A New Beginning. (一个新的开始)

This post happily comes to you from my cornfield hometown in northern Illinois... a day before I leave it again for ten months! I've been home for two very busy and quick months but will be heading back to China for Year #2 tomorrow afternoon.

This decision didn't happen easily, and my heart has definitely struggled with the commitment all summer. You see, this last year in Yinchuan was a truly unbelievable year -- but for many different reasons, it wasn't necessarily the happiest year for me. Thrown into the deep end of a very foreign, traditional, and -- compared to most of China -- rather underdeveloped city, I really struggled with finding a sense of peace. Most days I felt alone, uncomfortable, and psychologically torn. I chose this path out of confidence in m¡ss¡on and in fa¡th; why, then, was my heart often filled with such melancholy?

I was no fool; I knew that my year would be hard, I just didn't know how it would be hard. I wasn't prepared for the how. But it's not about the how -- it's about the why. It's about bringing the hope and light of our Father into the lives of those who have been living in darkness. It's about using this time on earth to make the biggest possible guest list for our glorious family reunion in Hea¥en one day. It was that why that kept me going last year, and it was HIS strength that helped me to persevere.

I recently read a Paul Tripp devot¡on recently where he talked about how we can keep confidence in times of fear and doubt. He said the following:

Your fa¡th must not be tied to your daily circumstances, but to the Loπd, whose eternal presence, promises, and provisions are never altered by daily circumstances. Living by fa¡th means that no matter what happens, you have reason to continue. G0d is still the same. His commands are still valid. His promises are still true. His provision is still abundant. His presence has never left.

Those days when I felt like a lonely outcast because of my face, felt threatened by my then roommate's choice of questionable houseguests, felt disrespected because I am a single woman, or felt sickened by the worms coming out of my bathroom floor (seriously), I knew that I could find comfort and strength in my Loπd. My challenges and situations change every day, but my gracious and loving G0d does not change.

It is this certainty that gives me the courage to try, try again.

Tomorrow begins my journey to the "city of eternal spring": Kunm¡ng, China. It is the capital of Yunnan Province (the southernmost province in China), and a popular tourist location in China for its lovely climate and flowers that bloom all year long. "With a history of more than 2,400 years, it was the gateway to the celebrated Silk Road that facilitated trade with Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar, India and beyond. Today it is the provincial political, economical and cultural center of Yunnan as well as the most popular tourist destination in southwest China" (ChinaTravelGuide).

Instead of being way up north in the small, desert city of Y¡nchuan, this year I will be way down south in the beautiful, larger, ethnically diverse and (a bit more) Westernized city of Kunm¡ng. I am hopeful that this location will be a better fit for me and my personality, that I will be ever-strengthened and uplifted to serve HIM better and better each day, and that this experience will be better than the last -- especially since I will actually have teammates this year!

My year in Y¡nchuan was long and sp¡r¡tually + mentally grueling. But it was not for naught, certainly. I grew in fa¡th, B¡bl¡cal understanding, and world experience as I faced challenges every day and brought them to the L0rd in pπayer and confession. I learned valuable lessons in humility, constantly being reminded that I cannot do this life without help from friends, family, strangers, and my Redeemer. Most importantly, I made connections and planted seeds of fa¡th that I pπay the H0ly Sp¡r¡t will nurture for years to come. I pπay that the Big Guy will guide me to focus more on this good work instead of on my own selfish wellbeing. That being said, I am human, and I do believe that I will do my best work if I am comfortable and happy.

So here's to making the most of my second year in China, and here's to a new beginning. Thank you all for your support, strength, and pπayers. Talk to you soon, and stay tuned for new adventures!

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Mandarin Word of the Day: restart
Chinese characters: 重启 (重 = heavy, repetition, layer; 启 = to open, to begin, to enlighten)
Pinyin pronunciation: chóngqĭ

复活节快乐! Happy Eas†er!

After living and teaching abroad for seven months now, I have seen many, many cultural differences between Ch¡na and America. Some are traditional and ancient, occurring only in Ch¡na and having no American equivalent. Others are customs that outwardly seem the same in each country, but their respective meanings are anything but. Take whistling, for instance. In America, we whistle to accompany music, to convey thoughts, or simply to express that we are in a good mood. In Ch¡na, on the other hand, whistling has a history of being used as a command in potty training. Ch¡nese moms will hold their babies and whistle, and the children will instinctively do their business through the perfectly-circular holes in their trousers — often right onto the ground. Pretty big contrast, huh? This simple action of whistling happens all over the world, but it has the potential to mean something very different, depending on where you are. (Don't even get me started on the stares I get when whistling in a crowd of what is probably a group of formerly whistle-trained adults.)

There is one thing, however, one fact that rings the same profound truth no matter where you go or with whom you speak: Je5us died once for all.

