It was great to be back in the countryside to teach our lively English class. This time we stayed on fifth floor for the best view of the village and surrounding mountains we've had. The class paid remarkably close attention to the story of Joshua with visual aids.
Our family divided to attend two different meetings last night. Annelisa and I found ourselves in a very modest home in the neighboring village. I was struck both while walking there and while in service by the timelessness and simplicity that marks the countryside. Beside the road a white-haired old man in peasant blue, clutches with one hand the kind of plow his ancestors have used from time immemorial as the plodding water buffalo demonstrates his skill at cultivating the field. In the meeting, the ladies in their drab clothing, simple hairstyles, and weather worn faces might be peasants of another age, another land, I thought--- nothing unique to distinguish them. Not that there was nothing special about them: there was the earnestness and the glow of the Divine, enhancing the plain faces. The speaker was announced as the service progressed and one was startled to have no time to prepare... just as well, for short and sweet was the result, as we shared on God's love in suffering: how we are privileged to help bear His Cross.
Here are some pictures taken while we were in THP , one today of an embedded taxi, and two (also today) showing our newest mother with Baby Rachel, who has to be the best behaved infant I've met.
It was a first, celebrating Mothers' Day with our church group, and now they are eager for Father's Day! My most wonderful surprise was a hand-made card tastefully displaying the following poem which the parents of the author found deeply moving:
GOD KNEW
God knew that sometimes along life's way
people could get quite trying
'Twould be hard to make it through the day
without breaking down and crying.
AND SO GOD GAVE YOU PATIENCE.
God knew it was hard to understand,
when things weren't done just right;
When people shunned your every command,
then bemoaned their own sad plight.
AND SO GOD GAVE YOU WISDOM.
God knew it'd be all too easy
to walk away in despair,
While others lay sick and needy
demanding your constant care.
AND SO GOD GAVE YOU COMPASSION.
God knew it would often be tempting
to simply just give it up,
When in spite of your faithful teachings,
people remained so corrupt.
AND SO GOD GAVE YOU TENACITY.
God knew how difficult it would be
to stay so cheerful and nice,
When people wronged you so carelessly,
much more than once or twice.
AND SO GOD GAVE YOU FORGIVENESS.
God knew that every single day,
others needed your acceptance,
Though it would be easy to turn away,
Because of their defiance.
AND SO GOD GAVE YOU UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
God knew after these traits He did choose,
that what He had done was good;
And these virtues must be put to use,
like every talent should.
AND SO GOD GAVE YOU ME.
LOVINGLY, YOUR DAUGHTER
That made my day....a day partly spent in talking with some whose homes are falling apart. Recently so many homes are under intense attack, that it underlines the importance of home life according to God's pattern and by His infinite grace.
Children, I'm sorry to say this quiz is probably too hard for you, but maybe not too challenging for your parents...and it's SHORT. We have all read the Bible for years and yet some interesting details escape us. But are we all ready to check up on a few of those details? Let's see if anyone can get all the answers by the time I figure out what first prize will be! (Rub hands together) Let's go!
FAMILIES OF THE BIBLE
1. When Obededom allowed the ark to stay in his home, the Lord blessed him; what exactly was included in his blessing?
2. Who named his daughter after Sarah?
3. Who was Rahab's husband? Her son?
4. What seer had seventeen children for song?
5. To which baby did Nathan give a special name "because of the Lord"?
6. Which brother of Caleb was a posthumous baby?
7. Please name five of David's nephews.......and you're finished! PTL!
It was wondrously refreshing to be in the splendid bamboo-clad mountains of Anji County again. It was both pleasant and strange staying in the comfortable THP hotel beside Ground Zero....where not long ago stood our home of thirteen years. As I strolled along by the stream, the stream of memories came-- of walks with little children skipping beside me, or a pet at my heels; but more than that, my heart was melted with memories of gracious touches of God's love that repeatedly made a way for me where there was none. My heart was made to sing, indeed.
Our interesting English class consists of twenty-two engineers, nearly all from a company on the border with North Korea. The questionnaire about their interest in learning English yielded replies like: "Of course I am interesting" "I am very interesting." "It takes many amused memory..." "I like learning English but the results have been bad." "I revolt learning to write English." Exams? "No, very not." "Exam is insipid." Why do you want to learn English? "I wonder to be more handsome." One student in his oral introduction wished me a happy Mother's Day, quite to my surprise. The holiday is catching on in China!
Our purchasing of a fifth floor apartment with a fantastic view of Romantic Valley took some dramatic twists as competition moved in, we held back, and then the Lord gave us what had seemed lost. The quiet of the mountains away from the big city should be relaxing, when we finally get the place finished and furnished. So now you know some of what has been occupying our time during this period of silence! And yes, there was another little foundling, a baby sparrow who was very cute, but unwilling to live in our cage till his wing healed. He worried himself to death trying to get out of the cage that was his protection from hungry cats and other menaces. Like "Twete", don't I sometimes chafe at the very cage that is protecting unsuspecting me? I resolve to be more thankful for restrictions God uses!