cc: file, Andrea, Tony Hafen, Sara and Des Penny, & Maxine Shirts
"I'm back from what, as I recall, was my 28th trip to China, and I find myself one week (2 thoughtlets) behind. It's already 4:30 and I have agreed to go Home Teaching with Brother Morales at 5:55, and so hopefully this first thoughtlet will be short, as I know the second one won't, and it won't be complete for a few days.
At work, the week revolved around Sam LeRoy. He came in Monday to learn what I have been working on, and to eat lunch together. On Thursday Sam was back for his first day of work and we ate lunch together again. We had one of those surreal meetings, where the bureaucracy of an organization kills any initiative, in the afternoon. I was as frustrated as I always get in these circumstances. Lee Bell did a good job of defusing the issues. On the way to L.A. I did some follow-up and David Johnson, my traveling companion to China on this trip, and he had me send a copy of the work to Sam. I really like Lee and Dave, and so I'm sure I will be able to weather the bureaucratic storms that are inevitable and seem to be looming over the horizon.
Dave and I were going to go to NASA on Tuesday, and this was postponed until after we return. Tuesday evening Andrea and I went to Katy Mall to exchange my cell phone for a T-Mobile phone that works in China. We were late getting back to the Taylor High PAC (Performing Arts Center) for Matt's final Choir Concert. I dropped Andrea off and went over to the church for a temple recommend interview with Brother Mason, 1st Counselor. I made it back to the PAC in time for Matt's performance. I sat by the Salts, and although I thought my cell phone was on vibrate, it rang in the auditorium (it was when there was clapping between songs). I stepped out for a 10 minute conversation with Christian Singfield in Australia. If he is successful in his current efforts it will mean a retainer for us that will help pay down the big credit card bills I've run up.
I spent Wednesday morning with Mike Bennett, one of the two GDC salespeople, at Woodside Petroleum. I am optimistic we will have some nice business opportunities come out of our meeting. Time will tell. Wednesday evening the missionaries came over for dinner. The new Elder from South Africa reminds me of myself. Very aggressive and a little too full of himself. Fun to listen to, and full of good stories. I left when they did and had my Stake temple interview with Mike Pickerd. It is interesting the relationship that has developed over the 20 years I have known Mike. I think I'm the same, and Mike seems to have changed a lot. It's probably the other way around, and my perception is simply skewed. I Home Taught him tonight, and he was telling his son Matt about my excesses as a geophysicist. He is very quick to point out and brag about what I have done professionally when I am with him and anyone else, and I feel like he really doesn't think what I have done is of any value at all. After all, actions (or should I say callings) do speak louder than words.
As I mentioned Thursday was quite busy with Sam. Matt and Rachel dropped off Andrea at 4:00 and they all had their first tour of the GDC office. Andrea drove me to the airport. It was raining pretty bad, and our plane was three hours late leaving Houston. I ended up in a bookstore and bought a copy of Ayn Rand's book, `The Fountainhead' (0421.html). It was interesting working on Spotfire stuff on the way to L.A. We still made our plane to Seoul, South Korea. I must admit that traveling 1st Class is nice. Maybe I will get to where I don't want to have any family members travel with me to China in coach class? But really those thoughts are only in my selfish moments. When we got to Korea we each had a shower in the 1st Class Lounge shower facilities. Nice. It is definitely a nice way to travel.
We got to Beijing at about 11:00 AM on Saturday. Dave had got one of the Chinese GDC employees to translate the hotel name, and the cab took us right to the hotel. We stayed at the Hilton International, because this was the hotel the three technical executives from ConocoPillips were staying at. We were at the hotel by noon. Jialin Yan was in my room by 2:00, and we were working out the final details of our dinner Sunday evening at the Beijing Dazaimen Restaurant of Family Bai.
Jialin picked up Dave and I and we arrived about a half an hour before the 17 BYU folks. There were two professors, one professor's wife, and 14 Master's Students from BYU. The Dazaimen Restaurant of Family Bai is a garden in the style of the Qing Dynasty. There are lions at the gates, people dressed in traditional costumes (with cell phones and ear pieces to coordinate activities), and the actual restaurant is a series of rooms off of a garden with ponds and walkways and limestone sculptures. The employee's have the old paper lanterns. There is old Chinese lute music playing on the speakers. The room we were in had three tables, with three thrones, where each throne was a very nice chair with two chairs sitting by it's side. Paul's taxi was in a wreck on the way to the dinner, and they were late (Paul, it would be wonderful if you send an e-mail describing your experiences, so I can include them in a future Thoughtlet). By the time all of the folks Jialin had invited joined us there were over 30 people seated at the three tables.
