In 1992 I traveled with a group of Christians to China’s westernmost province, Xinjiang. Our journey began in Hong Kong from where we flew four hours to Beijing, where we started a 72-hour train ride to Xinjiang. I remember how our train loosely followed the line of the Great Wall along the edge of the Gobi Desert. And there, just outside my train window, I witnessed the Great Wall of China disappear into the desert sands like a fallen warrior. Our destination as a group was Urumqi, the provincial capital of Xinjiang, a metropolis rising like Oz from the desert floor. Beyond the city to the west lay the great Tian Shan – The Heavenly Mountains in Mandarin. A God’s-eye view reveals a vast V-shaped mountain range, rising as high as the Himalaya discounting Everest and K2. The Ili Valley, formed within this mountainous V, opens west and stretches across the Chinese border toward the boundless Central Asian steppes. The group would spend several days in worship and intercession in...
jesus family life.