Mid-Autumn Festival!

Today is my first day celebrating a Chinese holiday! "Mid-Autumn Festival". The school has extended the weekend until Tuesday, giving us an extra day to "S-E-P-T"; our acronym for the crucial components to a successful first month as teachers. It stands for "sleep, eat, 'lift up', teach". A motto we are clinging to this month!


The weekend started out with a bang! It was Teacher Appreciation day! I received too many "mooncakes" to count (remind me of big but not good fig newtons). We also had our first debut as a team for a Chinese performance! We sang "Lean On Me" with two guitars and some snapping to add a little spice! Because the week was such a whirlwind, we didn't quite take our role in the performance seriously. Then, we showed up to rehearsal Thursday and completely TANKED! And when I say we tanked, I mean we REALLY tanked! Half of us had class and couldn't make it. To my disadvantage, it was the two guitar players and good singer that were not there for rehearsal. Okay we think flexibility, then it's gonna be acapella! We get called up, and we go out there unsure of what the words even are to the song we are singing! Fortunately, our saving grace was Megan! We lined up: Megan, me, Emily, Brian, Colby. Megan leads us in the song... I begin to allow my nerves to control me and I LOSE IT! I begin to laugh and hyper ventilate. Emily on my left looked at me and began to bust out in laughter too. Colby and Brian are snapping off beat and aren't singing because they don't know the words. I look out to the auditorium and see our Chinese colleagues staring at us with blank faces. I move my eyes to the right and see Megan belting it out and can't help but continue to laugh at the sorry scene we were on that stage. Much to His good grace, our REAL performance on Friday went smoothly! Redemption is a blessing! Friday night, our team gathered around dinner time and walked about a mile to a local restaurant to dine as Kings and Queens! The restaurant had community style dishes that we became too familiar with in Beijing! I had been craving the broccoli dish for weeks! I quickly noticed after visiting THREE of the 4 dining halls on campus that we would not be eating the same way we did in Beijing! The training month tricked us into assuming daily nutrients would be as delicious as what we ate then. To my dismay, it has not been near as good! Needless to say I was stoked as we walked into the restaurant and up these stairs built like a tree fort (they have such a legit style here called "china-fab"). The dishes were just as sweet as I remember in Beijing, and it was a great treat to have!

Saturday, a few of the girls on my team and David went downtown to the Wal-mart to get some much needed daily essentials! I got a kick out of their "foreign imports" aisle because none of those selections looked Western to me!! After this, we made a trip to Guilinlu where the international store is located. We spent time finding the last essentials for baking. That area is always such an experience because this road is lined with street vendors on each side and when you go in the market, there is every kind of meat/bone of every kind of animal just chilling out in the open... my stomach never quite feels settled in there! When we got back on campus from this adventure, we were exhausted! Going to get a few items from the market is one of the most taxing experiences here! I never realized the little ways American society is so convenient!

I spent Saturday afternoon cleaning, and decorating my little apartment! It's beginning to feel more like a home to me each day! For this, I am grateful! It is a blessing and refuge to have my own space! A great environment for the growth I am already seeing in my own life! Saturday night I couldn't fall asleep and had a very frustrating conversation with the Father. Even in my frustration, I felt His presence. I went online during this time of frustration to see if my parents were online and if there was someone I could talk too. I can't help but laugh at how purposeful His plans always are. My parents were not online! No one was! I was alone in China thousands of miles from my family and best friends. Alone! It wasn't until the next day that I realized the Father's purpose in keeping anyone from home from being online. Thus, Sunday was a day of enlightenment!

I woke up early and found my parents online!! The Father wanted me to hash out everything with Him last night. Not process with my parents. Not process through food, or movies, or books, but through His Holy presence First! I first realized this when I was telling my parents my various frustrations and heartaches here. It clicked- He was stripping me of things in my life I didn't realize had become idols. Our Father is a jealous Father. He wants to be everything to us: the One we run to first, the One we talk to first, the One we thank first, the One that holds us up, the One that provides wisdom and insight. The One who is Everything to us! What keeps Him from being the first person we seek to talk to in the morning, or the first One we run to when things go downhill? For me, it's the comfortability of other things. It's comfortable to find love, comfort, reassurance from my parents or friends. It's comfortable to just temporarily relieve myself of my current circumstances by popping in a DVD. It's comfortable to eat a cookie when I'm bummed out. There are so many simple things that are more comfortable and first instincts when it comes to sailing through some rough waters. I told my parents that I don't have any movies with me and access to them is difficult. I also can't talk to them or friends at any point in my day. Due to the time differences, there are certain hours they're most likely to be online- and even then, it's not a guarantee they'll be there for me. I don't have access to familiar foods like cookies or chocolate in an easy 20 minutes. Such little comforts I found reassurance in are gone. Funny how it takes coming to a completely different culture to teach you what your idols are! In your home country, things like family, food, and movies are just a normal part of society. You can't see how they hinder you. Being here, uncomfortable, and without those things, I can see now that they are in an unhealthy position in my life. A position that belongs to someone much more worthy and holy. I wasn't the only one to be learning this process of refinement.

