R&R in Kunming

On the 22^nd of January, my lovely teammate and I boarded a plane for Kunming and met our third teammate there. She had been traveling with another team and we had a joy filled reunion in our hostel. We were fortunate to be staying downtown, right near a lovely walking street. We were so blessed to meet another teacher from our organization who spoke fantastic Chinese and was a great help to us. We took a long walk and found some donuts for breakfast. After finding some children skating in a park and some older people enjoying the sun under the shadow of a pagoda, we went to the store and made peanut butter and banana sandwiches at our hostel for lunch.

The weather being absolutely perfect, we sat outside and soaked up the sun all afternoon. My teammates got a sunburn on one side of their face and we met a sweet Chinese boy who played ping pong with us and who allowed our friend to christen him with his English name: Toby. Ten years old, he was fantastic with a yoyo and with the ping pong paddle. Kunming was restful and beautiful and we were excited for the next leg of our journey.

The Chronicles of the Sunseeking Sisters Pt.1

       Well, my travels with Tannah and Ashley are drawing to a close as we prepare to board a plane for China on the 21st. We have had some incredible adventures, some heartstopping scares, some awe-inspiring Papa moments and overall- we have just learned a lot about eachother!

       Thus begins the adventures of the Sunseeking Sisters as we forsook our home in the nether regions of China for the warmer paradises of That country and Balmy Thailand.

Tuesday, January 5th.

Team HuaQiao boards train to Harbin to go to famous Ice Festival. Papa provided mightily in train tickets and a friend through our organization. This friend spoke great CHinese and set up a driver to take us out to the Ice Festival and back (saving us lots of money), set up a hotel room for us on her campus, and helped us with the language when we were in need.

Our group of 5 (Tannah, Ashley, Jordan, Abram and I) dressed in our warmest clothes and headed out to the Ice Festival. I was wearing 3 pairs of socks and feet warmers in my -40 boots, 2 pairs of long underwear and jeans under ski bibs, a pair of long underwear and 2 sweaters under a down jacket, 2 pairs of gloves and a hat and scarf. I stayed pretty warm except when I took my hands out of gloves to take pictures.

Several of the Ice Sculptures were carved with slides so we could 'interact' with the art by climbing up their two or three stories and sliding down the icy slides. Often we raced to see who could go down fastest. The frost from our breaths quickly turned into ice on eyelashes, beards and scarves. In amazement, we took in the red lantern walk to the ice castle, the ski run and the snow sculpture. It was all beautiful, and became impressive and near frightening when one realized it was all made of ICE!

         After 3 hours, we decided we were near frozen and it was time to head home. A dinner of ramen was just right to warm the belly before we climbed into cozy beds and were off to dreamland.

January 6: Harbin Scandal erupts

   Harbin, during the early part of the 19th century, was occupied by Russia and thus has some architecture from that period that the Chinese are mystified and very proud of. The most famous of these is the Sophia Church. It is an old Eastern Orthodox style church in the center of Harbin that now acts as a museum about that time period of Russian occupancy. (Forgive any errors in the exact history of the city, the museum was primarily in Chinese)
My friends and I travelled to the museum on bus, providentially meeting a sweet woman who guided us right to the place. We bought our tickets for the museum, took some lovely pictures, fed the pigeons, and then went in to see the building.

The walls were lined with pictures of Harbin and its development over the last two centuries. It was interesting to see pictures of China full of Europeans strolling around with umbrellas and having tea. We stayed in the museum over an hour- taking artistic pictures of the arches and chandeliers with their chipped paint, bricks showing through and their metal slowly turning colors with age.
When we finally decided to leave, I went to pull out my phone only to discover my wallet was missing. No phone, no passport, no money, no apartment key… NOTHING. After a minor freak out moment, my team spread out and scoured the place for my passport. We asked the few employees if they had seen it and they confirmed my fears. “If you cannot find it, I am afraid it is lost.” In other words, it was stolen and you ain’t getting it back.

         After searching in all the trashcans and praying multiple times for a miracle, we decided to look outside. My teammates looked again in all trashcans, hoping someone may have left a bit of evidence –perhaps emptied the wallet and thrown it away.. but it was a pretty cute wallet.


Though I was desperate, I could see we were not going to find it there and I knew it was time to stop looking. I called my team leader who then called her leader for advice. As I stood on the corner of the street crying and trying to hide it, I realized that my plans to travel china starting the next week were going to have to be foregone. What I didn’t know then was that Papa had way better things in store.

The next day, back in Changchun, Super Leader and I went with our Foreign Affairs Officer and filled out the report in the police station. Papa provided so much favor through our F.A.O. as he knew the process already and expertly guided us. We had to make a report in the newspaper that the number was no longer valid (oh China) and then the next day, Friday, Papa did a huge miracle. At 8:30 am we went to the Newspaper office to pick up the clipping. We needed that and the police report in order to apply for a visa and in order to get a passport I had to have police report to get another report from the Public Security Bureau in downtown Changchun. We took the newspaper clipping to the PSB where we met our FAO. Though the PSB was packed, we were taken upstairs and helped by a lady who is friends who our FAO (FAVOR!). In less than 2 hours we were on a fast train to Shenyang, China to the US embassy with the report we needed in order to apply for a passport.


