Travels and what not

I hope no one is holding their breath between my blog entries... A lot has happened in the last three weeks, let me see if I can sum it up for you:

Road trip: My parents and I rode down to Ningbo (south of Shanghai) with dear friends who just happen to be the couple that invited my parents to China in the first place. We spent a few days with them and enjoyed some neat sights along the way and great conversation. The highlight of our time with them was probably our Sunday morning gathering. The group in Ningbo is very small and seemed to be pretty discouraged without foreign workers there. We encouraged them to continue meeting and growing. We prayed for them and Dad is working on scheduling brothers from Beijing and Shanghai to visit and encourage them. [More pictures and info from this trip can be found on facebook]

Philippines: My heart smiles as I write about the fun and uplifting time we had in the Philippines. My parents and I first spent 4 days traveling around the island of Bohol and then we met up with 150+ brothers and sisters from all over Asia (and the world) for the 49th Asian Mission Forum. Words can’t quite express how precious this time was for me. I came to the forum uncertain why I was there, as I am not really a missionary in Asia, but after the first day I knew that was exactly where I needed to be and the lessons were exactly what I needed to hear. Besides the convicting lessons and uplifting worship, there was sweet fellowship. Filipinos are so much fun! I had a great time meeting new friends and being encouraged by the wonderful work that God is doing in Asia. There weren’t any huge revelations concerning my future plans (oh, how I wish there would be!), but I left knowing that God is in control and despite my planning and futile attempts to do His work by my own power, apart from Him, I can do nothing! If you aren’t already stalking me on facebook, you can follow this link to see some pics and read more about the trip:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2129707&id=71000791&l=ca73cfd201

The World: We returned to Shanghai from the Philippines and spent a full day at the World Expo there. I honestly had no idea what the World Expo was before my Dad told me that we were going to it this summer, but after being there, I highly recommend anyone who is able, to attend it sometime. The lines were ridiculously long to get into many of the pavilions, but we just enjoyed being there, appreciating the architecture and going into the pavilions with shorter lines. In the end we went to about 23 countries’ pavilions and spent, at the most, 15 minutes waiting in line at each one. Highlights included:

• a delicious Balkan meal at the Bulgarian restaurant which served some of our favorite foods from Serbia
• one of the best cups of coffee that I have ever had from Angola
• freebies from Serbia because we spoke Serbian
• shocking facts about the world from the UN pavilion
• an excellent performance by a Canadian fiddler

In Shanghai we stayed with friends who have also played a significant role in my parents involvement with with Beijing church. It was good to catch up with them as well. [More photos here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2130070&id=71000791&l=2286920391]

Back to work: Directly upon returning to Beijing I found myself very busy with teaching and making contacts. By the end of this week I will have met my goal of making enough money to pay for my ticket to China. Praise God! I have a few more classes scheduled for my last two weeks here, but my time is running short. I have had the honor of making a few orphanage visits this week. My dad put me in contact with Lily who directs the Children’s Hope orphanage just outside of Beijing. All of their children are special needs and when she understood what it was that I do, she was very excited for me to come visit. A few of us from the church made a visit last week to play with the children and offer what help we could. I found myself doing an informal training on communication skills for children with autism and mental disabilities. It worked out for us to set up a second visit where I did a more organized training for the teachers there. They are already doing a great work with the children, and were eager to learn how to better help their kids. I have so much admiration and respect for those who dedicate their lives to living with and caring for orphans. I also joined the church group last week for the regular visit to Grace Orphanage. The director informed us, that following my recommendation he got approval for the 4 cleft palate kids to have their repair surgery, the only problem, he’s asking us what to do next. My dad and I are asking around and doing what research we can in search of a next step for these kids. If any of you have contacts or information that you think might be useful, please pass it along. I have also visited Shepherd's Field and I am working with a sister in the church to set up a meeting with the Autism association here in Beijing. Everything seems to be coming together here in my last two weeks. Funny how that works!

My parents are in Moscow for a week and tomorrow night I will be taking the train to Shanghai to spend 3 days with some dear friends from Harding who have just moved there. Apparently my parents and I cannot sit still – I’m not sure how my brother does it! Philippines last week, China this week, India next week, Amsterdam next month, then to the US... I recently came to a realization about my lust for travel. As I reflect, I find myself just loving my life. With each comment of claimed envy from my friends, my pride grows and I love the attention. "How many comments will I have on my facebook album documenting my latest adventures" I wonder to myself with pride and anticipation as I wait for the page to load. I quickly–and genuinely–thank God for the amazing things He allows me to do, and then I go back to reveling in all the attention and reflecting on the cool things I’ve done and the many places I have been. I have fallen into that same trap that Peter warns about when he writes, “Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul...” (1 Peter 2:11) I have become quite settled and comfortable in my unsettled lifestyle. I am so attached to my nomadic life that it becomes my primary identity, my goal, it becomes the god of my life and I excuse it with claimed detachment –"not being a citizen of this world" is used as a cover when in reality, I find myself living just as much of a citizen’s life as the next guy. How blind and foolish I can be! Just because I am not settled on this earth doesn't mean that I am free from attachment to the world. I want to be among those of great faith who “admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth...longing for a better country – a heavenly one...” (Heb. 11:13,16). I am truly thankful for the life that God has given me on this earth, but I need to be constantly reminded to release my pride and fix my eyes on the Author and Perfecter of my faith...(Heb 12:2).