1) Depending on Him, talking with Him
I continue to be challenged to depend on my Father. I think my greatest challenge in Beijing has also been my greatest blessing. There are many times when I feel so frustrated that I cannot communicate. Ashamedly, I still sometimes feel envious of Mike for his ability to speak Mandarin. Although I often feel handcuffed, in these last few days my Father has been revealing to me in new and fresh ways the inner strength of kneeling . I may not be able to converse well, but I can depend through bowing my head. And right now that is the primary way I can participate in my Father's mission. As I have reflected on working at the factory these past two summers, I am convicted of my misguided zeal and passion. I went into conversations on my own and not by the power of my Father's holy gift.
Last night, we went for a massage at a nearby parlor. Mike and I have been building up friendships with a few of the workers. As I lay on my bed listening to the others speaking in Mandarin I felt a deep peace as I talked with Him. Although my Dad has revealed so much to me already, I don’t want it to stop. I earnestly hope that the secrets of practising the presence of my Father will be equally as fresh and convicting as I lie in bed during my old age.
2) The urgency of His mission of hope
I have also been further challenged this week as to what it means to practice and believe in the urgency of His mission. I am by no means as confident in Him as I hope and wish but some incidents this week have altered my thinking. On Sunday, at International fellowship Mike and I heard a message on Luke 5:27-32 which spoke about the call of Levi and his immediate response. I had never noticed that the first thing Levi did after believing in Him was throw a party of hope and love for all his friends. Levi was not a mature son, he didn’t have all the facts, but he wanted to share the love which he had received. The message was really powerful.
On Thursday evening Mike, Karma and I had hot pot at the local supermarket. Although we conversed, I often was clueless to a lot of the conversation. As often happens, Mike gives me the recap afterwards. He explained that he shared with Karma the exciting friendships we are developing with the ladies at the hotpot. Karma told Mike that next time he should share His love. I was so taken back. In Canada, it would never happen this quickly but sure enough the next day as we sat talking with one of the girls, my Father's love came up.
In China, the ambassadors of hope understand the urgency of the message of my Father. This is something that the ambassadors in the west don't fully understand. While the people of China are hungry for truth, the steeples in the west are littered with hardened hearts and a attitude of complacency and idolatry. How do I practically respond to this, in China and as I prepare to go back home?
3) Want a headache - listen to traditional Chinese music
Tonight I went out for dinner at a famous traditional Chinese restaurant. We ate to the piercing noise of Chinese music. I have heard some pretty lousy music over dinner, but never to this extent.
These past few weeks I have often felt like unleashing a two-by-four on my computer. It is so SLOW! It can take up to thirty minutes just to load a program. Needless, to say I am reformatting my computer. Right now I am waiting on a copy of Microsoft Word.
5) I Love Bubble Tea!
I still remain shocked that I hadn't tried Bubble Tea in Canada. It is the next best thing from a fruit smoothie. There are cheap too - like 41 cents Canadian. So far I have tried Honey-Dew Melon, Papaya and Coconut.
Jon Candle
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