Okay, So I know we have only been here a little over a week but here are a few things we have already noticed that are different from living in the U.S.
The only driving law is that there is no law. Only the wealthy drive their own cars, and they live and die by their horns. That's all you hear all day long. No need for an alarm clock here... we wake up when traffic picks up each day around 7:00 am.
No ice in your drinks, and no free refills.
The kindness you experience here is incredible. When a local notices you need help on the street and understands that you are a foreigner they rush to help you as much as possible... we don't exactly do that in the U.S. when people do not speak our language.
Waiters will not accept tips in restaurants, in fact they will chase you down to give it back to you if you try.
You pay for things in advance here: cell phone minutes, electricity, rent.
Milk is kept warm on a shelf.
It is cheaper to get chinese take out and have it delivered to your door, than it is to buy groceries and cook for yourself.
Mcdonalds and KFC deliver... and for just $1.00. crazy! When you ask them to point you towards American Food they will direct you to McDonalds. They think that is all we eat!!
They don't have dryers, dishwashers, or ovens.
Even on the sunniest day it is gloomy, because of the smog in the city.
There's a rule here to never pass up a western toilet (what we use in America) bc it may be miles before you find another one. The Chinese use squatty potties.
No animal is off limits here in the meat department.
There's no toilet paper in public restrooms (you have to always carry your own with you) because the people here just steal it.
I don't believe there is anything like OSHA, or builiding regulations. You can walk down the street and see the building next to you crumble because someone decided to tear it down. They don't have to give notice to the people in the area or get any type of permit.
Everyone here has their Chinese name, and then they all choose an american name too. For instance, they like to pick names they think would be cool in the U.S. We have met someone named Cherry, Lookie, Spice, Avril, Madonna, I can't remember them all but it's hilarious.
It is not rude to spit, burp etc in public ... but they are completely turned off if you pick up any food with your hands!
It's nothing for someone to walk up and get in front of you while you have been waiting in line for ten minutes. They all do it here, and no one says anything about it, not even the person who has been standing their waiting.
The Pizza Huts and Papa John's here are pretty fancy. It is a special occasion for the Chinese to go to one of these restaurants because it is expensive compared to the Chinese food.
The Servers will avoid coming to your table to wait on you in places like these because they are scared to death their English is not perfect. They get so embarrassed when they feel their English isn't good.
I will post more of these later. I could go on for days!
Jess
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Today God reminded me that I have ONE purpose, in China and in life, and that is to LOVE. I could ask for no greater an assignment.
One week ago today we left for what we knew would be an exciting and challenging season of our lives. So far we have experienced nothing but kind people, who look for an opportunity to help us at the drop of a hat. We expected to go through some culture shock when we arrived, and have been surprised to find that we haven't felt that way at all. Maybe it is because we prepared ourselves for many months before coming here. Their culture is very different, but they are also very similar too.
Today I found myself wrestling with the fact that a lot of the people we will help here won't understand our language and we won't understand theres, so how will we "reach" them? While we are serving are we so focused on the end result that we forget the real reason we are doing it anyway? The bible does not say, to serve others but only when you are certain it will make a difference or change a life. Today it hit me that it is more about obedience, and complete surrender to what God has required of us. I pray that we will all obey what God has called us to do, even if in the end we may not always see the fruits of our labor. When we feed the hungry, we are feeding our savior. When we love our neighbor, we are loving Jesus.
I've realized before we left we were so concerned with how life would be without all of the conveniences and comforts we had back home. I tried to prepare for the worst, and tried to bring all of the things I thought we might miss the most. Last night was the first night we had a chance to put everything away. As we emptied 6 huge suitcases, and 4 carry ons we both felt ashamed. After seeing that most hard working middle class families here can hang all of their clothing on one clothes line, I honestly felt ridiculous that I would think 6 suitcases and 4 carry ons was a sacrifice.
We are all so scared of what might happen if we don't live comfortably. We are shackled by our possessions and wrap our arms so tightly around what we have that we cannot extend our arms to help those around us who truly NEED. We walk around with closed fists.
Yesterday I woke up feeling defeated, wondering what exactly we are doing here. I know why we want to be here, but what opportunities will present themself, and how will we be used to make it all worth while? I believe God is telling me there is no formula to make this task easy. Jesus is SIMPLY giving us people and telling us to live for them. Love them, serve them, and lead them. Lead them to follow me, and lead them to lead others to follow me.
God Bless,
Jessica
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot
Today I found myself wrestling with the fact that a lot of the people we will help here won't understand our language and we won't understand theres, so how will we "reach" them? While we are serving are we so focused on the end result that we forget the real reason we are doing it anyway? The bible does not say, to serve others but only when you are certain it will make a difference or change a life. Today it hit me that it is more about obedience, and complete surrender to what God has required of us. I pray that we will all obey what God has called us to do, even if in the end we may not always see the fruits of our labor. When we feed the hungry, we are feeding our savior. When we love our neighbor, we are loving Jesus.
