April in Southeast Asia

ADJUSTING TO NEW SURROUNDINGS First off, thank you for all of your support and prayers.  Speaking of prayers, I want to acknowledge answered prayer concerning the hot water in our apartment.  The hot water has returned and I am especially grateful for this.  Even washing dishes is better when you have hot water to use.  I'd also like to acknowledge the ever-growing support from my friends back home.  If you are reading this on my blog and would like to receive the newsletter via email, simply send an email to the address located at the bottom of this page and I shall add your name to the email list. My grasping of the language is improving every week thanks to Chinese language lessons.  I had to choose a  new name in Chinese because my name is virtually impossible for the locals to pronounce.  There are no "V's" in the language and the "L's and R's sound virtually the same.  So I switched from Valerie to Qianda (Chee-ahn-da), which means Strong.  I think the name suits me. After my language lessons, I head to the local coffee cafe to practice my Chinese language skills on the patient employees who work there.  If nothing else, I give them something to laugh about as I butcher the pronunciation of the most basic words.  At least now I can order coffee the way I like it before I head out and explore the city. The food is delicious.  I know that I keep talking about it, but it is one of the highlights of my life here.  There are so many new and different vegetables and fruits; it is exciting to try out all of the new flavors.  I wander around for two hours in the middle of the day deciding which food I am going to sample each day.  The street food vendors offer incredible food at extraordinarily inexpensive prices.  Most meals cost less than $2 USD.  I've only had one adverse experience.  My tongue went numb for two days after eating a chicken dish with a new spice I've never encountered before.  The dish was delicious, but I don't think I'll be ordering it again.    The apartment complexes are mostly the same design and layouts. Two dozen or so high-rise apartments surround an open play park. This play park is used by young and old alike.  It is tiled with large, polished granite squares.  There are exercise stations on the outskirts of the play area.  There is a play structure with climbing ropes, swings, and slides.  There are several areas for other activities such as tai-chi and soccer.  I love watching the elderly people exercise in the mornings.  They join together to do synchronized activities such as tai-chi and other exercise routines.  They practice fluid synchronized movements using long spear-like poles with tassels on the ends. Some mornings they practice with 4-foot long swords!  It is mesmerizing to watch them. The people in Southeast Asia are continuously moving....walking, biking, and even exercising as they wait for their bus. THE MAIN STORY AND PRAYER REQUESTS (details have been changed for security purposes)   There is so much I want to share, but in order to protect others, I cannot do so.  Instead, I will ask for your prayers for the body of Christ.  Many people sacrifice everything in order to become a Christian.  In return, their livelihoods are threatened, pressures are placed upon their families by outside authorities, and they themselves are threatened.  Ever-changing rules and interpretations of those rules makes life uncertain for believers here.  There has been an increase in encounters recently and everyone is uncertain at this time as to what the future holds for this beautiful country and its wonderful people.  Everyone (locals and foreigners) needs prayers for protection, courage, and perseverance. Religious persecution is alive and thriving.  Please keep believers around the world in your prayers, that they will be safe and protected from those who are in positions to mistreat them.  My second prayer request is for my knees.  With all of the stair climbing (over 100 steps each way), the meniscus in both of my knees is flaring up again.  Please pray that the pain will return to normal levels again.   If God is for us, who can ever be against us?    Romans 8:31 NLT THIS MONTH'S MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT (I hate to admit it, but there were several to choose from this month)

Today, we went out to eat in a restaurant. There were 14 of us around a gigantic round table. In the middle of the table was an equally large lazy susan. The servers filled the lazy susan with 12 delicious dishes. The lazy susan started moving and people were serving themselves from the plates using their chopsticks. On my best day, serving myself using chopsticks would be a challenge. I have good days where I can pick up a single grain of rice using the chopsticks and there are other days when it just seems that I am flinging food across the room as though I am using the chopsticks as a catapult. With the moving lazy susan, it quickly became a challenge just to spear some food before the plate had rotated out of my reach. The people on either side of me were extremely helpful, although admittedly, it was probably a form of self-preservation on their part. During one of my attempts at capturing some spicy beef, the chunk of meat took flight and landed squarely in my cup of hot water. (Chinese people drink hot water---no tea or coffee added, just hot water----but that’s a story for another day.) The ever-so-gracious Chinese lady seated next to me just smiled, leaned closer and said, “It’s okay, now you have made soup!”                                                  I. Love. These. People.

