Linked Together

"I am bound by the chain of witnesses who throughout the centuries gave their lives for Jesus Christ. I am a link in this chain. I will not break it." Such were the words of a Christian prisoner in Cuba upon being asked to sign charges against fellow Christians that would lead to their arrest (for more information on this story, you can read the book titled Jesus Freaks Volume 1 by dc Talk & The Voice of the Martyrs).

This past weekend, I was at a retreat with many other believers and had the privilege of helping with the children. One of the stories that were told was the one summarized above. Upon hearing the story, the children were told to participate in making a paper chain. They were asked to think of someone who they thought had given his/her life for Christ. Not necessarily those who had died, but those who lived for Christ. They wrote names such as Nate Saint, Aaron (in the Bible), Robert Thomas, and Ruth (in the Bible). Then they were told to choose someone of the same criteria whom they knew personally, and write his or her name on a strip of paper. Several of them wrote "Daddy" or "Mommy," while others wrote the names of other people in our community. Then each child wrote their own name on a strip of paper of a different color. Each group linked their strips together to make paper chains.

After she had dismissed all of the children, the leader realized that because there had been three groups, she now had three separate chains. In fact they looked very pitiful and something like this:

(photo taken from http://iccf.freeforums.org)

The next day, she was trying to figure out how she was going to connect them. Soon, however, the children arrived and she pushed the matter aside to deal with at a later time. The session that morning was about forgiveness. At the end of the session, the leader told all of the children to pray and ask God to help them forgive those who had hurt them or those who simply annoyed them.

During the silent time of prayer, when only the music was playing, one of the kids quietly got up and started adding more names to the chains. The names were those of Christians she had forgiven. Her name was now linked to theirs, just as it was to those she had written during the previous sessions. Before long, almost all of the kids were adding names of people they'd forgiven onto the chains. You would not believe how many more links were added and how much longer those chains became. Soon the three separate chains merged into one through forgiveness and healing.

We've all heard the saying that a chain is only as strong as it's weakest point. But more often than not, I think the chain of believers in Christ has more than one weak link. We're too busy to spend time with our fellow Christians; our relationships with other members of the Body of Christ are in a bad state; sometimes we even think that we are "God's gift" and that we don't need anybody else. We often get into the mindset that our attitude only affects us.

We couldn't be more wrong. If I have a problem with somebody and don't resolve it, that relationship affects our entire community. People know when there's a problem. They may not know just what the problem is, but they can tell when something just isn't the way it should be. We as Christians are all linked on the same chain, and when there is break to that chain due problems concerning the members of that chain, the other links can sense it. The chain becomes weaker. The weaker it becomes, the easier it is for it to break again. Before long, we have a mess on our hands where nobody is communicating well, people are lonely, people are getting hurt, and the only thing the unbelieving world can see is bitterness and anger. What kind of a witness is that?

Being part of the Body of Christ, and specifically part of the community I'm in at moment, is one of the greatest blessings I've ever known. But we're far from perfect. We have to go through the process of forgiveness and healing just like everybody else does.

We need to be purposeful in our relationships with other believers. As I said before, we may not know what exactly people may be going through. I found out many things about people at this retreat that I had no clue about. If I had been purposeful in those relationships beforehand, I probably would have found out a lot of those things prior to the retreat. It's not always easy to be purposeful; it's not always convenient. But regardless of whether or not it's easy or convenient, it is something the Body of Christ needs desperately. We need to strengthen those chains that bind us to one another.

(photo taken from http://folkonfolks.com)

Holiday Festivities

Well, the holidays are here! Thanksgiving has come and gone and our house is full of Christmas decorations!

Thanksgiving Day was extremely busy for my family, as we spent the entire day at Gina's Place. We served a special meal during lunch and dinner, and while only about 30 people came at noon, around 160 customers were there to eat dinner.

It was packed. We had people standing outside the restaurant by the elevator waiting for seats. A couple of people actually ATE out by the elevator. It was quite amusing to see, actually.

Every table was full

This relatively small play area was overflowing with little munchkins... literally.

People eating and waiting out in the hallway by the elevator

Regardless of how busy our Thanksgiving was, it was a very good day. There was much to be thankful for! Our friends were surrounding us, in the evening there was a great concert, we had a ton of business...

It's a family tradition to put up our Christmas tree and take out our other Christmas decorations on the day after Thanksgiving. This year my family was even more exited than usual, because it was Hanissa's very first time to help us decorate. And help she did.

Hanissa helping me unpack

Charis and Dad setting up the tree

Hanissa was (and still is) enthralled with the lights!

