Compelling.  An InterVarsity conference I've gone to for the past three years.  Each year I leave with convictions about ways that I want to strengthen my faith and make it more real and tangible in my life. My intentions were never followed by action following freshman year, never bore the desired fruit sophomore year, and this year...well let's just say I'm hoping that the saying "third times the charm" is applicable here!

This year I took the Conformed to His Likeness track.  It's all about spiritual disciplines and how to use them to exercise your faith.  I went into the track with little to no understanding about these disciplines, and was amazed by all that I learned!

For example, I didn't really know what the point of meditation was.  I thought that it was the act of trying to push literally EVERYTHING from your mind.  As a female and a type A personality, I knew this would be a losing battle before I began.  I also was never able to understand what the point of fasting was.  I thought people used it as a gimmick to get what they wanted.  Kind of like a "hey God, so I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but I haven't eaten for a few days, and I was wondering if you could please pay extra special attention to what I'm asking for....because, you know, I'm not eating for you!"  That just never sat well with me, and now I know that my perception of fasting couldn't have been further from the truth.

Before we left Compelling, we were given the opportunity to participate in the "Big Challenge", which is a year long application of the 12 spiritual disciplines that we studied at the conference.  Each month is dedicated to one of the 12 disciplines: meditation, prayer, fasting, study, confession, worship, guidance, celebration, simplicity, solitude, submission, and service.  I decided that even though it will be difficult and I'm sure I will miss days along the way, I want to do it.  I want to grow in my faith, and I want to start now.  It's long overdue.

Because I don't want to catch myself trying do this challenge in my own strength, I've decided to start with the discipline of prayer.  I want to focus on God right from the start, and make sure that I'm depending on Him for strength, motivation, and direction over the course of this challenge.  I'm not sure exactly how I will be practicing this discipline beyond just...praying, so studying up on it will be the first step.

I will most likely post at the end of each month and talk about which discipline I did, what I experienced (challenges and triumphs), and how I observed God working over the course of that discipline.  Please pray for me when you think of it.  I know that I will need all the prayer power I can get over the course of this challenge!

So, here we are—November 11, 2013—day one of the Big Challenge.  Here I go :)

Rebekah

Jesus, please guide me as I start this challenge.  Please prepare me to learn more about you, and meet with me daily as I learn how to glorify you in the way that I practice my faith.  Thank you for the opportunity, and thank you for those who have committed to keeping me encouraged and accountable along the way.  Thank you for loving me and wanting to meet with me.  Amen.

Conclusions and Lessons Learned

 All right everyone, thanks for hanging in there with me as I haphazardly conveyed some of my China adventures!  I’ll never forget the people I met, the things I saw, or the things I learned.  It wouldn’t have been possible for me to go to China and experience these things were it not for those of you who supported me both financially and prayerfully.  I learned so much from my time in China, and I know that it has changed the way I look at our work as ambassadors forever. 

Perhaps the lesson that struck a chord hardest with me is what Dad showed me about being a laborer in his vineyard.  He taught me that he is always at work, sometimes in the places and ways that I least expect, and that he offers me the chance to join in with the work he is doing. He showed me that part of my job is to be intentional about watching for the opportunities that he creates and to be ready to act when those opportunities present themselves. 

I went into this summer wrongfully assuming that *I would be responsible for reaching people with the message.  I thought that Dad had been at work to get me there and that the rest was up to me.  Perhaps I thought that this was how I would repay Him for his faithfulness, by “proving” to him that I could be effective and successful in doing his work.  I see now how completely wrong and prideful my assumption was.  In this, my last blog post about China, I want to share with you one particular instance in which Dad proved himself to be faithful not only to me, but also to our family in China.  (I’m going to be using a lot of jargon in this entry because I don’t want to get anyone in trouble by what I write here.)

The lesson that I want to share with you revolves around my friendship with “Tina”, a sophomore studying at the University we were at.  We met after one of our events when we randomly began chatting, of all things, about American food.  Pizza was a favorite for both of us. :)  I didn’t think much about our conversation at the time, I had no idea that Dad had been dramatically working in her heart, filling her with questions about him and revealing to her the beauty of his unconditional love. 

A day or two after we met, I got a text from Tina asking if I wanted to join her for lunch that day.  She said that she knew a place that sold American style pizza, and she wanted to ask me some questions about college life in America.  It sounded like fun, and I didn’t have any plans yet, so I agreed to meet with her.  We had a great time chatting together, so we started hanging out more and became fast friends. Needless to say, I was pretty excited, and began wondering what Dad had planned for our friendship.

