A wonderful day of exploring

<SAMSUNG DIGITAL CAMERA>Today, I did some exploring around the city.

I took the subway for the first time in Beijing today. It is pretty easy to use. To start off my day, I went to one of 5 authorised churches in Beijing. Two are protestant and I visited one of them. The church is quite big. The people were so welcoming and I guess since I stood out so much, they directed me to the spot where all the non-Chinese were and gave me headphones for simultaneous English translation, an English Bible and a hymnal with Chinese and English. I walked in to hear 'Hallelujah, Thine the Glory" being sung in Chinese. It was wonderful. I also knew another hymn they sang - Blessed Assurance. The service I was at also had a baptism with several people being baptised. It is quite similar to our churches and the choir sang beautifully, though I don't know what they sang. The sermon was also pretty clear. All in all, it was a great experience. I'm glad I went..even if by myself. It was good. (Unfortunately, my picture of the church didn't come out so great).

After church, I ventured inside the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum (pictured here) which is the palace where 24 emperors lived and ruled during a 500 yr span. The Forbidden City is the largest and most well-preserved imperial residence in China. And I must tell you, it is huge!!!!! I'm amazed we got through to the other end.

It certainly was a wonderful day of exploring :)))