Whew! I finally have a few minutes to catch everyone up on my life! Ever since I have been back from China I have been going non-stop! China was the MOST amazing experience I have ever had! I didn't really know what to expect before I went. I knew I had always had a heart for China but I never thought God could completely break my heart for a group of people. God really showed me how big He is while I was there. I never thought I could grow so close to people in just two to three weeks. It was so hard to leave those I met and I miss them terribly.
Our team had the opportunity to stay at the college in the town we were at. We took some Chinese classes and did some cultural exchanges. It was such a great experience to learn how Chinese people live. Remember, we were not in a big city so we got to really experience "China." There is so much to say that I don't even know how to put it into words! I think one of the biggest things I learned while in China is how awesome I have it at home in America. I really take for granted all that I have. My friend Katie introduced me to this blog by a girl named Katherine Wolf. Her last post talked about gratitude and being thankful. You should definitely read her blog, she is so encouraging! Here are the first couple of paragraphs from her post "Gratitude." This is definitely how I felt while in China:
"Gratitude is not a virtue our culture values these days. In fact, ingratitude is really the norm. We all have so much and think we deserve even more, so we tend to complain about every little thing and are almost never as thankful as we should be for all the good in our lives.
I have always appreciated gratitude. I think that is why I have always had an obsession with thank you notes. I think nothing should be taken for granted. Having been to remote villages in Africa and seen what true poverty looks like, I think Americans are largely ridiculously privileged and entitled."
I have so much I could talk about so I am just going to spend a couple of days posting pictures (since I have soooo many) and will describe some of my experiences.
Our last night eating meat sticks!
Out at Dicos, a Chinese version of an American fast food restaurant!
Beautiful sunset!
English Evening
Us with our friends at a park in the city
Jonathan and I floating on the clouds!
Us on our anniversary: Jonathan got me flowers and a jade bracelet!
Head massages!
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