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 (:     

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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 ;)