 Not long after this, Tina and I were at lunch again, and she randomly (and quite bluntly) asked me if I talked to Dad every time before I ate.  I told her that I did, and she was surprised.  (We weren’t allowed to initiate any conversations like this, but our leaders had been teaching us how to intentionally guide conversations in this direction and trust that Dad would open the necessary doors, allowing us to witness.)   Because she was initiating the conversation, I got to share with her why I did this and why it was important to me.  JC tells us not to worry about what to say when the time comes because he will tell us what to say.  He certainly did that in this situation! 

After we had talked about this for a while, I asked Tina if I could talk to Dad (yarp) over our food the next time we ate together, and she said yes!  Encouraged by her openness, I then asked her if she would like to come back to my room and look at my Book for a while.  Again, she said yes! Slowly but surely, Dad was letting me join in with the work that he had started in Tina’s heart.  I realized that he had likely begun this work before I had even heard about this trip.  It was very humbling to realize this, but it was also exciting!

We went back to my room and looked at my favorite passage in Isaiah, and Tina seemed to enjoy it very much.  I think that Dad was preparing me though, because somehow I knew that she would not be quite so open the next time we met up.  This proved to be true because the next time we ate together, when I asked if I could yarp over our food, Tina said no.  Additionally we only chatted about surface level things that day.  I was slightly disappointed, but I knew that Dad wasn’t finished yet.

My team and I continued to yarp for Tina, and the next time we went out to lunch things gained momentum so quickly that I was lucky to keep up with where Dad was leading us!  Here’s an excerpt from my journal from June 26:

I got to meet with Tina for lunch today, and guess what, she straight up asked me to yarp for our food!  She was surprised that my yarp was so simple haha she said she was expecting it to be a lot more long and formal.  After this, she asked if we would have time before our afternoon event to go back to my room and look at my Book!  I swear it’s just what JC meant when he said that one sows and the other harvests, one does the hard work and the other reaps the fruit of that work.  I have only had to be available for Tina, she is so close to becoming family, and I can take no credit whatsoever!  Someone has been telling her about Dad long before I got here, and now I get to help bring her even closer.  I absolutely love that and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  :)

I don’t know exactly how, but when we opened my Book later, we ended up in the book of Judges.  We were reading about Deborah, and I think it was significant because it talked a lot about Dad being loving and forgiving and giving his people second chances, even when they messed up horribly.  We connected it to how Dad gives us second chances today no matter how badly we mess up.  I remember flipping to other passages in the Book that talk about these things, and Tina asked me if I knew everything about the Book.  Haha I could only laugh and tell her that I still have a lot to learn.  I told her that Dad often uses the same passages to speak different things to us, even if we’ve read that particular passage hundreds of times.  I told her that because of this we can never learn absolutely everything about the Book.  She sat pondering that for a moment, and I asked her what she was thinking about.  She told me that she was close to wanting JC, but she still had some questions.  I told her that I and the other members of the team would love to answer any questions that she had. 

We left for our Open House soon after that, and she asked some of my leaders questions afterwards!  Omg I really want to see her become part of our family!! We’ve been yarping for her and I honestly think that’s all we can do now. 

***

I ended up talking to Tina several more times after I wrote this journal entry.  I asked her at one point if she wanted to yarp and ask JC to come into her heart, and she said that she did want to do that just not yet.  She said she wanted to go home and talk to her mom about everything she had learned before she made that commitment.  At first I felt worried that something would happen before she made the decision to yarp, but Dad reminded me that he loved her so much more than I ever could and that he was more then capable of protecting her until his perfect time came.  I’ve learned that it’s usually a good idea to trust Dad about things like this haha I’ve been yarping that Dad would protect her and give her a sense of urgency and continue to beckon her with his love.  (You can yarp about this too!)  So far I haven’t heard anything else about Tina, but I trust that Dad is still faithfully working in her heart and in her life.  After all, “He who begins a good work… will continue it on until completion,” right? :D

Throughout my time with Tina, I learned that it is Dad (not me!) who does absolutely all the work in saving people.  All he asks me to do is intentionally look for opportunities that he is orchestrating, and be available to join in the work that he is doing.  I was humbled time and again through my interactions with Tina that I literally did nothing besides show up.  She had initiated our first meeting.  She had asked me about my yarp habits. She had asked to come to my room and see my Book, and she asked me to tell her stories about JC both from the Good Book and also from my own life.  Tina initiated everything with me, while Dad was initiating everything with Tina.  I was merely yarping endlessly in my head (and out loud when the opportunity presented itself) and holding on for dear life as Dad and Tina took me on the most exciting and rewarding ride of my life.  I had merely been available.  See, Dad had provided me with the opportunity to go to China, and also with the opportunities for Tina and I to get to know each other.  Additionally, He provided me with direction as I floundered for answers for Tina’s questions.  He did everything, and *that’s what he taught me this summer.

