Friday, September 9th

Friday the 9th was a day of firsts. Actually, it seems that I am experiencing a lot of firsts here in Beijing. Of the 18 different people I have read with, 5 of them said the name of Jesus for the first time while we were reading together. "Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Sweetest name I know. Fills my every longing. Keeps me singing as I go."

First things first.

On the 9th, I spent over 8 hours reading the Bible with 7 different people. My first reader of the day, 15 year old Rita, had just finished going through LST's "Acts" workbook, so on Friday, she read from the Gospel of John for the first time ever.

The next hour, was Yo-Yo who was reading the "Lord's Prayer" for the first time. After our reading session I asked her if she wanted to pray with me. She nervously agreed and I began to pray. It wasn't the first time she had heard someone pray - Yo-Yo had attended her first church-service only a month ago and she remembered a prayer about some juice and crackers, she wasn't sure what it was all about. But, after I prayed she held my hand as she spoke her first-ever prayer to God.

Later that day I met with Jessie who was eager to read the last few chapters of the story of Joseph. For the first time, she read how Joseph openly wept and forgave his brothers that had once sold him into slavery.

After Jessie, I read with Bush, a 25 year old guy who read the Bible for the first time just 4 months ago. On Friday, Bush read about not being able to serve both God and money. As is typical of Bush and many of my Chinese readers, he related the lesson to an ancient Chinese proverb: "On one mountain there can not exist two tigers." The idea of focusing your life on something greater than just building up personal wealth was nothing new for Bush. So, he wanted to continue discussing what we had talked about the day before - The Prodigal Son. Forgiveness of the younger son seemed way too easy. And the older son had done just what every good Chinese man does - focus on their work, get the job done and work quietly as they anticipate, except, and rightly deserve a reward. Shifting our discussion, I asked Bush about his relationship with his own dad and as we talked, Bush admitted out loud for the first time that he had never heard his father say "I love you" or "I'm proud of you". He went on to acknowledge that his drive towards achievement was his own way of trying to earn and be worthy of his father's love. I could hardly keep from letting the tears gush out. Then for the first time, Bush heard about God's love for him. Among several verses, together we read and discussed Zephaniah 3:17 and for the first time, Bush didn't have a Chinese proverb to relate to this lesson.

At 8:00pm, I sat down with my 8th and last reader of the day. Ethan, a forty year old physician turned pharmaceutical researcher has been reading with LST workers for over a year. Currently reading through Acts, Ethan's last session with a previous LST'er was about those who followed Jesus after Pentecost - Acts 2:42-47. His first words to me were "So, have you sold everything you own and given all your money to the poor?" I won't go into the details of our long discussion which was less of a discussion since I was mostly asking lots of open ended questions and Ethan was processing and reaching his own conclusions. (I think I watch too much TV because sometimes as I think of questions to ask a reader in order to engage them more deeply into the Scriptures, a voice in my head says 'Objection! Leading the witness!') Anyways, one thing led to another which led to Psalm 23. And for the first time in his very educated life, Ethan read a Psalm - Psalm 23. When he finished he just stared at the words and said "Wow. Beautiful." Again, I had to restrain the tears, but it didn't matter cause Ethan couldn't take his eyes off the words of Psalm 23. Can you blame him?

"The Lord is my Shepard. I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever."

Beijing Birthday

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Birthday.

8-31-11 was my 30th birthday.  Determined not to waste the opportunity to make it truly memorable, my teammates and I planned out a fun filled day in Beijing.  Two of our readers, a mother and daughter, agreed to be our tour guides for the day - which was a great relief because their presence meant that I didn't have to assume my default role as navigator.  

We all got up early and rode a bus to the Temple of Heaven.  I decided to skip the temple and opted for the nearby Pearl Market where I ended up watching hundreds go by on bicycles as I waited for the market to open and contemplated how much weight I could lose if I rode my bike to work everyday . .  of course, this only reminded me that I was 30 and didn't have a job to ride a bike to.  

