Mission 2012 - Reflections To Date

The entries that I have been posting were all written at the end of the day. We would have finished dinner, possibly gone for a massage and I would finally be wrapped up in bed. At this point I would take time out to reflect on the day, the activities that we had performed, what had been successful, what we could have done better...and ultimately what was God speaking to me about.

The trip is much more that "helping the children" in Sanmenxia. Its about drawing closer to God, listening to His word and ultimately carrying out his will. There is not one person in the universe that God has not mapped out a purpose for their life. You may or not believe it...but thats the reality...the thing is its up to us to either fulfill that purpose or play things the way we want.

This doesnt mean in any way that God simply treats us as workers that are striving towards a goal that he is instructing us to work towards. That is so far from the truth...the reality is God loves us. Simple as that...and as a result this means God only wants the best for us. This is clearly evident in the plan for each of our lives...our Father in heaven wants each of us to lead extraordinary lives...all we need to do is listen to His calling and use the gifts he has blessed us with.

This brings me back to the children in Sanmenxia. A lot of people will say things to me like "I admire what you did" or "thats a really nice things you are doing for those kids" or "you are a really great person to do that kind of thing". Im not trying to talk myself...actually quite the contrary. For the truth is...I cannot do any of it without God. God gives me the job that pays for my trip. God gives me the courage to travel to a foreign country, God gives me the passion to work with these children and ultimately God gives me the wisdom in terms of handling each situation that comes my way. It is all God...not me!

But the problem when doing something like this which can ultimately lead to a high profile is...you can get caught up in the moment. Both times I have travelled to China for mission we have appeared in the newspaper, we have been photographed incessantly and had video cameras follow our most mundane moves. People want to meet us, people want to treat us for dinner...and probably most common...people stare at us like we are movies stars...or circus animals...depending on how you like to perceive it.

It is throughout all this that I need to be giving it all to God...and thank him constantly for what He is doing through my life. This is the calling that God has given me and I am grateful that He chose someone as broken and simple as me to do such amazing things. There are moments where I reflect and honestly find it incredible that I was able to make it through and achieve what I did. But the truth is...I didnt "make it through"...I had God empowering me, guiding me and ultimately using me for His amazing plan.

Mission 2012 - Half Day Means Massage Time

Entry Twelve of my China blog:

Day Twelve…today is our half day at the center. I slept in this morning so I only had 10 minutes to shower and get dressed…but I still made it to the morning prayer meeting in time. A quick breakfast afterwards and it was off to the center.

As we were only going to be at the center for half a day, we didnt plan too much today and went along with what the teacher had in store. As normal it started with singing, and I spent this time with WenKou on my knee and then the rest of the session with Wei Hao, simply tossing a ball as he had lost interest in the singing activity for the day.

Afterwards I spend some time with WenKou in the Therapy room, today we introduced a couple of new activities to him, with some success. He has the right idea with most activities, just needs some guidance at times. But you can definitely see he is making progress.

Afterwards I spent some time with SanYing helping her study English, she is just so intelligent. Its really sad at times to think that she is stuck in that place. She is so beautiful and smart…she deserves much more.

We wrapped up at 12pm and headed back to the hotel. I quickly grabbed what I needed for the afternoon in town and we were off to eat some delicious spicy noodles and do some shopping. After shopping it was off to get a massage…and facial! While the massage was quite good…they decided to do 刮痧 (gua sha) which is also known as "coining" to us English speaking folk. Basically the results speak for itself….it was a touch painful. Apparently the more red marks you end up with, the more unhealthy you are. So according to that…im about to die!

The massage and facial were done and it was time for dinner. As it was a free afternoon, we choose a restaurant which is along one of the main roads close to our hotel. Looking like a classy place, we gave it a try and werent disappointed. Chicken, beef, prawns and even FROG…we ate so much and were totally satisfied as we left.

As we left, looking at our watches it was already after 9pm and we were remarking how fast the day got away from us! It was straight back to the hotel with us and to bed ready for the day ahead of us.

