Books Bent in Jagged Shapes

Greetings, Brethren, let's begin.

Today has been a relatively uneventful day, involving laundry, cleaning, Kristen Wiig, pizza, The Walking Dead, the book of Genesis, and vegging. So I figured I might put some of my time to good use and write a blog.

My life has been progressing without any exciting cultural interruptions to flavor my blog with. Or maybe I'm just becoming jaded to the weirdness of it all. A man in a suit, holding a "Practical English for Hotel Service" book to his face, walked into the suubway and promptly began a very long conversation about his journey of teaching himself English, his brother who lives in Washington, and his Sunday night habits. The cashier at the KFC I regularly stop at asked for my number. I think it was platonic. I gave it to him because I thought it was guest service related. I thought maybe I would get texted when my order was ready. But no, I think he just wanted it. Yay for new Chinese friends!

My kids have been great. Some kids and I don't see eye-to-eye on how they should be taught and disciplined. They'll have to teach themselves the English idiom "cry me a river" and learn to cope with performance based reward systems. However, a lot of my kids love me and shout an accent-mangled version of my name ("Crit-chun!") whenever they see me.

I had hot pot recently, so that's fun.

It's gotten colder, and I've had a cold for about a week and a half. That's also fun.

I made a Norwegian friend, who feeds me Norwegian chocolate. That's miraculous.

A lot of my Bible reading has been in Genesis, after a conviction to know the Bible better burgeoned inside of me. A major theme in this book, besides the beginning of time, is God's plans and promises. The men he calls on to follow him have to rely on the inevitability of his plans and purposes. It seems like it's the timing that always throws humans off. They want what God promises in their own timing, not when their wife's uterus has already shriveled and gathered dust. God always comes through in miraculous ways, though, with humans learning to simply rely on Him, wholly and helplessly. He fulfills promises, answers prayers, and takes care of His people, on His timing.

Isn't that difficult to deal with sometimes?

Anyways, your prayers for me have been felt and appreciated. Keep it up. I see you all like the slaves in the Ben Hur rowing scene, only you're praying instead of rowing.

And I appreciate that, slaves.


Nothing else to report. Just bought a keyboard, that gets here tomorrow. Halloween at my school has been super cute. I can't wait to do more travelling. I love the television show, Parenthood. Eating fruit is healthy.

That's it. Before I go, here's an update to my seconds video. I will admit to you that I missed some days in October, but I feel the integrity of it has been maintained. Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/nuAWoOM8yok

Having Crossed the Threshold

Hello, my people.

I am updating simply because some time has elapsed. I certainly don't feel inspired to write this, so I will keep it brief.

I have not written because of what I feel I am in the middle of.

I am a huge fan of storytelling. I like the way people can derive meaning out of other people and events by organizing them into a narrative. I learn a lot that way. I hope I can look back on this blog and see a story arc, one that shows me going on adventures, meeting new people, and facing obstacles. I hope that when the blog is complete, I and those who read this will glean something meaningful that ultimately draws them to God.

What I'm in the middle of is an obstacle. A trial. I don't feel drawn towards writing a blog because I can't figure out how to derive meaning from it yet. I don't quite understand how it fits into my story.

So for now, I'll just call upon prayer from my brothers and sisters. Pray that I will overcome the doubts that are plaguing me, and that my faith will be strengthened and perfected by God.

That's what I want. That's what I want my life's story to be, a life walking alongside God, growing closer to Him day by day, and allowing Him to work through me.

It's very difficult to envision this life story with confidence at the moment. So I call upon the power of your intercessory prayer.

Thanks, I love you all very much!

This blog does not depict my experience here in China. I'm still enjoying being here, seeing new things, and having fun. I'll tell you more about it, soon.

Xiamen

Xiamen.

Why did I choose Xiamen? Maybe it was because of the acient haiku I read as a child was inspired by the hills of Xiamen. Maybe it was because I missed the ocean and the way it reminded me of home. Maybe because it was really close to the island on which my favorite Taiwanese Drama, Summer Fever, was filmed. Whatever the case, my reasons for coming are not what sustained my reasons to stay for the 5 days. It was definitely God.




Like I said, I found my place to stay through couchsurfing.org. I found a Chinese guy named, Kevin, whose profile indicated he was a christian. My other suspicion was that he was one of the guys Liam Neeson beats up while looking for his daughter, except if I was dragged into the human trafficking industry, Liam would not come for me.

So that was my fear going in. I set up some emergency contacts and flew over.

And I had the most God-directed, authentically Chinese, exhausting week I could have dreamed of.

Kevin is not a wealthy man. Of course that does not matter to me, but I didn't stop to think on how having him as my guide would affect the itinerary. I pictured luxurious times on the beach, eating nice Xiamen cuisine in restaurants with impressive views. Instead, Kevin showed me how to get around Xiamen in the most cost-effective way. Now this meant him taking me into these narrow, seedy alleys that I half expected Jason Bourne to chase a double agent through with a rolled up magazine as a weapon. I ate in little out of the way restaurants and from stands. For all those who hold onto the childhood image of me as a picky eater, I will have you know that I have (1) eaten sea worms and (2) slurped yoke out of an egg with a chicken fetus floating inside.

