the REAL China

What a fun day we had today! We went downtown with a student to shop and it was very cool...I feel like I really experienced China today in a way that I hadn't before. We went to a hole in the wall restaurant that Becca affectionately calls the "Point and Shoot" because there are just a bunch of plates sitting out and you just point to what you want...it's awesome. It was SO yummy, maybe my favorite meal yet in China...we got sauteed onions and egg with white rice and some other yummy stuff, too...and despite its awesomeness, it only cost 3 dollars for 3 of us to eat...that's right, a 1 dollar meal...if only that existed in America!

After lunch, we went shopping in a market-type place that was insane...Praise Father we had J there to bargain for us! I don't know what we would've done...but it was very "Chinese" :) and exciting, though simultaneously exhausting...I got some GREAT deals, though!

the marketplace--this picture does not do justice to the coolness of this experience by any means..

Becca and J on the walking street where we found the coolest earrings ever!

De-stimulating after an insane day of shopping!

and then we had the busiest day yet!

today was supposed to be our "downtime" day but we ended up packing it with time with students since they are all leaving tomorrow...it was so fun! We met a group of 9 girls this morning and received a bouquet of bears...yes, small teddy bears...interesting, no? Then we met a brother and sister for lunch at the Muslim noodle restaurant...yummy! I'm becoming rather adept at noodles with chopsticks, believe it or not. Then we went to visit the students dorms...It was not at all what I was expecting...they live 4 to a room smaller than our dorms at PC with no AC or heat, no matresses, no washer or dryer (they wash clothes by hand and hang them outside to dry)...but they welcomed us with great joy and gave us fresh tangerines and seaweed crackers...we were also presented with white Tibetan silky scarves that are given only to the most honored visitors. We looked at pictures of families and hometowns and Chinese tradition while hearing stories and songs of growing up in China. It is so encouraging to see the Father at work here in many of the same ways that He is working in the US...through beautiful, rich relationships and precious community..

We went to downtown Nanchang tonight with one of Becca's best Chinese friends...I feel like I've known her forever! It was so fun! We went to this restaurant for "hot pot" which is kind of like fondu but very different...it's basically a vat of seasoned oil that you cook vegetables and meat in and then eat them...I had things like Lotus root, glutinous rice, chinese potato, spinach, crinkly tofu, mutton, etc...lots of interesting yummy goodness! Also, I drank a pepsi, which was absolutely amazing :) After dinner, we headed to McDonalds for ice cream sundays and fountain drinks (with ICE!)...on the way across town, we stumbled upon fresh pineapple on a stick...apparently pineapple are crazy cheap here, half a huge pineapple for 1 yuan (1/6 of a dollar) yep, cheap and SOOO yummy!

We traversed the night life to make it to the huge square in the middle of town for the music, light, and fountain show where they play traditional Chinese songs and the fountain "dances"...we had fun making fools of ourselves in the middle of the square dancing around and singing...everyone already thinks we're crazy foreigners anyways, what do we have to lose?? :)

By the time we were ready to leave town, only one bus was running and everyone else was trying to leave too...in case you didn't know, there are a lot of people in China. This bus was the msot packed bus I've ever, ever seen...I taught our Chinese friend the meaning of "Sardines"...also, we almost died because our driver was insane...he took turns at full speed with a FULL bus...we literally tipped onto 2 wheels and thought we were going to fly off the road...thankfully, by the grace of Father, we made it back alive to tell the story..

it's cold and late so i think we're heading to bed...hope all is well in America!

and then we had a Chinese welcome party!

It is very Chinese to sing and dance for eachother at a party so Becca and I serenaded our guests with many songs on the guitar! We sang Starry Host, O Love That Will Not Let Me Go, Ice Ice Baby, Silent Night (they love Christmas music)...and lots of others. We also shagged for them to "Carolina Girls"! They LOVED it and a few of them were willing to learn afterwards...it was great fun!

These girls sang me a Chinese welcome song! They were so sweet! They also brought me gifts to welcome me to China...I felt so special, almost like a celebrity!

This is everyone that came and all of our refreshments. We made them Banana bread which they loved...it was gone in the first 5 minutes. Crystal light was also a big hit...powder that turns to a wonderful drink! :)

We've had many visitors since I got here because the students are getting ready to leave campus for their winter holiday. This morning we woke up early to meet some students who brought Becca presents and then we sang some songs and talked about many things...

The people here are precious and very sweet and considerate...all of them have just happened to notice that my favorite color is green! One girl met me one day and the next day I saw her she had knitted me a beautiful green scarf...amazing! I mentioned one day that I loved the gloves that have the fingers cut out but you can pull the cover over to make mittens and the next day a girl brought me some of my own! Talk about feeling special and humbled by people thinking for you and enjoying your company...

it's been amazing to be with Becca and to see her life here in China...what a gift that the Father would open doors to let me come halfway across the world!

sugar cookies and rickshaws!

Making sugar cookies in China!! They taste SO good!!

we rode with friends in the rickshaw to my first authentic Chinese lunch! yum!

China's great! more to come...

Travelling the World!

Becca and I holding our gifts of chocolate from our new Chinese friend!

Yay for travelling the World and see the Lord in so many new and different ways!

there's so much to say about the past 10 days that it overwhelms me to think about summing it up but slowly, i'll do it...

right now, i'm in China with Becca...We made it to Nanchang after 24 hours in Shanghai (the big city!). I spent one night in Shanghai by myself in a really fancy hotel near the airport...Becca and I got the dates mixed up so I was on my own for 24 hours..at first, i was scared but it ended up being really sweet time with the Lord and a great time of rest for me...such a great testimony of how well our God knows us and knows what we need...Our time in Shanghai was full of the fancy airport, the Maglev (a super fast train), the captain's hostel, dinner at Papa John's (ha!) with some Chinese friends, Cold stone ice cream!, a good night's sleep, lunch at a french baguette shop, a long crazy subway ride, a chaotic train station, and a long train ride on which we met two great Chinese girls who were so fun and sweet! I've learned so much about Chinese culture already and I've only been here 2 days! My favorite thing so far is that Chinese people love to share anything they have...we shared food with the two girls on the train even though we had just met them! I love that!!

It's cold here...a drastic contrast to India where it was 85 degrees or hotter the entire time...China and India are the same in a lot of ways and so very different in others...

more to come...

long-distance

I was reunited with a dear friend tonight...she's the kind of friend that i could talk to for hours upon hours...we got 5 minutes tonight and it was such sweet time but bittersweet, nonetheless...oh, how i'm reminded that we were made to stay...sometimes i forget how much of an encouragement this woman of the Lord is to my weary heart but yet again, i am reminded of the faithfulness of the Lord and the power of a life lived forgiven...

it was such a different context to see her outside of PC...i longed to just steal her away and walk around campus and chat about life or drive to the gas station for granola bars and gatorade in the middle of the night or sing songs about hippopotamuses..haha..

tonight, my heart is nostalgic...most days, i'm glad that life is moving on and new things are happening but some days my heart is sad...

hm..

joy is not enough.

Sinclair Ferguson on why it's not enough only to receive the gospel "with joy": Biblical teaching suggests that we truly respond to the message of the gospel only when our hearts experience both joy and sorrow. Even from a psychological point of view it is not possible for sinful men and women to rejoice in the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting without knowing some kind of sorrow for what they are and have been. Similarly in developing Christian experience we cannot separate the rhythm of sorrow and joy which is so often stressed in the New Testament. Christians in this world are 'sorrowful, yet always rejoicing' (2 Cor. 6:10), but never one without the other—at least in this world. (The Christian Life, 176)