On the Menu

In the summer of 2007 I had the opportunity to go to China for two weeks. It was my first trip overseas, my first time literally running to catch a flight, and my first time singing in a karaoke bar. Being there was almost surreal. Everything was different. Sounds, smells, sights. As one of our team members was fond of saying, “I’ve been to a couple of county fairs and a hog killin’, but I ain’t never seen anything like that before.”

Stop by my office sometime and I’ll show you some pictures and tell some stories. I never get tired of talking about it. Some of the details tend to get fuzzy if I don’t! And yes, I’m eager to go again. I hope to!

It was also my first experience tasting some real Chinese food. Going to the Supreme Buffet or Panda Express doesn’t count. Of course, steamed rice was a staple, as were noodles. Every meal, and you ate everything with chopsticks. At a couple of restaurants the wait staff saw us struggling, so they offered us forks. Not me, though buddy. I was determined to make a go of it no matter how awkward or clumsy I looked.

One of the stories my boys enjoy most is about me eating a bowl of noodle soup. The weather was pretty hot and we were eating in an outdoor patio. They had a fan on the floor trying to keep their customers cool. But as I lifted out some noodles dangling from my chopsticks ready to slurp down a bite, the fan blew them all over my chin and neck. It caused quite a mess, and not a little bit of embarrassment.

Personally, I really did enjoy the food. Lost about 10 pounds in two weeks, but I was still bigger than most of them. Care to know some of what was on the menu?

Frog porridge. Okay, that one was as bad as it sounds. That’s probably where I lost the weight. Some of our other team members experienced such dishes during that lunch as fermented egg porridge and eel porridge. We only ate there once.

Have you ever had pig’s feet? It was interesting. Chewy, but interesting. Shrimp was served whole – antennas, eyes and all. You just kind of closed your eyes and opened your mouth and went for it. We ate octopus twice. Once it was pretty good. The other time it was served as an hors d’oeuvre at the karaoke bar. It was raw. That left an aftertaste for a couple of days. Never once did we find those sugary donuts you see at the American Chinese buffets. And not a single fortune cookie in sight.

Then there were the “meat sparklers.” At some point we learned to not ask too many questions. Sometimes it’s better to just not know. On another note, we didn’t see many dogs or cats wandering around.

Anyhow, let me take this opportunity to invite all the men in our community to our wild game dinner this Saturday night, January 28. It will be held in the basement fellowship hall at the First Baptist Church at 6:00 p.m. It should be a fun night together. Just the men! Some of the guys in the church are pretty accomplished hunters. There’s no telling what they might bring or what kind of stories they’ll tell. If you have some wild game you’d like to share, or some wild hunting stories, please do! As for me, I’ll probably bring a salad or dessert. I didn’t bring home any Chinese leftovers.

I’d also like to invite you to join us this Sunday morning at 10:45 for a “Men’s Day” worship service. Everyone’s invited to come, but we’re enlisting men to lead out in various ways – through testimony, song and Scripture reading. Should be a great day.

Then Sunday evening at 6:00, come for our “Singspiration” worship service. If you have a song of praise, an uplifting poem or favorite verse, you’re welcome to come and share it. We’d love to hear from you! Maybe you’ll experience something you ain’t never seen before! And I promise we won’t make you eat any mystery meat sparklers.