Church in Guangzhou

Hazel and I arose Sunday morning quite enthusiastic about attending church for the first time in Guangzhou, China.  Although The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not have missionaries in China and is not officially recognized by the government--only five religions are--current members are allowed to assemble, just not share what we believe.

I found the address for the branch on lds.org.  I google mapped it from my current address to get a sense of the distance and driving time.  I anticipated it was a 10 minute drive, but since I had never been there before, I hailed a taxi 25 minutes early to ensure we'd be there on time.  I gave the taxi driver the address and off we went.  As we drove, the driver asked me where I was going, I reiterated the address, but he wanted more specific information.  I told him I was going to attend church, but then followed up with, "It is just a church for foreigners."  I wasn't quite sure what to say in my limited Chinese abilities.  When we found the correct street, the initial part of the street looked upscale with a couple nice hotels and restaurants, but further down the street were run-down apartment buildings.  (I'll take pictures soon.)

Though the address I gave him was in the run-down area, he was convinced (I assume because he picked us up in the very nicest part of town, we were dressed well, and we are Americans) that the address was wrong.  He slowed down to ask many different people in the neighborhood where the "church for foreigners" was, but no one knew what he was talking about.  He kept muttering, "this is very dangerous, very very dangerous."  I tried to explain that I assumed the church just rented the floor or a building, but I didn't explain it very well, or he couldn't believe it was the floor of one of those apartment buildings.  Either way, we kept driving.  Eventually, I asked him to stop so we could get out and look for it ourselves, but he refused--"dangerous, very dangerous"--was all that I heard.  He recommended that I call someone, but I didn't have a number to call.  All that lds.org provides for Chinese branches is a number for Salt Lake.  And besides, I still don't have a cell phone.  The consulate is supposed to issue me one later this week.

Looking at my watch, I saw that it was 5 past the hour, we had been driving up and down this street for 20 minutes.  I finally asked, "How much do I owe you?" as I started to open the door of the moving taxi.  The driver apologized several times, came to a stop, took my money, and slowly drove away.  After confirming that the address I was looking for was indeed a run-down green apartment building down the street (this time avoiding the notion that I was hoping to attend church at this address), we proceeded to the building.  "China smells like bad eggs," Hazel told me as we walked.

Inside the apartment building, the air smelled dank and the lighting was poor.  Hazel kept asking, "This is church?"  My repeated confirmations did not persuade her.

We arrived at the set of apartments that the church rents just after the sacrament had been passed.  We found a seat in the back.  The smell that we first encountered remained.  The wallpapered walls had been decorated by toddlers scribbling with crayons.  The carpet was old, worn, and added a water-damage smell to the air.  The chairs were plastic.  But the spirit was calming. Peaceful.  I handed Hazel her coloring book and crayons, and I knew we were home.

Our branch has approximately 100 members from 15 different countries.  Chinese citizens cannot attend the branch, nor can we share our beliefs with them.  Any Chinese citizens who are members must attend a separate branch.  They would have joined the church when they were traveling outside of China.

The branch is a hodge podge of expats living in Guangzhou for various temporary reasons.  There are approximately 4 or 5 foreign service families.  Hazel has two girls her age in primary with her.

I am grateful for the opportunity to gather with fellow members of the Lord's restored church and worship in China. And I am grateful that the Spirit is unchanging regardless of our location in the world or the quality of the room in which we gather.