2023新年之旅 （一）虚空的虚空？
3:28 am | Woke up from a not so deep sleep and could no longer fall back into it.
Between praying and reading scriptures, I couldn’t do more in bed other than changing my position for a million times.
4:28 am | Maybe it’s time to sit up and write about my recent trip to Utah and Arizona!
凌晨3:28 | 从本不深的睡梦中醒来后便难以入眠。
翻来倒去无数次，除了祷告和手机读经之外在床上也做不了什么。
4:28 分 | 也许是时候写一写最近到犹他和亚利桑那州的经历了！
Probably like everyone else, my life in the last couple of months has not been without trials… Oh, trials! A dear friend who does not take vacation even when I do. So, please let me dedicate this trip journal series to honor the lessons many of the trials that taught me in the beginning of 2023 through a road trip in Out West America.
或许如大多数人相似，最近的几个月总少不了各种试炼。试炼！我亲爱的朋友，即使我在休假你也不得闲。那么就让我把这次旅行的游记用来纪念2023年初在美国西部旅游途中各种试炼赠与我的宝贵经验。
The idea of going to Arizona began when two separate connections from church invited me to visit them. After talking with some friends, a seven-day itinerary that begins in Las Vegas and ends in Phoenix came into being. I have traveled quite a bit since I came to America. However, to rent a car and drive this many miles on a trip was pretty novel to me.
去亚利桑那游玩的想法完全是出自教会里两个完全不相干的朋友在亚利桑那有住所，都邀请了我有机会去探访他们。简单和几个去过的好友取经之后，一个始于拉斯维加斯、终于凤凰城的行程就诞生了。来美国后我有过不少旅行的经历，但开车途径这么多地方还是头一回。
In addition to my mom, the group has three lovely Chinese students (all of whom are Gen Z) from church. Truly, this is a dream team to travel with. Anything related to food, mom took full responsibilities. Vivian kept all the receipts and did a phenomenal job tracking costs. Dushi and Grace took lead in singing and dancing whenever opportunities arose. My job was to be the serious/boring driver, making sure that we stay on schedule.
除了我的妈妈外，同行的还有三个可爱的中国学生（都是00后）。这样的一行人可以称得上梦之队。妈妈自然是对饮食全权负责。Vivian做了小出纳，保留了所有的小票并出色地结算了每个人的开销。Dushi和Grace负责欢乐，找准时机带着我们唱歌跳舞，好不热闹。我的工作就只需要做一个严肃/无聊的司机，保证大家的行程顺利推进。
Soon after we landed in Vegas, we went to a Hunan restaurant. Vivian has been concerned about an elderly in her extended family who suffered from Covid for days. As soon as we sat down, Vivian went to video chat with her mom, and later returned with teary eyes telling us that he did not make it. We then had a discussion about preaching the gospel with urgency and clarity, and I was greatly challenged and inspired by the thoughts shared at the table. I had not doubt that this trip had God’s divine purpose, but I did not expect that it would start in this way: a sudden news of the ending of an earthly life and a conviction to share Christ’s gospel with diligence.
落地拉斯维加斯后，我们先选择了一家湖南餐厅饱餐一顿。Vivian因为自己亲戚中的一位长者受病毒折磨数日，这几天都心系家乡。方才坐下，Vivian就到门外和妈妈视频。回来时候她泪眼婆娑，告诉我们这位爷爷已然逝世。因着这样一个伤心的消息，我们展开了对fu yin 传讲的急迫性的讨论，我个人也被大家的分享激励并挑战到。对于本次的旅行，我很清楚知道shen 有特殊的目的，但我没有猜到它竟会这样开始：因着一个生命的消逝而带给我们迫切分享ji du fu yin的信念。
Lesson #1: the biggest events in life, such as life and death can never be planned. Staying in a state of alertness and watchfulness is so necessary so that we don’t waste our time in meaningless matters.
教训#1:像生与死这类生命中最大的事件是无法被计划的。保持警醒和谨守的心则是十分重要，否则我们很容易在无意义的事情上耗神费心。
The irony part is that we learned this lesson in a city where watchfulness is the least priority. The very first impression I had about Las Vegas was when I attended an advertising seminar as a sophomore in Sichuan University, China, nine years ago. My professor described how Vegas was essentially an advertising city built in a dessert. The neon ad boards and artificial sceneries make up the bolt and nut of this city. As we entered the Strip Street, our eyes were immediately attracted by the colorful lights and magnificent architects. As we toured the Venetian building and saw all kinds of gambling machines, my heart started to sink. A sense of grieve occurred as I realized that so much resources were invested in things that are just plainly superficial. The crying from the book of Ecclesiastes 1 seems very fitting in this setting:
具有讽刺意义的是，当我们学到这一课的时候身处的环境与“警醒”的人生态度似乎完全不搭界，你甚至可以说这里拥有截然相反的价值观。对于拉斯维加斯，我的第一印象产生在九年前、川大广告媒体课的教室里。那时候我还是一个大二的学生，教授站在旁边回忆自己到美国拉斯维加斯的旅行体验，说道这是一个在荒漠中由商业广告作为骨架建立起的城市。车一开进城中心最繁华的主街，我们立马被各式的灯光和高楼建筑给吸引住了。进到威尼斯人大楼里看到各式各样的赌场机器，我的心开始感到沉重。当我想到如此浩大的资源被用在实为肤浅的事情上时，我不由得开始感到有些难过。传道书第一章里的呼喊在此似乎非常应景：
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? Ecclesiastes 1:2
传道者说：虚空的虚空，虚空的虚空，凡事都是虚空。
I tried my best to not be so serious about it and convinced myself that it is just a way for people to release their stress, but I couldn’t spend another minute in it without grieving for the dark spiritual reality of it all. Plus, the smell of cigarette compelled me to escape. Everyone else in the group seemed to be in the same spirit, so we quickly returned in our car and got away from the bustling place.
对此我努力让自己不要如此严肃地看待这一切，劝说自己这不过是很多人放松压力的一种方式。然而在里头时间越长，就越是不能不为其黑暗的属灵现实难过。另外，大楼里的香烟味也着实让人忍不住逃离。同行的大家似乎也感到好不自在，我们便匆匆离开了这浮华天地。
The fake sky ceiling in the Venetian building. It’s fascinating how they try to keep you from knowing what time it actually is so that you could continue on gambling.
After so much stimulation in one day, I was almost unconscious when we arrived our Airbnb homestay. I was happy to return in the real world after immersing in a world of vanity. My prayer was that we seek God’s guidance in every step of our trip and enjoy seeing His amazing creation, which is so much more mysterious and complex than what human’s hand can make.
一天内经历如此多的精神和感官刺激，以至于抵达当晚民宿的时候我已经几乎失去意识。从虚妄中回到现实还是很宽慰的。我的祷告则是我们在这趟旅行的每一步都寻求shen的指导，并且享受祂奇妙的造物---远超过人手所能造的。
【未完待续】
1/27/2023
