On The Great Wall of China...

This weekend we had an incredible opportunity to visit The Great Wall of China with the ward. These are memories I hope to never forget! As we hiked along the Great Wall, the mountain side became so steep that the wall was no longer needed. Instead there were rough steps cut out of the cliff’s face. Climbing to the top of the mountain, we found watch towers that were used for signaling enemy movement and communicating messages. The entrances to these towers were some fifteen to twenty feet off the ground; accessible only if a rope was let down from above. We had quite the adventure, resting briefly at the highest peak, before heading back down the mountain.

Many people can say they have visited The Great Wall of China, but how many people can say they have:

1) Slept on the Great Wall.

Sleeping on The Great Wall has been something we have joked around about the entire time we have been here (we even casually looked up the price of sleeping bags in a street market once), but I’m not sure it was ever something we seriously considered. I mean, is that even allowed? Though we had already paid for a room, sleeping out on a hard stone wall somehow seemed more appealing than squeezing four men onto two twin-size beds… call me crazy. Taking the extra blankets out of the closet, we went out into the late October night air. Walking the length of the wall, we passed several guard posts, before finally coming to a large tower. It was pitch-black outside (we only had the light of a small flashlight and a cellphone), but entering this watchtower we found a narrow staircase that led to the top. Keeping our eyes out for large spiders we squeezed our way upwards. After laying out our blankets, we pulled the warm covers up to our faces. (Someone jokingly remarked that the stone wall wasn't much harder than our dorm beds. haha) It was hard to hold in our excitement as it began to dawn on us what was actually happening; how many people have slept on one the great wonders of the world?

With a blanket underneath us and another one over top of us, we slowly drifted off to sleep. We practically froze to death, but it was a memorable night non-the-less!

2) Ate dog on the Great Wall.

From the time I was about four years old, I was under the impression that everyone in China ate dog. (And you would be surprised how many actually do.) I’m still not sure where this idea came from, but I decided long ago that if I ever had the opportunity to visit China I had to eat dog. I have to admit that I was pretty excited when Tim Ng came up to me this evening, asking if I knew anyone who would be interested going to eat dog. He had found a little Chinese shack down the road (out here in the middle of nowhere) that was willing to serve dog to us. It wasn’t cheap and they needed several hours to prepare it, but for right price it could be purchased.

It was late in the evening when thirteen of us students arrived at that little Chinese restaurant. Looking over the menu, I couldn’t help but notice that dog wasn’t listed. (I can think of a few reasons why it wouldn’t be...) A little curious, I asked:

Me: Where did you get the dog?

                Man: 是这里的。-It’s from around here.-

                Me: You found it on the side of the road?

                Man: 家里的。-It’s from our home.-

                (I thinking: Wow… I think they just cooked up Ole Spot.)

There ended up being a lot more meat than we expected. (I’m pretty sure the entire dog was packaged in those three take-out boxes.) Wanting to add more to our bragging-rights, we brought our portion of the dog back to the Great Wall. It certainly wasn’t a meal for someone with a weak stomach. Picking through the meat we found bones, dog hair, and even the throat. Once you got past all that though, it wasn’t half bad; kind of like pork but a lot more gamy.

3) Attended church under the shadow of the Great Wall.

It was early in the morning, raining slightly, but a beautiful sacrament meeting none-the-less. Surrounding this courtyard on four sides were the members of our ward, wrapped in blankets to block out the chilly, October mountain air. As I partook of the sacrament in this environment, I couldn’t help but think about the far reaching extents of the atonement.  I thought about the millions of Chinese people (including those who have died in centuries past) who have never had an opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ or feel of our Savior’s love. While many conventional Christian churches believed these individuals to be damned, we know that one day all will have an opportunity to receive or reject the gospel.