Neighbors??

True story: Today as we rode the subway home from BBC, we noticed a group of people enter the train. Sometimes people catch your attention just by their interactions. Oftentimes we try to offer our seats to elderly people but most of the time, they refuse. I guess they like to treat the foreigner well. Anyway, as I tried to stand up with all my belongings in hand, the lady in front of me actually pushed me back into my seat. Eventually they got a seat; the wife sat next to me, the husband sat next to Mark, another older lady sat further down, and the younger woman, Mindy, (maybe 40s) talked with us. Mindy spoke perfect English so between our broken Chinese and her perfect English, we had a fun conversation. Conversations always begin with “Where are you [we] from?” When we told them SC, the talk turned to Spartanburg. It turned out that the two older people were Mindy’s 85-year-old parents who had lived in Inman, SC with their second daughter and her family. All three of the daughters settled in different parts of the US and now have families – Mindy in San Jose, CA; the middle one in Inman, SC; the oldest one in Warsaw, IN. The middle one and the parents have since moved to Indiana, but we had fun talking about similar geographic areas. We told them our home is only about 30 minutes from Inman.  They told us about their four generations who now live in the US. Mindy and her parents were actually just visiting Beijing. 

This reminds me of the time in 2014 when we ran into Jeremiah, a Riverside High School graduate from Greer.

Feelings

Many people ask us how we are. We, as many do, have a tendency to answer with what we are doing, not HOW we are. There's a difference.

So here are some words that describe us recently:

Frustrated – we woke up yesterday to no hot water. It should come back on in 36 hours. Better than last time when it was 3 days.

Sad – that Rudy & "Tina" leave for Paris in about a month. What they originally planned for 6 months has turned into at least a year. She's sad, unsure of what life will be like there. She's afraid of being lonely because she doesn't speak French. She's afraid she won't find food and spices she likes.

Burdened – that three brothers at BBC have conflict and one has threatened to leave the church because of it. We want to see the true gospel applied to all their hearts in true redemption and forgiveness. 

Mad - I started yesterday mad at Mark and really had to pray that God would help me. I had no right to be angry on the inside and asked him to remove that anger. It took a while and lots of prayer and focusing on why Jesus died for me. Eventually God gave grace to overcome the anger and we had a good but tiring day.

Compassion – for an old man and his granddaughter who basically live on the street. The old man sells plants near our neighborhood and we see them often as we go about.

Ragged – from traveling all over town to meet people. Nothing takes less than an hour to get to. Some days it just feels good to stay at home.

Happy – that I am again teaching chemistry to teenagers. It gives me a focus and a purpose beyond our normal relationships.

Thankful – that we see God’s grace working in our own grown children. In talking with Alicia the other day, we talked about how do we see God working in our own lives? Sometimes we can’t see it in ourselves but we do see it in other people. We see them growing in the love and grace that can only come from a personal relationship with Jesus.

Thankful – that both Brent and Amy begin new jobs soon. God has provided for both of them in their respective fields.

Disappointed - that one of our dating couples recently broke off the relationship. Sometimes we wonder what this young generation seeks in relationships and how do we apply God's truth to this season of their lives. What does the gospel look like in these difficult moments?

Off to chemistry class soon. A one hour and 45 minute travel trip (one way) for a 2 hour class then meet a friend for dinner on the way home.

Ladies' Night

This year I hope to host or organize a monthly Ladies' Night to allow women to gather for dinner, fellowship, and prayer. By the quick response to the RSVP request, I think most ladies really like this idea.

After a dinner of baked potatoes and salad, we gathered together to pray around one of God's characteristics. I asked one young lady to tell us briefly about one of God's characteristics for us to meditate upon and pray around. She chose God's wisdom and directed our attention to this characteristic by reading a Bible verse and a passage from The Valley of Vision.

May we always know and seek God's wisdom because it forms the basis for all His other attributes.

Trip to Hong Kong With Mark & Diane

This year we plan to make a few trips out of the country. In our first three years Mark & I never traveled to neighboring countries so we hope to see other Asian cultures this year. For our first trip we met up with our good friends Mark & Diane in Hong Kong. We knew them in Beijing in 2013 before his employer relocated them. Now they live in southern China, about 2 hours from Hong Kong.  

After visiting Hong Kong, we decided that we prefer Beijing. Because the British originally owned Hong Kong, we liked the fact that most people spoke English, albeit with a British twist. We saw many more tourists here than in Beijing. But the British influence also dictated how Hong Kong developed. A local person told us that British land development allows a certain percentage (c. 60%) of land to be developed and the remainder stays 'green' or undeveloped. Therefore, Hong Kong's populations density outweighs Beijing's. We like Beijing's quietness and spaciousness. It's all relative. :)

One of many pedestrian bridges

Overlooking a street from a pedestrian bridge

A street
market

I don't know how to turn this picture 90 degrees, but notice how the bamboo scaffolding rests on the ground. Every area of HK had construction zones with bamboo scaffolding.

