Today I'm not going to inform you about how great it was to hear that a major persecutor of the faith recently converted and is now a brother....
Its also not going to cover the facts of how Josh and I finally have a work schedule set and are ready to settle into a more "normal" lifestyle...
Nope, I'm not going to talk about how we met a fellow brother in the faith that was so adorable and joyful that he made me feel so happy, and how I wanted just to hug him....
We won't discuss how a random older man who is exploring the faith gave our small group a random free dance lesson in the middle of a Chinese restaurant....
And I'm also not going to talk about how excited I was when I told the old lady who gives us a smile and a wave every time we step out our apartment, "I'm learning Chinese so that maybe we can talk...." and how she answered with a HUGE smile and a laugh..."HUN HAO!!!" and an excited thumbs up...
No, today, I'm just going to tell you about how pumped I was when I found Eclipse for 10 Qui....that is equal to $1.50.
Bless the Chinese people for trying so hard. And bless them for not even knowing how funny and sometimes disgusting they can be.
No matter how many times you come here, and no matter how many times you see severely mis-translated phrases...its always funny. You would think that if they wanted something translated they would have some type of "double-check" system. Like before you print "cuss baggage drop off" on the official sign, maybe run it by someone who speaks English...just a thought.
It also never gets old, or "normal" to see disgusting things either...where else in the world would someone look and see a bag of duck tongue or white jelly fungus and say to themselves "wow, that really looks delicious, I have to buy that"...
Seeing things so different than what we are used to, although funny and sometimes slightly disturbing, makes us feel so far from the norm and so far from home...but at the same time, is also what makes us jump around and dance in the aisles of the metro when we find a bag of Quaker Oatmeal, or a box of "Arm and Hatchet" baking soda. It's the little glimpses of familiarity that make the day a little easier and makes our lives a little more exciting. Thank you China for being so "different" and teaching us how to appreciate our "normal."
It’s amazing that not too long ago it would take a boat and 3 months to get to the other side of the world. It’s amazing that it now only takes 14 hours.
It’s amazing how much the time can “fly” by (no pun intended) when you are sitting next to your best friend and watching 7 movies in a row.
It’s amazing how tired I felt after not sleeping for over 50 hours.
Its amazing how a 14 hour plane ride can cause your ankles to do some serious swelling...kankle-like swelling....
It’s amazing to step off a plane and be in a different world.
It’s amazing being back with a purpose and a mission.
It’s amazing to feel that we are exactly where God had planned for us and that we are completely submerged in the work for His kingdom.
It’s going to be amazing to see what He does.
It’s going to be amazing to see his miracles.
Unfortunately it’s also going to be amazing how much I will miss my family. And friends.
A week with the family always feels like I blink and its over. Since we are leaving soon it went ten times faster. Ten times faster than a blink. Thats fast. But in that 1/10th of a blink we did some fun things and made memories that will provide comfort... Every moment in Kansas was a blast, but a week of moments is hard to write down...so we'll just cover the favorites.
1. The Birthday Party
Since Matthew (my brother), Rachael (my sister by marriage to Mathew), and grandpa (self explanatory) all celebrate birthdays within a week and a half together, and since August seems to be the busiest month of the year for our family of educators…we had a joined birthday party for them. Grandpa turned 73, Matthew turned 26 and Rachael 25. Together, that’s 124 years. 124 years of living that has been blessed greatly and has been used to bless others greatly. 124 years that I am thankful for.
Out of those 124 years I’ve only been around for 63 of them. In that time, I have learned so much from each of them and they have been an encouragement to me in each of their own ways. I love you Matthew, Rachael, and Grandpa!
Birthday parties in the Clark home usually involve, aside from the norm (cake, ice cream, presents, and balloons), activities...lots of activities. Whether it is jumping in the pool or trying out some new crazy game, we always have something to do. This special occasion involved a game that was taught to us by Grandma. She played it the day before with her “Hen Club.”
