Thankful

In China, I was lucky to have an entire week of Thanksgiving!! Just...lookin' on the bright side of it all--of course I missed my family like crazy. This week was a great one, though. We taught our students what Thanksgiving is and the importance of gratitude. We had the little kids make turkeys and label each feather with something they are grateful for. Of course, there were the given things like mom, dad, family, friends, China, food. But I loved to see the creative ones my kids came up with, like God, tomorrow, teacher, and the earth. These kids really have the Spirit of Thanksgiving inside of them. It was so sweet to see. I'm so thankful for my students' example of love. I don't think I could've survived this experience with out them.

On actual Thanksgiving day I ate Campbell's chicken noodle soup that we got in Hong Kong. Mmmmmmmm. I was just thankful for American food. Plus, we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend. So it was alllll good in da hood.

So Saturday we visited the city and hit up KFC and got our favorite Sichuan Chicken Sandwich. Yum. Spicy. But good enough. And we walked around and sat down on the edge of a river looking at all the small Chinese houses scrunched together when a cute old lady, around 60, came up to us and started talking to us in Chinese. I could kinda guess what she was asking--the usual "where are you from? How many people in your family? How old are you? What are you doing in China?" And I could answer in my broken Chinglish but mostly I could just say "ting bu dong" which is "I don't understand." She then pointed to her head and my head and said "ting bu dong" and then pointed to our hearts and said "ting da dong." And I truly felt a connection with her, like we understood each other. I am so thankful for little experiences like that. And I'm really excited for that day when I get to see her again and we WILL be able to understand each other and remember that day sitting on the edge of the river.

Today we were planning to go to the city and continue our Thanksgiving festivites by finding a yummy, hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant to eat at. But those plans were interrupted when our friend said she was visiting with her family to meet up with us. And we've never met in person and they came to Tongcheng so they could meet us. Hahaha oh...the Chinese always spring up on you like that. So we met up with Sufei, whom I've been texting back and forth that is friends with our liaison. We drove with her grandma, parents, and Sufei to the city and her parents took us out to lunch to a VERY nice restaurant. One of those in China in a private room where they bring you at least 10 dishes and you all share and it is DELICIOUS. It was so sweet of them and they were so kind. It was nice to be with a family and you could feel the love they had for each other. They were so kind and giving. They even gave us these warmers that are filled with water that you plug into the wall, heat up, and keep you warm! Mine has a fuzzy bear on it. So even though our Thanksgiving plans got upstaged, it turned out to be even better.

 

Well said, Marcus

The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. Marcus Aurelius

So I was talking with my dear friend and she encouraged me to share some thoughts I've been having lately. We have been going through similar situations and I shared my thoughts with her. After, she said I should share it with others because you never know when you could help someone else out, especially when so many people have helped me in return without even knowing it.  So to quote Shelby: "You have a gift, and sometimes our answers can bless the masses. Which is so cool." I hope I can help someone with my thought process. Even if it's just helping myself by sharing. I know I'm not perfect in dealing with my fellow men, but I'm trying and here are the thoughts that have been swimming in my head lately as I've been trying to sort out some feelings and situations.

One thing I've been studying lately is that each of our lives are God's. No one besides us and Him knows completely what we need for ourselves. Others can see one part of the story but may not know all the details. The thing that's really hard is being okay that they think those things because you can't change THEM either. You know and God knows what the real story is, and if you feel good about your choices, then keep walking down that path.

There have been a couple instances in my life where I have been worried about the choices that people I love had made. From my personal experiences, I have learned that pure happiness comes from being close to God and doing my best to serve Him and I felt that they needed this more in their lives. I realized that I didn't know that full story and I still don't.

I became judgmental and even disliked their character and thought the worst of them...that is where I went wrong. I let Satan in my head and heart and I allowed him to make me look down on the people I loved. Satan tried to twist my righteous desires into bitterness. I tried so hard to fight these feelings and to feel pure love like Christ--who has been wronged by every single person that He loves (aka every single person ever) and yet He still loves them entirely. And I wanted so badly to change the situation of those I love and help them lean more on the Gospel but I can't tell them to do that or else they won't see me as a friend and feel I was judging them. And I never want to make someone feel judged.

True, Satan tempts me to judge others, but I must remind myself that it is not my place. Plus, since when did judging others get anyone anywhere? Loving others is the only progressive action. Judging others only causes more damage. So all I can do is be an example and hope they will see the blessings of centering life around the Gospel. I thought that they were seeking things that were a bad influence. But I don't know the whole story and I trust their judgment enough that they know how they need to be close to God. And I'm not saying they are bad people at all, I'm just saying I don't know everything that goes on so I can't make judgement on their situation. All I can do is trust them and love them and back them up 100% no matter what happens. Even if they get hurt.  And I've learned the reverse of this situation. Not to let anyone's judgement get you down, because they don't know the whole story about you. Only you and God know.

So, what's the antidote for judging? For feeling alone? Forgotten? Unsure about how to be happy in China for 4 months without family, friends and American food? CHARITY. It "never faileth." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) It's all about love, people. Everything is about love. How else did Harry Potter become the Boy Who Lived? Lily loved him so much she sacrificed her life for him--I HAD to include that reference. But the evidence of the power of love is everywhere! So, let's color our thoughts with love so that our souls (body and mind, spirit and heart) can be beautiful too.

Wo ai Zhong Guo because...

I've been learning some Chinese! I can't read characters BUT I can speak it a little! So. I love China because...

OF THE KIDS!!! Get ready for a picture exploooosion. I can't get over how cute all these kids are. I want to take all of them home with me!

My sassy 1st graders!

Classic Kindergarten behavior haha!

Honestly, I used to hate going to Kindergarten because the kids are crazy and I'm not quite sure what the teachers want me to do...so I just play with them. And now I love it!

These are our 4th graders. They used to be just Maddy's but my 5th grade class got cancelled and now they are mine too!

The kid in the front I have named "the Jacket Stealing Bandit" because he stole my jacket and ran around the classroom and it was hilarious! I looove this picture just because of that!

This is Niki (named after none other than Niki Waite!!) And she is a ball of sunshine. Whenever she sees me she calls my name in her cute little voice!

GAH!!! I have never known cuter children in my LIFE.

We had a lesson on clothes and so they had fun dressing up! These are my cute 3rd graders. :)

I just LOVE teaching. At first, it was really hard and frustrating because I didn't know how to teach and what the kids needed from me. It's tiring and wears me out. And it's amazing how tired I get after only a few hours of teaching! I didn't know how I was going to like living in China if I didn't like teaching. But now, I love it sooo much! I look forward to going to class and being with these kids. The little kids are so fun and loving and willing to learn. They always give me drawings and little gifts. I even got a dandelion yesterday! My middle school kids are PUNKS and I aaalways lose my voice trying to calm them down but they are so fun and are soo smart and love to learn! And my high school kids are the bomb. I love joking around with them and being silly! They think I'm crazy, but we have so much fun so it's fine! I feel like I'm more their friend than a teacher. I love to hang out with them and talk to them about their secret girlfriends and boyfriends (they aren't allowed to have them at school...it's so sad!) and play games. Yesterday, we played volleyball with some girls and needless to say I fit right in because...well. Volleyball isn't their best sport in China. It's hilarious. Even the boys are terrible. And it was so fun!