anticipating China

God is continually amazing Glenn and I with His encouragement for us to go to China next summer!  The most recent way He has done this is bringing more Chinese friends into our life.  Before Xiangdong returned to China he wanted us to meet his friend, Xue Ni.  We are so thankful for her presence in our life.  She is an amazing godly young woman that is so much fun to be with.  She has such a joyful spirit and complete trust in her Lord and Savior.  She is a temporary au pair for a large family in Slippery Rock that have adopted eight Asian children.  This family hired her for a year to help with the children and improve her English, which is already really good!  She is between her sophmore and junior years of college near her home town of Xian.  She has a legacy of Christianity in her family and believes the Lord may be calling her to be an interpreter when she graduates with her Masters degree.  We love spending time with her, while helping one another learn each other's native tongue.  I still say she has it easier than we do learning Chinese, especially at our age!  Another friend that we have met is Lijuan.  She is a professor at Grove City College and also a lovely Christian woman.  She has lived in the states for about 15 years and will be receiving her residency very soon.  She loves this area and also has a heart for Southern California, which she lived in for eight years.  


It is so wonderful spending time with these women and I truly believe that God is arranging these friendships so that we will be more accustomed to relationships in China!  I am just in awe of what He does!  We are eating alot of Chinese food in our house these days.  Xiangdong and Xue Ni have both cooked for us and Lijuan is so gracious to have us in her home for meals.  We also frequent the Lotus Market to stock up on Chinese food that we can cook.  All in all,  I see the preparation that God is doing and I bow my head in complete thankfulness.  

How tenderly does He overpower us with the splendor of His goodness, soothing where He might confound! In Grace and love, who is like You, O Lord? Among the gods who is like You? Understanding faints in attempting to ascend to You! Imagination, to which You have given a half-creative faculty, cannot beget a thought of equal height to Your thoughts, nor conceive a way which may bear comparison with Your ways! What better can we do, great God, than bow our heads and reverently adore?  (Spurgeon)

Beginning this journey with God "anticipating China" is truly humbling and an encouragement to my soul!  I never dreamed that I would be SO blessed to see SO MUCH of God while still being earthbound!  What a privilege, what an honor, WHAT A JOY!

Next step:  Beginning to downsize and asking for God's guidance in that, of course!