Day 02 四川

The next morning I felt extremely tired. The more tired the more I felt I needed to pray, 'cause this morning I need to share my testimony in the Christmas day pre-service. So I woke up to pray anyway. After prayer, went for the hotel breakfast. It was mostly spicy stuff. I had a bit of traveler diarrhea after the lettuce soup yesterday, so I sticked with the few non-spicy non-liquid food. Amazingly, after the breakfast, I felt the warmth came up my neck and I felt much more comfortable.

At the pre-service, I ended up with only 10 minutes to share, with translation. I was able to share most of the stuff I have prepared though. I shared about my transformation after my mother past away. When I got on stage, I felt God had prepared the congregation for the sharing. They applauded even before I spoke, and they stopped the talking. Most of them are elders, and they love to talk. Prior the pastor had to ask the people to be quiet. i think it was the first time I share that whole experience in a formal setting, and I almost cried, but I managed to hold myself back.

However, I still havn't really talked to any local yet, my mandarin is not as good as I thought, and i need more courage to talk to them, and more concentration to understand their local mandarin.

四川 Day 01

Found a way to post, but I can't read my own blog.

Arrived 四川 safely around 7pm at the church. It seems cold, maybe because I was too tired. Had a very simple dinner at church, mantao and lettuce soup, then joined their Christmas eve celebration. The church was packed, and they had a whole night of celebrations, but after the dinner, I was very tired. i thk I still have some jet lag. Half way through the program, I was struggling to keep my eyes open. After the sermon, they had more singing, and dramas, and dancing. Everyone were so into it, I bet they've spent much time to prep. By the time I went back to the hotel it was 11:30. But the HK team went on to have siu yea, living up to their reputation of not needing to sleep.

Day 00 四川

Stuck in Beijing for the nite, and had to share a room with a stranger. What
service Air China! Thank God my roomate was super nice and polite and didn't
snore. I said to myself that whatever get thrown at me in this trip I'll accept
it, and know God is in charge!

For the first time I experienced the China Great Firewall. No access to Facebook
and Blogger. I'll see if I can keep update this. We should all treassure our
freedom of speech and expression.

Finally arrived HK and met up with the team. What trip already! It feels like
I've been traveling for many days already, but actually it hasn't started yet. I
just want to settle down in one place so I can adjust and get comfortable. But
tomorrow have to wake up at 5am to start the journey up north.

Day -01 四川

I used to be exhilarated just packing and carrying my big backpack to the airport. Doing this once a year, nowadays this seems more like a routine. But it is the unknown ahead that excites me. I absolutely do not know what to expect. Honestly though, I'm looking forward to Beijing, because I know exactly what I'm gonna do there, but what lies ahead in 四川? Well, I'm not gonna expect too much. My objective is to be able to use Mandarin to really talk to the people there, to understand their needs, physically and spiritually, to care for them however limited an outsider can do, and perhaps even to make a friend or two.

Right now though, I'm stuck in YVR. 4 hours delay! I might have to stay overnight in Beijing. But whatever gonna come up, it's all part of God's plan. Got a $10 lunch voucher, and I'm so full now. Actually I prefer to stay in Beijing for the night, so I can change some RMB there, and don't have to find the hostel in HK in the dark.

四川 anticipation

And suddenly, I'm going to another mission trip, to 四川. It's hard to describe how I suddenly came to this decision. However, in retrospect, I realize that this is the trip I meant to go 1 1/2 year ago. As my tasks in fellowship wind down for the year, this opportunity came up. However this time is not me who want to go, somehow I feel it is God who is leading me there this time. As soon as I took that step, doors started to open, cheap air fair, my last minute holiday approval, ...etc. If I have to choose, I probably wouldn't choose this trip myself, but now He has chosen it for me, I will embrace it.

I am worried about my language, and I'm worried that I'll get overly anxious about the way things get done there. My mind set is so different from 1 1/2 year ago now. I just tried to watch a Mandarin news report now, I cannot understand any of the important part of the sentence! Also I really don't know how well I can work with this team. But somehow, these all make sense. Whenever you think you are capable, that's an indication you're not ready. But when you think you are inadequate, that is God's timing that you should start sailing.

Ucluelet Reserve Visit

Suddenly I have gotten a holiday, suddenly I was on my first ever mission trip, suddenly I was living in a Native Reserve for the first time, suddenly I found out there would be no shower for the next 3 nights, suddenly I was sleeping on hard floor in the community hall with no bed for the next 3 nights, suddenly my cold or flu that I was having for the last 2 weeks were gone, suddenly I was the only 2 persons in the team who spoke fluent English, suddenly I was evangelizing!

It was a tough and hard core trip, but when everybody was working just as hard, it just made it much more easier to bare. We had so much laughters, we experienced so much together, we experienced victories, and we also met persecutions. Sometimes I feel, if we have to chase down to black and white, who is right and who is wrong, who deserve more care or not, ultimately our conclusion would be no one deserves our love, including ourselves. So at the end, we just have to love, no matter who that person is, how thankful that person is. I feel there are things I didn't do as well as I could. When I was tired, I lost focus and I shied away from approaching strangers, and wasted some opportunities. But it was my first time, and I just have to do better next time.

My feeling for this trip is mixed, full of contradictions, and questions. I don't know how to describe it now, there are so much things I have yet to learn. All I can say now is people there are living a very different lives than all of us. Ucluelet is a tourist town, and its not a bad town at all. But if you travel 5 or 10 minutes pass the main town area, there is a back road, with no street light, and almost no sign at all, is the entrance to the Ucluelet reserve. After 10 more minutes drive through this back road, a residential area with no pave road appears. It seems like a hide away, forgotten little old town. Not all the houses there are old and broken, but just the feeling is so deserted. I then found out that the people and resources in reserves are governed in very different ways than other places in Canada. Together with their history and culture, not only they are living a very different lives, but their thinking is very different. As I said there are still a lot of things I have yet to learn. I just hope more Godly love will come to these places, and will make things right.

marriage "take 2"

Most of the weddings I've been to were Christian first time weddings, I've used to seeing the bride and bride groom making their marriage vow for the first time, formally thanking their parents for raising them up in a wedding setting for the first time. I have to admit it took a little adjustment in my head when I realize this is "take 2". It doesn't seem to make sense to thank your parents twice in public, because it seems to nullify the first time. Or perhaps it was just a ritual. A table of step-daughter classmates also caught my attention. Children are growing up in a very different world these days. However it was especially touching when the step-mother made a pledge to build a new family together with the step-daughter and father.

No one is perfect, and sometimes it takes humility courage to realize a failure and give yourself a second chance.

Some people however are in a total different mind set nowadays. They go into a marriage for the romance, with the notion of one day there might be separation, but lets enjoy the good time while we can, who knows what will happen down the road.