The fun part is that I now get to take what I learned abroad and apply it to my campus!  Strange as it may sound, I had never really considered the possibility that there might be Tina’s at Hope College.  I thought that everyone there had heard about JC and had already decided where they stood.  I thought that I could encourage those who said yes, but that it was my job to respect the decisions of those who had chosen to opt out.  I now see that while I do need to be respectful of their choice, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have the responsibility to be intentional in building relationships with them. Dad is working in their hearts just as he was working in Tina’s, and they are likely just as hungry to hear about him as she was.  Just like in China, Dad is already doing all the hard work.  All he is asking me to do is be ready to join in.

Matthew 28:18-20

Then JC came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the HS, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Now that, my friends, is loving for real :D Thanks for supporting me this summer so I could learn this lesson—the true message behind the Great Commission. Don’t forget that our Father has also called you to be a part of his work!  Don’t worry though; you’ll never be working alone!  He’s the kind of boss that likes to be right in the middle of all the nitty gritty stuff, so like he said, he will be with you always. Hopefully you won’t need to go all the way to China to learn this lesson like I did :)

Be blessed, and go make disciples!

Rebekah

Much Ado About Nothing

 Adapted from my journal, June 24, 2013

Just got back from the morning market with Aki’a, Grace, Zach, Rebecca, and TaylorAnn!  I love the market so much.  Let me paint a picture of it for you:

It’s early morning, and you’re walking down the street toward the market, when you begin to hear the low hum of many conversations occurring simultaneously.  The humming grows louder as you draw nearer.  You hear several sharp, high voices cut through the general murmur, and you realize that these voices are calling out prices and wares in a language you vaguely understand, but don’t connect immediately in your brain.  You round a corner, and see rows and rows of people, carts, animals, and cars trying to navigate a single street.  Beyond the fruit and vegetable vendors, you see dead animals being chopped up and sold by the leg, pound, ounce, whatever.  Your surprised eyes take in the chaos that continues far down the street, and you begin to feel overwhelmed.  Slowly, you notice that the longer you stare at the scene in front of you, the more your brain is able to process it.  You observe that the vendors line both sides of the street and form a line down the middle.  If you tilt your head and cross your eyes a little bit, you see that it resembles two aisles in the grocery store, only with people and carts instead of shelves dividing the food.  The people calling out are the signs that inform the shopper what they are selling and how much it will cost per pound.  The animals that are weaving in and out of the shoppers and vendors are like the small children that want to sample everything and take it home with them—even though they are repeatedly told to stop asking for a taste of everything you pass.  The meat being chopped up is the butcher along the side aisle.  You realize that the drone of conversation is nothing more than the sound of shoppers discussing amongst themselves which recipe this ingredient will complete, how that fruit will serve as the perfect snack for their kids when they come home from school, and what from their list they still need to purchase before their weeks shopping is completed.   Yes, the morning market is just another day at the grocery store.  Can you see why I love it?  It reminds me of home :) 

Being at the morning market just makes me feel like I know what I’m doing in this country.  Ironically, it also shows me just how much I still have to learn about the language and culture of China!  It seems that the more I learn, the more I have TO learn haha, but I guess if it got easier I would get bored.  One way that the morning market is different from a grocery store in the States is that once you buy something from one vendor, you can eat it while you walk to the next vendor.  Just like at the farmers market.  I bought some yak yogurt (yeah… basically everything that we would get from a cow, they get from a yak! It’s basically the same, but I don’t think the consistency of yak milk is as smooth as the consistency of cows milk.  This made the yak yogurt have a kind of… cheesy aftertaste, but it was still delicious.) from a lady in the middle of the street.  It was pretty tasty, although scraping butter off the top of my yogurt was a new experience.  I also bought a crunchy-crepe-egg-wrap thing from a vendor.  IT’S SO GOOD! And guess what they call it here??  A Chinese burger! Haha I love it. 

