Mission 2012 - Another Day Off

Entry Sixteen of my China blog:

Day Sixteen…our second day off! Today I tried to sleep in, but to no avail so I got up and had breakfast as per usual. Got an early call from the girls as they wanted to go see the doctor as Purdey was not well. So off we went to see the doctor at the hospital. Quite uneventful at the hospital, but at least it was quick. After we wrapped up there, we headed into the town center to have lunch, spicy noodles again…same as last week.

After lunch we headed out to the local museum which is showing off the local version of the Xian Terracotta warriors, although these ones predate those in Xian.

The follow photo is the "fire extinguisher" for the museum...

It was quite interesting, although it was freezing cold out there! After we wrapped up there, I went to grab a coffee from the place next to our hotel and then we all headed off for massages! Good times. 

After this it was simply a walk back to the hotel and thats where I stayed for the rest of the night.

Struggling To Success

We all face struggles...be it large or small. We all come to points in life where we question what step we should take next. With this comes the concerns over our abilities to succeed, the worry that we will fall, that we will fail. Security in life is such a valued thing, in all areas of life we see the concept of security being applied...but do these "securities" really guide us through the tough times? They may make the aftermath a little more bearable...but they will not give us the wisdom to face these situations...they will not give us the strength to push on when the going gets tough!

Looking at it from another angle...we put so much faith and belief in pieces of paper. Whether it be home or car insurance...or even simply money...we will easily put our trust in things of this world...things that when you really look at it...are not very secure at all. But we dont put our faith in Jesus as easily...why is that? Despite the amazing feats that Jesus conducted while alive, we still doubt His power in our lives.

Last month was Easter, a reminder that Jesus Christ died for us. One thing that gets preached time and time again is that there is a great power evident in the resurrection, but do we personally tap into it? Jesus died for each and everyone of us...He died to take away each of our sins. Not just the believers...everyone. This means that everyone has the access to tap into the power of God. Jesus wants to bless each and every one of us because simply put...He loves each and every one of us. He would have gone to the cross even if it was only for one persons life.

But then looking back at our lives...do we live with this in mind. Too often we just live in our own capabilities...we dont believe that God will or wants to help us. But we must ask our selves...what did He die for if we dont allow God to work in our life?

In Romans 8:26, we read of this point -

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

The Holy Spirit knows what steps we are to take...are we going to follow?

I will tell you a simple fact...Jesus WANTS to be part of the struggle! He wants to guide us...He wants us to succeed!! Friends dont always WANT to be part of the hard times, they want to be part of the good times. Look at football supporters...there when the teams going well...but they vanish when things arent so great. God is always there...He is by our side when we are struggling and He is still right beside us when we reach success. This is because He loves us.

But too many times we do it all ourselves...we feel that God will not help us and that we can only help ourselves.

Are we insecure? Are we impatient? Or are we simply too proud?

Whatever it is...we limit God's blessings...we prevent our lives from being enriched by the power that God has. But in order to live the life that God planned for us...we must open the door to God....we must allow Him into our hearts and ultimately into the cockpit of our lives.

Never forget the simple fact - God wants to help...He loves you so much!

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever - John 14:16

Mission 2012 - Coffee and Fun

Entry Fifteen of my China blog:

Day Fifteen…Breakfast and prayer meeting…then off to the center. Today we only had a half day at the center, so we started the day with bracelet making with the beads and string we had left over from last time. After this we did some whiteboard drawing and handed out stickers to the winners. The kids just adored the stickers and were so excited whenever they were awarded one! The morning was over quite quickly actually and before we knew it…it was lunch time!

After lunch I dropped off my laundry as today was going to be the last chance to get any done before we head back to Beijing. Then I decided I was due a coffee. Now next door to our hotel is a western restaurant which actually serves a variety of coffees, so in I went. I ordered a coffee and a waffle. The coffee wasn't bad…the waffle was woeful.

The afternoon we had a group meeting where we prepared for our performance we are doing on Monday and Tuesday next week. The theme…chinese new year story. I have luckily got the part of Narrator! After this we had a two hour break before the prayer meeting and dinner. I took this time to go down to the bread shop to get some tasty cakes. 

Back for the meeting then dinner and MASSAGE! By the time I got back…it was well after midnight…but I was feeling very relaxed…but with an array of red circles on my back from the cupping. Good times!

Mission 2012 - They Come Bearing Gifts

Entry Fourteen of my China blog:

Day fourteen…everyone is starting to get a little sick, part because of the weather and part because most of the kids are sick too. One of the disadvantages of coming to China during winter, although my previous trip during Spring time still suffered from its fair share of sick cases.

Up early for breakfast and then onto the welfare center we went. The day started as per usual…except today the music lesson was held in the boys own room opposed to the girls room which is the norm. This meant things were a little more chaotic that usual with the limited space available.

We were about half way through the music lesson when we were hit with the unexpected. Top government officials were doing a CNY visit to the center and with them came the media circus. Television camera, photos being shot at every chance….it was insane and the worst thing was…they came baring SNACKS!

Now you might think this is a great idea, but in some ways it is a good thing that the government officials came to visit the kids. But you need to look at the bigger picture….these kids dont get snacks…they get the bare minimum when it comes to food. So for people to come in and shower the kids in all types of snacks is just not a good idea, because as you can expect the kids went crazy! The more able kids just grabbed like crazy filling every pocket the could with as much food as they could grasp. But what they forget is…there are some children that arent as able so they are not capable of grabbing what they can. One example is XiaoPang who is confined to the wheel chair and has little to no control of his arms. So while the photographers and camera crew were shooting shots of the government official handing food to the kids, I took some food and handed it to the kids in wheel chairs, in particular XiaoPang. Now as we need to feed him too, I was sitting with him at the other end of the room giving him some food, when the circus made its way to where I was sitting. Then the government boss commenced questioning me, by way of Elsie translating, on why I came to volunteer, what I did back home and thanked me for my work. This is all good and nice…but to be honest I preferred to concentrate on XiaoPang and not the circus that was making its way around the room.

Once they left, the kids were totally hyper so we did what we could to calm them down until lunch time. We went and got our food and then back to the center we went. The afternoon we started by doing what was potentially going to be a very risky activity….PAINTING. So very carefully we sat them all down and set out paper for them to paint on. We were very careful to make sure this was well managed as it had a great potential to get out of hand. But to our success, it went exceptionally well. After that wrapped up, we thought this was a good chance to take them outside for some sports and fun. We ran some laps, did some exercises and played some games. This was also great fun and you could see all the kids really getting involved and enjoying. 

Despite the cold, going outside is a rare luxury for the kids and you can really see it by looking at their faces as we head outside for activities. They love to play outside, but its not a common thing. I guess its just another thing we take for granted in our lives.

After this we headed back inside and did some whiteboard drawing, similiar to previous occasions. This is something the kids really enjoy, as we draw something, they all guess what it is. Unfortunately I was called away as DangKou was having a bad day and was screaming at the top of his lungs. So I was hoping to take him down to the therapy room. But unfortunately it was locked and NOONE was around to unlock it for us. At this point he started screaming at the top of his lungs AGAIN. So quickly running out of ideas, I thought to take him outside to the play ground. But again afer only two times down the slide…the screaming commenced. At this point I had no idea, but to take him back up to the boys room. Fortunately for me, when we got back up there he had calmed down and was fine until dinner time.

We headed off to dinner…tonight at the congee restaurant where I ordered what I chose last time in Sanmenxia…Strawberry and Apple congee! Awesome stuff!