Been there, done that.

In the last two or three years, I've been a lot of places. I've witnessed and watched people love the Lord on a 115 degree day in Nogales, Mexico and then just a week later stood on the edge of Niagara Falls in Canada. That same summer, I packed enough stuff for 3 weeks and drove across the country. I've seen places like the Grand Canyon and Crater Lake. I've driven to Nashville all by myself, and I've driven to Michigan in the middle of the winder, in an RV, with 7 other people. But, out of all the things I've seen, and places I've been, none of them compare to the Great Wall of China. Crater Lake, is a close, very close, second, but still, it's not Great Wall.
I don't know what it was, but somthing about the whole thing just threw me off. I don't usually like ancient history; I'm more of a 20th century history kind of girl, but the Wall was fascinating to me. While I was standing there/walking up and down the millions of steps, I realized that I knew nothing about it. I mean, sure, I knew it was old and that it was built to keep someone out, during some empire...but that was about it. See, I knew nothing. So I did a little Wikipedia-ing. There is a LOT to read about the Great Wall, so I'll spare you some of the details and give you the stuff that literally made my jaw drop.
The Great Wall:
-is about 4,000 miles long. If you don't really know how to grasp that number, The Great Wall could start in Miami, Florida, stretch all the way up to Seattle, Washington and still have a 1,000 miles left over. Insane.
-was completed in 221 BC. This is 221 years before Christ was even alive. That, blows my mind. I guess when I think about history, it's always hard for me to comprehend that there were pople in other parts of the world, that aren't mentioned in the Bible, doing crazy things. Building a 4,000 mile long wall, is one of them.
-Took centuries to build. It was estimated that the building started in the 8th Century BC. If that is the case, then it took about 500 or so years to complete. Think of how many generations worked on the wall that never saw it finished. Hmm, I'm feeling an analogy coming on, but I'll save that one for another post.
Just think of all the people who walked on the very same part that Alisha and I did. It's crazy to me. But anyway, here are some pictures I took....enjoy!

Chinese people always pose with the peace sign...When in Rome...














It's something that I'm realizing my pictures do not capture. If you're ever in the area, it's worth a trip. Even if it's out of the way, its amazing.

"They just don't make things the way they used to"....no kidding.