I've realized before we left we were so concerned with how life would be without all of the conveniences and comforts we had back home. I tried to prepare for the worst, and tried to bring all of the things I thought we might miss the most. Last night was the first night we had a chance to put everything away. As we emptied 6 huge suitcases, and 4 carry ons we both felt ashamed. After seeing that most hard working middle class families here can hang all of their clothing on one clothes line, I honestly felt ridiculous that I would think 6 suitcases and 4 carry ons was a sacrifice.
We are all so scared of what might happen if we don't live comfortably. We are shackled by our possessions and wrap our arms so tightly around what we have that we cannot extend our arms to help those around us who truly NEED. We walk around with closed fists.
Yesterday I woke up feeling defeated, wondering what exactly we are doing here. I know why we want to be here, but what opportunities will present themself, and how will we be used to make it all worth while? I believe God is telling me there is no formula to make this task easy. Jesus is SIMPLY giving us people and telling us to live for them. Love them, serve them, and lead them. Lead them to follow me, and lead them to lead others to follow me.
God Bless,
Jessica
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Once you understand God's call on your life, you cannot turn back.
A few days ago someone said to me ... "Well you have another week to change your mind on China and back out." I won't lie. Sometimes in the middle of the night I think about what would happen if we did change our minds. There is so much uncertainty in this whole process that it seems that it would be easier to just stay in place where we are and serve right here in Lakeland. This weekend God spoke to my heart, and I realized once we understand God's calling on our life we cannot turn back. Once we wrap our minds around living a life sold out for Christ we cannot look back. Last night I thought about when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. God delivered them from slavery and bondage. Their lives as free people weren't everything they expected it to be so they began to turn back to Egypt. I know that life in China is not going to be everything we expect it to be, and won't be everything we would like it to be. I do know that we have to press on through this season and not look back to the lukewarm lifestyle we used to have. We are going to lack most of the comforts and conveniences that we are used to here in America. I pray that we will not be discouraged by the lack of worldly things, and that we would find freedom from the bondage that comes with all of these things.
Being sold out for Christ is like falling in love and getting married. Then you start running a household and raising kids and maybe it sucks some of the romance out of your marriage. Maybe you start looking around and maybe other people start looking better than your spouse. You are in danger of losing your first love. Your first love is to be that one person on earth that you are “one” with. That is your first love in an earthly sense.
I am learning that in a spiritual sense, the Lord is our first love. He is our all-in-all, our everything, but when we start to look back to the material things of this world, we are in danger of losing our first love.
As the days come closer to us leaving God is reminding me that he wants us to live a life sold out for him no matter where he places us. I believe the next couple of months our family will be living out an up to date on fire testimony for God.
For anyone out there wrestling with the idea of stepping over that line and living a life sold out for Jesus; serving the least of these ... Don’t turn back to Egypt. It was a place of slavery, not a place of joy.
Jessica
Being sold out for Christ is like falling in love and getting married. Then you start running a household and raising kids and maybe it sucks some of the romance out of your marriage. Maybe you start looking around and maybe other people start looking better than your spouse. You are in danger of losing your first love. Your first love is to be that one person on earth that you are “one” with. That is your first love in an earthly sense.
I am learning that in a spiritual sense, the Lord is our first love. He is our all-in-all, our everything, but when we start to look back to the material things of this world, we are in danger of losing our first love.
As the days come closer to us leaving God is reminding me that he wants us to live a life sold out for him no matter where he places us. I believe the next couple of months our family will be living out an up to date on fire testimony for God.
For anyone out there wrestling with the idea of stepping over that line and living a life sold out for Jesus; serving the least of these ... Don’t turn back to Egypt. It was a place of slavery, not a place of joy.
Jessica
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Rewind one year to January 2010....
I wrote this blog a year ago. Pretty wild that the One year ago we are getting ready to live out these very words.
If you knew 2010 would be your last year how would choose to live?
I’ve been thinking so much lately so I decided easier then writing all of my thoughts down in a journal I would start a blog. One day if Grace wants to read what has gone through her mom’s head at times she can check this out.
My mind is always churning especially late at night when I lay in bed. I’ve been thinking about the new year coming ahead and I have this stirring in my heart to do something whether it be big or small to change the world. It might be right here in my own community or it might be by supporting a missionary somewhere on the other side of the world. Last night when I was laying in bed I thought wow if I knew 2010 were my last year to live what would I want to do and how would I live my life? How would I want to treat others? What kind of person would I be remembered as? Did I make an impact on someone else’s life that would have changed their life forever? I really lay in bed at night and think about these things. I guess I just feel like I am so blessed and my life is so easy compared to a lot of people out there. I want to help people. I am fully aware that I live a life that most would like to live. I am not rich or famous, and I am not impressed with materialistic possessions. I do however know that there are far more people out there that have way less than me, compared to the amount of people that have more then me. With that being said I am well off.
For all of my close family and friends out there and anyone else who decides to read this I hope it inspires you to think about the kind of life you want to live in 2010. I have never been one to set a New Years resolution. Most people never stick to them anyway. I just want to set a goal to let my light shine for Christ. Why not make your resolution to just be kind, giving, and loving to the ones closest to you and even the people you run into that you don’t know. Or maybe just spending a little time helping someone in need. Chances are you will feel as blessed as the person you are helping.