I also had very little contact with anything familiar. While that notion may at first sound exhilarating, and it is, I did soon find myself sinking and starving for familiarity. Half-way through my trip, I was just fed up. Fed up with China, Chinese people, Chinese foods, and Chinese sorry-excuses-for-lines, and the buses. GAH, the buses. Either the bus driver is trying to knock you over, or he is really invested in you developing core strength. Either way, buses were not always a restful experience.

I will now proceed chronologically:

Day 1 (Monday)

Kevin picked me up from the airport and took me to his apartment. It's just a one-bedroom, about the size of the dorm. What I forgot to think about was that it would be Chinese style. You know what that means - Squatty potty. I will proudly tell you that for numbero dos, I have deftly avoided using the Chinese toilet. This week, however, it was impossible. Another fun Chinese fact: many Chinese bathrooms  are positioned in such a way that you can use the toilet and the shower standing in the same place. I did not feel that the time saved would be worth it.

But Kevin sat me down and told me how he came to know Christ. He told me a little of the struggles he was going through, and then he allowed me to pray for him. I knew then that good stuff was going to happen.

Kevin took me to a couple places, ending in a hike up a hill above a Budha temple. It was beautiful. His favorite worship song is "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord" and we sang it as we climbed.

After that, we went down to the beach and took a walk. He got to tell me a little bit about his dreams, to go to New Zealand and go to Bible school. Then he would come back and bring the good news to his home country. We talked and sang a little more. There was an off-brand Mickey Mouse walking around the beach and taking photos for money.

The night ended after some dinner that included fish with eyes still in the sockets. He took me to Gulangyu Island, a small island off the coast of Xiamen. There are no cars, so there are only compact streets where people walked. We stay in this hotel you would not know was hotel. You would also never find it either. But I'm with a local, so it's whatever. We wanted to get an early start exploring the island before the holiday really started and all the Chinese tourists arrived.

Day 2 (Tuesday)

We woke up early. Kevin is a six-hours a night kind of guy. My charm and charisma is very hard to summon on little sleep, but I was able to pull through. Gulangyu is a beautiful, quaint island. It was once used to defend against invading Japanese.

On the island, I explored the beaches, went to a calligraphy museum, walked through an old abandoned mansion (wherein I got many bug bites [but no Japanese encephalitis]), went through the stores. One of the stores, a worker girl started following me around (Blonde hair = MONEY). She was following me around so closely, so much like a homeless puppy. So once I turned the corner of a wide pillar, I started running in a big circle. She got so confused and started chasing, but couldn't find me. It was funny.




We left there and went to a truly amazing art, science, and history museum. It had a lot about Chinese immigrating to America. Truly fascinating. Then we did some shopping, wherein we made our way into an antique store. On the second story, there were old stacks of books. I found a Bible and pulled it down. It was 73 years old. It had a letter in it addressed to someone named Brenda Belchen. I was able to track the Bible's origin to a chapel in Yarcombe, Devon, England. I have emailed the chapel, and am waiting to see if I can track down the original owner. I bought the Bible, and I would like to send it to Brenda or her family.

After that, we met up with one of Kevin's old childhood friends and went out to dinner. Kevin informed me that his friend did not believe in God, and he wanted me to share a little of my story with him. It was a great blessing. This is the night I ate seaworm. I did not find out exactly what it was until the next day, so it was too late to have my stomach pumped. This was also the night we started using motorcycles instead of taxis to get around. That was my first time on a motorcycle, also my first time on a motorcycle with three other men.

Day 3 (Wednesday)

This day was maybe the hardest of all. Kevin can speak some pretty good english, but definitely not perfect. We had had a lot of miscommunication by this point. I had spent the past two days speaking a lot of Chinese, eating very Chinese food, and coming into very little contact with anything Western. I felt depleted. There was a time in this day where I was told to push my way onto a bus. Here is a quote I wrote down from Kevin:

"This is China. Don't worry about gentlemen. You will be loser. Keep fighting. Go go go."

 But I ended up pushing this lady really hard, practically pinning her to the bus. She thought nothing of it, but it just made me angry. Angry with China and angry with myself for what I felt was sinking. I know I'm in a new culture, but I don't want to be a guy who goes with the flow, especially if it means compromising my beliefs on how to treat people. There's such a hard balance; is it okay to voice moral commentary on aspects of a foreign culture? How can you be sure you understand it fully?

But that's when Kevin asked to meet up with an old friend, a friend who had just come back to town. Kevin had been talking about him for the past few days; he was an American who played a huge role in Kevin's walk. So we go to the basketball court where a bunch of Westerners are playing. I end up meeting an amazing group of Christians. Some live there, and some are visiting from Iowa. They were the first Westerners I had spoken to in a couple of days, so I was very grateful to talk with them. But more on them later.

