a weekend in beijing

a few days ago i watched the sunrise over china

from the middle bunk of a sleeper train to beijing.

the sun rose red, like a sunset in reverse.

maybe that's the pollution--but at least it's beautiful.

it rose over countless apartment buildings, factories, and green green fields, 

just like it rises over mount timpanogos.

i thought about the mother and daughter beneath me. 

last night they had conversed with jesse and i for hours without either of us understanding the other's language.

the tiny three year old girl taught me how to say frog,

qing-wa,

and i folded her one out of a gum wrapper.

the mother taught me how to count to ten.

language is a big barrier here but not so much when you both have open hearts.

i ate a fig for the first time, 

out of a shoebox, offered to me by this chinese mother,

and i thought about love and how universal it is.

i thought about how god loves them equally as he loves me,

and is still very present in their lives, even if they don't know it.

china is beautiful.