Oh, how we have changed!

From the desk of Chris...

Every few days we experience something here in China that shows us just how much we've changed over the past 2 years. Typically these are things that would have been "unacceptable" to us, but now they're just a part of everyday life, so we just roll with it. Here are some recent examples!

About a week ago I came back from playing basketball in the south China heat and desperately needed a shower. Half way through my shower I looked down at the shower floor and saw this:

Now, I've been known to get pretty sweaty playing basketball, but I thought that this was a little ridiculous. This is the point at which I realized how much I've changed over the last 2 years. The first indication was the fact that I didn't immediately turn off the shower-- just kept right on getting "clean." I asked Allie to turn on the sink and see if the water had the same brownish hue. She did, and asked, "Do you want to know the answer??" To which I replied, "Eh, let me finish washing my face first." But really, was my face actually getting clean if I washed it with brown water??? Here is what Allie discovered:

Another case in point occurred a few days ago. The large majority of the population here has never even heard of a "dryer," and still relies on good ole mother nature to dry their laundry. This works out well, except for when it's raining, cold, or cloudy outside (which is a large portion of the year where we live). We decided that our sheets needed a good wash so we threw them into the washing machine. About half way through the cycle, the clouds gathered, the sun went away, and the rain began. Typically in this situation we just hang our laundry on a drying rack in our den and crank up the heat (yes, you read that correctly). However, by the end of the night, our pillowcases were still on the damp side. What did we do? Thanked God that we love to play sports and pulled out some over-sized Chinese soccer jerseys!

Man, I must say, I enjoy the new us! God has humbled us in so many ways these past two years. I am glad that I have learned to trust Him in all things and be thankful for His provision, even if its not what I'm hoping for. I pray that I won't forget this lesson as we transition back into life in America.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?... So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -- Matthew 6:25-34