Ni Hao!
My team arrived in Harbin a week ago. After 4 days of travel with heavy packs and cramped spaces, we made it! (pictures will have to come later because of slow internet connections)
In just the short week that we have been here, we have made it home, even if it is just for a few weeks. We even have a Chinese mama who cuts our beef noodles for us. She is the owner of a local restaurant that we have visited frequently and ever since the first visit, she has cared for us, helpless Americans, by dividing up our beef noodle soup and cutting our noodles with chopsticks. She is a special lady and despite language differences, the Lord has blessed our time there in developing a connection with her. Pray that we may be able to show love to her and her family in some way while we are here and for an opportunity and a way to share with her why we are here.
Also, we are learning that we can be more open with our faith than we expected. We don't have to be undercover Christians. Our ministry contact has actually encouraged us to be open from the very beginning when building relationships with the locals. That is why we are here so why would we want to hide the very reason we live! I have felt strengthened by this encouragement and I have felt freedom in being upfront about the good news of Christ being the reason that I am living the way I am living. It is convicting to think back to being in the States and feeling like I had to be a Christian on the down-low and let it come up when it felt "comfortable" but really why would we let the one thing that drives us be buried when it should be the only thing that we would want to proclaim to the world no matter whether we will be accepted by the people we share it with. I am looking forward to loving the people here while still being true to who the Lord has made me to be, a child of His. Our squad's experience with this has already been amazing; the people here want to know more. Please pray for the connections we have started to make with the people here that we would be bold with our openness in the Spirit that God has given each of us and that the people would continue to want to seek it out.
Home is where you can be yourself so Lord, let us be the ones we know we are in you in this place and all the places to come!
