No regrets Yesterday, Today contentment, Tomorrow anticipation of His Glorious Re-Appearance!

Yesterday was beautiful! I got to sleep in after a tough week of training and went with my friend Abbey out into the city! The day was a complete adventure and I loved not having a plan to stick to! There was so much freedom and flexibility with our day because it was just the two of us!
The day began with us making it about ten steps out of the hotel lobby until we turned to each other and asked if the other knew how to get where we wanted to go. We started laughing, but then turned into action mode and pulled out every map we could find! We were a sight! Each of us were trying to get our bearings with two different maps. After about ten minutes, I saw our friend Kelley walk by and she was able to help us figure out the bus/subway route! We were on our way!! We arrived to "the Village" (or East side of Beijing) without a hitch! We found a local Starbucks and set up camp to get work done! We have our first day lesson plans due this week and we are expected to present 25 minutes of that lesson plan to the rest of the program. Quite intimidating! So as we settled in to our time at Starbucks, I attempted to connect to the "wi-fi". Unfortunately, I needed a local telephone number to connect. I saw an older white man sitting on the right side of Abbey. I leaned over and asked him if he spoke English. He was reading from an Ipad and he didn't even budge. Clearly he did not speak English. Abbey and I laughed at my embarrassment. I continued perusing the place for an English speaking person. I was able to semi-read the lips of a couple sitting across the way from us. I hesitantly decided to ask them if they could help us and thankfully they spoke English. Unfortunately, their phone number did not connect us to the Internet. So our plan to work so faithfully became botched. Our eyes began wondering as we "people-watched". When suddenly, I saw about 8 white, European "pretty" boys stroll in front of our window in the plaza. They wore matching shirts and tight jeans. I hit Abbey and pointed to the scene they were making as a trail of photographers followed close after. What was going on?! We quickly grabbed our cameras and followed after them (leaving all our stuff on the tables in Starbucks, oops!!). We sat a ways off from the guys who apparently were models and began a photo shoot. We took pictures and tried to work up the nerve to ask for a picture with them. Being too intimidated we ran back inside and continued working. The guys walked by our window at least two other times and every time we ran out and tried to find enough confidence to get a picture with them but each time we chickened out- pretty sure they classified us as crazy stalkers after the third time.
When we couldn't focus any longer, we decided to mosey around the plaza. As we wandered around, we came across several great discoveries!! We found a market that had a lot of American products and we instantly became kids in a candy shop! (That day we visited the store twice for purchases that's how much we loved it!) Our second discovery was a store similar to Brookstone in America. Our eyes instantly found the massage chairs and we bolted for two of them. As we sat down we turned the chairs on and began what turned into a 30 minute massage time-out from our day! And it was all for FREE! It was paradise!! When we felt the store clerks were giving us the look, we moved on to find lunch. We walked around forever trying to find a mexican restaurant but to no avail. Settling on a place called the "Blue Frog", we sat down. The waiter came over and quickly began utilizing his English skills. He asked us where we were from and Abbey replied Georgia and I replied California. The rest of the dining experience he referred to us as Georgia and California haha. He was a crack up! While he was quite a character to meet, my favorite part of the day was meeting Mr. Lou. I sat down next to Mr. Lou on the subway ride back to Bai Wa Lu. At first, I thought he was telling me I couldn't sit down next to him and I gave him a really confused look. He did not clarify, but just proceeded on with a conversation to me and Abbey. He is a math professor in Beijing with hopes of owning his own advertising agency. He was such a sweetheart and explained how he only sees his parents once a year. As we approached our stop, I asked if he was getting off there too because it was the end of the subway line. He looked at me and said "no". I asked,"did you miss your stop?" And he said "yes". I felt horrible and asked him how many stops ago. He replied by pointing at the route sign and began counting "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8 stops ago." I looked at Abbey and began to laugh! The sweet man missed his stop by 8 stops because of the conversation we were having. He was so excited to speak English with us and now he would have to ride the Subway back 8 stops! This is one thing I love about the Chinese, they simply are so excited to share in a conversation with the little English they know. I hope I will learn to have courage in trying my tongue at someone's language... something as simple as a broken conversation can leave an everlasting affect on someone. We must keep in mind, every thing we do has a ripple effect at the micro and macro level. Therefore, my encouragement is to keep in mind how a simple conversation with the lady or man that checks you out at a grocery store can have an eternal influence!
Apart from the fun I had yesterday, today was a day of deep learning. I am humbled by the Father's revelation today. Today was another Sunday. A day of Sabbath. A day I hope to learn how to treat as the Word encourages: a day of rest and renewal. My Sunday today began with fellowship at an International Fellowship. Our passports were checked at the door because the church only admits foreigners. Nationals cannot come to the fellowship service. While I missed being separated from national brothers and sisters, the Father showed me just how big He is. There were m's from all over the world seeking to spread the same Hope that I had found in North America. One man introduced himself from India. He sat near me and was dancing and singing to the English worship and I was awed at how the Father is omniscient. He can work both in my life and the lives of those in India!! He is not restricted or confined to any one culture or language or continent. How often our prideful American perspective is how He is simply English speaking and most alive in North America. No. The FAther is active and living everywhere. With this realization came a new discovery. I have a passion to make this known to people in North America. I desire to show high schoolers and college students how big the Father is and how He works as the Shephard of the nations. [don't know where he will take this passion and vision I saw today- but I feel it has something to do with what I will spend the rest of my life doing if that makes sense lol] I am excited to spend the rest of the year in silence seeking His prompting on this seed of a vision!
Along with a great morning fellowship, the program met our President Tim today. He came and gave us a cap of our role and the macro view of the FAther's work in history and His redemption of mankind. What a view! In Matthew, he touched on the Great Commission. Then in Genesis he talked about the call of Abraham and how the Son would bring completion to the promise made by the Father to Abraham and his descendants. Then he showed how patient our Father is in Matthew 24. The end rests on the final decision of the last person regarding eternity. Essentially, he pointed out a few main life changing points: first, the FAther's priority or will means there is going to be pain (you see this when the Son tells Peter how he will pass on from this life in order to bring more glory). Second, we need to be faithful in the little things because the micro level impacts the macro level of eternal hope. Third, our location does not define us- rather the hope in the work of the Son defines us. Finally, he left us with this thought when you find something you're willing to die fore, then you find something worth living for. As I committed to coming here, it was a reality that the goodbyes I made to my family and friends could actually be my last. We never know when our time will come, but for me personally, I recognize my Hope is all that matters in this world. Not any job I could potentially score, not any boy I could love and marry, not any riches I make or toys I have. Simply, Hope. That is why I live, why I was created, and I will seek to find this "I, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness" the Good Book. Final thought: as we live on a "micro-level" only influencing a small community of people, the small community of people also influence others and there eventually is a "macro-level" of influence from that one person. When it comes to the work in the nations, understand that our Father works on the macro-level "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands, and they cried out in a loud voice, 'salvation belongs to our Father, who sits on the thrown and to the Lamb". Share your Hope today so that you can look at every yesterday with no regrets, every today you have you will be content, and every tomorrow you can look forward to His Glorious Appearance someday!!