress, He admonished the disciples to pray for strength to remain loyal to Him. He removed Himself a short distance from them and prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

The “cup” from which Jesus asked to be delivered was not death. He came to die for us. I think the cup represents the frightful alienation from His Father that would lead to His cry on the cross: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).

In the garden, He must have been anticipating that time when His Father would turn His back on Him. The coming of the angel assured Him that He was not alone. Yet the reality of the Father’s imminent withdrawal from Him was foremost in His thoughts. He would be taking our sin on Himself and enduring the awesome aloneness of the cross. This realization drove Jesus to pray with so much intensity that “His sweat became like great drops of blood” (Luke 22:44).

And what’s even more amazing is the truth that Jesus endured this suffering for you and me! — Herbert Vander Lugt

from "Our Daily Bread"