By five o’clock we were enjoying caramel macchiatos in Starbucks . By 11pm we were in a taxi cab singing Christmas songs to our driver so he wouldn’t smoke the cigarette tucked behind his ear. You have never heard such wonderful renditions of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” or ‘Silent Night.”
Another provision that Papa made was that I had only booked one train ticket, one plane ticket and no hostels. My teammates were able to return our train tickets, and I was able to change the date on my plane ticket with no fee! When my passport finally did arrive, it was one day before my rescheduled plane trip to

Thankful

I am slowly... very very slowly counting gifts of the Father along with a gratitude community over at A Holy Experience with Ann Voskamp.
The goal is 1000. The past 3 days have left me overwhelmed and with the urge to randomly spout, a little too loudly- "The Father is SO GOOD!"

11. Email that start with love and encouragement and end the same way from certain amazing boyfriends..
12. Pregnant best friends who are barely showing at 4 1/2 months
13. Conversation with my beautiful grandma and a prayer answered so soon. She begins to seek the Father as he woos her to himself.
14. Opening the presents under the Christmas tree via skype with my family and not feeling homesick
15. A team of incredible women who embrace me Christmas morning because i am feeling stressed instead of joyful. They pray before opening the gifts and the day is absolutely BURSTING with Joy.
16. Thankful for a brother team that thoughtfully makes christmas gifts that leave me gushing tears.
17. A long conversation with my beloved's mom. Her good advise, honesty and encouragement the best gift on Christmas.
18. My beautiful, funny family who welcomes friends, boyfriends into the family for Christmas dinner. The evidence that He is working mightily in them as He is in me.
19. A true Sabbath with so much peace and rest after a long few days of madness and unrest.
20. Getting to sing the worship of Silent Night before colleagues at our staff Christmas party.
21. The intentionality of a Christmas overseas and the possibility of future Christmases..

the list

This year my list for Santa is simply this: Could I please get the "to do list" all done? Please? My apartment is covered with stacks of paper and grading and I sit down to do it then get on something else or have to go somewhere else and eat with someone or have a meeting or go to class and it doesn't get done! So many half finished projects that my head is spinning and I am starting to stress out a bit.

There is a blessing this week in that my work load has been reduced with no more english corners for the semester, no one on ones and class consists of finals for the next two weeks.

My plan was to sit and grade and cross things off the list all day long. In actuallity- we ended up cleaning a friend's apartment until 11 (after waking up a bit late and a much needed skype date with my Best friend and my siblings). Then lunch with Tannah and then practice with Jordan because there was a staff party this afternoon that we were to perform at.

Apparently it is appropriate to invite people to parties and expect them (pressure them) to perform at said party. The sign in our stairwell said the party would be Tuesday the 22nd (I realize that is tomorrow) at 3:30. At 3, I had straightened my hair, PUT ON MAKEUP (for the 4th time this year), and was getting ready to go downstairs. I recieved a text from my team leader that said the meeting was apparently going to be tomorrow (wednesday the 22nd...) We were all a bit perturbed but again realized that communication and expectations are VERY different in China.

So now I have a bit of time to work on Christmas presents, knock out some grading and.. apparently get distracted with a blog :).

I hope you enjoyed this rant, er, blog.

Love, me

Babysitting and the thoughts that ensue

Tonight T and I went to babysit for the most precious children. They belong to a couple who works for our organization and help with the language school here in Changchun. Both husband and wife have been in China since 1999, and met here (now that is commitment!). As they welcomed us into their home, I noticed some beautiful things.
First, it was a home. A homey home. There was a little christmas tree with a few gifts wrapped underneath, a piano and two couches in the living room along with a big bookshelf and family pictures. The floor lamps made everything so warm. The kitchen was small but perfectly adequate and well organized. She had cookbooks and tea and cookies in little containers and pictures on the walls to make everything feel more cozy. There were american spices abounding and I could tell she liked to bake. When we came in, the little boy of 2 said hi and welcomed us in. He was well-behaved and showed us his bedroom, his toys, and explained everything as he played.

I have never met a more particular child. He lined up all his trucks and didn't move them because they were 'parked for the night.' We pretended to wash our hands with soap and played hide and seek and then he 'read' us a book he had memorized. He told great stories and his eyes would get really big with the excitement or the passion he felt telling them. It didn't matter that we could only make out 40-50% of what he said due to his two year old speech, their was joy in watching him tell it. When we sat down to eat, he grabbed our hands to lift up the meal. He thanked the father for his parents, his baby sister and many other things. It was PRECIOUS.

