Thoughts about a Wall

6th floor wall_cropped CHS faculty Great WallA few weeks ago I had the privilege of traveling to China. The group I traveled with included a faculty representative from each of the College of Health Science disciplines (Social Work, Nursing, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy), and 4 gentlemen who work at the Show Hope Foundation. The major purpose of the trip was for the Belmont CHS faculty to see the Show Hope operations in China and to explore possible ways our students could learn and serve there as a part of Show Hope, whether through short term mission trips or longer term clinical and field experiences.

When I tell people I went to China, most people are curious if we got to visit the Great Wall. We did! We were able to spend a day in Beijing before traveling back to the states, and we visited the wall from outside that city. It was, of course, an amazing experience to be able to climb part of it and walk along it. To think of how that structure was built before modernized tools, and how it still stands firmly today (at least in the place we visited) is really a testament to human capability. I am so glad I got to experience this, what a privilege! You can see all of our CHS disciplines represented in this picture from the Great Wall, at noon on a very hot summer day!

But I want to tell you also about another wall in China, a wall on the 6th floor of Maria’s Big House of Hope (MBHOH) in Luoyang, China. Continue reading