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.

Grammar Lesson

I wanted to share with you all a portion of my language text book so you can see how I am learning to speak, read, and write Chinese.

This dialogue captures a discussion between David and Yamamoto about last night's World Cup game. Here is my translation:

Yamamoto: David, why are your eyes red?  Did you stay up late to watch the World Cup game last night?
David: I'm a big fan of the French team so of course I watched! Did you watch the game?
Yamamoto: I was busy preparing for the HSK exam so I am extremely tired.  Last night I watched the part of the game and then fell asleep.  What was the final score?
David: 1 to 1.  Right at the end of the game the Korean team scored a goal.
Yamamoto:  Really? I thought that at the end of the first half France was winning.
David: During the first half France was playing really well.  But, during the second half Korea was playing well, with France playing poorly.  The more I watched the more anxious and angry I became.
Yamamoto: There's no reason to be angry. That was France's first game, trust that the team will play better in the next game.
David: I hope France's next game will go smoothly. It's the finals and I want to win!

This dialogue introduced thirteen new words and a new grammatical structure. The new grammar point, 越。。。越，means increasingly, or more and more. In the Chinese transcription I have highlighted the 越。。。越 so you can see how often the text reinforces the new grammar point. The underlined words are the new words found in the dialogue.

山本： 大卫， 你的眼睛怎吗这吗红！ 昨天晚上熬夜看世界杯了吧？
大卫： 我是法国队的球迷， 当然要看了！ 你没看吗？
山本： 最近忙着准备HSK考试， 特别累。昨天晚上我躺着看看比赛， 没想到， 看到一半就睡着了。 最好比分是多少？
大卫： 1 比 1。 比赛快结束的时候， 韩国队进了一球。
山本： 是吗？ 我觉得上半场韩国队踢不如法国队啊。
大卫： 上半场法国队踢得不错。 可是， 下半场韩国队越踢越好，法国队越踢越差， 我越看越着急， 越看越生气。
山本： 别着急， 这只是法国队的第一场比赛， 相信他们会越踢越好的。
大卫：  希望法国队能越踢越顺利， 最好能踢进决赛， 再得一次冠军。

While not every dialogue in the textbook is interesting or a conversation I will ever have in real life, it is extremely helpful to be able to learn words in context.  These dialogues help me to understand proper Mandarin grammar and phrasing.  I use 越。。。越 on a daily basis.  When local friends ask how my Chinese lessons are going I say "越学越好“, the more I study the more I improve.

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.

It's All His

It's all His....what a RELIEF!!!

This is the truth that has deeply registered with me these past two weeks.  Every area of our lives is under His control.  We don't have to worry about messing up or missing the mark because it is not our's to begin with.  Each relationship, job, ministry, position of leadership are all His.  We don't have to worry about falling short.  Our job is not to be perfect but to be faithful and obedient to do what He has called us to do.

I am so thankful for this grace! When I miss-speak and say the wrong Mandarin phrase, His grace covers my language mistake.  When I am in situations that require more language skills than I currently possess the H.Spirit is with me and uses my ineptitude to bring deeper relationships with women still in situations of exploitation.  There were multiple times this week when He redeemed my language blunders to bring smiles and laughter into dark places.

What a blessing to serve our Father who does not register our mistakes but celebrates our victories!

City Life