It’s taken some time, but here’s the report on China….

The trip was unbelievable.  We spent the first day sightseeing but then got to work.  It was non-stop gigs and rehearsals from then on.  Below is the timeline with highlights…pics follow:

Day 1 - Arrive at 9:00am and do some sightseeing.  Ate at the most awesome dumpling restaurant…four of us went thru 50 dumplings and soup!  Also did some shopping at local shops.

Day 2 - Checked gear and had rehearsals at the International Church offices.  Jet-lag started to set in hard.

Day 3 - 10:00am-12:00am….I had rehearsals with my worship team at the main campus of the Beijing International Fellowship and Mark and the rest of the band went to the University campus to rehearse for Sunday services.  After worship rehearsals, we met at the concert venue to setup and have soundchecks for the Newsboys concert…Found a McDonalds and Starbucks before the gig.  That night we did the show with The Newsboys.  It went great….sold out.  It was the first public-ticketed christian concert in Beijing…EVER!  How cool to be part of something historical like that.  Many of the Chinese that came loved the show and were taking pics of “American Rock Bands” but you could tell had no conception of Christian music.  The Newsboys are great!  We hung and talked alot backstage….they looked like their jet-lag was worse than ours.  I was impressed with their vision of the concerts in China.  They weren’t making any money on this trip and really had hearts to see new things happen in China with christian music.  They commented that they really wanted to come back….that this was a great exploration trip. 

Day 4 - Let worship in the morning for the Beijing International Fellowship main campus.  Mark and the rest of the band led at the University Campus.  This was the highlight of my trip…although I thought it would be the Newsboys concert.  You have to have a foreign passport to worship here.  Chinese nationals are not allowed to be here and can be arrested if found here.  There were around 1500 there and, WOW, did they sing and worship!  I guess being in an environment of potential persecution really makes the weekly worship event more meaningful.  I had a great time and some great moments during the service.  That night, Mark and Carrie had a Christmas party and we met several nationals from other countries as well as chinese nationals.  It was a great time.

Day 5 - We took a small band setup and did a radio program that was also web-streamed.  It was at the largest FM station in China.  We did interviews and performed live.  They cut one of Mark’s songs that had the words “Grace, Surrender, Peace” in it.  So we did “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever”.  Even though there are no direct sentences about Jesus in the song, it was unbelievable that we were singing one of America’s favorite worship songs over the airwaves of China!  The show went great and I even got interviewed about our adoption of Jia.  They were pleased that I had a Chinese daughter.  That night, Mark and I took our acoustic guitars and went to a party for the Beijing Olympic Committee.  We sang Christmas songs and they even sang along.

Day 6 - Got up early and left.   WOW…..what a trip.

There was talk of trying to bring other Christian rock acts to China this next year…..Switchfoot, Delirious, etc…   I told Mark, “Count Me In!”

Here are some Pics from the trip:

Dumplings at the restaurant…if I could open one of these in the U.S. I’d make a mint!

Back gate of The Forbidden City

Mark and Me at the offices of the International Church

Leading worship for Beijing International Fellowship

Newsboys on stage

Jeff, Peter and Me backstage (I’m cool, huh?)

View from out front….packed crowd!

Our band on stage (Carrie, Mark & Jeff Cayler)

“Now where was that note I’m supposed to play?”

 Deep in thought (Mark in background)

A “Taro-Root” Pie from McDonalds (actually quite good!)

I’m looking forward to the adventure coming up Tuesday morning…leaving from San Francisco International and heading for Beijing China to meet up with Mark Tedder where we’ll play several shows together.  The highlight will probably be our Saturday night concert where we are the backup band for The Newsboys.  The next day I get to lead worship at the International Church of Beijing while Mark will be leading at the University Campus plant of the church.  On Monday, we will do a radio program where we’ll play live on the air.  That night we will play for a few hundred radio execs.

Pray for a safe journey, safety for my family while I’m gone….and an impact for the Kingdom in China. 

Will loves the movie High School Musical.  Last week, Kitty surprised him by taking him on a date to see the live tour at HP Pavilion.  he went wild!  Here’s a photo of Will during the show.  Kitty said he didn’t get off the chair the whole time.

Carson just returned from three days in San Francisco where he lived at the YWAM building and served the homeless.  I asked him some questions:

Q: Tell me some things you did on your mission’s trip.

Carson:  “We passed out hot chocolate to the homeless, made lunches for them and ate lunch with them.  One day we set up a prayer station on Market Street and asked them if we could pray for them as they passed by.  We cleaned up some of the store-fronts around the area.”

Q: Did you meet anyone by name that lives on the streets in SF?

Carson:  I met David, Nikki, Tony and Christopher.  Christopher actually lived on the streets in Little Rock at one time.

Q:  Did you find out anything about their stories?

Carson:  “Some of them, their life was going really good and then their life just went downhill.  Some because of drugs, some because they lost their jobs.”

Q:  What stood out to you about the trip or the people?

Carson:  “Alot of the homeless aren’t what alot of us think.  Some are dirty and a little weird, but they’re really nice and kind.  They just have the same needs that we do.  They don’t have enough money to get what they need.  Alot of them seem really lonely.  They really talked to us alot because they don’t have anyone that talks to them.”

Q:  If Jesus were walking the steets of San Francisco today, how would he interact with the homeless?

Carson: “I think he would do all that He could to help them.  Some people would think that He was crazy.  He would help people that even don’t believe in God yet.   He would teach them scripture and stuff about God.  I’m not sure how, but I think He would feed them and clothe them.  He might try to setup shelters and places to serve them.”

Q:  Now, when you see a homeless person on the street or at a freeway exit, what will think?

Carson:  “I’ll think about this trip and that they’re just like us.  It’s wrong that they are out there.  Maybe something good will come out of their lives because of their situation.  Being out there, they might find Jesus.”

My oldest son, Carson, has really impressed me and I thought I’d brag to the world about it…

1.  He has a class at school where they studied the scriptures of Judaism.  The teacher talked about the “theory” and “story” of Moses parting the Red Sea.  She also talked about several other “theories” of the Old Testament.  Then they were given an assignment to write and essay about what they had discussed.  Carson wrote in his essay that the parting of the Red Sea DID happen and that all the other things did to.  He went out on a limb and proclaimed that the bible is true!  He remarked that he didn’t know what kind of grade he would get because of it….to tell you the truth, I’m not to worried about his grade from her…with me he gets an A+ for standing up for God.

2.  Carson left today with 10 other Middle School students to spend the weekend at the YWAM facility in San Francisco.  They will be handing out hot chocolate to the homeless tonight and then interacting with them during meals tomorrow as well.   I think they will be doing some painting also at YWAM.  What a cool kid, that would want to go experience something so scary and uninviting as handing out food to people that make us uncomfortable. 

Bravo son….I’m proud of you!