Steps up to a park

Looking across the bay

We rode the 10-minute ferry to reach the other side of the bay.

Almost every bus was a double-decker bus - another British influence.

Look at this at 90 degrees. Another example of bamboo construction protection.

Mark & Diane really wanted a western steak because they aren't available in their area.

Another example of British influence. I kept looking the opposite direction to cross the street.

People Stories - Anastasia

People Stories – Anastasia

As I read the recent news stories about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and Crimea, I remember the adage that there are always two sides (at least) to a story. We see the news reports and cringe when one bigger country invades another smaller country or annexes part of a small country because the first is bigger.  Why does that happen? What is the purpose? And more importantly, how does that affect people’s daily lives.

As always at the end of summertime in Beijing, we meet lots of people who come over to teach or to study.

Meet our new friend Anastasia. She comes from Crimea, pronounced /kraɪˈmiːə/. When she told us she’s from Crimea, I first thought of Ukraine. Isn’t Crimea that peninsula in Ukraine? Well, it was until Russia annexed it in 2014 into the Russian Federation. Anastasia doesn’t say she’s from Ukraine; she tells us that she’s from Crimea. So we receive new lessons in geography and cultures.

But how do all the politics affect daily life? Imagine a person from the US who can fly to any country in the world. Few countries would deny an American the freedom to choose where to vacation, where to study, where to go (assuming proper visas). Now imagine a person who wants to go to another country or region - America, Australia, Europe, anywhere - but can’t due to economic sanctions. She can only go to either India or China. Imagine pursuing university studies then in the middle of your student career the government changes the plans and stops offering your major. What do you do then? Anastasia planned to study English interpretation and translation but instead changed to English Education. Now imagine a 21-year-old university graduate, fluent in Russian and English, conversant in Spanish, moving to China to teach English to kindergarten children.   

Anastasia tells us that many people in Crimea appreciate the Russian influence that has raised workers’ wages, increased their pensions, and paved potholed roads. Yet in other ways, life became much more difficult because of the Western sanctions against Russia. Limited travel, fewer goods & services, water & electricity shortages, 80% inflation. For example, McDonald’s pulled out of Crimea as a result of the economic sanctions that also pushed out suppliers and major credit card companies. Many people regard having McDonald’s as a sign of economic progress. 

As Anastasia told her life story to us, we learned much of God’s grace in her life. Her family in Crimea attends a faithful church pastored by an American. At a young age, she lost her mother and still tears up when speaking of her. Her father has since remarried and continues to pass on faith in JC to his family.

Pray for Anastasia as she adjusts to life in Beijing.

People Stories – Kristy, Monica, Nicole

Sunday, July 17 was our first Sunday back at BBC after 10 weeks in the US. We loved seeing our BBC friends again and meeting new visitors. As always, we love to talk with everyone, and Mark invites many to our home for dinner. We find that visiting in a home much more relaxing and refreshing than meeting people in restaurants. Among the new people we met this past Sunday, three young ladies (sisters in JC) came to our apartment for dinner on Thursday night.

Kristy

Although Kristy grew up in Mexico, she has lived in Germany for about 10 years, earning her PhD and working in process engineering. She came to Beijing on a wastewater treatment project that will bring her back every few months. What a delight to get to know her briefly this time, and we hope to keep in touch as she continues to make business trips here.

Monica

Monica, an American with Chinese heritage, is a professor of philosophy at a university in Boston. Since we had made our first trip to Boston in 2013, we enjoyed comparing notes of the city and talking about her work of introducing young college students to the world of philosophical thinking, teaching them to ask questions such as what is the meaning of life? And how does one fit into that meaning? She is in Beijing taking a two-week philosophy course to enhance her teaching.

Nicole

Nicole, from Singapore of Chinese descent, came to Beijing for a summer internship between her junior and senior years of university studies majoring in economics. She reminded us of other Singaporean college students we have met who study abroad and find internships abroad. She will stay here a few more weeks so we hope to have more time to encourage her in her walk with JC.

Mark (in his Cameroon shirt), Kristy, Monica, Nicole, Cheryl

Wet Wednesday

We are now back in Beijing, several weeks earlier than usual. Our normal weather experience here includes dry, smoggy days with very little precipitation. Sometimes we get a few inches of snow in the winter; sometimes we get a day of light rain. We have heard that Beijing receives 70% of its annual rainfall in July & August. As such, we have not experienced that -- until now.  I need to remember to carry an umbrella. However, not even an umbrella nor raincoat helped this past Wednesday when we made two treks to visit friends. One set of friends lives a 10 minute walk. The other set lives about 1 hour away, a trek that includes a bus ride, walk to the subway, subway, walk from the subway to our old apartment complex near Olympic Forest Park. When we arrived at their apartment, our friend greeted us at his door with a laugh and a dry towel. Sometimes in the name of friendship, we are foolish.