Mission 2012 - Breakfast Appreciation

Entry Eleven of my China blog:

Day Eleven…Im getting into the habbit of having breakfast after the prayer meeting as it affords me another 15 minutes sleep in the morning…that is something I really need at the moment! When you go into the breakfast place each morning, they present you with a few mantou and a hardboiled egg, which is cooked in some kind of soy sauce. Untill this morning I never ate the egg…probably because I was too lazy to take the shell of and get soy sauce over my hands. But this may sound silly…this morning I decided I would eat the egg. Every day the kids in the welfare center are served up such simple meals, with relatively low nutritional content unfortunately. But they eat it up like its the best meal they ever had. They dont complain…they dont throw any away. They are just happy to get what they have been given. I wont let this post turn into a self-reflection post too much…but I just have to say that this is an area in my life I really need to focus on. Am I happy with what I have been given or am I just always asking for more and more? Am I grateful for what I have been given or am I just looking for the pieces that are missing? I feel God is really pressing this topic to the front of my mind and its something that I know during this trip I will see great changes in my mindset.

Off to the center at 8:30am and we commenced the morning as per usual with music, song and dance. Pretty uneventful morning that went off without a hitch, I even had time to take WenKou down to the Therapy room to do some exercises which led right into lunch time.

Lunch time was the standard affair and shortly after it was back to the center. This is where the fun begins… This afternoon it was our turn to run the class. We commenced with making bracelets using string and beads and this went off without too many headaches. But at the end of this we were going to do some exercises using the whiteboard…but wouldnt you know it…NO WHITEBOARD MARKERS to be found ANYWHERE! In the space of 10 minutes while we searched high and low for where the teacher had placed the markers, the kids went from well behaved to totally out of control. It is summed up by Fu Rui coming up to me with a texta in his hand AND a LOT of texta across his forehead! So ultimately the afternoon was free play time for the kids…lesson learnt is dont forget a whiteboard marker!

The day ended with the kids calm again, watching some tv. We headed off to dinner at a supposed "Shanghai" style restaurant…but according to our Shanghai team member…the food on offer was far from Shanghai-nese. But it was good all the same. As per usual I ate my fair share and was pretty full as we made the walk back to the hotel.

Tonight was my turn to lead the evening worship meeting…something I have NEVER done in my whole entire life!! The two songs I chose were: Hope of all hearts by Planetshakers and This is our God by Hillsong. I opened by just sharing on how grateful I am for all that God has done in my life, especially as we are here in Sanmenxia it really highlights how awesome God is and how much we are blessed. I guess it went well…

Mission 2012 - Week Two Begins

Entry Ten of my China blog:

Day Ten…Monday morning, we commence a full week at the center

The morning is as per usual, all the kids march down to the room which holds the Piano. This is music time for them and its something I find majority of the kids really respond to quite well. It commences with the teacher playing the guitar for the children and they sing and clap along. After about 5-6 songs we move into a time of dance, where we join hands and form a circle then dance to a number of different songs. A lot of fun and a lot of laughing. 

It was during this time where I came across one little girl in particular. I vaguely remeber her from my last trip and she usually sits off to the side and is not too involved in the activity. So it was during this time I invited her to join in the dancing, but she automatically wanted to be picked up. As I scooped her up with one arm, while trying to keep dancing with the kids at the same time, Elsie informed me that the carers had told her this girl really likes to hug…and I soon discovered that for myself. She put her arms around me and would not let go. Its time like this I begin to reflect on how truly fortunate I am. It might sound like a broken record…but I have been blessed with so much…much more than I deserve. Simple things like a hug…we can take it for granted. While this little girl had her arms wrapped tightly around me, it underlined the fact that these kids only want to be loved…nothing more. They never did anything wrong, they never hurt anyone. While this girl isnt exactly in the area Im assigned to, I felt God had brought her into my path for a reason. I hope that during my time in Sanmenxia I can make a difference in her life, show her the love of God.

(Unfortunately there were no photos taken of this little girl...one of the disadvantages with not being able to take photos ourself within the center)

After dancing, it was back to the main room, where we sat the kids down and went through a basic lesson with them. Today was "square", "circle" and "triangle". The kids were then tested to see if they could differentiate between the shapes when given pictures at random. Before we knew it, lunch time was upon us and it was time to go for lunch.