I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get back to America and there aren’t any street vendors anymore.  The best I can hope to do is find a hotdog stand, but it just doesn’t compare.  I wish street vendors didn’t break nearly every health code regulation in the book.  Maybe then they’d stand a chance at home!

(end of journal entry)

It’s a good thing that the food in China is so delicious.  Without it, I doubt that I would have been quite so energetic while climbing all these mountains!  So far, my team has climbed three mountains.  Two were just outside the city, and one was at Qing Hai Lake. 

RABBIT TRAIL!!!

Ok, so funny story.  My Chinese prof here at the University was teaching us about Qing Hai Lake. She was telling us how it was the largest fresh water lake in China, how the province was named after the lake, and how it was so far above sea level… lots of stuff right? So then she just stops and looks at us.  She tells us that the pronunciation of “lake” in Chinese is “hu” (sounds like an owl: hoo hoo).  Then she says, “knock knock!” we respond “Who’s there!” “Qing Hai” “Qing Hai who?”  Before the “who?” is even out of our mouths, we realize what she’s done, and we all begin to laugh uncontrollably!  I’m not usually a huge fan of puns, but when you understand them in another language, it just adds something special, you know?? Hahaha I still smile and/or laugh when I think of that knock knock joke.  It has become my favorite :D

End of rabbit trail :)

The mountains that we’ve climbed so far have been absolutely breathtaking (in more ways then one)!  They never look especially steep from the ground, but once you start climbing, you’re out of breath in just a few minutes!  It could have something to do with the high elevation, but I like to think that I’d be winded climbing up a mountain in the States as well!  Especially when you consider that Rebecca, Zach, and I literally sprinted up the side of the mountain!  Well, technically I only sprinted for like half of it because I felt like I was going to pass out and die.  I really didn’t feel like plunging over the side of the mountain because I, you know, kicked a poorly placed bucket or something.  In that moment on the mountain, the only thought going through my head was something along the lines of, “I (gasp, wheeze pant) am DYING! I (suck in air) refuse to die on a mountain!  I’m (heroic effort to breathe deeply) going to walk starting…..NOW!”  Haha aren’t I a champion? ;)

No matter how often I walked though, I always made it to the top, and I never once regretted my decision to continue the trek.  Seriously, when you climb up that high, you can’t help but marvel at God’s creation!  I mean, my God created those mountains.  He spoke them into being.  He walks on them.  He is SO MUCH MORE majestic than the most awe-inspiring mountain on Earth.  And what’s more, He’s bigger than them. All.  Put together.  I mean, for goodness sake, if He “holds the whole world in his hands” than those are some seriously huge hands!  Yet, He also made me.  He knit me together in my mothers womb.  My God creates details in big things, and details in small things.  He sees the big picture, as well as the thoughts and desires of my heart.  MY heart, one among billions currently beating.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, my God is a beast.  He’s the most awesome, most amazing, most mind-boggling…..thing EVER! He’s freaking GOD! Seriously, how does that ever cease to blow my mind??  Whew, when he tells me not to worry about tomorrow, I should seriously listen.  He doesn’t mess around!  And if he can create everything so perfectly, and so intricately, and so beautifully, I’m ridiculous for being reluctant to give everything to him. 

I love that God is showing me this right now, because this past week I’ve been so frustrated by trying to figure out what specific career I want to pursue when there are SO MANY different options.  I have no idea how I’m supposed to narrow it down or make wise decisions, however, as I just stated many times, God is totally in control.  He’s always been in control, and he always will be in control.  He has plans for me, and because I want what he wants for my life, I don’t have to worry.  His plans have a knack for becoming reality… in his time.  That’s as frustrating as heck sometimes, but at least it takes some of the pressure off.  God’s got me.  As long as I keep seeking him and diligently research how the desires he put in my heart line up to a career and what it will take to get into that career, I don’t have to worry.  So you know what, I won’t worry.  Life is smooth sailing when God is your captain. 

You know, I love sailing.  I’ve never steered a ship, but it’s so relaxing to just sit and enjoy the waves, the salt air, the wind, and the sun…  Similarly, God is inviting me to relax as he shows me bit by bit the life that he is preparing me for and directing me towards.

