I'm at the tail-end of the second day of what looks to be a twelve day trip across northern China with my son Gabriel. We left home yesterday on the train headed to Beijing, and arrived this morning at 9am.

We are doing a variety of important things relating to the renewal of passports and applying for visas during our couple of days in Beijing. Hopefully, we'll be finished by Wednesday (tomorrow morning) sometime and can take off on the overnight train to far northeast China to spend a few days with some new friends of ours, followed by a couple days of travelling in one particular region (including the town where this conversation took place) that I first visited way back in 2003 as a 19 year old.

One of the highlights of visiting far northeastern China this time of year is the cold and the snow. Heilongjiang Province is famous for its frigid winter climate, the yearly Ice Festival in Harbin, and for being the home of China's most famous ski resort, Yabuli.

When I visited this region back in 2003, it was mid-summer, so I experienced nice, warm weather instead of the cold and snow. So I am excited to not only retrace some of my steps from my travels long ago, but also to experience a winter climate far colder and snowier than what I am accustomed to. (Even though we live in northwest China, our region is extremely dry and it rarely snows, despite the rather cold temperatures.)

So please pray for us, that God would give many divine appointments as we do lots of paperwork, meet up with new (and old) friends, and travel new (and old) roads. To God alone be the glory for the breathtaking cold, the beautiful snow, and the fervent heat of the Holy Spirit's work in the heart's of men!