Putting on the ornaments

Admiring our hard work :)

One of Santa's elves

Another interesting tradition my family has is that every year we add to our Nativity Scene. That's right. Our entire Nativity Scene was made from scratch. One year we made the stable, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. Another year we made the shepherds, sheep, and angels. Then we got around to making some wise men. And last year, we made Anna, Simeon, the temple, and a couple more shepherds. I think this year we are planning on making more angles and wise men. Two angels, after all, are not what most people picture when they think of "a heavenly host." And as for the wise men... Right now we have two of them. Mom does not want there to be three. So, we'll probably end up having four or five.

The temple, Simeon, Anna, and the wise men

My sisters playing with the Nativity Scene :)

Decorating our house for Christmas and enjoying the holiday season together as a family is something we do every year. I love it and so many memories have been made from these precious moments.

A Visit from the Grandparents

The past few weeks have been extremely busy for my family and me. My grandparents were mostly at fault. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just stating the facts as they are.

We had a wonderful time with my grandparents. I, myself, actually wasn't able to spend that much time with them. They came during my final two weeks of Theology, which also happened to be the first two weeks of my Missions class. I was also teaching every night and going to Chinese class almost every morning. So my days were pretty packed -- especially on Thursdays, Fridays, and Mondays, when my assignments were due.

I often felt really bad that I couldn't go out and do things with them, such as going on a mountain hike, going out to dinner, etc. Nevertheless, I am extremely grateful for the times that I was able to spend with them.

One day, we spent almost the entire afternoon playing Mexican Dominoes, before we had to go to some friends' house for dinner. My family (and more specifically, my grandparents) are extremely competitive, which makes playing games with them extremely interesting and exciting. I am proud to say that both Torie and I placed above Grandma/Alia on the score sheet. Torie came in first, I came in second, and Grandma/Alia was one point behind me. Beating both of my grandparents is rare and therefore a treat, so of course we went around gloating. I was just happy that I ended the game by setting everyone else up, resulting in Torie going back 85 points, and Dad going back 100 points. Yes, yes, I'm very proud of myself, especially since I hadn't done so hot during the first three quarters of the game.

I also discovered that a lot more movie-watching takes place when my grandfather is around.  I think there were maybe two nights during the entire time they were here that we didn't turn the TV on. Not that I'm complaining. ;) Half of the time I didn't watch with them because of schoolwork. But the movies I did watch included "Letters to God' (amazing movie by the way), "7 Days in Utopia" (another great movie), and "Robin Hood." We also watched some "NCIS" and "The Mentalist" episodes. We did not, however, watch "Once Upon a Time," the show that my family (minus the two younger children) is hooked (not to be confused with Captain Hook! ... forgive my nerdy-ness. :D hehe) on. Nearly two weeks without it... I think we survived pretty well. ;)

And my grandfather spoke at our Sunday service twice. All of our friends got a hint of his... shall we say... very energetic performance. :D

Of course they were able to experience our restaurant, Gina's Place. Granddaddy had a lot of fun doing "magic tricks" for the workers, and all of our workers thought my grandma was such a beautiful lady. The employees even prepared a special end-of-month Korean meal that my grandparents were able to take part in.

All in all, I think that they enjoyed their trip here. I know my family enjoyed their visit! I love you, Grandma and Granddaddy! :D





P.S. In case any of you were wondering... I aced Theology! :D

A New Sister and a New Year

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to meeeeee. . . Happy birthday to me. :D

If you haven't already guessed, it was my birthday not too long ago! On October 10th, I became eighteen years old. Isn't that scary? I definitely don't feel like I'm old enough or mature enough to be eighteen. A friend of mine recently asked me if I saw myself as a girl or a woman now, and I think that I'll place myself in the "young woman" category. Until I hit my twenties, I don't think that I'll be able to view myself as a real woman. I'm still too child-like for that! :D

Nonetheless, it is still weird... I'm eighteen, taking college classes, and heading to the States next year to attend Liberty University's campus. In one sense, I'm looking forward to it. But in another... I guess I can honestly say that I'm a little scared.

Living in Asia for my entire life has been great, but I don't know how to do anything in America. I've often gotten embarrassed during previous visits about my lack of knowledge about things everyone else sees as a natural way of life. Ah well. I guess I'll learn right? And are people who have offered to help if I ever need them to. Soo thankful for the friends God has provided me!

As many of you know, my family has been in the process of adopting. They were gone for more than a week in Ethiopia, and returned the night before my birthday with the newest member of our family: Hanissa Faith.

She's by far the best birthday present I've ever gotten. :) She loves dancing, mirrors, bubbles, singing, bubbles, dancing, bubbles, sparkly things, singing, dancing, pink sparkly things, bubbles... You get the picture. :)

I'm have so many things in my life to be thankful for. I know I often complain; you can just ask my family and my best friend if you don't believe me. But I truly am blessed in all that God has given me. And I can't wait to see what He has in store for me this next year!!!

