It's been about two weeks since I've been back in China. Last weekend, while at a back to school BBQ bash hosted by the local Mexican restaurant, El Caliente, I had a moment of, "I feel at home here...this is my town." I said it out loud and as the week has progressed, I've reverberated it. I finally feel like this place is my home. It's funny because Charleston is absolutely my town, and Dublin is absolutely my town...no where in my mind did I ever feel like Dongguan would be my town, but in a way, it sort of is now.
In church this morning, yes, I'm now trying to regularly attend the worship service here at the local Christian school, the visiting pastor from Gainesville, GA said, "It's when we come back to life as we know it that we set things in motion." He was talking about how we may have good intentions during our holidays to set more time to devotionals, to study God's word more, to read books in general, whatever, but it's actually more difficult during those times to accomplish what we plan. It's easier when we are in life as we know it, and well, China is what I know right now. It's when I'm here that I do my daily devotional. It's here where I talk with God more; I rely on Him more. It was the same way in Ireland and Italy. It's because in those places, despite how many amazing people I met or things I got to do, I was really on my own and needed God's guidance more than ever. It's the same way here. I feel better as a Christian when I'm away from my life in Charleston, and that's really hard to explain or even myself understand, yet alone admit, but I think it says a lot about my calling in life right now.
This morning, a young girl who I happened to recognize from that Mexican restaurant (she's a waitress there), took to the pulpit to give her testimony about a trip she took to Hungary this summer. While visiting a refugee camp, she came to see her purpose for living in Dongguan. I don't know her story or what brought her to China, but I came to tears listening to her speak this morning because a) God's light shone through her more clearly than I've seen in anyone in an long time and b) she made a point to challenge all of us living in Dongguan to see our home, here in China, as a mission field. You know it's funny because when I was back home in Charleston my mom said to me that her friends suggested I go into missions. For several reasons my mother and I both feel that's not the best place for me, but I've said for the last year that really and truly, I am a missionary in ways because it's here in a place that not so many know the Lord, I can share my love for Him and His love through me.
The last week, although challenging as my new students came to school, was amazing. I am so unbelievably happy with the new administration and things that are happening at ISD. I am even happier to see there are more Christians on campus (praise be to God). I am happy to have settled back into life here. I am happy that yesterday I woke and planned an amazing vacation to the Philippines where I will lie on a beach in paradise for a week at the end of September. I'm happy that in the afternoon I attended a soccer tournament (who'd of thought) where I met two legit Irish people, Dubliner's at that. They will have to excuse me because I sort of want to be the third wheel on every one of their dates from now on just so I can hear their fab accents. I half pity and half envy their ESL students. I am happy that even though I just walked a mile to get groceries in the heat and then walked a mile back in the scorching sun carrying an extra 13 kg of weight (yes I hopped on the scale after returning) that I'm now sufficiently cooled and sitting in my apartment, which you know I love. By the way, never again will you be able to complain to me for having to jump in your SUV and drive your 10-20 minutes to Whole Foods to get groceries...hear me when I say, I take no pity on you anymore. I'm happy that today I finally got cable installed and now I can watch the BBC, History channel or whatever else till my heart's content...even with Chinese subtitles, I'm happy, and yes, I see a couch potato in the making. I am happy that tomorrow I will wake and go to a job where I am excited to see changes made and to know that I'm making a difference in the lives of not only my students, but perhaps also their families and my colleagues as well. I am happy that I have met really nice people here (guys included) and even if no relationship led anywhere, I'd be able to say there is a possibility for all things in Dongguan (something I NEVER would have said last year).
At home this summer, my pastor at FBC said that we couldn't live our lives on a treadmill always looking for happiness. We couldn't move place to place looking for happiness or go job to job looking for happiness. He said that we have to be content in the life we live day to day and in God find our happiness. I met him after he preached that sermon and told him I knew he was speaking straight to me that morning. I know that I've been on a treadmill in the past and I will admit that my moving does involve looking for something, occasionally. But as I've said many times before, I came to China because I 100% felt called to move here, and in all honestly, I don't feel like I'm on a treadmill. I feel like I am exactly where I'm meant to be for the time being, and when God chooses to take me someplace else, well, it's then that I'll uproot again. He has a purpose, and my prayer is that I'll always be able to listen as He guides me through this magnificent life.