By 10:00 am, we had regrouped and hopped on another bus to Tiananmen Square.  Somehow the large city bus squeezed through the heavy traffic and deposited us just across the street from Tiananmen.  Taking lots of photos of this and that, we made our way across the square, and to the front of The Forbidden City.  

Walking through the Forbidden City felt a bit like a magic show.  Each time we would walk through a large gate with enormous red doors, there would be a large square to walk across and an impressive ancient looking chinese building at the top of some stairs.  Then we'd walk around the building only to find another large gate with enormous red doors and walk across another large square and up more stairs to another impressive ancient chinese building. Behind that building was another large gate and so on . .  Eventually, the magic show ended and like Alice in Wonderland, we found ourselves in a beautiful garden where we all lost track of each other.  After a short time (cause we were all very hungry by now) we finally found each other again and together found the last gate which led us to the street.  

We hopped on yet another city bus which took us to a subway station where we found an actual Subway Restaurant.  The Americans were tired and just wanted something light, like a sandwich.  Our Chinese guides were tired and just wanted something light like some hot vegetables with rice (we couldn't convince them to even try a Subway sandwich)! Eventually we all got just what we wanted and made our way back home after a short subway ride.

After saying thank you over and over again to our chinese friends, we finally made it back inside our little Beijing apartment.  We got cleaned up and literally hung up our sweat-drenched clothes to dry. Seriously, the humidity was worse than taking a hot shower in a green-house in Savannah, Georgia in July. 

There was a knock on our door at 4:00 and it turned out that my teammates had arranged for the local Dairy Queen (yes, a REAL one) to deliver a cake for my birthday.  So we had ice-cream cake for dinner before heading out again to go to the Chinese Acrobatic Show.  Despite being an obvious tourist magnet, the mini Cirque-du-Soleil show was impressive and yet another reminder of many things that I will never be able to do.

After the show, the four of us decided to forego the planned normal taxi ride back to the apartment and opt for a rick-shaw style taxi instead.  Of course, we didn't realize our drivers were trained in military combat maneuvers.  The exciting and sometimes terrifying ride produced sudden screams and fits laughter - a perfect way to end any 30th birthday. 

 The bikes were endless!

Me at Tiananmen Square.

 What I saw at Tiananmen Square . . .  A little of this . . .

And a little of that.

 Just one of the big red gates.  Luckily they were all already opened for us, cause the looked really heavy.

The crowds at the Forbidden City.

 Our chinese tour guides for the day!

 Our team.

 Oh, the wonderful site of a real Subway!  We were so thrilled!

 Icecream cake!

Riding a bicycle with no hands on the steering wheel . . . one of many things that I will never be able to do.

Our driver looked this tired before we drove the several miles to our apartment...

Divine Appointments and Vicki

Right before I left Dallas, I got a text from a friend who said they were praying for "divine appointments" for me during my trip to China. That phrase has been on my mind ever since and I have tried to be aware of, receptive to, and prepared for "divine appointments".

Vicki (and family).

Beautiful, tan, and just the right amount of skinny, Vicki, a mom of 5, was squeezed between me and the car seat her youngest child was strapped into. Three of her kids sat in front of us and her other two kids (he only daughter and husband) sat across the aisle. Dallas to Detroit; It was the first leg of my long journey to Beijing.

As a rule, I generally introduce myself to my neighbor as soon as I buckle my seatbelt. I mean, if we are going to be sitting thigh-to-thigh for a few hours, it is only proper to know each other's name. But, as I sat down next to Vicki, I immediately started asking all the usual questions about her kids and if they travel often as a family and if they are from Texas or just visiting. After 10 minutes of chit-chat, I begin to think that Vicki may be a "divine appointment".

