Military compounds, vandalism and turkey jerky

I paid a visit to La Puente pastor and Mt. Sac professor Eddie Romero today.

He had a lot of interesting stories to tell about his time in China, and going into hiding after vandalizing two Beijing hotel rooms in opposition to Chinese oppression. (Romero likes to call it "morphing.")

Romero hid from Chinese authorities for 18 days. Turns out he stumbled upon an enclosed, overgrown garden area on a Chinese military compound on the outskirts of Beijing.

He found a ditch and called it home until after the Olympics were over, when he turned himself in at Tiananmen Square.

Romero said he survived mostly on water, beef and turkey jerky and nutrition bars.

He also said he chewed up his cell phone's sim card while in an interrogation room so that Chinese authorities wouldn't get the names and numbers of people Romero was working with.

More to come in a story running this weekend.

In the meantime, here are some photos of Hacienda Christian Fellowship, where Romero has been a pastor for more than two decades.

Parishioners painted the church red in support of Romero's efforts.