“For Chπ¡st also suffered once for s¡ns, the righteous for the unr¡ghteous, to bring you to G0d. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Sp¡r¡t.” (1 Peter 3:18)

This Easter, it doesn’t matter that I am immersed in a distant, foreign culture, away from my family and friends, unable to w0rship with them at chrch on Eas†er morning. It’s a bummer, for sure, but it’s not important. For no matter where I am, no matter the language in which I pπay, no matter the people with whom I gl0rify HIS name — it happened. Je5us died. Our perfect Sav¡0r took on the s¡ns of an imperfect world so that we might have salvat¡on. “Chπ¡st was sacrificed once to take away the s¡ns of many.” (Hebπews 9:28) Because he loves us. All of us.

Salvat¡0n in Chπ¡st means the same thing all over the earth. Its significance does not change depending on local language and culture. It does not apply in one country but not the other. It does not have conditions, disclaimers, or an expiration date. It is universal. Just as our G0d is omnipresent and eternal, so too is our salvat¡0n in Chπ¡st Je5us. “The death he died, he died to s¡n once for all,” explains Paul in the book of Romans. “But the life he lives, he lives to G0d.” (6:10)

Wherever we are this year, may we remember the empty tomb on Easter morning as a guarantee that Je5us lives, and so do we. Let us live to G0d as Je5us did during his time on earth so that “we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” (1 C0rinthians 15:52)

All glory to the G0d and Father of our Sav¡0r Je5us Chπ¡st! In his love and mercy he has given us new life through the resurrection of his Son from the dead. H0sanna!

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Mandarin Word of the Day: substitute

Chinese characters: 代替 (代 = taking the place of, to substitute, to replace; 替 = to substitute | replacement) 

Pinyin pronunciation: dàitì

Home (家)

(I wrote the following post last night -- err, at 4am China time.)

Although it still doesn't seem real to me, I am officially moved in -- and currently snuggled up in the bed of -- my new apartment in Yinchuan, China. My flights went smoothly, I slept sporadically, I'm pretty sure I had three dinners in one evening (whatever my body currently thinks a single evening is), but praise be, I got here safe and sound. My new boss came and picked me up at the Yinchuan airport, after which he treated me to (third) dinner at 2am. (Now accepting pr@yer requests for my internal clock / body.)

As I wait for the melatonin to kick in, I wanted to write about something I thought of the other day. On Saturday my dad and I went to see the new Star Trek movie. I don't really follow this new series, but something struck me with this one. At the beginning of the film there is a montage of scenes depicting life on the USS Enterprise. Over this montage you can hear Captain Kirk (voiced by Chris Pine, who just has such a nice head of hair, you know?) give a little spiel during a captain's log entry about how, essentially, he is three years into a five year mission, and he's starting to have some doubts.

The more time we spend out here, the harder it is to tell where one day ends and the next one begins. It can be a challenge to feel grounded when even gravity is artificial. But we do what we can to make it feel like home. ... As for me, things have started to feel a little episodic. The farther out we go, the more I find myself wondering what it is we're trying to accomplish. If the universe is truly endless, then are we not striving for something forever out of reach?

"If the universe is truly endless, then are we not striving for something forever out of reach?" How depressing, right? Kinda makes you feel bad for the guy.

The captain's entry made me think about my own mission in Yinchuan. There are a lot of people in China -- far too many for so few of us to reach all of them. Just like Captain Kirk's, our task seems endless. But the difference here is attitude. Captain Kirk is viewing his mission as a job, a quest of obligation. Our G0d-given mission here on earth, however, is one of love. It is not a task, it is not a chore, and it is certainly not hopeless. It is our privilege, our joy, and one of the most important instructions we will ever get, straight from the Big Guy himself: "Therefore go and make discip1es of all nations" (Matt 28).

There's an old magnet on my parents' refrigerator that reads: "G0d put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind, I will never die..." Is this not an attitude completely opposite of Captain Kirk's? How uplifting is this outlook! What a blessing it is that the Big Guy Upstairs gives us a spirit of productivity and provides lifelong work for us to do -- work that pleases Him, and work that will bring others to Him. This is our joy! Cultivating His fields, as it were. Sure, we do not know how far out these fields go or how long it'll take to reach all of them, but we'll never know how tall any of His plants may grow if we do not tend to them one by one.

It is easy to lose hope and to seemingly float away from your cause when the future is unknown. It is easy to question what you're even trying to accomplish when it seems like your job will never be done. But that's the thing. If we delight in the L0rd, what we do to praise Him will never seem like work. He will never forget us; see, He has written us on the palm of His hand! Our work will never be done, and that is a blessing. And in serving and loving the Father all the days of our lives, we are working towards the ultimate paycheck: one day joining Him in the perfect and eternal home He has prepared for us!

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the L0rd, because you know that your labor in the L0rd is not in vain. (1 Cor 15:58)

G0d is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. (Hebrws 6:10)

That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living G0d, who is the Savi0r of all people, and especially of those who believe. (1 Tim 4:10)

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Mandarin Word of the Day: mission
Chinese characters: 任务 (任 = to appoint, assignment; 务 = a matter, to be sure of)
Pinyin pronunciation: rènwu