SEPTEMBER 13-14 -- DISTRICT CONFERENCE IN SHANGHAI

DISTRICT CONFERENCE IN SHANGHAI

September 13-14, 2014

Thursday, 11^th, we went to buy train tickets for the weekend but had forgotten the passports.  When dad got home from work we went back and bought them.

Friday, 12^th, we were supposed to leave early for Shanghai, but yesterday we found out that the kids have school on Saturday AND Sunday.  When the Chinese take of holidays, they have to pay them back by working/going to school on Sat and Sun.  Dad had a meeting in Shanghai early Friday but the rest of us stayed so the kids could go to school since they will miss Sat and Sunday.  We just couldn’t have them miss 3 days of school.  I spent all day working to finish my talk for District Conference.  We had everyone packed and as soon as the kids came home, we got our things together and headed to the bus stop.  We took Bus 8 to the Railway Station and then caught our train to Shanghai.  When we arrived in Shanghai, we headed out to find a taxi.  The taxi line was extremely long so we tried to “cheat” as Richard called it.  We found the road and tried for awhile to get a taxi, but finally figured out that there must be a restricted zone where the taxis cannot pick up passengers on the road.  Richard told me, “We are cheating.  We need to go back to the station and get in line.”  We headed his advice and went back to the long taxi cue line.  It was getting late so we stopped off at McDonald’s for dinner and then waited in line for over an hour to get a taxi.  We FINALLY got to the front of the line and we needed 2 taxis and as we tried to get in, the drivers refused to let us put 5 in the taxi!!  WHAT????  After all of that, they refused!!!  I started jabbering some Chinese to them telling them they were crazy and I couldn’t send my little kids alone in the taxi!!!  We only had directions on 2 electronic devices and now I had to split kids up into 3 taxis!!  It became very stressful very fast!  Amy took 3 kids and headed off in their taxi.  I had Richard take David and I showed him and his taxi driver the address to the hostel.  I told the taxi driver to watch and follow me in my taxi.  I obviously wasn’t clear enough because he took off.  I and 3 kiddos were in our taxi and we headed off.  I was so, so worried!  I literally prayed the entire drive that Richard and David would make it.  They didn’t have anything with them for an address – just their memories.  I worried even more when my taxi driver had a hard time finding the address!!  Oh man!  What was I going to do if they got lost???  My “worry level” was maxed out and remained so until we arrived at the hostel and I found everyone was there and safe.  In the end, Richard got his taxi to the hostel first and my taxi was last.  I was so grateful that we all arrived safely.  Poor dad was worried, too, because we were all arriving about 3 hours later than we had expected.  Needless to say, it was a stressful journey to Shanghai.  We were glad to be there. 

The hostel was not the nicest hostel we have ever been in, but the beds had clean sheets and pillow cases! That is more than we had in Denmark.  The hostel beds also made our beds in Suzhou look soft.  We all got settled in our rooms and then Vernon took Amy and the kids out to see the night time lights on the Bund.  I will still distressing from my trauma with the taxis and transport to the hostel so I stayed put.  While they were out, it started raining and the kids were drenched and they all had a little fun jumping in puddles!

Saturday morning, 13^th, we had yogurt and crackers for breakfast from the convenient store on the corner and then headed off to find the church.  We had a 20 minute walk up Nanjing Road to the subway and then took Line 1 across to Pudong.  We got off at the stop by the church which is now held in the Lang yong conference center.    

 We found a really cool Mag Lev Museum that we walked through. 

 We then had lunch at McDonald’s and then Dad needed to go to the Priesthood Leadership Meeting.  The rest of us walked around and then went to the church and hung out in some classroom areas that are basically office areas of the conference center.  The church rents a floor of this office building that is across the open breezeway from the big hall where they have the District meetings.  Richard came with us to Shanghai but he wasn’t allowed to attend any meetings due to Chinese Government laws about religion.  Chinese nationals are not allowed to attend religious meetings with foreigners.  Richard stayed in the classroom areas while we were in our 2 hour meeting Saturday afternoon from 3:30-5:30pm.

During this session of District Conference, I had the opportunity to play a violin solo, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives!”  I played it unaccompanied and it was an amazing experience.  For those of you who have performed, there are lots of different types of performances.  Most go well and it comes off nice.  Once in a while, something special happens and you become part of the music and you go beyond the notes and the music becomes you and comes from deep inside and it is just a unique and very special performance experience.  This was one of those special, unique times and I felt that I had the opportunity to truly bear my testimony through music.  The meeting that followed was great and we learned so much! 

One of the District Presidency counselors told a great story.  He told about at time when he was a young deacon and his leader told he and his other buddies that if they would bring a non-member friend to church for 6 weeks in a row, then he would give them and their friend this really cool pocket hunting knife! Brother Byrd said that as a boy, that was such a cool thing that he really wanted.  So, he went to a friend of his and said, “Look.  If you will come with me to church for just 6 weeks then our scout leader will you AND me this brand new hunting knife.  Want to do it???”  His buddy thought it sounded like a great idea.  So, for 6 weeks his friend went with him to church and they both got the knives.  Shortly after that, his friend moved and he didn’t have contact with him.  Several year later, Brother Byrd was on his mission and was assigned to a new companion.  This new companion ended up by his friend who got the new hunting knife.  How cool is that!!!!!  He told the story much better than I did.

Also during the meeting, our visiting member of the seventy talked with a panel of youth about the new “Come Follow Me” curriculum.  Benjamin had been asked to be on that panel.  He did a good job.  Later, I told him it was pretty cook that a man who has met with our Prophet, President Monson, stood at his shoulder and patted him on the shoulder multiple times.  Benjamin just about dropped his jaw to the ground and said, “He is a member of the seventy???”  Good thing he didn’t know before or he might not of made quite so many jokes. 

After our the meeting, we (including Richard) walked back to the subway station and headed back to Puxi with a stop at Lujiazway and walked along the road with all the super tall buildings.  It is a beautiful walking area now.  

We then took the subway under the Huangpu River to Nanjing Road and saw it all lit up at night.  We finished our walk down the road and over to the Subway sandwich shop for dinner and then along the Bund and back to our hostel.  It was a nice evening.  We were tired and headed to bed! 

OUR KIDS WERE SO EXCITED TO HAVE SUBWAY FOR DINNER!!!

On Sunday morning, we were up and ready to leave by 7am.

We needed to arrive in time for Amy to play prelude.  Amy played all the hymns for the general session of District Conference.  I had the opportunity to give an 8 minute talk and I learned so much as I prepared.  I will attach my talk if you’re interested in learning about “Mole Crickets.”

This man in the white jacket had so many questions for Richard about our family.  He wanted to know where we were from and how Richard was connected.  Richard told the man that we were his family and these were his brothers and sisters. 

  Well, I’m going to end this letter here and start a new letter so it isn’t quite so long!  This one is plenty long as it is.  I’m sorry your mother is so “long winded.”  I hope someone someday is happy to have detailed journal entries.