Official July Newsletter!!!

Hello, Now that it is July I have been here ten months. They have been amazing months, filled with learning, wonder, confusion, frustration, and joy. I figure that now is a good time to share with you some of the strange things about China. Many of these things are daily sights or smells, some are just occasional, but all of them provide a moment of puzzlement or humor. Today is a story day!!

I was traveling on a bus the other day to an area of Kunming I had never been to before when suddenly the bus stopped in the middle of the road, under a bridge, where there was no bus stop sign, of any sort, and picked up at least 15 people who were apparently waiting for the bus. Who knew that this bridge was a popular bus stop?

Another bus story happened only a couple days before or after the one above. In the middle of the work week, in the middle of the busy traffic day, the bus passed a gaggle (7-12) women clustered around the middle of the road. My attempts to see what they were doing paid off when I realized they were scrubbing, using buckets of water and hand held rags, the white metal divider between the two lanes of traffic. Hello, traffic hazard? Guess not!

Motor bikes are a regular means of transportation and there are often funny things that I see happening on them. One of my favorite things to see is: two young men (twenties) riding a motorcycle together on the same bike. The other is to see a woman in high heels with her legs bent at a funny angle and her feet curved up to prevent her heels from snapping off.

This, leads me to fashion. Fashion here is also very odd. Usually, young women dress very formally, skirts, heels, and sometimes hats, however often these combinations do not match. Imagine: silver sequined slinky top with a black half jacket and black mini skirt over black leggings with sliver skulls and cross bones on them. Top that off with a plastic grey bag that could hold three Chinese children. Another example of strange fashion is the woman who is on the bus or at the market in her oversized t-shirt, sweat pants, house slippers, and hair curlers.

The most recent thing I want to share with you is more serious than humorous. Last Sunday I took my trash out and then waited by the bus stop for my ride to fellowship. As I sat there, an elderly woman came around the corner and sat in my line of sight with my bag of trash. She then proceeded to sift through it. Taking one thing or another out of my trash to put into her “take home bag.”

Here in China we throw our toilet paper into the trash and I could see her touching my filthy toilet trash in order to retrieve a couple of toilet paper tubes. I was in emotional pain as I watched her. What should I do? My offering her any type of monetary goods was not going to change how she makes a living or lives out her life. But what bothered me most was: why did watching her shake me?

I have had some time to process it and I think that the reason was because she willingly with anticipation was touching what was most ugly about me. For her she hoped to gain something from doing so. And this week as I have been wondering about it, I realize with thankfulness and wonder, that Father sees my ugliness all the time. He sees mine, He sees her’s and He loves us both despite it all. The difference is that Father wants us to gain from His work in our lives. She is why He came to earth and died. I am why He came to earth and died. You are why He came and died!! Your ugliness is seen by the Almighty Father, but He is willing to accept you and love you as long as you are willing to accept that love.

*I ask Father as I write this to open your eyes as well as mine to the work He desires to do in our lives.

*I ask You to ask Father: for my continued safety, my continual growth in Him and in learning, as well as for my travel plans in August as I come home to Chicago for my brother’s wedding. That going would be great and wonderful but that I would truly desire to come back to China.

I love you all!! Denise