Mandy

This story is from a couple weeks ago with my Sunday afternoon Bible study with Mandy and Sherry. Mandy is on the left and Sherry is on the right.

Sherry asked the question "What do Christians think about luck?"

I said Christians don't believe in luck. Or they shouldn't. They believe everything is God's plan. Whether it is good or bad. Some people might say that Bryant and I meeting was lucky; being in the right place at the right time. But I believe it was God's plan that we should meet each other.

Then Mandy asked if she could share a personal story. I said of course.

But before I tell you a story she told I should give you a little background. There are more than 55 people groups in China. Meaning they're all Chinese, but there of a different ethnic backgrounds. Their language, culture, customs festivals, and traditions all differ a little bit. There are two groups that seemingly always are having conflict. Xinjiang people and Han people. Xinjiang people are closer to Muslim culture than Chinese culture. Han Chinese people are the majority in China.

On to Mandy. She told us about how she was traveling to another city with her father. They were in the train station. Literally the next day there was a riot where Xinjiang people killed many Han. In that exact same train station at the exact same place that her and her father where the previous day. She also told Sherry and I that every time she travels she prays that Father would keep her safe. She went on to explain and express that she doesn't think it's just luck that they weren't killed. She doesn't think it's just luck that they were there the day before not the day of this riot. She is sure and confident that that was the Lord's providence that they were kept safe.

It is always fun and such a tremendous joy to see fellow sisters share their own life experiences with non-believers!

Keep praying for Sherry. When I asked her this week, "If there is a scale of 1 to 10. One is you don't believe there is a god. And Jesus wasn't real. Ten is you believe fully in the Bible. Where are you?"

She said, "Five. I think I am a five. I don't know what I think yet."

Linda and her heavy burden...Part Two

If you haven't read my previous post, Part One, you should.

Ok, picture it. August 2013. Linda calls and asks about my upcoming Bible class!!! I'm so glad she remembered, or Father reminded her. I told her the time, place and date. She said she could come the first couple weeks because she doesn't have class. She teaches freshmen and they start later in the semester. I was excited and told her I would meet her and we could walk together.

The first couple weeks we cover Creation, the Fall, freedom, The Law, etc. Some good ol' good Old Testament stuff. She loved the Creation story. 

"God must be so creative and so powerful to do all those things. But I still can't understand how there is light, but there is no sun. He is also very organized."

When we talk about the Fall, I pose the "What is freedom?" question. And "Are rules necessary?" "Can you have rules and freedom?"

"This is such a good question. It really makes me think and I think it makes your students think too. I always thought freedom is doing what I want. But there must be rules. If there is no rules, things will go crazy. Maybe society can not be under control. And God gave the man and woman one rule. It's very easy, but they didn't follow. Before I knew the whole story, I thought God is so cruel. But I can understand more. We must follow rules. We should follow rules. Or there will be chaos."

After a couple weeks, she couldn't come to class anymore. We met a couple times outside of class and talked more about the Bible. I also gave her one to borrow. She said she had been reading it and loved all the stories. They were very interesting.

Around November 2013, she told me she didn't want to be separated from her husband anymore. She was really upset about this. But he was unwilling to move back after graduating in May 2014. He wanted her to go there. But she knew the difficulties of moving and how hard their life would be. He didn't have a promise of a job after graduation. She also wasn't sure if she was going to be able to find a job. Many Chinese people say, "The competition is fierce." There are SO many people with much of the same certificates and qualifications. You have to be exceptional in order to stand out and be hired. She wasn't confident that she would be noticed in such a massive city. All these worried about her marriage, finances, her in-laws, her son and job weighed heavy on her. But she was pretty sure, even if she didn't want to go, her husband wasn't going to budge. She would more than likely be moving in summer of 2014.

I told her I would be praying for her and her family. I would be really sad if she would to go, but I understand. If I was married, I would most DEFINITELY not live in a different city. I told her to keep reading the Bible I gave since it gives her peace. And that she is more than welcome to take it with her. Join me in praying for her.

It's like Christmas!

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to hand out 50 Bible to my students. I teach 6 Oral English classes. But every once in a while, I get to teach a "Bible and Christanity" class. It took some convincing, but I finally got my supervisor to give me the okay to let students BORROW Bibles IF I could find some place to purchase them. He wasn't convinced I could find a place that had that many or that I had the funds to buy them. But the Lord always provides... So, some friends helped me ordered them online. The students were excited for their new books. And I prayed that unkind eyes would be sheilded from what I was doing. So, when I handed them out, it felt like Christmas to me. Giving them a great gift.

Ignorance is not bliss...

I bought a puppy yesterday. She is an English Bulldog. Her name is Edith. She's quiet fiesty. But I think that is the young puppy in her. I hope and have read on blogs and in books that puppies are all kind of rambuncious, but later calm down. Or at least some breeds. But that's not the point of this post. My friend Sarah went with me to the nearby city to buy her. I was telling her about the Cesar Millan "How to raise the perfect dog: from puppyhood and beyond." I told her about how the book tells people to have CALM-ASSERTIVE ENERGY. Dogs don't understand human language. So, when you say, "No," "Stop," or something to that effect, they just don't get it. A mother dog uses her attitude and energy to teach her young pups the do's and don'ts of life. So, we should to.