Aren’t you guys so glad that I have a blog so you can see how my thought processes work?  I mean, life just wouldn’t be as fulfilling for you if you didn’t understand how I could go from talking about climbing mountains to sailing a ship with a pit stop in trusting God with my future!  haha jk, but seriously, you’re welcome ;)

Rebekah

Let The Shenanigans Begin :)

On June 1, we made it to Xining.  We were all so excited, in part because we knew we were about to meet our new friends and begin building intentional relationships with them, but also because we had just spent 23 hours on the train from Beijing and we were SO READY to get up and move around!  All things considered, the train ride was actually pretty fun.  We were in a sleeper car, so were able to walk around a little bit, and we could lay down to sleep at night.  We spent a lot to time on the train playing card games, especially Euchre!  Even though I’ve been living in Michigan for two years, I had not yet learned how to play this famous-only-in-the-Midwest game.  It’s kind of funny that I had to go all the way to China to learn it, but better late then never right??? ;)

The train ride also gave us plenty of time to reflect on everything we had learned during our orientation in Beijing and prepare ourselves to enter into the work that our Father was already doing in Xining.  That was one of the most significant lessons that I learned during our time in China: Dad is ALREADY at work!  He doesn’t start when we show up and end when we leave.  He works on his own time, and he invites us to join in for brief moments of time.  I mean, I knew that it wasn’t all about me, but now I will never again be tempted to think that His work is even slightly contingent on my presence in the situation!  Seriously, all Dad all the time guys.  This is the real deal!

Our group was doing a language and culture exchange at one of the universities in Xining, so we lived on campus and did tons of outreach events with the students there.  We got to host “English corners” where we talked (obviously in English) about the similarities and differences between American and Chinese cultures and the nuances of the English language.  We also got to host movie nights, dance parties, game nights, and other discussion groups.  I was constantly amazed by how well a lot of the students spoke English!  I wasn’t expecting the language barrier to be a huge problem, however I hadn’t realized that most of the students we interacted with on a regular basis would have been studying English for 12+ years!!  Can you imagine?  I thought it was cool that I’d been studying Chinese for 2 years….  I guess I’ve lost the right to complain about my “slow” progress.  I’ve got at least 10 more years to go!  This certainly gave me a new perspective on things.

We were able to invite the students that we met at our campus events to hang out at meals or come with us on off campus field trips.  It was rare for us to pass an entire day without spending time with multiple students, and it wasn’t long until we began to develop significant trust with our new friends. 

WARNING: rabbit trail to follow.

I loved going out for noodles with my friends, and—get this—I even began to be functional with my chopsticks!  I’m really not that impressive, but I learned how to eat noodles and only splash a *teeny-tiny bit on myself : ) I always considered it to be an exceptionally good day if I survived a meal without staining the life out of shirt.  (It was super unfortunate whenever I did stain my shirts though, because we were washing all of our clothes by hand while we were in China and I learned very quickly that it is NOT fun to scrub a shirt with a bar of soap for several minutes just to shrink down the size of a sauce splash.  I have a lot more respect for pioneers now than I did a few weeks ago!)  At one point on our trip, my friends literally cheered *every time I snagged a piece of food with my chopsticks.  I honestly didn’t think I was that bad, but after 10 minutes or so of my chopstick use being the sole focus at the table, I was convinced that my friends only loved me because I was such a reliable source of entertainment for them ;) 

End of rabbit trail.

Here’s an excerpt from my journal after our field trip to one of the post-graduate schools in the area on June 14:

After our classes today, since I didn’t have any lunch plans (SHOCKER I know!), I decided to go for a walk in the Culture Park.  It was a bit of an adventure just getting there, thankfully I only got *mildly lost once. (: My mom told me that the only thing she wanted me to bring her from China was pictures, so I took my camera and took TONS of pictures of the gorgeous gardens, story walls, and statues.  I think she will be pleased! 

In the afternoon, we all went to one of the other schools in the area and taught the students how to play baseball.  Anyone who knows me knows that I can’t play baseball, you know, worth beans, but it was so much fun to show them how to throw and catch the ball!!  (Thankfully, I was not in the group teaching the students how to hit the ball… I don’t even want to think about how disastrous that have been!)  They really enjoyed it, and I loved watching their new skills come together to make a really fun game! 

Once we were done playing our baseball game, we got to go have dinner with our new friends.  They treated us to a banquet!  I was eating with four students, and they ordered EIGHT dishes for us to share!  I don’t think we managed to eat much more than half of the food.  I seriously don’t know how people manage to generally lose weight during their time in China.  Everyone that I have met has been SUPER hospitable, and they hardly let me stop eating!

