Michelle Finds 5,000

So, I just taught some office workers that God is a God of miracles! We went through the story about how Jesus fed 5,000 people with just a few pieces of bread and fish.

I told them that He can't only do that 2,000 years ago, but that He wants to do that through us now! That He wants us to have God-sized goals and the faith to believe in Him to accomplish it.

Here's my God-sized goal -- to learn 5,000 mandarin words.

I have lived here for seven months and this is what my conversations looks like:
Me: How are you?
Chinese: Good, how are you?
Me: Very good.
Chinese: Where are you from?
Me: America.
Chinese: shieoaphoeprheiajal;jriea;hwioerel;ajsk
Me: I don't understand Chinese.

I don't know why I can't remember the words I learn! I want to, believe me, I want to!! I can't even remember how to ask where the bathroom is!

Today, I begin my journey to listen to the teaching that I gave. To believe that God is a God of miracles. That He can take my meager ability and help me to transform it into something bigger than I could ever imagine!

Maybe next time you see me you will think that I am a Zhongguoren, or just an American with 235 Mandarin words. But, it's a start!

What is a God-sized goal that you have for 2012?

Funny Foods

China is a wonderful place with lots of sights, sounds and smells.  It is also a great place to come when you want some authentic Chinese food.

Anyway, since moving here, we eat in most of the time and so need to buy groceries, and throughout our time here we have come across some "funny foods".

Anyone who has been to China or seen funny signs from China has heard of the dialect "chinglish".  It is when the meaning from Chinese to English is lost somewhere in translation.

Here are some examples of "chinglish" on the foods we eat.

Noodles made by Gungzhou who?

This is the from the front of the package

This is the back - corporal what meat?

Snacks

More snacks

Sickness in Sydney

It was just a nosebleed, I know, but it was apparently the final tissue that broke this mama’s back. I could feel my own tears threatening to erupt as Levi sat crying in my arms with blood dripping everywhere.
Yes, it’s just a nosebleed, I know.
The deeper story is that we have been in Sydney for 10 days and we are utterly tired … tired of all the sickness that has been plaguing us. Justice’s non-stop coughing, which became Isaiah’s non-stop coughing and now Jonathan’s mother’s coughing (although she is so gracious that she doesn't attribute her cough to the boys).
Late-night hacking that turns to gagging which ends up as a gross mess in the bucket.
An ear infection and irritability for Isaiah.
Clinginess from Levi who is fighting the losing battle of health.
A mild MS attack for Jon’s mom, who stayed in the sun longer than she should of, and now her legs are giving her grief.
Crazy fire alarms that chirp in the early morning hours.
Hmmm, not quite the restful vacation we were hoping for, but God-breathed nonetheless. Apart from all the germs flying, it's been a pleasure connecting with all the family again! Meeting our newest two nephews, seeing how big cousins have grown, girls' night out with the cousins, family BBQs and a day at the beach. I just need to be able to see the beauty in the piles of soaked Kleenex around me. Bless You!

Lius allude raid

My Mom told me not to go down any dark alleys in China. So, when we stepped into the gated passageway I made sure to ask Jon if he thought it was a “dark alley.” We looked up and around and concluded that it was pretty bright; so we kept on walking.

Inside the narrow corridor were vendors selling rice, noodles, meats and vegetables. We actually found the place by tracing the line of Chinese people who were carrying take-out boxes from this area.  We figured that it must be good.

The infamous noodle shack

This was our first venture to eating “street food”. Until then, we’ve only tried tacky Chinese fast-food (like McDonalds, but with Chinese food) that had names like Kung Fu and a picture of Bruce Lee plastered on the front. As you can imagine we were pretty proud at how brave we were to eat like the locals.

Five minutes into our meal a man starts to excitedly tell us something in Mandarin. He’s smiling, so we’re not too alarmed. What was unsettling was what the people inside the make-shift restaurant were doing. Between flipping the noodles on the wok, they frantically started to pull everything into their stall and shut the garage door-like contraption.

I don’t know if it’s the Guangzhou heat or the genes, but somehow after lunch many shop owners will cover their wares and take a snooze. I thought this couple REALLY needed their nap for them to suddenly close up and try to kick us out.

Even the food lady in the back packed up and disappeared.
Look at how much noodles you get for $1 per plate!

