1. white person + blonde hair = great photo opportunity for Chinese people
I went to a pretty ethnically mixed university in the states (Go Bruins!), but there were only a few occasions in my life where I knew that I was the minority: luckily, this time led to me becoming a semi-celebrity!
2. Chinese green beans + Chinese hash browns + bowl of rice= delicious meal!
The first restaurant that we visited in Harbin was this hole-in-the wall place that had some of the best green beans in the world! So, we continued to revisit this place and discovered the magical hash browns that tasted so scrumptious that many of our later meals were also spent here! We tried a lot of different food, but nothing beats green beans and hash browns!
3. white girl + American toilet training = trouble with squatty potties
I don’t think I will explain this one further; these things are simply an adjustment!
4. Americans + street vendor = new Chinese attraction
One of our team members thought it would be a good idea for a present to buy engraved necklaces for friends and decided to talk to a man on the street with polished stones to see if there was any possible means of communicating. Almost instantaneously, a small group of Asian men surrounded us, watching what the Americans would do. By the end of the engraving, we had an audience; not because of what this man could do, but because we were simply there. (little did they know we were secretly drumming up business for him!)
5. clothing market + loud alarm ringing = get to the exit ASAP!!!
There is nothing more terrifying than the possibility of being trapped in an underground clothing market, so it is very important to realize that the loud alarms are not telling you to vacate the premises because of some life-threatening issue like fire or a burst pipe, but just the end of a business day!
6. terrifying Chinese car traffic + Chinese friend around arm = easier crossing experiences
Remember that old game “Frogger”? Well, that is probably the closest explanation of how it felt to cross the street in Harbin. Luckily, our contacts were well aware of our inadequacies, and would wrap their arms around ours, like best friends, and safely lead us across the tumultuous traffic.
7. my eyes + teammate’s eyes = closest thing to telepathy
I have come to the point where all I have to do is stare into the eyes of one of my teammates for about five seconds and I can read their emotions (usually) pretty clearly. Kinda cool, right?
8. China + hang out with friends = ministry
This is probably one of the easiest and coolest ways to do ministry; I am a HUGE fan of relational ministry! It gives you a chance to know a person and let them trust you while you share the Gospel with them.
9. attention to the Holy Spirit + open hearts = God revelations
Our team has been learning a lot about how important it is to follow the Holy Spirit’s promptings. One good example of this is when we did some ATL (ask the Lord ministry) and one of our teammates got an urge to stand at the grocery store near the bananas so, luckily, by this time, we all undoubtedly believed her and she had an awesome opportunity to talk with someone!
10. worship songs + Chinese lyrics = most beautiful image of God’s omnipotence
This was AWESOME! There is nothing more amazing than hearing another language worshipping God; hands down the bomb! This only gets me more excited to see all that God has planned for the rest of the year!
11. me + 6 new teammates in Relentless = family
I know that this may be a little too soon to say, but there have been multiple occasions where I have started to say “well my fam . . I mean team” or thought the same thing. Relentless has become my new family, and I know that we have a lot more to know about each other, but right now I can see how beautifully God orchestrated our team!