I was sitting across for this guy named Stone, and his English was phenomenal!  When he found our that I was from San Antonio (and that I love the Spurs) he looked up the score from their last game for me and showed me that they—of course, beat the Heat! Haha I think my new friends were amused when I fist bumped in the middle of the restaurant (:     

****

Long story short, I met some awesome and totally fun people while I was in China!  I have a TON more to tell you about, but it’s getting late, and I have to be all sunny for VBS tomorrow morning.  My sisters and I get to do the skits at the beginning of each day AND I’M PUMPED!  Our rehearsal was a tad rough this morning, but they got progressively better and I think we’ll be able to do a great job for the kids tomorrow!  Wish us luck :D 

Tune in next time and I’ll tell you all about braving the morning market and climbing mountains!

Much love,

Rebekah

Here are some of the pictures that I took for my mom while I was at the Culture Park on June 14 before we went to teach the post-grad students how to play baseball :)  BTW, she totally loved them!

This was the GORGEOUS fountain that was on campus with us!  I loved walking passed it every day :D

See why??

Here's the first view of the Culture Park!  Their landscaping was beautiful (as you can see)

It took me a long time to figure out why they painted their trees.  Apparently it's because the bugs won't eat through the paint!  You're welcome for that little bit of useless trivia ;)

*sigh* :) my happy place

First Impressions

All right, because it has been about two months since I left for China, I think it’s clear that internet in China wasn’t *quite as readily available as I had hoped it would be.  Let’s just say that the internet cafés were dark and smoky (even though there was a “no smoking” sign on the wall.  I knew because it had a red cross over a cigarette.  Come on people, you don’t even need to be able to read in order to see that there’s not supposed to be smoking!), and absolutely FILLED with people playing League of Legends.  Obviously high speed internet was not in short supply—unless of course you were trying to log onto an English website for email.  Anyway, long story short(er), I couldn’t get the blogs typed up and sent to my mom throughout my time in China, so you’ll get them all now!  It’s not so bad though, instead of having to wait a week or more for the next update on my China adventures, you only have to wait a day or two!! SCORE! Haha I hope it turns out to be worth the wait :)

Special shout out to all my donors: YOU GUYS ROCK!  I learned so much from God while I was in China, and I can honestly say that I came back changed, with absolutely no intention of going back to the way I was “living out my faith” before.  God showed me how to be real and available for the work he wants to do—the work he’s ALREADY doing, and now I have a little experience with jumping into that…usually without a clue how it will play out, but having faith that God knows what he’s doing and is more than capable of using my blunders for his glory and our good.  He is able, and his power is all sufficient!  So, thank you so much for choosing to be a part of God’s vision for me and for his children in China.  Your financial gifts and your prayers allowed me to experience God this summer and like I said before, it was positively life changing.  I’m so excited to share what I have learned with you!  So you guys especially, keep reading :D

I kept a journal while I was in China, just like Bekah did when she went to China six years ago. (Who knows, maybe it will have the same effect on you guys and some of you will be inspired to go to China in the future!)  The first entry is from May 28.

                                                                ************

I love being in Beijing!  It still hasn’t sunk in that I’m in China right now—even though my roommate Rebecca and I have Chinese cartoons playing for background noise…. Something about a submarine and a seal.  J It’s pretty cool because I can read the characters at the bottom of the screen, but they go by so quickly that most of the meaning is totally lost on me!  It’s cool to know that my vocabulary is roughly at the same level as first or second grader.  I mean, they’ve been learning the language for about 8 years at this point, and I’ve only been studying for two years!  When you look at it like that it’s totally exciting!  Haha

Exciting as it is to be able to decipher cartoons, it’s even more “thrilling” to walk out the door and know that any conversations I have with people will be in Chinese.  Rebecca, Kerrianne, and I went out to the fruit vendor to buy breakfast today, and I have to laugh at myself when I remember how proud I was when I successfully asked the vendor how much the apples were “苹果多小钱？” Haha I left with three large apples, and an equally large smile on my face.  I think that was the moment when I felt confident that I could thrive in this context. 

