Hey everyone! As you all know, LTF went to the Transtek Magnetics factory in Dong Guan, China this past winter from December 19th to 29th. Here is a little recap of what happened over there!
After transferring flights from Tucson International Airport to LAX to Shanghai PuDong International to Dong Guan, we finally arrived safely to the factory at around 2AM China Time. After a good night's rest, we started setting up the equipment and instruments right away. In order to go inside the main building, everyone had to take off their shoes and wear indoor slippers so that the floors could stay clean. The room that we practiced in was located at the end of the main hall inside the building.
Our schedules were something like this:
8AM: breakfast
8:30AM: Begin practice
1PM: Lunch, and nap
2PM: Begin practice
7PM: Eat dinner (this time varied)
8PM: Continue practice until the decided end time
Our practicing not only consisted of our own music sets, but we were also instrumental accompaniments of different groups that would be performing in the various events. This included an all women's vocal group, a group of singers accompanied by a dance performance, an all men's group, and a choir of the managers to name a few.
We had a total of 4 different events: Christmas night (12/25), Sunday worship (26th morning), the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Transtek Magnetics company on the night of the 26th, and a prayer meeting on Monday night (12/27). I am going to tell you more about the night of the 25th because it will definitely be a night I will remember.
This night was special in many different ways. The most memorable of course, will be the rain. There were two major events: Christmas night and the night of the 26th... and since these were to be the biggest events, a stage was set up outside. There was a main stage that we were on, and a mini stage in the back where Lan Fong Ah Yi stayed.
The weather leading up to this event was wonderful; sunny everyday and warm enough for us to wear t-shirts. However, on the 25th the temperature dropped 10 degrees C and the rain made it feel even colder. Everyone was on edge about what would happen at night when the event was supposed to start. During the afternoon, we continued with sound check whenever the rain stopped, and once it started drizzling again, we would pull a huge tarp over all the equipment so that it wouldn't get damaged. The blue white and red tarp is what we used to pull over the entire stage and protect our instruments and equipment.
As the day progressed, the weather did not improve much. Everyone continued to be on edge because of the rainy weather. Finally, at dinner, it started to pour outside. At this time, all we could do was pray that the rain could stop. In the little cafeteria below the place that we stayed, all of the Christian managers and our group held hands together and we prayed. It was such a wonderful time where we could all humble ourselves and come together and just really give the control over to God. We sang songs together and prayed, and continued to give thanks to the God who allowed us to come to this place. As we sang, the rain slowed down, and allowed for us to go onto stage. The rain didn't completely stop, and came and went as the concert went on, but I think that the moment of prayer that we had in that little cafeteria would not have happened if the rain wasn't there. It was freezing out but we were pumped [and nervous] especially after the encouraging prayer.
Because of the unpredictable weather and time issues (we started the concert over an hour late because of the rain), we had to cut the concert a little bit. However, at the very end of it all, Tim Su came up and did a calling. At first, I had noticed that a large part of the audience (the workers of the factory) went back to their rooms because it was so cold and rainy outside and so I didn't expect anyone to come up. However, God works in many different ways, and He proved to me that I had too little faith. At first, 3 shy people came up onto the stage. After that, it was like the flood gates had broken open. [I couldn't take a picture because I was playing background music...] Eventually, the entire front of the stage was filled with these young people wanting to embrace God's love. There were so many that the had to line up in rows, and at the ends of the stage there were so many people standing that some couldn't even make it onto the main stage and had to stand on the steps. It was truly AMAZING!
So that is my main recollection of this past trip. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it! There are so many other things that happened but I will leave that for next time!