Meanwhile, the man with the grin is still trying to tell us SOMETHING. It sounds as if he wants us to leave, but we can take our time and not leave?! Then Jon insists that he recognized a key word – police. Police? Ooh, this was getting exciting!

We got the owners to open the hatch and pass us some take-out boxes so that we could eat on the road … literally, by the way.

We laughed as we walked down the street, and then we saw the police giving tickets to illegally parked cars. Hmmm, should we stick around? Nah, it would ruin the adventure we already made up in our minds!

Just Keep Jigglin'

There are so many things to get used to about our new life -- the food, the heat, the 5-hour grocery shopping expeditions. But the things that are the most challenging for me are not living in my "own" house and not having my "own" money.

These two factors crashed together this week as Micah locked a bedroom door and walked out. The problem is, we don't have the key. We knew this day would come soon. How could four little boys NOT lock a door?

Well, we could break the lock and get in. But, again we don't own this house and can't make that decision. We could hire a locksmith for $12, but I want to be a good steward of the money we get from our supporters and don't think breaking and entering is being one.

So, I did the only thing I could ... pray. I asked God, "How do I get in?" He said, "use the key." I calmly explained that I don't have the key and I don't know where it is! He said, "The key I gave you is prayer."

I remembered how the Bible said that if you have the faith the size of a mustard seed you can make mountains move. Well, then, surely if that could happen a little lock should be no problem. I mustered up all the faith I could and marched to the door.

I grabbed Micah and said we're going to pray for a miracle! He looked less than excited, but it didn't stop me. Then I asked God, "Now what?" He said, "jiggle the handle." "Oh, ok, I'll do it 7 times just like in Jericho," I thought.

One-two-three-four-five-six-seven .... nothing happened. I stepped away determined not to let the defeat at the door dent my faith, but yet wondered what went wrong.

Half an hour later I hear Jon yelling that the door is opened! I ran to see what happened. Jon said, "look, you just need to jiggle the handle and it starts to unlock the lock!"

Ah ... so the answer WAS to jiggle! God did reveal the "key" to the door, but I used my own interpretation of seven times. If only I continued to do what He asked me to do, I would have seen His miracle.

I wonder how many of us hear God's good and gracious plans for our life, do it as long as we think WE should and then give up and blame God that it didn't all work out? What if we all kept on jiggling until we heard the next step from Him?

Top Ten to China

Hmmm, if you could edit your life to two boxes, what would be in it?

I have spent the past several weeks in Washington doing exactly that. Our family of six can take with us to China 10 boxes at 50 pounds each.

So, I wanted to give you a glimpse of what each box looks like:

Box 1: Homeschool books! Our dearly loved treasures that take us to many different worlds through a turn of the page.

Box 2: Kitchen items, including Pyrex casseroles, my vegetable peeler, China set, and knives.

Box 3: Electronics, including our computer and monitor, various cables and other techie stuff I don’t understand.

Box 4: More homeschool books!

Box 5: Clothes.

Box 6: Toys and games – wooden train set, LEGOs, memory game and more.

Box 7: Household items and craft items – fabric scissors, paper, stamps.

Box 8: Did I mention that we like books?

Box 9: The biggest box so it holds odd –shaped things like a wooden Mancala board (it’s light!), silver vases that make me smile, a math thing, the Chinese fan from our wedding.

Box 10: The sweetest of them all … an electric piano keyboard for Justice. A gift given to us at just the right time!

Stay tuned for the next installment when I list the top 10 things we needed to give up.

Life's a Journey

We are now in Seattle, sorting through our stuff, giving it away, selling it...

I can't say that any part of this adventure so far has been "the best". It has all been amazing. Of course, some segments were harder than others, but it's been all good.

I was thinking about this because I was wondering what kind of ministering have we been doing lately? Sure, you could point to lots of stuff during our time in Cambodia, but how about Seattle?

But, I can see fruit, just in different ways. I think we're encouraging people to get rid of their unwanted stuff because they don't want to deal with it like we are :) I think we're sharing the vision for China and/or missions and people are catching it!

However, if there's a theme to our time in Seattle it's the goodness of God. He has placed amazing people around us who have offered their homes, meals, time, cars, money and talents to our family. Please note that this is not at all a reflection who our family is (because we really are a rag-tag bunch), but really, a testament to how great our God is!

And, because of this, I am truly humbled and thankful!