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| Goodbye xanga...I'm going to China in three days. Two, depending on how you count. I leave for Yantai, in the Shandong province of China on July 3rd. I'm going there to teach english. That's about all I know. I'm not an official missionary, I didn't go through any organization. I got in contact directly with the school will be teaching at. I told them I had an unaccredited associates degree in theology and offered my services to do something I've never formally studied: Teach english! And what's crazier is that they hired me! 0.o
I'll be out there for at least one year. That's how long my contract is for. If I like it I won't come back.
I mentioned I'm not a missionary. You may be wondering if I have lost my mind. You thought I was saved! haha. I see the missionary title as more of a burden than it's worth. So I haven't gone out of my way to be official by the western church's standards. That said, I'm just like anyone else who loves and serves Jesus with a desire to see other's lives changed by Him. I'm just a Christian who is going to live in China ? like many Christians who live any other number of places around the world. You can call me what you like, but I would prefer just a Christian living in China. Or better yet, a follower-of-jesus-whose-path-is-taking-him-to-China. But those terms may be a bit long...
Whatever you call it, my drive for service is undeniable. So I'm praying that God will use me as effectively as possible. I'm praying that He will bring me one or two people to disciple. I hope that I can use my music and share love songs with people in coffee shops or the equivalent. I also pray that I can help at an orphanage, but I fine that improbable (but then I remember luck 1:37). And I can't wait to see what He will teach me through a different people and a different culture.
But my duty first and foremost is to be a witness through my work. So pray that I am the best darn english teacher China has seen! That Christ would shine through all my conversations.
I'm not going to send out news letters. They are a thing of the past. I will, however, continue to update my blog. The url has changed and I now use blogspot because it's blocked less often in China, or so I've heard. The url is:
engrafted.blogspot.com
Bookmark it!
I don't think many of you have my email address. If you want it it's the same name as my blogspot url @ gmail . com. But please don't email me with Christian jargon (i.e. Jesus, God, Christ, Pray, etc.) or anything about the Chinese government. Everything in China is filtered and I don't know how strict they are in Yantai. But no one in the country takes kindly to that sort of thing. I'll know what you mean if you say I'm in your thoughts, or the book says, "love your enemies", etc.
I think that's just about everything. I may not update my blog often, but I'll do my best. I'm praying that I will not have internet in my apartment. What a stupid distraction this creation is.
You all have been a great community to be a part of. I hope to keep in contact. And I hope that your journey with Jesus is as awesome as mine. Though I'm sure it is!
And here's a picture, just for grins and giggles.
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| SunsetsPeople keep asking me what I will miss when I leave. They don't seem to understand that I'm not actually attached to anything that I can't take with me. I may miss the New Mexico sunsets. I didn't miss them when I was in Japan, but then one often doesn't realize what one misses until they are back. Last night I realized I missed NM sunsets.
Here's why:
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| Listening is a skill......that most, including myself, don't have. The problem is that most don't know it's a skill and don't try to develop it as such.
Young adults tonight, as with most nights, made me think about something totally different than I expected. It's cool how God does that. But I didn't really like how it came about.
In a big group it's hard to talk about one thing and have it stay on that topic. What I saw tonight was surprising because most thought it stayed on topic.
We are going through philippians. Tonight we were going to go through chapter 4. We came upon verse 8 where Paul makes a list of things we should think or meditate on. Recently I have been thinking about this list, especially how it omits the Word of God (though this is taught in other portions [especially psalm 119]) as one of the things to meditate on. I think this is for a very specific reason.
The Bible is completely true from start to finish. It can be tested and doubted. And it has been for hundreds of years. I won't get all apologetic, but it always comes through tests standing. So the Bible is entirely true, but truth is not entirely contained within the Bible. In other words, God is bigger than this book He wrote.
I brought up, not quite as well articulated as I try to write here, that truth can be found outside the Bible. I didn't expect for people to agree with me, many don't. But I realized that when I would make an example to illustrate my point people would get hung up on the example.
For instance.
I brought up finding truth in other religions and we hit a half hour long discussion of being able to discern truth in other religions. The general thought was that we shouldn't go studying them for truth and the like. Whatever, I don't care about that! I wasn't talking about other religions, I was talking about truth in general being found outside scripture. Be it science, religion, philosophy, psychology, or whatever.
Then I tried to get everyone back on topic by talking about how this should change our lives. How seeing truth in everything should change our attitudes. But I made the mistake of bringing up witnessing as an example and everyone got off on different methods and how we should all rely on the Spirit to witness.
Now, that's not what I was getting at in the slightest. But that's what people heard.
My point was that seeing something good and true in a person should change how we view them. I've used the example before, seeing a prostitute as a mom. Seeing a homeless guy as someone with discipline because they can stand out on the corner for 6 hours every day. (I've done it, it's hard and humbling. Don't ever yell or throw your trash at a guy on the corner.)
But this point was completely overlooked.
How could something this beg be misunderstood? It got me thinking about how we process what we learn. Why is the main point often completely missed?
I'm pretty sure it has to do with what everyone is learning personally. From what every person said tonight, I could go through and tell you what God has been teaching them this week. One person is learning prayer, one witnessing, one trust, etc. So why did they seemingly disregard the main topic of the discussion without even knowing it?
I think it's because everything that was said was filtered through their recent experiences and knowledge. And the only content that made it through was whatever fit through that filter.
Say God is really teaching one person to pray. Out of everything I said the only thing that they would connect with is praying for discernment when looking for truth. So they would talk about that. Then the next person who is learning about evangelism only hears my example about witnessing so they would talk about that. They both heard every word I said but each is using their own filter.
It was all very frustrating. And I realize how much we don't actually listen to what people say.
So I spent most of the night trying to understand the main point of what people were really saying.
Because what they are saying, may not be what I am actually hearing. | | |
| Alright, akaritoshio. Here you go.
Disclaimer: Not all the information provided below is completely truthful 100% of the time.
Rules: After posting these rules, each player proceeds to list 8 relatively random facts/habits about himself/herself. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, leaving them a comment on their blogs to let them know.
1. I read and listen to more news that I don't agree with just so I know what other people are saying.
2. I just finished a book called Sex God. It was amazing.
3. I always have an asian movie downloading. It gives my computer something to do while I'm away.
4. I drink milk out of a shot glass.
5. What I do in my backyard after midnight reflects the area of my heart that God is working in.
6. I go jogging nearly every day. On my off days I work out.
7. I eat ice cream with chopsticks
8. I don't take my clothes off when I shower.
I won't bother tag anyone else. Everyone I know has or will be hit by someone else soon enough. Unless Jess or Diver want a stab at it. But I don't mind either way. | | |
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