However, there is one context that I don’t think I’ll ever exactly “thrive” in.  Two words: public transportation.  There’s a really good reason why I’m not familiar with bus and subway systems in the States.  Basically, I’m absolutely TERRIBLE when it comes to directions!  I can get lost anywhere.  Seriously.  I once got “lost” in an elevator…. Ask my sisters about that one, they’ll never let it go.  ;)

Even so, I really enjoy taking public transportation in China!  Besides the fact that I feel more like a sardine than a human, I think it’s really interesting to watch everyone just grin and bare it.  There is absolutely no such thing as “bubble space” here in China, so people just cram on it!  I think it’s fabulous.  Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely times where I just want to stand in my own space…without six other people in that same space with me, but there’s something about seeing humanity so up close and personal, so real, you know?  It’s humbling to see how many people there are and contemplate how God knows each and every one of us intimately.  He loves us and doesn’t freak out at all the people vying for his attention at any given moment.  In fact, he is actively pursuing each of us!  Whew, I’ve got to give mad props to God for that.  I know that I get so stressed out when I feel like there’s an endless list of people who need me for this or for that.  Bottom line: God is awesome, and he lavishes us with his attention :) Doesn’t that make you feel so special and loved?!!!

All that to say that I’ve really enjoyed taking the subway all over Beijing!  It also helps that we’ve gotten to see some pretty amazing places.  We did this scavenger hunt all over the city, so we got to see the Beijing Olympic Stadium, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and Tiananmen Square. It was cool to see in person all the places that I'm used to either reading about in books or seeing on TV.  Additionally, going anywhere where you stand out so dramatically is quite the experience!  People were always wanting to take pictures with us, and I was like, you guys are nuts.  But hey, yolo right?  

My favorite part of sightseeing wasn't taking cool pictures, or even getting to be IN those cool pictures.  My favorite part was interacting with the people who lived there and were going about their daily lives.  They were so cool!  For example, at the Temple of Heaven there were a lot of people who just spent the day there like we would spend a day at a park or something.  They were playing cards, board games, hacky sac, ect.  Hacky sac was my personal favorite!  The people playing weren't teenagers or young adults; they were retired men and women!  They were so agile!  It was cool, I mean, I couldn't kick my leg that high if my life depended on it, but these old ladies were kicking behind them, in front of them, and even running and sliding (slightly) to kick the hacky sac!  My mind was blown.  Kerrianne, Zach and I were watching them play while we waited for the rest of our group to join us and after a while, the women decided to get Zach in the game with them.  It was awesome!  Haha Zach totally held his own, but the women were just a tad better.  I mean seriously, they were fearless!   Meeting the people in China was most definitely the coolest part about being there.

Life in China isn't all fun and games though (if anyone had that assumption for some reason).  Among other things, there’s this crazy contrast everywhere between the rich and the poor.  It’s like, walk down one street and see glamorous people shopping at huge stores advertising “low” prices, but then walk down another street a few blocks over and you’re confronted with devastating poverty.  People with crippled or absent limbs stretch out their bodies so that people passing by see them and have pity on them and give them spare change.  

At first, I was shocked by how people walked by without seeming to see those in need.  I just wanted to hug the people and tell them about how much God loves them, except I couldn’t speak their language.  I only mourned this for about two seconds before I was confronted with the fact that this division between the rich and the poor exists in America as well, and I am one of the people who has been conditioned to simply walk on by.  I think “Oh, well I volunteer at a rescue mission several times a week, so it’s ok.”  But you know, Jesus didn’t say, “I ate with the tax collectors yesterday, so I’m just going to keep walking today.”  The Bible says over and over that He had compassion for them.  So I know there are little things I can do to show that love to people who are in need here in the States. 

As you can see, I’m already being convicted here in China.  This will be a long, but very rich six weeks for me and for my walk with God.  I’m ready!  At least, I’m ready to try :)

More later,

Rebekah

               Me and my suitcase ready to board the flight to Pittsburg to meet the rest of the group!

 You know the Water Cube where Michael Phelps won all of his gold medals?? Kerrianne and I were feeling stronger by just standing outside that place!

                   Playing hacky sac with the locals??  Yeah, this was the coolest scavenger hunt ever!

                               Our team at the Forbidden City!  We're a pretty special group ;)

         Last but not least, here's Zach wowing the ladies with his awesome hacky sac playing abilities ;)

The Rooster Has Hatched!

So here I am, 4am on Friday morning, sitting in the terminal in San Antonio waiting for my next adventure to begin!  I’m sure my excitement is evident to the people sitting around me, however that probably has something to do with my bouncing and jamming to Group 1 Crew…

It won’t be long before I’m sitting in China!  I wonder if I’ll still be jamming to my happy beat when I am.  This trip has been a long time coming, so I imagine that I will be!  China has been on my mind for years now, so even though I’ve never been there, I have a lot of happy memories associated with it.

I remember my sister telling me that Giant Pandas were endangered when I was about 6.  I indignantly declared that they would never become extinct because they were my favorite animal—and so they have been ever since.  This was the beginning of my dreams regarding China.

