Trophies

Our boys’ shelves hold many trophies of the sports they played in their youth. The trophies remind us of seasons of swimming, soccer, baseball, and bowling. By counting the trophies, we can count the number of years they swam and whether that included guppies/tadpoles or big swim team. We can look at the dates and figure out when they began. When I dust off the trophies, they bring back great memories.

All throughout the Old Testament God commands the Israelites to remember all that He did for them. Kind of like spiritual trophies. He tells them as they move into the Promised Land of all the ways He provided for them in the wilderness. How He held back the walls of water so they could walk across the Red Sea on dry land, nary a puddle. How He drove out the nations in the land of Canaan so they could live in cities that they didn’t build. How the land had already been cultivated so they could harvest produce they didn’t plant.  The Israelites even set stones into altars in specific places to remind them of what God did for them in that location. God told them to take care lest they forget Him. Many of the psalms recount all that God did for the Israelites. The apostles in the New Testament also used reminders of what God did in Israelite history. These are all spiritual trophies. They prove that God is who He says He is by what He does for His people.

Thursday was a trophy day for us. After much anticipation, we returned to China. Here’s how the day went. Mark checked email first thing in the morning and discovered at 7:30am that our 9:55 flight out of GSP would be delayed 1½ hours and therefore reduced our connecting time in O’Hare to 20 minutes. We arrived at GSP shortly after 9am and spent the next 1½ hours looking at our options. It soon became apparent that our ticket agent had already had a stressful morning and could only focus on one task at a time. She even told Mark at one point that the more he talked, the longer the process would take. Ouch! Thinking that we wouldn’t have enough time to catch our connecting flight, the agent looked at us switching to flying through Washington DC only to discover that we had missed the cutoff for boarding that flight. So now what? We decided to take our original flight and when we got off the first plane in O’Hare, we would try to reschedule our flight to Beijing. I imagined that since the flight travels overnight, there may be only one flight to Beijing per day and we would end up staying over in Chicago. Not our preference.

We spoke with other passengers regarding our dilemma as we waited to board. People familiar with O’Hare were certain we would have to change to the international terminal which would definitely take more than 20 minutes. The flight to Chicago went uneventfully. We landed after the connecting flight had begun boarding. However, on a whim I decided to go to the counter at the gate to inquire about the flight while Mark waited for our gate-checked bag to arrive in the tunnel. The agent at the counter told me that the plane was boarding just a few gates down the corridor. So I went back to the tunnel to inform Mark that if we hurried, we could still make our flight. We dashed down the corridor and, indeed, did get on the plane. Then we waited for nearly a half hour. Typical hurry up and wait. I learned earlier in the morning that FAA rules state that if an international passenger does not make his plane, then his luggage will also not make that plane. So it stands to reason that if we made our plane, our luggage would also have to make it. I’m sure that’s why we ended up waiting longer for take-off.

So after a very relieved flight, we arrived at our new borrowed apartment around 6pm Beijing time (5am EDT).

The events of the day became just another trophy to remind us of God’s goodness to us. For those who want proof that God exists, here is one more evidence. Dust off those trophies. Polish those monuments. God is real and His name is YHWH.

Ten Lessons from Nine Months

In approximately two weeks we return to Beijing and begin another chapter in our lives. We really enjoyed our first nine months in China's capital city yet I feel we were just getting our rhythm by the time we left for the summer. We had our routine down; we knew our way around the city; we began to grasp the language little by little; we developed our method for hospitality and ministry. We also watched our Father work in amazing ways - changing lives.

We have filled our summer with many family activities, travels to visit out of town supporters, and general life. We have reflected on what we have learned and tried to share our hearts and our Father's heart with others. Mark crystalized his thoughts into Ten Lessons we learned from our first nine months in Beijing. We shared these with a PowerPoint summary wherever we went. I list them here, slightly edited.

      1.      It’s never too late to go. We met two couples in their 70’s while we were in Beijing this past year. Bothers & sisters of every age can make a contribution to the Great Cause: children remind us the future, young adults have energy and idealism, and older saints can offer wisdom and balance.

      2.      Our Father has His people in every place. The scene in Revelation 5 became much more personal this year: “Worthy are you take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for G-- from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

      3.      We take it with us when we cross cultural boundaries – our sins, our idiosyncrasies, our weaknesses. A full scan through security at Greenville, Detroit, and Beijing could not eliminate the sins. We brought them with us to China. If the ring doesn’t change you in marriage, then neither does a change of address.

      4.      We need to leave our biases and prejudices at the gate. Living in another culture especially exposes our prideful bias against other people, countries, and cultures. Wisdom is needed to understand what is cultural, and what is distinctly Christian.

      5.      Just because we both speak English doesn’t mean we’ll understand each other well. Brits, Scots, Aussie’s, South Africans, Americans, New Zealanders, and most Canadians all speak English. But we employ English and many words differently.

      6.      Language is the non-negotiable bridge to another culture. You cannot successfully access it well without an increasing ability – however humble – with the native language. Are you interested in overseas work? Consider learning another language – now! Axiom: Anything worth doing well eventually is worth doing poorly initially.

      7.      The G0spel is good news for every person and nation in every corner of the globe. Others need the G0spel as much as we do here in the States.

      8.      Love is a most necessary ingredient in work across the world. If I cannot love others with Chr!st-like love, I will be ineffective in reaching them with the G0spel, encouraging them to grow, or engaging them in true community. Are you interested in overseas work? Pray for grace to grow in your practical love for all types of people.

      9.      It takes the whole body to support someone serving in another country. You either send or are sent. We could not have gone without the support of our body. They provided prayer, financial support, and counsel and friendship for our children. They provided maintenance for our residence in our absence. They spoke to other bodies on our behalf. They took us to the airport on our departure & greeted us on our arrival. It takes a family.

10.  You are never too young to think, dream, and prepare for cross-cultural work. BBC averaged 32 years of age, but we had many in their early 20’s. If you are 10, 15, 20, or 25 years of age you are not too young to pray, read, study, prepare, or plan for cross-cultural service.