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During the women’s gymnastics on Friday night I ate the last tube of these wonderful Orange Ritz from China  We brought 3 packs home with us in March and I have been stringing them out to make them last. But I was getting worried that they would go bad and decided to finish them off while enjoying the Olympics mania going on in our house.

So with round the clock Olympics in our house I have been thinking a lot of China and the stuff that we saw there. We saw a boatload of photos of products with Yao Ming’s face plastered all over them. And this reminded me of when I used to work at a steak house in Dallas when Yao Ming came in with his translator and a couple other basketball people. They were seated in my station because my manager was confident that I wouldn’t act like a goober because a famous person was in my section. She knew I would just do my job.

Anyway, I went up to greet them and he was so tall that even once he was sitting down he was taller than me. I kid you not the guy had to look down a bit to place his order. HA HA!! The best part was when I asked him how he wanted his steak cooked and the translator said, “well done” a split second before he said, “rare.” So I sent it rare and he gave me a big smile and ate the whole thing. I figured he was the one who was going to eat the steak, not the translator.

Who knew that 6 years later we would be in China meeting sweet Nadia and that he would be such a focus of the Olympics?

 

Last night we TIVO’d the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics and if you haven’t seen them – try to find it online or see if it’s being replayed. It was totally awesome!!! The sheer numbers of people and props that were put into the ceremony is just mind boggling.

I love all the work the athletes put into their sport. And really one of my favorite things is all the little back stories that they tell that bring me to tears. Like America’s flag bearer being a refugee from the Sudan… now an American and competing for us. Or the little boy who walked along side Yao Ming the flag bearer for China. He was a 9 year old survivor from the May earthquake. 20 of his 30 classmates were killed in the quake. He dug himself out and then went back for 2 other classmates. When asked why he said, “I am a class leader. It was my responsibility.” WOW!! That child’s parents should be proud and how great of China to let him be a part of the opening ceremonies.

Next week our church will be doing an Olympic themed Vacation Bible School. Each year they do a fundraiser for a specific charity that benefits children. Last year the children raised money for a street children’s ministry in India that our church funds. We told the staff all about our visit to New Day Foster Home in Beijing back in March. So this years fundraiser is going to be a contest. The girls will be bringing money for the children of New Day Foster Home and the boys will be bringing money for the persecuted church around the globe.

So each day I am going to give a 5 minute presentation about New Day to the girls. I am going to make a 3 minute video for each day and then talk to the kids for 2 minutes. Here is the first video.