Sunday afternoon, I went on a run with Megan and Abby. They were feeling the same sort of rawness- idols being exposed, and removed; clarity and passion for Him as our desire. The run together told us all we can do now is respond to the work of His hands in our lives- challenge each other to let go from those idols, and hold hands when we reach the hottest part of the flame refining us. Sunday evening, I listened to two sermons that solidified this lesson in my heart. The first was my Pastor from home, Brit Merrick, called "When the Father Loses". He spoke on how the Father lost his son enduring sacrifice, pain, and grief, only to gain victory in the end where His Son sits enthroned on His right side. His primary message shared how JC demonstrates how to accept loss and deal with sacrifice, and how if the Father was willing to sacrifice and suffer than He has a different perspective- an eternal one. Not a fleshly perspective. One where victory and winning are the product of resurrection! The gates of Hell did not prevail. Therefore, it is essential to experience loss or sacrifice in order to live in the way of the cross. Clinging to things of comfort is life-threatening. Sacrificing and losing in this world is life-giving! Bill Johnson from Bethel in Redding, Ca gave the second message called "First things First". In this message, Bill uses this imagery of pruning to provide us with the reality that a fruit-bearing tree must be pruned. Even the fruit-bearing branches must be pruned for more growth and more fruit to be born. The discipline we receive (the pruning) from the word is trimming out life-threatening activities, feelings and thoughts. A second component of the message is His emphasis on the 12th Hebrew in v. 28 claiming 'He is a Consuming Fire'. It is paramount to understand His Position as a King. A Father of both compassion AND power! All of this confirmed the idea that He is refining my desires, and my perspective of self and others. I am not put here on this earth for me. I am put here to yell as loud as I can the message of Hope I have to as many people as I can!

After an incredibly frustrating and amazing Saturday and Sunday, today has been phenomenal! I was blessed to be invited with David to go out with some of his students (since I have yet to get my own students!) I played some ultimate frisbee beforehand, and then took off with him, Emily and a few students into town. We left at 11 am, and went to a really expensive Korean BBQ buffet. Okay what the heck?! haha this restaurant was crazy!! There was like four big deep fridges with a bunch of raw meat skewers. All sorts of meat. You brought it to your table and put them over this little bbq thing on your table. It had a basin of coals and a rotating thing for your skewers! It was amazing!! There were french fries (of which I had like four plates!! literally!) and there were all sorts of seafood, ice creams, mooncakes, fruits, veggies and juices! It was so much food! The four girls we went with were precious! They kept bringing back plate after plate for us to eat! At one point I ate Cow intestine because they told me to try it. To my disgust, I asked what it was AFTER I had a bite! They laughed and told me! I quickly put the skewer down on my plate and moved on!! My teammate Emily got Hare (big rabbit) to try. I gave it a try too (when in china....) It was actually really good to my surprise!! Everything was pretty good and we were stuffed afterward! The restaurant has a time limit of 3 hours because it is an all-you-can-eat buffet. The table behind us was a table of ten Chinese men. Halfway through the meal, one by one they began taking off their t-shirts sitting belly free! I was shocked and just shrugged- so many things just go by the wayside when you live in another country! I love it. I loved talking with each of the four girls today too! I loved it because it was a glimpse of what I came here for- to love on these students. I LOVED IT! I felt so much joy hearing them speak in their English and hide their faces with their hands, and giggling when they were embarrassed. They are such lovable people! The day continued when we got back, went to dinner, and saw our first student performance to welcome the freshman. (It reminds me of a school pep-rally). The gymnasium was packed to the brim with students. They all had been given glow-in-the-dark sticks! We received some too and joined in the anticipation of the show! Our teammates Abram and Tannah (who are returning from last year) performed "Apologize" with a few students! It was incredible and I was so blessed to participate in this social aspect of their school life! Being here on campus, makes me miss Westmont in a way that gives it such appreciation! I loved my four years of college and feel grateful to participate in this 1 year of the four years of these students! I am finding His heart for these people and this country. I ask you will find Him a consuming fire in your life today. Love, cd