We woke up at 4 a.m. to catch the torch festivities.

The hotel we stayed in the night before was the ninth one we inquired in, and quite possibly the last hotel in Zunyi not fully booked.

Zunyi, in Guizhou province of China, is the provincial headquarters for the Chinese Communist Party. All the party members from around the province came to watch the torch. Zunyi was also the headquarters of the Red Army in 1935 during the Long March and site of the Zunyi conference where Mao Zedong gained control of the Red Army.

This summer, International World Changers made a pilot trip to the Middle Kingdom. China boasts of thousands of years of dynastic history and is home to the 2008 Olympics.

Throughout their two-week stay, IWC high school students built relationships with Chinese middle and high school students.

It is these interactions that bolster the work of Christian workers in China.

“I told the group: Multiply the ability of the people who live here. You can help sort through people that they can’t,” Debbie said. Carl and Debbie were the team leaders of the IWC team.

Basketball is the craze in China. Voice the name “Yao Ming” and you will garner instant smiles.

IWC students played basketball, Uno and badminton with high school students as part of their cultural exchange.

One high school in this city had its own NBA finals. Chinese versions of famous basketball personalities showed their skills in the wooden court. No Yao Mings appeared, but the Chinese Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett had just as a starring role as their NBA counterparts. The Chinese Kobe said he hopes to go to America to study sports management with the end goal of being the Lakers manager.

Many Chinese people sport crosses around their necks. To most, it is a pretty piece of bling.

But this summer, IWC team member Dan Brown shared the message of the cross with the Chinese Kobe Bryant.

“Kobe came up to me and said, ‘Do you believe this?’” Brown said. Kobe asked about the silver cross he wore around his neck.

a poem by Cassie, IWC China 2008 team member

there’s something about putting black sheets on a bed.
something dark but something bold.
when you’re used to all those teeny bopper colors
and then it’s just black.
plain. simple. bold. loud.