Already, through our conversation, I could tell that she was a christian. So, I began to ask deeper questions. Like, how did she know her husband was "the one"; and what is her favorite quality about her husband; what sort of marriage advice she wished she had heard before they got married; what kind of Bible studies she was involved in; and what are some of the spiritual and emotional challenges to being a mom to five young kids. You know, those types of questions that a complete stranger on an airplane really shouldn't ask you. But, I was feeling bold and thought that Vicki had something to teach me.

Vicki was so kind and open, sharing many personal stories. One of the things she shared is that marriage isn't always rainbows and sunshine. No matter how strong of a relationship or how passionate a love the most important thing in a marriage is sharing a foundation built on Jesus. A marriage built on the firm foundation of Jesus can survive storms. The hardest part is choosing to never ever give up.

What a great lesson! And, it is one that I have shared recently with different readers when we get to Luke 6:46-47. The storms of life (or marriage) come no matter if you are a Christian or not. You can't prevent storms. But a life centered around belief in Jesus and doing what he says, builds a strong foundation of faith ready to survive the storms. Or, as one of my readers put it, faith in Jesus makes the roots of your life grow long and deep into the ground so that you won't be blown over when the strong winds come. Wish I could have kept the drawing that accompanied this insightful summation.

In my mind, sitting next to Vicki was a "divine appointment". Our brief time together was like adding a little extra reenforcement to my foundation of faith.

Finally Catching my Breath

This is Julie's SIL posting for her.  She is unable to access her blog from China.  This is an update from several days ago.  

It is Tuesday night here in Beijing.  I arrived safely on Saturday night and have stayed busy ever since!  There is so much to share and I am tempted to blurt it all out at once - but instead, I will take a deep breath and share one story at a time.

We began our reading sessions on Monday and I read with 5 women.  Each on varying levels of interest in and prior knowledge of The Bible - but all excited to have a chance to practice their English skills, which are also at varying levels.

Dawn.

Like I said before, it is Tuesday night and I just finished a long day of reading.  This afternoon I had my second reading session with Dawn.  Dawn is 36 years old, married to a successful stock broker and lives on the 26th floor of the building next to where I am staying.  Earlier today she texted me (my teammates and I were issued cell phones when we arrived and like in America, everyone here texts instead of calling) and asked if we could meet  at her home instead of the KFC (yes, a real Kentucky Fried Chicken and no, I haven't eaten there yet) where we usually meet our readers.  I was thrilled to say yes.  Not only because KFC can get loud and crowded or because KFC is farther away or because KFC smells like they just painted the walls - but, just like in the U.S., it is such a treat to be in someone's home and I jumped at the chance to see a typical Chinese home.

Dawn first learned English about 15 years ago while in university but didn't get a real chance to practice it until about 10 years ago when she signed up for a program that used the Bible as a text to teach English - very similar to Let's Start Talking.  So, Dawn has already heard many stories about Jesus - but, that's all they are, just stories.  She knows the characters and she knows the plot.  I pray that she will come to know and deeply connect to the meaning.

Today, we read Luke 1:26-38, which is the story of how the angel told Mary that she would give birth to Jesus.  She was very interested in talking about the word "holy" and what that meant.  The word "holy" was much easier to explain than "Holy Spirit" which we also spent some time discussing.  We snacked on fresh apples and pears and sipped on some type of juice while we talked and our hour together went by quickly.

Before leaving, I learned my first Chinese sentence.  Ni Hao Ke Ai. (knee-how-ck-I)  You are so cute!  I got a lot of practice saying this because Dawn has the sweetest 4 month old baby boy!

Dawn and I will read again on Friday.  Please pray!

If you want to contact me - please send an email.  I can't check my blog (updating via email) or facebook.  Email is juliereagan(at)gmail.com.

And She's Off!

Just incase you're checking in on my long lost blog - I wanted to let you know that (depending on internet access) I'll be posting some new updates regarding my trip to China with Let's Start Talking.  I'm leaving today and will be gone for four weeks!

Check back for updates!  Please pray for safety, boldness, and friendship!