23 July, Color-Man, Shanghai
I had not yet left the Shanghai Pudong Airport to enter into the city when I suddenly grew excited about China. Even in the airport, I saw a thoroughly different world. Yet it is, in a strange way, compatible with Western culture in a way that the Middle East and India are not. It has a certain order and work ethic that is entirely its own.
My intrigue grows. This place indeed has a rich culture and history and language, to rival the West. It is full of opportunity and versatile to change. The people adapt quickly and work hard. In the mornings, you can find the streets filling with workers as early as five or six. They are on the move. I think that in the same way that it has been fresh ground for Western business, China is also fresh ground for the gospel to grow. This is a place to invest in spiritually. I want to learn its language and history. I want to learn how these people think.
My joy has also been restored for traveling. God has given me the kind of energy and zeal I had at the very start of this trip here at the end. We're on our own now for these last couple weeks, so I needed it. I've got back the desire to make the most of each remaining second of travel. Mark Twain reminds me in The Innocents Abroad that I will regret more the things I don't do than the things I do. What an opporunity we've been given! I will long for these days in the coming years. We will not let it grow old.
Yesterday, Ross, an American YWAMer in Kathmandu, told us something very important. We asked him how he dealt with Daal Baht twice a day, every day. "It's all grace," he said, "It's the grace of God that lets us sleep where we sleep and eat what we eat." He hasn't had a bed to call his own in a long time, yet he is content.
But now I am in a cozy hotel room with Western accomodations. Nepal is in my past; I'll no longer be dealing with Daal Baht and squatter toilets. Or will I go back? We must be ready in our minds to give up everything and follow where Jesus leads. I must be ready to go back to Nepal, or even to India. The best of the world is not enough to satisfy my desires, and the worst of the world cannot separate me from Jesus' love. Therefore I can be confident to live anywhere under His grace.
Drew
My intrigue grows. This place indeed has a rich culture and history and language, to rival the West. It is full of opportunity and versatile to change. The people adapt quickly and work hard. In the mornings, you can find the streets filling with workers as early as five or six. They are on the move. I think that in the same way that it has been fresh ground for Western business, China is also fresh ground for the gospel to grow. This is a place to invest in spiritually. I want to learn its language and history. I want to learn how these people think.
My joy has also been restored for traveling. God has given me the kind of energy and zeal I had at the very start of this trip here at the end. We're on our own now for these last couple weeks, so I needed it. I've got back the desire to make the most of each remaining second of travel. Mark Twain reminds me in The Innocents Abroad that I will regret more the things I don't do than the things I do. What an opporunity we've been given! I will long for these days in the coming years. We will not let it grow old.
Yesterday, Ross, an American YWAMer in Kathmandu, told us something very important. We asked him how he dealt with Daal Baht twice a day, every day. "It's all grace," he said, "It's the grace of God that lets us sleep where we sleep and eat what we eat." He hasn't had a bed to call his own in a long time, yet he is content.
But now I am in a cozy hotel room with Western accomodations. Nepal is in my past; I'll no longer be dealing with Daal Baht and squatter toilets. Or will I go back? We must be ready in our minds to give up everything and follow where Jesus leads. I must be ready to go back to Nepal, or even to India. The best of the world is not enough to satisfy my desires, and the worst of the world cannot separate me from Jesus' love. Therefore I can be confident to live anywhere under His grace.
Drew
posted by Unknown at 2:45 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home