Skiing Adentures

I celebrated the arrival of 2105 by heading a few hours outside of Beijing to go skiing with friends.  I was thankful to be able to spend the time with friends, a sunny day and the ability to spend time outside and enjoy the winter weather.  My friend Kerry even brought a picnic dinner! Thankful for the ability to have adventures and enjoy the snow (even if it was made just for the slopes).

 

 

 

 

A Holy Night

I spent last night having a bonfire with a great group of friends.  After finishing our hot coco and roasting marshmallows, we began singing our favorite Christmas carols.  There was something so magical about proclaiming the truth of His birth.  It was such a powerful worship experience of all of us.  We were blessed to sing these powerful songs while seeing the starts bright in the sky (a rarity here).  It was a Christmas Eve miracle. 

This month I have been reflecting on the powerful lyrics of Oh Holy Night, particularly the third verse.

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Though injustice is all around us, love and peace are stronger.  Because of His birth love, peace and love will overcome all evil.  He came to overcome sin and its consequences.  His incarnation will break chains and will restore us to correct relationship.  He came to reconcile us to Himself.  He also allows us to be reconciled (restored to correct relationship) with each other. Though there are problems now, they will not exist forever.  He is more powerful than any divisions we can create. So powerful.

When it is easy to become overwhelmed with all the darkness, I can proclaim the truth that in His name all oppression will cease!

Christmas Cookies

This week I baked and decorated cookies with my local friends. Angel, this adorable 5 year old, really enjoyed this Christmas tradition. Enjoy some of the highlights from our day.

San Francisco

This week I was able to spend a few days in San Francisco with my friend Linda.  I enjoyed sightseeing and was surprised how often I hear and spoke Chinese. 

Thanksgiving

I had a wonderful thanksgiving dinner last night with members of my Beijing community. I made mashed potatoes and the green bean casserole. Here is a picture of the feast we had that included a large turkey!

In the spirit of giving thanks, I wanted to take a moment and share some of the many things I am grateful for this year.
~Being able to be His light in one of the biggest and most important cities in the world.
~Supportive and encouraging friends back in the States
~His timing.  Though things do not always happen like I planned, His timing is perfect and things
 work out much better with Him in control.
~The great progress I have made learning Mandarin this year.
~For a group of friends who constantly amaze me with their ability to love and serve those around them.
~That I am put in situations outside of my comfort-zone which causes me to grow.
~Skype and the internet which allows me to easily stay connected with everyone across the globe.
~Being able to learn something new everyday.
~Growing in my relationship with my Father and learning to hear His voice in new ways.

And I get to have another Thanksgiving meal tomorrow with another friends! I so thankful for the blessings of good food and fellowship.

Pictures of City Life

Typical grocery store layout

My friend and I with the owner of our favorite restaurant.

                                                                           
                                      Going green--who needs a dryer?

                                                      Fun in the park

   Traffic jam in a busy intersection

Community

Living life in community is a wonderfully messy thing and I recommend it for everyone!  Intentionally sharing life with people challenges, grows , matures and humbles you in the best possible ways.  There are times when it brings me nothing but sheer joy to share life with great people here, to be readily available for others, to invest in them and have them invest in me.  I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that living in community has irrevociably made me a better person. I am more attentive to other's needs, more reliant on the HS for wisdom in how to respond, more careful with my words, more supportive, and a more caring human being.

However, there are times when being in a covenant relationship with people is also draining.  Sometimes I feel too tired to actively engage other people. There are things that I need to get done:  assignments, emails, running errands, focusing on the people around me....wait, in my desire to serve people I can easily ignore the person in front of me.  In my selfishness I can choose to not engage in a conversation that will push me out of my comfort zone by using the excuse that I am "too busy serving people" or "focusing on my min."  And that is what it all boils down to in the end, selfishness.  I am a selfish human being that must daily fight the urge to look out for myself, to put my needs first, to make sure I am taking care of and comfortable before I focus on others. 

Life in community is showing me just how deep this selfish root goes.  As the Body we are called to serve one another, to regard others more highly than we regard ourselves.  This is a hard thing to do because it directly counters our innate self-centred nature.  Living life in community daily provides me with the opportunity to consider others more highly than myself, to put my own needs on the back-burner to listen to someone else's heart.  And getting a glimpse into the heart of another human being gives you a glimpse into the heart, personality, and creativity of our Father.  Every time I talk with a member of my community I am reminded of His astoundingly diverse characteristics: joy, patience, diligence, sensitivity, careful planning, creativity, burden for the lost, truth, encouragement, and justice just to name a few.  

Choosing not to press into a situation or not fully investing in a relationship denies me the opportunity to experience my Father in a new way. So, in the end, not fully engaging is the most selfish thing I can do because I am ultimately denying myself the opportunity to connect to the heart of my Papa and missing out on experiencing His love in new ways.