Same place for lunch, but we finished just after 1pm which gave us just under an hour to rest up before going back to the center…much needed rest time!!

We got back to the center just after 2pm and the afternoons activity was…OUTDOORS! Now remember its winter in China and the temperatures have been in the minus region more often than not! But outdoors we went…and first activity once we got out in the courtyard was…running laps! While this is easy enough on its own…when you have a child who is tired and doesnt want to run anymore holding your hand…meaning you have to carry them…while still running…you soon get pretty tired!

After running, it was time for ball games and other team exercises. This was honestly so much fun. Being able to see the joy on their faces as we played various games with them. This is what they should be doing more often….this is what the deserve. 

Back inside, we were all a little tired from all the running around, so once back inside it was a chance to take rest and the TV was turned on. While this isnt used too frequently, it is a good option every now and then as it gives everyone a bit of a chance to relax. 

Before we knew it, it was time to go for dinner. The days in the center truly fly by so quickly! Tonights dinner selection…Hot Pot! Luckily it was right around the corner from our hotel, which made it super convenient.

Another amazing day at the center in Sanmenxia. So much fun and so many laughs!

Mission 2012 - Rest Day Number 1

Entry nine of my China blog:

Day Nine…day off.

 What can be said about the day off? Up relatively early and in to the town center to do some shopping and stock up for the week ahead. The day off really was a good chance to rest up and take a break from the rushing around.

For lunch I headed to a local place for some spicy noodles which went down a treat. One thing to remember when travelling in China is that places that look dirty and dodgy usually serve up the best food and today was no exception. Its interesting when you think about it, in Melbourne a lot of people would prefer to go somewhere nice and quiet, not pack to the rafters with diners, not crammed on a table with 6 other people you dont even know. But in China its quite the opposite...the places that are quiet with less people are the ones serving up food that isnt great. Another surefire tip for picking a good place to eat in China...pick the ones that look dirty as opposed to the ones that are spotless and clean...while the look of a place may be off putting at first...you should allow the food to do the talking!

In the evening we went to a local restaurant which served up a few interesting dishes that were quite good. Of course we over ordered as per the norm in China…but it was still extrememly cheap, less than $10AUD per person for about 6 dishes!

Mission 2012 - Old Friend Joins The Crew

Entry eight of my China blog:

Day Eight…it was my turn to share morning devotional! I felt led to share on the topic of perserverence and how God has given us the strength to persevere in our own lives despite what we face.

After devotional, it was a quick breakfast and off to the center. On the weekend the teachers do not come in so the day would be spend with just the carer and us to take care of the children. So majority of the day was spent as free time for the kids.

Today we were met by Kevin, who had come up from his job teaching English in a city south of Wuhan. He would be my roommate for the remainder of the trip and it was great to see him again. When I was in Canada in 2010, he was unfortuntely away from Vancouver so we didnt have the chance to catch up then.

In the afternoon Kevin joined our group and we continued with the free play time. It was a pretty easy day, everything went off without a hitch. Different groups of kids were entertained by different activities throughout the day, whether it be playing with the building blocks, colouring or playing with a ball. 

Dinner tonight was at another restaurant which is near the hotel I stayed at last time. Standard Chinese food again, but big servings so we all went home very full!

Mission 2012 - First Full Day

Entry Seven of my China blog:

Day Seven…our first full day at center. We discussed with the teacher that we would help out with the afternoon arts and crafts activity. The morning was spent doing the musical activities the teacher prepares for the kids. This includes singing, dancing and clapping along. Lots of fun for the kids.

Afterwards we had some free play time for the kids which led right up to lunch time. After lunch we did colouring, which meant each child was paired up and they worked on a colouring sheet as a pair. This consumed most of the afternoon and it was time to go before we knew it!

Dinner tonight was noodles…not the best…but I still ate it all up! A quiet night, but not before I prepared my devotional for tomorrow morning!