7th April 2015
2015 年 4 月 7 日
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中华路 ZHONG HUA LU. A semi-deserted street below our apartment's 15th story window. It's 4:40 am. The street is eight (8) lanes wide and packed with traffic during peak hours, it's mostly empty now. A car coming by every four or five minutes. But, when we got down there, there were NO TAXIS.
Oops, one came by, but already occupied and not stopping for us.
Kevan and I got out there at 4:45 am with two bags of luggage so we could catch a taxi in time to get to the bus station for the 3 hour bus ride to the airport. 15 minutes have gone by and no taxis have come by. The bus leaves soon at 5:30 from our city Fuxin in northern China, and we still need to cross town to get there 3 miles away. No way to walk that fast especially with suitcases. We really thought we had planned well and got out early, but we had no experience as to the taxi situation. I said to Kevan, "let's say a prayer we need a miracle now" and he said one as we stood in the outer lane of the street, heads bowed (but me peeking for a taxi).
Kevan had felt impressed to look down into the side streets and I felt intuitively like, no, we should logically stay on the main street, but Kevan prevailed. So we left the main street (中华路 ZHONG HUA LU) and we went in. We saw a taxi down the street at the next intersection and the taxi driver saw us! Red light was on. Available. He turned, and came speeding towards us. We got in. Prayer answered, almost INSTANTLY! I was not surprised. I don't get surprised anymore, but I am still amazed and thankful, that has not diminished.
But I have come to expect answers to prayer if it is His will that something get done, and surely Kevan going back and catching our 1000 dollar investment in a plane ticket was part of His plan.
We are on our way towards the bus station now, but with a first stop at my office. I am speaking Chinese to him to explain. I told the taxi driver where to go, the specific intersection name, and he understood and began driving. I also told him that we needed to go to my office first, before the bus station, because I needed to get my computer from the office. A waystation point in our taxi ride. I said:
"今天我的大儿子要去沈阳。 他明天要到美国。 我们需要去公共汽车站。 可是以前我需要去我的办公室为了拿来我的电脑。 我需要一分钟。 下个信号路口请一直往前走。 那个楼是我的办公室。 蓝色的楼。 这里请停。 谢谢。 等一下。 我回来一分钟.
Jīntiān wǒ de dà érzi yào qù shěnyáng. Tā míngtiān yào dào měiguó. Wǒmen xūyào qù gōnggòng qìchē zhàn. Kěshì yǐqián wǒ xūyào qù wǒ de bàngōngshì wèile ná lái wǒ de diànnǎo. Wǒ xūyào yī fēnzhōng. Xià gè xìnhào lùkǒu qǐng yīzhí wǎng qián zǒu. Nàgè lóu shì wǒ de bàngōngshì. Lán sè de lóu. Zhèlǐ qǐng tíng. Xièxiè. Děng yīxià. Wǒ huílái yī fēnzhōng.
Today my eldest son is going to Shenyang. He is going to America tomorrow. We need to go to the bus station. But first, I need to go to my office to get my computer. I need just a minute. Please go straight ahead to the next signalized intersection. That building is my office. The blue building. Please stop here. Thanks. Wait a moment. I'll be back in a minute."
I got to the office ran in and all doors opened, and I grabbed my older HP laptop computer. Kevan loaded it into his large suitcase on the ground there, we threw it in the trunk and we were speeding off to the bus station (except that the driver misunderstood and thought we meant the train station).
Good thing I was with Kevan because he might have just taken Kevan to the train station by accident and then Kevan would have missed his bus. Kevan can't speak the language yet so that would have been a disaster. I instructed the driver to turn right at the next intersection and go to the bus station instead of to the train station where he was headed. 5:15 am now, plenty of time (well, barely enough time). I said:
"下个路口请右转走。 我们要坐公共汽车。 这里 右转。 谢谢。
我给你钱20 ￥RMB。 好吗？
Xià gè lùkǒu qǐng yòu zhuǎn zǒu. Wǒmen yào zuò gōnggòng qìchē. Zhèlǐ yòu zhuǎn. Xièxiè. Wǒ gěi nǐ qián 20 ¥ RMB. Hǎo ma?
Please turn right at the next intersection. We're going to take the bus. Turn right here. Ihanks. I'll give you 20 ￥RMB. okay?"
I paid the taxi off and showed Kevan inside to to the proper loading area and to get in the correct line. Gave him a hug, and off he went. TO AMERICA. The Lord is with him. That is obvious from our experience just a half hour before. I was amazed that I was talking to this taxi driver about a lot of things and being able to communicate how we needed to go first to my office, have him wait a moment, and then continue on, etc. We got there! It worked! I can communicate in CHINESE!!! and it is exciting to think that I have come this far in the language. Its really cool actually! I told Kevan as we rolled down the street, "how cool is it that I was able to say things in Mandarin to get this guy to go to my office, to get him to wait, and that we are going places in this country with the strange new language?" It was kind of surreal.
It is amazing to me, always is, how much we need and depend on the Lord for all of this travel, and how He is always there, even in helping us secure a taxi, when the night before I THOUGHT that there would be numerous taxis going up and down the street... but it turns out there were absolutely NONE. So my well laid out plan was flawed from the outset. Catch an early bus? You need special transportation to get there in time (or walk!!). Public transportation options are slim slim pickins.
We needed a miracle and we did pray and a miracle did happen. It all worked out, and I attribute it to the Lord and to our family prayers and personal prayers. They do matter. The Lord does listen.
3 Nephi 14:7
Book of Mormon
尼腓三书 第14章
摩尔门经
7 Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
7 你们 祈求，就给你们；寻找，就寻见；叩门，就给你们开门