A Week in Charge

I think I might die before the end of the week. Seriously. Why, you ask? It's rather simple, really. My parents have gone to Ethiopia to be with my sister, Hanissa, and bring her home. My other sisters and I had to stay in Yanji, which means I'm in charge for week. Bwahahahaha. I've got the power!

Sometimes I don't like being in the position of authority, though. If something happens that my sisters don't like, I'm the bad guy. If something goes wrong, I'm responsible.

And honestly... I don't feel like I'm capable enough to be in charge. I'd like to believe that I'll be patient and have a soft answer to comments thrown my way. I'd like to believe that I'll handle every situation perfectly.

But to tell the truth, being in this position scares me. I know I do not always handle difficulties in the best way. I usually get frustrated very quickly and jump in to try and solve the problem as quickly as possible. Haha, needless to say, this doesn't help matters. I am slowly learning how to handle things in a better way, but I'm not the most patient person when it comes to learning how to do something.

The past week has had its rough moments, to be sure. But it's also been a lot of fun. We have wonderful friends who have invited us to their homes for dinner every night. I think Thursday and Saturday night are the only night we have to ourselves -- and somebody's already offered to have us over on Thursday. Whew. We'll see, hehe.

This week was actually a very good week for my parents to be gone. It's a holiday week, so I don't have to leave for Chinese class in the mornings, and only have work on Thursday and Friday, so I'm able to spend the day at home with my sisters.

The only sad part about Mom and Dad being gone this week is that they miss Alia's birthday on Thursday. Ah well. I'm planning on a special breakfast or dinner (supposing we don't go eat with someone else that night) for her. And tonight, some of our friends prepared cupcakes for her and gave her a couple of gifts. We have truly been blessed by the community God has given us.



Since writing the above, we have learned that my parents will not be returning to Yanji on Saturday as planned. We were told that the Chinese embassy would be open this week and that we could get Hanissa's visa processed in time to return by Saturday. This, however, was not the case. The embassy is closed until next Monday. My parents hope and are praying very hard that they will be able to get Hanissa's visa processed in the course of a single day so that they can leave Ethiopia on Monday night, and arrive back here late Tuesday night. It is difficult for all of us, but we will make do.

Please pray for my parents as they try to work this out.

Can't wait for you guys to be home, Mom, Dad, and Hanissa!!! <3

My New Job

As some of you may know, about fives weeks ago, I started teaching English at an after-school day care (that's the best way I can briefly describe it...). I teach five days a week, from 4:30 to 5:30. I also teach two levels, 1 and 4, rotating every day. Now, I suppose that's not a lot, but hey. It wears me out.

But I have so much fun, that I usually don't really mind. For instance, I am currently teaching the younger class (8-10 students, ages ranging from 6-8) the Hokey Pokey. At this point, they have the tune down pat, and can sing the verse perfectly so long as we sing slowly. It's when they get to the "You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about" part where they stumble over their words. They are gradually getting better, though. The kids absolutely love the motions to the song, and it can sometimes get a little crazy--at which point, I make them return to their seats. ;)

My older class enjoys drawing games. At first, I had a single person come to the front to draw something, while everyone else guessed. This past Tuesday, though, I split them into teams and had two children drawing simultaneously. That was... quite interesting. Not many people can draw a dragon and make it look like a rabbit, but my kids are talented.

Teaching these kids definitely tries my patience, though. They receive a lot of stern looks from me, and those usually silence them for a little while. Sometimes I have to split people up from their friends because 1) they aren't learning a thing, and 2) they distract the other students. I'm constantly telling them to be quiet, stay in their seats, and listen--though I can't exactly blame them. These kids have been in school since 8 in the morning, so by the time I have them, they're extremely restless. Nevertheless, I have a job to do. I am striving for more patience, but I am also running out of ideas. If any of you have any game/activity ideas, as well as discipline/reward ideas, don't hesitate to tell me!

Regardless of this job being tiresome and difficult, I really am enjoying spending time with my children. They're all nice, and have no qualms about laughing at my ill-spoken chinese when I try to explain something to them. Or when I do something silly. For instance, yesterday, we were playing "Simon Says" and I sat down in my chair. The obnoxious thing suddenly decided to collapse beneath me as one of its legs fell off. >.> My children enjoyed that scenario to no end.

Please pray for me as I continue working at teaching these children English. I could use more patience, more ideas, and it wouldn't hurt if God would make the children a little more attentive. ;)





...I also need a new chair.

Honey and Footsteps in the Desert

Deserts. We can all picture one in our minds. It's sandy, rocky, and dry. Jesus was tempted there. The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years.

