How to Inspire?

Today I read a blog post by Rachel Goble, the director of the The Sold Project which works with children in Thailand.  Rachel wrote a blog called Let's Stop Empowering and Start Inspiring.  Rachel's words have challenged me to think about my own work.  One of my guiding principles as I reach out to women in exploitation is to help empower them to make decisions to better their lives.  I have been forming relationships and directing conversations with the end goal of helping empower women to make bold life choices.  Rachel writes that the word empower implies that "I have the power and you do not.  Therefore, let me give you the power."  These words deeply impacted me.  I want to help the people I work with recognize their own power, not be another person in their life to say "I have power and you do not."  I want to help each person see this innate, G-d given worth which cannot be taken away.  Her words have challenged me to think about how my actions are viewed by people who have been told their entire lives that they are not powerful enough to effect change.

Instead of empowering, Rachel believes that we should start inspiring others.  I agree that when people are inspired they tap into the creativity and artistry of our Creator.  Inspiring people to pursue their dreams means recognizing that people have had dreams, goals, and the power to grow all along. The question running through my mind all day is "How do I actually help inspire others?"  How do I go about helping people explore their creative potential, especially when a lot of the women I encounter have no control over their lives? The only answer I have come up with is listening.  Releasing potential is not something visible, something that can be easily identified.  It takes time and a deep level of trust to being to explore.  It takes time.

Honestly, I have no clue how to go about inspiring those around me.  I know it will take time, dedication, patience, and lots of pryrs.  I am thankful that my eyes have been opened to this concept so that I can better serve those around me.

Christmas Music

Listening to Christmas music is one of my favorite things in the world.  Living in Asia it is very rare to hear Christmas music played outside the occasional Starbucks. Thankfully I have my iPod loaded with hours of wonderful music.   Here are some of the songs that I've been playing incessantly the last few weeks because of their great lyrics and meanings.

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.