It was a fun evening, and seemed to be a definite highlight for the students and professors. There were course after course after course, and they were all good. Some of the BYU guys wanted to order deer reproductive organs and other exotic items on the menu. They didn't. In fact, when I talked to Kate this evening (Paul was out), she said some of the guys went out to eat in the evening because they didn't eat a lot of the Chinese food. Oh well!
The restaurant had some Chinese Opera Singer's come and perform for us. Pretty screechy, and worth listening to, at least once. I had brought copies of `Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy,' with the intention that Jeff Jurinak and I would guide the students in singing for our Chinese Hosts. However, Jeff's plane was from Siagon to Hong Kong was canceled, he didn't make it to Beijing until midnight, and so he missed the dinner. I passed the music to the students, and they did a great job of doing the song with no other help from me. Paul also played a couple of jazz songs on the saxophone.
Paul remembered my story about the military compound in Beijing and wanted me to retell it (../9727.html). So I did, even though I was not sure what the four Chinese at our table would think of the story. After I finished telling the story Yan Jiafeng said what I did was very dangerous. I'm glad I'm not young and stupid anymore. At least I'm not young anymore. The professor did not understand some of the story, and so I turned over my plates and was describing the hill and valley to him. Paul started to laugh and said he had seldom been at a dinner with me where I did not draw on a napkin or do something like turn over the plates to explain something better. Oh well! I'm spatial. What more can I write.
Dave Johnson picked up the tab for the dinner. It was about double what the BYU professors had planned on. They will forward what they budgeted to me at GDC when they get back. It was a very nice evening, and whenever anyone goes with me to China, they need to plan on a $40/plate dinner at the Dazhaimen Restaurant of Family Bai.
Sunday morning I was in the shower when the phone rang. I did not realize there was a phone in the bathroom, and so I ran out across the room to answer the phone by the big picture window overlooking the 3rd ring freeway. Oh well! I was on the 25th floor, and hopefully any drivers looking that high only saw sky reflections in the window. It was Jeff Jurinak telling me about his flight problems and inviting me to ride to church with him.
It was District Conference, and the building was absolutely packed. Paul, Jeff, and I sat next to the Western's. One of the Stoker children spoke, the Stoker's also used to be in Nottingham Country Ward. With 150 members in the Beijing International Branch, there were about 15 of us (this translates to 10%) that are or used to be in The Nottingham Country Ward. It was a moment of insight to realize the impact The Nottingham Country Ward has had on International Branches throughout the world. The Stoker child's talk was really nice. He made up a story about how God set up a test for his children Satan and Jesus. They were each to play this computer game to see who won the souls of men. They were both working very hard at it when there was a power hit. Satan threw a fit because he lost all of his settings. Those who watched the game knew who won, because `Jesus saves.'
I spent some time talking to Todd Staheli's Uncle. Sounds like the Brazilian's are going to press charges against the gardener, even though it is recognized at worst he was a pawn.
Since I'm writing about the church, I am going to include one thing that happened the next week. On Tuesday night I called Stan and Barbara Shakespeare to invite them out to dinner. They had already eaten at McDonalds. But they were going to a High Priest Fireside and invited me to join them. I did. On the way to the church I called Sara in Benin (it was 5:55 AM Houston time on Tuesday, 5:55 PM Beijing time). There was no answer. So I called Andrea, told her where the number was, and she also tried to get hold of Sara. Again no answer. Andrea also called Sara's office, and they said she was not there. Oh well! We tried. Hopefully we will get to talk to you next Tuesday.