I HAVE ARRIVED! After a very long flight, I have arrived at my destination.  Somehow, I lost a day while in transit.  I left at 8:30 Thursday morning and arrived 4:30 Friday afternoon.  I never saw the sunset during the entire time I was in the air.  Surprisingly, I haven't been adversely affected by jet lag and I have adjusted to the 12-hour time change quite well. I spent five days in Beijing touring around the impressive capital city.  While I was there I was able to see the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the Giant Pandas, and the Olympic Park.  China is nothing like what I imagined it would be and I am glad I had the opportunity to visit.

THE MAIN STORY (details have been changed for security purposes) I am volunteering with Mission Nannys, a group formed to help overseas missionary families through stressful situations by sending a Mission Nanny to serve alongside them.  We provide "extra hands" to help wherever necessary, doing whatever is needed to free up the missionaries time so that they can invest more time in their mission endeavors.  I am now at my destination and am staying with the family that I am serving.  It has been a wonderful transition and I am learning their daily routine.  It is safe to walk through the neighborhoods and everything that I may need is within walking distance.  Like most people here, we live in a tall apartment with no elevator.   There are over 100 stairs to reach our apartment floor level.  Needless to say, I will be fit as a fiddle by the time I leave this assignment! The food is quite delicious and bears little resemblance to Chinese food back home.  It has been fun sampling all of the different fruits and vegetables that are grown here.   Going to the markets and seeing all of the fresh produce displayed beautifully is one of my favorite things to do.  The vendors take the time to describe the vegetables and fruits that I am unfamiliar with.  My new favorite vegetable is lotus root, which is crunchy and used widely in Chinese dishes.  I also tasted pitahaya (dragon fruit) for the first time and it was delicious.  Most of the fruits have a squishy, unusual texture that I haven't become accustomed to yet.

WHAT DOES "CHURCH" LOOK LIKE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA? UNDERGROUND CHURCHES These are located in scattered apartments all throughout the neighborhoods.  Generally, up to thirty people attend each underground church.  On designated days a member of the church will host a service.  People casually drop by their apartment and a worship service is held.  They sing a few songs of worship....quietly....so they don't alert the neighbors about their activity.  A message is then preached followed by some fellowship time.  Basically, it's a small group meeting secretly in various apartments. I really enjoy the small group interaction.  If we happen to see a member in public, we never acknowledge that we know them and we keep walking past them.  People are being watched all of the time. "PUBLIC" CHURCHES There are a few churches which are able to rent out rooms for Sunday worship.  Others rent out ballrooms in hotels to host their services.  It is difficult to find landlords willing to rent to Christian churches.  There is a lot of pressure on them to NOT rent their properties to churches.  I attended an Easter service which was held in a ballroom of a major hotel.  This particular church has about 500 members and rents out a large room on Christmas and Easter to accommodate everyone who wants to attend.  Upon arrival, police are in the parking lot observing everyone who attends. Only foreigners are allowed into the church. Everyone must have their passports checked before entering the room.  During the Christmas service, police walked up and down the aisles and photographed everyone who was in attendance.  As we left, we had to pass through a gauntlet of official representatives from the government. Despite all of the hassle involved with attending the Easter service, it was one of the most wonderful experiences I've had.  It was a beautiful mix of nationalities coming together to praise and worship God.  In my opinion, it was a small glimpse of what heaven will look and sound like.

REASONS FOR PRAISE:   1.  Arriving safely and not getting lost during my week in Beijing! 2.  No lost luggage. 3.  Internet coverage.      (most of the time)

CHALLENGES One of the biggest challenges I face is keeping up with several energetic children who love to run and play soccer 24/7. The other challenge is learning the language.  I am beginning to think that I will never master even the basic words of conversation.  Maybe in time, with lots of immersion....this will change.

PRAYER REQUESTS Please pray that we all will continue to remain healthy and that I will have the endurance to keep up with three active little ones. Please pray that hot water will once again return to our apartment.  We don't know where it has gone, but it certainly isn't anywhere to be found in our apartment's faucets.