We had done a lot of physical activity. We had been getting around everywhere by buses and walking. Earlier that day we had hiked the stairs to the Buddha statue.

















And hiked back down.

And then we went and had some lunch with his aunt. His cousin was so freaked out by eyes that she covered her own eyes when she passed me.

Anyways, this all required a lot of travel. So I insisted on a massage. So we went and got an amazing massage for 30 kuai (5 dollars). It was thirty minutes, from neck to feet, including a foot bath. AND I could keep my clothes on. It was Chinese heaven. The leg massage part was a little awkward, this may have been the first time my masseuse was faced with so much leg hair.

While waiting for our massages, we met a girl named Charlene. God opened the door for us to invite her to English corner. English Corner was a little get-together that Kevin's Western friend Jim organized near the Xiamen university, where they could share English by making friends and sharing good news. The girl was interested and said she would come.

The end of that night, though, I still felt quite alienated, and longing for home. But God was not finished.

Day 4 (Thursday)

I honestly have some trouble remembering parts of this day. I think it was a slow start day. We finally took time getting up and getting ready. We did a little shopping, I think. This was the morning he brought me to a place to eat a chicken egg with a little unborn baby chicken in it. I took a slurp, because he insisted. But I refused to follow his lead and consume the fetus. No thanks. We met up with one of the Christian guys on the court yesterday and had some watermelon juice together. It was a good time of me and the guy, Jeremy, teaming up to encourage and counsel Kevin. I wish I could tell you a big part of my time there, but it's Kevin's story to tell. God really brought us together as brothers, opening Kevin's heart to tell his story. Later that night, Kevin opened up fully to me, in a time of testimony and prayer. It was a sweet time.

Before that, however, we headed to the beach with my guitar. Xiamen is far less used to Foreigners (Waiguoren, or a more playful nickname for us: laowai) than Shanghai. So I was a mini-celebrity this week. Little baby's squealing and staring at my eyes. Old men walking up and showing me all the english they could say, girls running up and asking for photos. And any friend I made would eventually ask for a photo. So yeah, it's whatever, don't even care. But anyway, two amazing things happened during my guitar fun times. The first was me playing With Arms Outstretched by Rilo Kiley. A girl ran up while I was walking and playing it, and she gave me a rose. By gave me, I mean she stuck it down my shirt. Kevin and I continued walking down a ways, and saw a couple. I snuck up behind then, and Kevin and I serenaded the couple with the only Chinese song I know (My Heart Represents the Moon - Teresa Teng). Kevin hands the guy the rose, and we run off. They were very happy for that occurence.

The more exciting part was that, as I was playing, a college-aged guy started following us. He was following us and asking us questions. Then Kevin told him about English corner, and he was elated.

Day 5 (Friday)

UM, this is a long post. Friday was good. The girl we invited on massage night brought another friend, so we spent part of the day with them. It felt like an awkward double date.

I'm going to interrupt the narrative, because my time with Kevin and these girls leads me into a culture tidbit: Chinese people are BRUTALLY honest in their opinion on your appearance. Let's review some notes on my appearance made in my week in Xiamen.

a) "How do you say this?" Pointing at my face and asking how to say "pimple" in English

b) (paraphrased) "Your hairline is receding!" *swoon*

c) You look like a girl.

Needless to say, my self-esteem was at about a 2.3 by the end.

I'll skip ahead to the English corner. Due to some circumstances, Kevin couldn't come to the English Corner. So it was up to me to bring in 4 people to the English corner, all of whom I believe God used Kevin and I to bring there that night. It was so much fun. I named a newcomer "Jack." The guy we met while I was playing guitar got the name "Silas." Although the girls were uncomfortable, the boys were having a blast being there. Some of the Iowa people visiting stood and told the story of their family, one being a story about adoption. This was a great segue in the discussion time into talking about the Father who adopted me. It was a sweet time, connecting very strongly with the Western people there as brothers and sisters, as well as making wonderful friends with the Chinese people there.

So that was the last night. That was my trip. Kevin and I were bonded as brothers, and maybe one day I will be able to tell the story of how God worked in Kevin's heart this week. I connected very strongly with American members of the English Corner group, and felt a very strongly familial bond with them, even in the short time I spent there. I can't check back in on any of the people, like Kevin, his childhood friend, Charlene, or Jack and Silas, any time soon, but we chat on the Wechat app, and I will continue praying for all of them.

It was an exhausting week, and I am very glad to be back. My original plan was to just come here to travel with a bunch of my new hire friends, but God's plan is always better. Next week, seven work days in a row, including an extra class. Yessssssssssssssssssssssss. I actually really missed my students while I was away. Oh, and I rode the Maglev train back home, once I was in Shanghai. Veryyyyyy fast.

There are even more stories to tell, but I will tell them at a later time. I will leave you with a couple photos of food.

This sea food pie is exclusive to Xiamen, so I am one of the few foreigners who have tried it. 

This is a breakfast Kevin made for me. The brown stuff is rice.