The fireside speaker was Brother Ja (sp?). He is a 70 Area General Authority. He was born in China, and had immigrated to Toronto, Canada. Here he married, and his wife joined the church two weeks after being introduced to it. Brother Ja joined six months later. Several years later he was called to be in a Stake Presidency. Elder M. Russell Ballard, an apostle, set apart the Stake President, and his traveling companion was about to set apart Brother Ja, when Elder Ballard said, `No, I've changed my mind. I'm going to set you apart.' Elder Ballard setting apart of Brother Ja included a statement that he would be sent by his company to work in China and that he had a great work to do there. Brother Ja works for Dow Chemical. Two years later there was a search for someone born in China, who speaks Chinese, and who knew Dow products. Brother Ja was the only qualified candidate, and he has lived in China ever since.
Seven years ago he was called as an Area General Authority. Shortly after that the Chinese Ministry of Religion agreed to send 16 people to 7 sites in the United States to check out the church, at their own expense. Of course they went to Salt Lake City and met the Prophet and the Apostles. However, they were more impressed with their visit to Washington D.C. and the fact the church arranged for 16 Congressmen and Women to meet with them for half a day. Their embassy had never been able to meet with more than 1 or 2 congressmen at a time and then after waiting in lines at their offices. Senator Hatch brought them back to his office and spent additional time with them. When they went to Seattle they wanted a tour of Microsoft. A church member works at Microsoft and set up an executive tour. It was like this at each stop. When they returned they were asked when the Chinese Government was going to recognize the church. The response was they paid for all of these people to visit all of these locations, and so certainly the church should see it is recognized. There was a second tour two years ago. This was probably the group that Paul told me he gave a demonstration to at the BYU Visualization Lab.
Brother Ja pointed out that before the gospel can be preached
in China they must change their constitution. He also talked
about some of the small changes which have happened. For
instance, instead of calling religion the opium of the masses,
it is now called `the pain killer' of the masses, because it
helps deal with death and pain. He described how the Ministry
of Religion has assisted the church by pointing out that
groups of less than 7 can meet together and not be breaking
the law. As a result the church has organized groups of
Chinese members who joined outside of China all across the
country. There are 4 groups in Beijing. The church has
permission for these groups to meet together as one group
in Beijing. So there is the Beijing International Branch,
which I have been going to and which has about 150 members.
There is also the Beijing Branch, which is fully organized
with a Branch President, Relief Society President, and
Elder's Quorum President, and which typically has 20 people
in attendance. The only contact between the two branches
is through Brother Ja. He quoted from D&C 44:3-6, where it
says the church shall be established according to the laws
of the land. He also pointed out 2 out of 20-30 ancient
Chinese characters which prove the ancient Chinese believed
in the Old Testament. To the right is my rendition of the two
ancient Chinese characters he drew, and which refer (1) to
Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives on the arc,
and (2) to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Brother Ja pointed out that 13 people from Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Beijing met to decide if the name of the church, as written out in Chinese, needed to be changed. He described the egos involved, and how people wanted to stay with what had been the characters for the church for many years. He pointed out that instead of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, it translated as the `doomsday church,' and that the character's for Mormon sound like `devil store' when spoken. He described how these people fasted and prayed, met, broke into groups to pray, and how they had a unanimous spiritual manifestation of what he had known by the spirit for 4 years. The translation of the scriptures to Chinese had been done by a return missionary who was an academic, and to read the Chinese scriptures you need a dictionary. There were errors like the sacrament prayer saying `often remember Him' instead of `always remember Him.' And these things have been fixed, and the new scriptures are just going to press now. There was a wonderful spirit in the fireside. I once again received my personal spiritual confirmation that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints truly is the only true and living church representing our Lord Jesus Christ with His authority here on the the earth today.
I mentioned Jeff Jurinak above. I will also mention that on Tuesday morning Dave and I hosted Jeff, ConocoPhillips' Chief Reservoir Engineer, Hugh Rowlett, their Chief Geophysicist, and Jim Handschy, their Chief Geologist for breakfast downstairs at the Hilton. It was a good breakfast, and the main topic of conversation was Best Practices, knowledge management, the Knowledge BackboneSM, and the Infinite GridSM. We will have follow-up meetings when I return to Houston. There is also a possibility they will fund some work GDC might do in Nigeria. Time will tell.
Lastly, I do hope you will think about the things I have written, about when you are able to go to China with me, and also what it will like to go out to eat dinner at the Dazhaimen Restaurant of Family Bai."