Several times in the book, he says you should NEVER hit a dog. He talked about how people's instinct or reaction is spanking a dog for bad behavior. But it's better to reward and praise good behavior. I told her about how I've seen people do most of the bad things Cesar says not to do in America. And I've seen people do them here in Asia. Sometimes, we just let the anger get the best of us. Or maybe the worst. I love Sarah so much. I can ask her any question and she doesn't tell me the cover-up answer to make her country look and sound better, but tells me the truth. And she's not offended when I make observations and helps me learn so much about how people think here. So, I asked her about hitting as discipline for children in Asia. She told me there is an old proverb about how if you don't hit your child, his faults are your responsibility. She explained that with boys especially this thought is strong. Don't get me wrong, if I ever become a parent, I think spanking will be on the list of disciplinary actions. BUT spanking is a scary possibility in the hands of broken people. There might be a language barrier, but the word Asians use to describe what their mother and father did when they were younger is "beat." Maybe there is no word for spanking. But it just breaks my heart to think of what happens behind closed doors. She told me it's very possible that most children in Asia are being beaten. In the West, I think we have come to understand spanking is not always the best option. There SHOULD be discipline, so I'm not saying let your kid run wild. But if that doesn't work, try something else. Sarah told me, that most Asian parents will just keep going with the same old thing because it's what they know. I don't care what you say or think, I truely believe that abuse will have an effect on who you are. Yes, I know you can make lemons into lemonade. But lemonade is sour and so tart sometimes...I wish they knew what kind of effect this has on their kids later in life. Sarah also told me about her friend who has a sister who is now a lesbian. The mother of these two girls beat them pretty badly when they were young. Sarah thought that the sister that chose the homosexual lifestyle chose it because she admired her father. Her father was a sweet, kind man. She desired to be like him. To be the protector in the relationship and she had no desire to be like her mother. I'm not saying this is true for every case. But I hope and pray, the people here will see that their actions have consequences...

Kathy

My sweet friend Kathy is kind of a heart breaker. To be honest, she's pretty cute and has quite a charming way about her. We've been meeting one-on-one for about a year and a half now. Her growth has been slow, but strong. Once her mind is made up, there's no changing it.

Her most recent dilemma is falling in love with someone who isn't a believer. This isn't the first time this has happened. She's spent a lot of one-on-one time with him and they talk pretty often. I warned her about this before because too much one-on-one time with a boy could lead to some confusing feelings for her and/or him.

She knew all the pros and cons of course. And most importantly, that she shouldn't date him because he wasn't a believer. We've discussed this topic of dating or not dating him for two weeks now.

Tonight, she told me the man was super persistent and she felt like she needed to either date him or cut all ties with him. I told her that was a good idea. I also told her I thought it would be a good idea to make a deadline. She said a week. So, I did a quick prayer for her while walking home.

FOUR HOURS LATER

She called to say she made her decision. I was a little worried about what she was about to say. BUT she told me that she made the decision to seperate herself for him! I was sooooooo excited! I know it's a hard decision to make when your feelings are all out of whack, but I was sooooo proud of her. I congratulated her and then she told me she felt like a "stone has been taken from my heart." She felt relaxed and happy about the decision.

Well done, Kathy, well done :)

Our Depravity

The other day, I was trying to read my Bible. I was really sleepy, but knew I had no other time in my day to do it, so I really tried to buckle down. However, right outside my window (or so it would seem) there was a little girl screaming her head off. I'm not even kidding. There were moments of silence when she would take a deep breath and then wail her little heart and lungs out. My lack of rest contributed significantly to the fact that this was annoying the heck out of me. I took several deep breaths and prayed. For peace. For quiet. It came.

FAST FORWARD ABOUT A WEEK:

This time I wasn't reading my Bible, but looking over material for a study. A girl about 5 years old was screaming, "Grandma!" at the top of her little lungs. Over and over and over she shouted. Crying for help. As I looked out my bedroom window, I saw the little girl with her purple back pack running back and forth, back and forth, back and forth across the small patch of grass. Searching. Straining her eyes for something to tell her someone was coming for her. This time I wasn't annoyed. I felt sad and sorry for the little girl. I was upset that the grandmother wasn't anywhere in sight. She was so fearful.



I couldn't help but think about my relationship with God. Is that what I am? I feel like a child often with Him. Without experience, without knowlegde, without patience, without wisdom, without courage. Is that what I do...? Scream. Yell. Search for help. Panic when I think I'm alone.

Stay Tuned for Part II

Food, Friends and Fun

My tutor and friend, Dawn, finally returned to the city. I was REALLY excited to hang out with her. I really love her. I prayed for a close and good national friend and she is just what I hoped for.

Anyways, she came over with another friend, Michelle. I have hung out with Michelle before and really like her. A new girl came along too, Fun. So, we cooked some wonderful food. Preparation and cooking was full of talking and good conversation. We ate and had a conversations full of laughter. Then, because Fun was the last one to be full she had to wash the dishes. So, I showed my photos of Korea to Dawn and Michelle. They loved them! I loved talking about my friends and telling them stories about each photo. Then I told them we should do some Korean face masks some time. They loved the idea.

I also taught them how to play Peanut Butter and Jelly (aka Kemps). They really loved it! It was great fun watching them play and try to be sneaky. These girls are just a little to giggly and smiley to be sneaky. But my partner and I lost. And with any game in this blessed country, there is a punishment. Ours was eating a packet of powder/mix to flavor your water. It didn't taste bad at first, but as it began to dissolve it got worse! After a little water, it wasn't too bad. Dawn made a really big deal about it though. But afterwards, it was really cute, she came and whispered in my ear, "It wasn't really that bad. I just wanted to scare them." How cute is she!

Anyways, I was really blessed by that time with them and their friendship. I keep praying for them. I'm still going to study with Dawn. Even though Michelle doesn't care much about spiritual things, she'll still hear it from Dawn. And Fun has done the study I'm doing with Dawn. And each week I tell Dawn to share what she has learned with someone. She chooses Fun. So, Father is really at work with all three of them.