What was so great about this sweet innocent game that Grandma taught us, is that the rest of us were pretty sure (like 99.9% sure) that the game she demonstrated was suppose to involve alcoholic beverages, and gulping it when points were scored. However, she had sweetly (and unintentionally) replaced the alcohol with cans of diet coke that had been filled with water.
We look back on the game and we don’t know which was more fun, actually playing it…or watching grandma explain how to play it.
I love birthday parties...I love my family.
2. Children's Mercy NICU
So my sister, Rachael, the one with the birthday, has one of the most incredible jobs. She is a nurse at Children's Mercy Hospital of Kansas City and she serves in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Basically she helps save pre-maturely born babies that are severe cases and not too long ago would have been looked upon as "un-saveable."
Rachael invited me to come to her work and see her unit...such a good decision. These babies, some small enough to fit in your hands are such wonderful miracles and are a beautiful example of the Lords precious and fragile gift of life.
I don't have any pictures to share because cameras weren't allowed...Boo...but trust me when I say it is incredible.
3. The Zoo
One of the days that I spent in Kansas, Mom took me to the Zoo!!! The last time that I went to the zoo with mom, I think I was in the 2nd grade. My oh my how time flies!
Apart from the new polar bear and the new gorilla and chimpanzee exhibits it looks about the same as it did when I was in the 2nd grade too, but it was fun nonetheless. Being with mom and Emilee anywhere makes things fun, but watching goofy animals while with mom and Emilee was a blast. Plus Mom bought Emilee and I rock candy...you can't beat rock candy.
I like squirrels, and I love to watch them live daily life because it makes me laugh. I think that if I were an animal I would be a squirrel. I also think that if a squirrel were in a bigger body it would be a monkey. So therefore by some geometry proof equation that I learned in middle school I can come to the the conclusion that I like monkeys and I love to watch them live daily life. They were my favorite to see at the zoo...
Surprisingly this monkey was just about as exhausted as dad.
4. Bad day to be a catfish...
Grandpa loves to fish and he also loves to take people fishing...
Josh and I took him up on that offer one morning and the catfish are unhappy that we did. We had a blast! The limit for Hillsdale Lake is 5 fish per person and in about 2 hours josh and I had caught the limit for the three of us. We were super excited when I reeled in a 11.4 lb whale of a blue catfish...
His name is Mr. Whisker
and then shortly after, Josh caught its twin...
It was wonderful to spend time with Grandpa and to see his expertise at work. He said it best when he said "The Lord has been good to us today."
The Lord was good to me that day...The Lord was good to me for a week and a half...The Lord is good to me always. Thank you God for such a wonderful, fun, loving, and supportive family. You always do know what is best for me. You always give me what is best. My family is the best. (]I realize that is a bias statement...but I'm okay with being bias about it)
Haha..so when I said 365 days I meant starting 4 days later. Its been a whirlwind of 4 days though...with a wedding and all of its festivities (CONGRATS JOHN AND LAUREN...Mr and Mrs Dunahoo!!!!) and a LONG drive back to see my wonderful family, its incredible how fast days have flown by!
The drive from Tennessee to Kansas was a relief and gave me time to talk with the Lord and to pay attention enough to see His beauty in the world around me... and to work on my patience as I SAT on highway 24 in traffic. Please tell me why traffic can be at a dead stop for one minute and then it just moves right along like nothing happened for absolultley no reason?
Even though it is hard being away from Josh, especially now being a little over a week from leaving, this time with my family is good. Its always a breath of fresh air and a lot of laughs to be around them.
I was able to spend most of the day with my WONDERFUL mother helping her get ready for her new group of kids coming in, and when I wasn't with her, Emilee and I spent some time at the "Great Waste of Space" A.K.A The "Great Mall" haha...and of course time with Emilee at the great mall always means enjoying the simple pleasure of candy from the "Candy Shoppe." I wonder if I can find one in China?!
Project 365 is something that "wanna be" photographers can do to improve on taking pictures. Its also a chance to journal what is happening in your life to share your walk with others and to reflect back on what God is doing in your life. Josh and I have promised many people that we would keep them "up to date" because this next year in our life is going to be crazy. And I am a "wanna be" photographer.