A Burdened Heart

On Sunday morning we sang the song "Hosanna" by Hillsong United.  The bridge to this song has extremely powerful words:
   Heal my heart and make it clean
  Open up my eyes to the things unseen
  Show me to to love like You have love me.

  Break my heart for what breaks yours
  Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause,
  As I walk from earth into eternity.

The very next day the Lord answered the pr. I sang the previous morning.  I was spending the afternoon with a local friend.  As we were walking, she simply said "Jennifer, today I am sad....".  She left the statement hanging, like it did not really deserve to be validated or explored in more detail.  Of course I asked her why she felt that way and for the next twenty minutes she confided in me all the reasons why she was sad.  I felt so overwhelmed hearing about all of her problems and was angered by the unjust actions that have adversely affected her.

As I was in my own head trying to respond with wisdom, the lyrics above came to the forefront of my mind.  It was as if Abba was saying: "Jennifer you asked for me to open up your eyes and break your heart, so I am doing it.  This is only a fraction of the billions of things that break my heart each day.  Feel this pain, take this burden to heart.  Only after you sit with the suffering of those around you can you truly know how to love people like I love them"

I know understand His capacity to love like never before. But I am still wondering how to respond to people in situations of injustice.  I can know feel their pain, but what do I do with it?  How can I go from feeling people's burdens to loving them on a practical level?  So many questions that He will answer in His own timing. I had an experience this week with the living G-d who lovingly gave me a glimpse of His heart and will teach me how to use it for His glory.

Listening

"Be quick to listen and slow to speak."
"There is a reason you have two ears and only one mouth."

I've heard these phrases all my life and have quickly come up with a list of excuses why I do not need to work to become a better listener:
   I already leave so many thoughts unsaid.
   I have some useful information to contribute to this conversation.
   Communication is a two way street so therefor I can say something anytime I want.

The older I get the more I realize that when I think of listening I think of not talking. I do not approach listening as truly hearing another person.  Since moving into a cross-cultural context, I have realized how insufficient my definition of listening has become.  When interacting with people from a different background it is not enough to simply hear the words being spoken, you must concentrate on the meaning the person is attempting to convey.

Listening is not an innate skill for me.  Talking, expressing my opinion, contributing to a conversation, sharing new facts....basically talking is what comes naturally for me.  While this is not always a bad thing, my natural inclination is away from listening and creating the space necessary for other people to express themselves.  One of my biggest hinderances to being a good listener is my desire to jump in and identify with what the other person is saying, to let them know that they are not alone.  While this is not the worst thing, desiring to identify with people actually hinders conversations by derailing the topic.  It can keep the topic causal and prevent the other person from fully expressing their feelings.

Living cross-culturally, interacting with people form every walk of life imaginable, I am constantly searching for a point of overlap, seeking to find things we both have in common that can bridge the gap between our diverse experiences.  But how much do I miss because I am so intent on seeking a commonality?  Have I prevented the opportunity to learn from another person by speaking too quickly?  Did I miss the chance to speak hope, love, peace or joy into a situation because I did not create the space in the conversation to truly find out how that person is doing?  Did I completely miss what they were trying to convey?

I am on the journey to becoming a good listener.  I am actively trying to speak less, work to provide people with the space to express their hearts and not offer advice before hearing the fully story.  Every time I come away from an encounter feeling proud of myself for not speaking too quickly, there are give other interactions where I know I have come up short.  Though I have just started down this lengthy path, I am excited about this learning process.  By learning to be a better listener I am learning to become a better friend, a more attentive person and a more caring individual.

Smiles

I had not spent much time considering what a smile can bring to a relationship or situation until last week. My Chinese coworker mentioned that she loves how my smile lights up the room.  I have never considered myself a very smiley person or pondered what I could bring to a room through my presence before.  Her comment got me thinking about what a smile communicates: warmth, joy, love, respect, and consideration for others.  If you do not like a person you are not going to exert the energy to smile.

As I have reflected back on her words, I am increasingly thankful for her feedback.  Though I am trying very hard to learn the language, my communication skills are survival at best.  I often get internally frustrated by my language limitations because there is so much that I want to say to people that I am currently unable to express in Mandarin.  Smiling, however, makes up for my limited vocabulary.  I do not need to say out loud how much I respect, admire, or am proud of a woman for making substantial changes in their life because that can be communicated through a beaming smile of pride.  I can let a woman trapped in exploitation know that she is valuable, consequential and precious in His sight through my smile.  I can bring His hope into a hopeless situation through my nonverbal communication skills.

Something as simple as moving a few muscles can make all the difference!

Great Wall

This week I went with friends to the Great Wall. Enjoy some of the pictures I took.

Haerbin Snow and Ice Festival

Last month I traveled with a group of friends to Northern China, along the boarder of Siberia. 

After taking an overnight train we arrived in Haerbin and were able to see amazing works of art at the annual Snow and Ice Festival.