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.