...Or did they? Were they truly wandering? Ray Vander Laan, in His video series "That The World May Know," states that though the Bible mentions wanderings a few times, it more often talks about God's leading. Yes, the Israelites saw themselves as wandering, because they did not know where they were headed. But they were never lost. God was always there leading them through the desert. He does the same for us.

At some point in our lives, each of us goes through some sort of desert. Even Jesus went through some "desert" times. Okay, so, what does that mean?

Rocky Desert (globosapiens.net)

Look at the above photo. This desert is full of rocks, all different sizes. Some of the rocks are small. Others are larger. Sometimes there are great big boulders. Our lives are full of these rocks.

The small ones are simply annoying. We trip over them, but as Ray Vander Laan says, they aren't going to do us any serious harm. There are circumstances in our lives like those small stones. Your job isn't going the way you'd like, your sisters are driving you nuts, you lost iPhone. As you walk life's path, you begin to find bigger stones. Vander Laan says, "If you stumble into one of those, it hurts." What are some examples of this rock? Well, suppose you lose a job; you're struggling with a disease; somebody you know is going through a hard time.

And then there are even larger rocks that bring you to your knees. As Ray puts it, those are the moments where we stop and say, "I don't know if I can keep going." Most of us can probably think of/describe a time like that.

Finally, we sometimes come up against giant boulders which lead us to say, "There's no way." Ray says, "Your spouse goes to be with God, one of your children walks away from the faith, someone you love has a terminal disease." At those times, we often tell ourselves that there is no way we can continue on our path. We can't move past this boulder.

I've heard some people say things like, "If you'll just walk on God's path, there won't be any problems. Just walk down that path." Well yes, you need to walk down God's path. But God doesn't promise to clear the rocks out if you follow His path. It's a hard road; ask anyone. Ask Jesus.

God does make us a promise though, in Psalm 81:13&16, "If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways...you would be fed with the finest wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you." 

You want to know where you can find God on this tough path? Ray says, "Here. The same rock that just brought you to your knees has just a taste of God in it." He goes on to state that there's just enough God in every rock, in every difficult circumstance in life's path to take one more step.

A Rabbi once wrote, "Be careful when you pray for honey. God may put it in a rock." Look back on your life. Take a good look.

Desert Path (redcliffsdesertreserve.com)

What do you see? I haven't lived that long, but I have had rocks along the path I've tread. Years back, about a year or two after we had first moved to China, I developed a fear of being left alone for any period of time. It eventually became so controlling that my parents could not leave the house without me sobbing and begging them not to leave. Each time they didn't answer their phones made me more panicky. One day, a dear friend of my family, "Aunt" Karla Ross, was at our house, watching my sisters and me while my parents were out of town. Aunt Karla had to go out and run some errands, and I began freaking out. Pretty much everyone in our community knew of my fear, and had been praying for me. On this day, Aunt Karla brought out her Bible and pointed me in the direction of some verses about faith and how we shouldn't be afraid. And I found honey in my rock... The prayers of our friends, the encouragement, the Bible verses... that was my honey. In time, I overcame that fear. I still feel it every once in a while, but when that happens I remind myself of the prayers of my friend and of God, who adores me. I have no wish to go through that again, but neither do I wish to trade it. Nor do I wish to erase the pain brought on by my great-grandmother's passing. I found honey in the comfort and fellowship of others during that time. To be honest, those were some of the times when I knew God most intimately. He was the honey, after all... :) Then, there were smaller stones in my life, such as school and language difficulties. But through in each of these stones, I tasted just enough of God to be able to take another step.

Please be on the right path, though. This promise that God gives us holds for one path, and path only: His. That's where I'm gonna be, and I hope to see you there.

Another point I want to make is that you and I do not walk this path alone. We are not the first to walk it, nor will we be the last. We can look down at a path, and oftentimes, we are able to make out footprints of people who had journeyed there in the past. We are not the only ones who deal with certain difficulties. And that is an encouraging thought, because that means we are not alone. In a sermon I heard a couple of weeks ago, the speaker said, "God only allows us to face trials and temptations that are common to man." People who went before us dealt with the same issues and trials we deal with today, and those who follow after us will deal with those things as well.

What happens when a path is walked over and over and over again? It becomes trampled. Another thing that occurs, though, is that it becomes ever so easier to walk for those after us. There is a Bedouin saying, "You keep a path clear for the next generation by walking it." Ray Vander Laan concludes, "...part of what the Bible teaches is life's path is tough, but leave it in a little better condition for the next person down the path." Their path will still be rough; it'll never be completely smooth until Christ returns. He goes on to ask, "But what if every one of us was determined to make the path for the next generation—our kids, our grandkids—the next generation, a clearer, easier path?"

So will you choose to walk that path with me? God's path? :)

Walking the Path (shutterstock.com)