His baby sister was the best baby I have every babysat in my whole entire life. She is beautiful with BIG blue eyes and long lashes and she never cries. Even when we put her down for her nap, she didn't cry but rolled over and fell asleep. When T got her up after an hour, she work without crying. I didn't know children like that existed. She sat quiet and content while her big brother ran around and he would run up and gently kiss her forehead and run away again. It was beautiful.

I have to admit that it gave me a lot of hope for having kids in a foreign country. I mentioned this to the dad when they returned from their date and he said it was actually easier in some ways, harder in others. He said both he and his wife feel having kids in China is a new level of commitment to the country.
I thought about that statement a lot. In many ways, having kids in China is the same. You have to care for them and they need the same basic things. In other ways it is different because you must teach them to adapt to the Chinese culture and prepare them for American culture. He said that kids don't have a choice but he and his wife chose China and they think about that.
In some ways, I don't think living overseas is completely my choice. It is but it is also at the guidance of the father.
If he can move me here, can't he also ordain a whole family to live in another country? But what about culture shock and moving around and the stress of helping your kids make friends in other countries... Only he can help one cross these hurdles.
Another thing I noticed about the couple was how unified and at peace they were. The husband spoke for both of them. Such a simple and yet profound thing. There apartment and their children seemed to be quite secure in their love and at rest in their lives regardless of the fact that they lived in China.
On their fridge there was a quote that seemed to sum it up well: " Successful parenting isn't measured by what you can force to change in your kids but by what you allow the father to change in you."

in the simple things

It was 7:37 when I finally heaved myself out of bed, fighting against the negative attitude trying to take over my mind. It was Sunday and I wanted to sleep in. I didn't know of anyone who was going to fellowship, but somehow I felt I should go. So I half-heartedly dressed and got ready. Tannah sent me a message and asked if I was going. She too had felt the pull to go and wanted to know she would be alone.
We met Abram and Jordan downstairs and walked to the gate. To our surprise, three of our friends joined us there.
On the way to the fellowship, one of my friends- who has been asking a lot of good questions, told me she had been to the fellowship the day before because she hadn't been able to go the Sunday before. She had gone on her own. I was surprised and so happy because the father had been laying her on my heart and I had been lifting her up just the day before.
We went to the service and, as is my custom, I read the message text and journaled throughout the time. The Father faithfully met me and it was a refreshing 2 hours. Around 10:30, we ended and my friend eagerly asked if we would stay for the young adults group. I had balked at the idea before, wanting to 'be productive' and get things done on my afternoons. But I promised I would stay so Tannah, another friend and I stayed. They sang passionately to the Son, had another message and then gathered around a simple and beautiful meal provided by the older women in the fellowship. We had cabbage, pork and noodles over rice and sour veggies along with that. One of the women came in and told me " It is simple, but it is a gift from the Father."

As we ate, my friend and I began to talk about faith. She shared some issues she still has questions about and I got to clarify some of her questions by sharing again the most important story of all time. There is a desire there to combine the father above with the ideas of prosperity and good luck and you get a faith that doesn't change you but provides you with a bit of self-confidence. She was thinking of the faith in these terms. Oh that he would rip this idea away and replace it with his passionate love. Oh that He would take her and ravish her and that she would be completely flooded and ruined by his love and the depth and width and all that he has done in history and today.

What a privilege it was to talk to her about this truth. When we finished, I found Tannah had also talked truth with our other friend. It seems they are hungry and desiring to be fed and He strategically places us (even when we have bad attitudes) to use us despite ourselves. It is humbling.

Burning a bit of light

Nervously I print simple invitations- one for each class- with the main ideas of the party, My students are excited about the prospect of celebrating an 'American' Christmas.
Thursday comes with cleaning, cooking ginger snaps and a trip to the market for snacky food goodness. As an RA, I actracted people to events with free food. The bait hasn't changed and I am still fishing for college students :).

Thursday night Tannah and I decorate the living room with leftover decorations from teachers past. It looks tacky and perfect. The tinsel tree has a tendency to lean to the left, and the one string of net lights is half burnt out. But the combination is perfect and I know they will love it somehow.

Friday brings more cooking: Banana chocolate bread, and my teammates and I lifting the party up in my living room before they arrive. While I invited 2 whole classes, only 4 girls come. I am relieved, a little ashamed of my worry over the numbers. It is all in His hands.
They settle in and it is girls who have come to play games so they are right at home. They eat and talk, we play a game from my family Christmas party, and Tannah and Ashley come to hang out.
These sweet girls shared about Spring festival (new year's celebration) and we shared about Christmas.

With a smile, I announced that we wanted to share a family tradition with them. In the past, my family has made it our habit to attend a Christmas eve Candlelight service. I pulled out some candles, the story from Lk 2, and a song sheet for each girl. They were mystified and excited. One has been asking a lot of good questions and so she felt a bit like an insider.
We read the story, and at the end, turned off the light and lit our candles for Silent Night. Can I say it was amazing? It was. To see a picture so holy and their voices singing of that night when Love came down, there is nothing better. I want nothing more than to celebrate like this forever, sharing his truth and reveling in his grace and love.