I am excited for the New Year. I have this feeling Jon and I are going to be used by God in a great way and we are ready. We have asked God for that and we are ready to take on the challenge. Happy New Year to you all – I wish you all lots of happiness in 2010!
God Bless,
Jessica
If you knew 2010 would be your last year how would choose to live?
I’ve been thinking so much lately so I decided easier then writing all of my thoughts down in a journal I would start a blog. One day if Grace wants to read what has gone through her mom’s head at times she can check this out.
My mind is always churning especially late at night when I lay in bed. I’ve been thinking about the new year coming ahead and I have this stirring in my heart to do something whether it be big or small to change the world. It might be right here in my own community or it might be by supporting a missionary somewhere on the other side of the world. Last night when I was laying in bed I thought wow if I knew 2010 were my last year to live what would I want to do and how would I live my life? How would I want to treat others? What kind of person would I be remembered as? Did I make an impact on someone else’s life that would have changed their life forever? I really lay in bed at night and think about these things. I guess I just feel like I am so blessed and my life is so easy compared to a lot of people out there. I want to help people. I am fully aware that I live a life that most would like to live. I am not rich or famous, and I am not impressed with materialistic possessions. I do however know that there are far more people out there that have way less than me, compared to the amount of people that have more then me. With that being said I am well off.
For all of my close family and friends out there and anyone else who decides to read this I hope it inspires you to think about the kind of life you want to live in 2010. I have never been one to set a New Years resolution. Most people never stick to them anyway. I just want to set a goal to let my light shine for Christ. Why not make your resolution to just be kind, giving, and loving to the ones closest to you and even the people you run into that you don’t know. Or maybe just spending a little time helping someone in need. Chances are you will feel as blessed as the person you are helping.
I am excited for the New Year. I have this feeling Jon and I are going to be used by God in a great way and we are ready. We have asked God for that and we are ready to take on the challenge. Happy New Year to you all – I wish you all lots of happiness in 2010!
God Bless,
Jessica
Saturday, January 1, 2011
We welcome 2011, a year of following God's heart.
In the next two weeks we will be stepping over the line of our comfort zones into a world of uncertainty and adversity. On January 18th we will do what feels like the impossible; tell our moms, dads, friends, and family goodbye for an undetermined length of time. It is all becoming so real as we narrow down the to do list, what to pack and so on. I will be honest in saying that most days I am overwhelmed with excitement, and then some days I am scared out of my mind. I have questioned everything. I have spent hours thinking in the shower, driving in the car, lying in bed at night while everyone else sleeps. Praying in bed for hours on end. Some days I don't know if I am coming or going. Some days I dont know what God is doing in our lives or why... but every day I know that his plan is better than mine, and every day I am just so glad that HE is in charge, and not me!
I can't quite wrap my mind around how different our lives will be in this coming year, but I am certain it will be full of change, opportunity, and new relationships. I expect this year to be full of joy, pain, sorrrow, and heartbreak. My prayer is that with each experience I will grow in my faith, making it easier for me to love bigger and better.
In 2011 I want to embrace change as an opportunity to learn just what I am capable of, and on those days when I feel I just can't make it through; I know HE will carry me.
Happy New Year to You All!
God Bless Always,
Jessica
"In the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight my soul." (ps. 94:19)
I can't quite wrap my mind around how different our lives will be in this coming year, but I am certain it will be full of change, opportunity, and new relationships. I expect this year to be full of joy, pain, sorrrow, and heartbreak. My prayer is that with each experience I will grow in my faith, making it easier for me to love bigger and better.
In 2011 I want to embrace change as an opportunity to learn just what I am capable of, and on those days when I feel I just can't make it through; I know HE will carry me.
Happy New Year to You All!
God Bless Always,
Jessica
"In the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight my soul." (ps. 94:19)
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Merry Christmas
We have decided to do Christmas a little different this year and get back to the basics of what it really is all about. As we prepare for China we have given away, and sold most of the excess things that we had. We are prepared to have much less material things in China, so what better time then now at Christmas to begin shifting our eyes from all the over the top gift spending, and really focus on the true meaning we celebrate Christmas.
This year we are thankful for the gifts we will never lose: love,joy,the assurance of God's grace and the nearness of heaven.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
My Prayer as we count down to China
As we begin this journey our hearts are full of anticipation. God we want to be different. We want not only to be stirred, but forever changed. We invite you to do a work in us that we cannot explain, and we dedicate this journey to you entirely. We know that to serve sometimes means to suffer, and that sometimes this road will be painful. We know your desire is for us to live a life full of passion and purpose, glorifying your name in all that we do. We humble ourselves before you and ask you to do a mighty work in us, and through us so that we can proclaim your name for the rest of our lives. Thank You Lord for everything you do, and are going to do. We give you EVERY bit of the glory.
Jessica
Jessica
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