When I was about 14, my best friend (Bekah, with whom I went on my Amtrak road trip) went to China for vacation.  She kept a journal while she was there, and let me read it when she got home.  I was fascinated by her descriptions of the places she visited and the food that she ate. (While some of that was just horrifying!  I still remember how she saw a monkeys head sliced open in a restaurant so people could eat its brains…. Hopefully that is not an “honor” that will be extended to me!)  From this point on, I knew for sure that China would play some part in my future.  I didn’t know exactly how, but I knew that someday I would get there and see those things for myself.

When I started college a few years ago, I began taking Chinese classes so that I would be ready if and when the opportunity to visit China should arise.  I’ve studied Chinese for the past two years, and I can confidently order vegetarian dumplings and tea… haha I can’t wait to see what I’ll be ordering at the end of six weeks!!!

I know that my Chinese will improve simply by being immersed in the language and culture.  I’ll be thinking about it all the time, and not just two or three times a week.  My group and I are enrolled in a Chinese University where we will be taking intensive Chinese classes and giving informal English lessons to some of the Chinese students.  (EEPS! Perhaps I’ve finally discovered something more daunting than a squatty potty!)

This is such an incredible opportunity though!  Scary as it is, I know I’m going to learn so much.

That’s about all I have for right now, but the plan is hatched, stuff is going down, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it :D

 Rebekah

Deep Breath annnnnnd Plunge!!!

Last summer I went on the most amazing “road trip” with my best friend Bekah.  It was 30 days of just me, Beks, Amtrak, the western United States, and our 5,000 pounds of luggage.   Bekah and I had so many adventures!  Snorkeling in California, surfing in Oregon, riding a Harley in Washington, and staying with some rather sketchy folks in Montana…  I got to take my first bus ride, and walk for miles and miles when the bus route didn’t line up with where we were going.  I had the chance to step outside my comfort zone and live life to the fullest. Along the way, I learned so much about serving people and loving them where they were at.  It was one of the biggest adventures of my life, and if you had told me then that I would have the opportunity to have another crazy and life changing adventure this year, I would have raised my eyebrows, laughed, and said bring it on. 

I’m still laughing, and I’m just as ready for whatever the summer can throw at me, however my raised eyebrows give away how unusual I find the particular Asia-style challenges that I will be faced with in the coming weeks!  That’s right, the gloves are off and I’m going to be navigating the TOTALLY UNKNOWN challenges of communicating in a language I can barely order a salad in, public transportation with Black Friday type crowds all day everyday, and—most terrifying of all—the infamous squatty potty.  Yeah, let me just let that last one sink in for a moment. Squatty.  Potty.  Like you squat to use them.  *Shudder*

Have I mentioned that I’m a girly girl??? 

However, if I’m (moderately) undaunted by the thought of navigating across language barriers and employing my weed-whacker-like elbows to get me through droves of people, then certainly I can adapt to the squatty potty…right??

This, among other things, will force me to come face-to-face with the outer limits of my comfort zone as I adapt to the vast, unknown land of China.  I’ll get to see life through the eyes of citizens of one of the most ancient countries in the world.  I’ll have the opportunity to eat what they eat, sleep where they sleep, and live how they live.  For six glorious weeks, I will be encouraged everyday to throw off the boundaries of my western lifestyle and embrace the terrifying and captivating way of life in China. 

As David says in the Psalms, “The Lord is my light and my salvation…of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1-3).  God is living and active among the Chinese, and I have the opportunity to witness his provision and love as it is received in a culture that is the polar opposite of my own.  No matter what situation I find myself in, I can rest in the knowledge that God is in control, and he has a plan for me and for this trip. 

Through the culture shock, friendships, and thrilling new experiences, I expect to see evidence of God working in each situation.  I anticipate Him stretching, challenging, and transforming me more into his likeness through my experiences in China.  I want to come back renewed in Christ and ready to take on new challenges for his name in the US.  I know that God is going to do amazing things, and I’m so excited that I get to be along for the ride! 

As always, I appreciate your prayers as I embark on this adventure.  I also want to thank each one of you who donated financially to make it possible for me to have this experience!  I honestly couldn’t have done it without you, and I can’t wait to share my adventures with you through this blog :D  I intend to post as often as I can, however I will not have my laptop in China so will instead be relying on the Internet cafés that are available there.

As the Chinese say, 再见 zai jin! (until next time),

Rebekah