Monthly Archives: November 2012

Learning Simplicity

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Being “simple” is not something I’ve ever been good at. It’s hard for me to accept life as being simple. Learning is not simple. Language is not simple. Communication is not simple. Cultural perspectives and customs is not simple. And yet, here I am, striving to find simplicity.

Being in a new country, a new environment, a new culture… I NEED simplicity. Not necessarily simplicity in lifestyle (although some of that does occur), but more of a simplicity in life. It’s not so much a want as much as it’s becoming a necessity.

When we go to restaurants, we don’t have the luxury of asking for them to substitute one item in our dish for another, or for them to leave off a specific item from the dish. (Not that they would remove them anyways.) We still find it very difficult to communicate, and probably will find it to be difficult most, if not all, or our stay. We HAVE to keep it simple.

When we take a taxi to a specific location, and he gets us almost there, but doesn’t pull up exactly where we want him to, there is no complaining or fussing or urging him to continue that last 1% of the journey. We keep it simple (and are grateful that he understood us enough to get us THAT far!).

Of course, there are occasions where simplicity simply isn’t enough. After all, it’s a complex world no matter what country you are in! But we take those moments a little at a time. And we have made good friends who are gracious enough to help us through some of those moments. Sometimes those moments are paperwork. (Oh, the joys of bureaucracy!) Sometimes those moments are working with Internet or cell phone services. But even those can be simplified more so than what I am use to. I don’t have the luxury of being super picky regarding much of my technology. Sometimes things will only be 95% of where I want them to be. And I have to be accepting of that.

But living a life of simplicity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In many ways, it’s kind of freeing. As long as I take care of my end of the paperwork process, I let our representative from the college worry about what department the paperwork needs to go to, or who needs to stamp what form where. I just follow along and relax. There’s nothing I can do or say to make the situation any better – I can’t even speak the language to understand or try! I have someone who is there to represent us and help us out. If I step back and let them do their thing, then I will typically be fine.

This is a culture that relies on other people. This is how they live, and what they expect. Even more so from someone who doesn’t speak their language. I can’t walk around being the “Independent American” very long. And that’s what are friends are here for – to help us out and enjoy doing life together.

Simplicity doesn’t mean “not frustrating.” Simplicity certainly has it’s frustrations. But it’s even more frustrating trying to achieve a complex task when simplicity would serve a nearly identical purpose with much less headaches. Battles must be chosen wisely, and should probably not be chosen often.

Simplicity can be tough to accept, but I think overall I’m going to like it.

Looking For A Role

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When we knew we would be making this move to China, one thing that was always up in the air was my role. We knew Bethany would be teaching, but what would I do? I’ve got a few web projects going right now, and that can certainly keep me busy, but it doesn’t directly affect the ministry that we are involved in. It doesn’t directly affect the impact (not matter how small that might be) we are trying to make to serve China.

But God is faithful. My job is to simply keep all options open as I wait to see where He wants me to be.

This past week, we had two guests visit with us in this little City. One of the leaders of Amity, the organization that placed Bethany as a teacher, and one of the leaders of the Missions Division of the United Methodist Church Global Ministries Board both came out to visit us on Monday. It was a real treat to visit with them as they checked in on us to get our feeling of how things were going. They also met with the School to see if there was any improvements that needed to be relayed to Bethany. Sitting down with each of these leaders one at a time was a special treat.

But what really made me excited during this time was when I heard that Amity MIGHT be seeking a web programmer to update their website! This is just what I’ve been hoping for – something to help keep me in the industry, as well as allow me to be directly involved in ministry and organizations over here!

I’m still keeping my options open. I have not been given this position with Amity, although I am actively seeking it. I still need to get all my information organized for them. But I have been in contact with the officials in charge of making this decision. This decision won’t come quickly. I have been praying about this possibility, and I hope that it is something that God allows to take place. Bethany and I have grown to love this organization and the work that they do in China and for China. It would be an honor to work for them.

In the mean time, we’re still working to get our residence cards. For me, this meant going to get a pretty thorough physical midway through the week. It was quite humorous for me to hear that the nurse thinks I should eat less and exercise more. If you know anything about me, then you know that I’m not what you would consider to be “overweight.” But these are China Standards, not US Standards. And by China Standards, I might just be a little overweight. Climbing several flights of stairs everyday should change that rather quickly though. As time goes on, we’ll see how much exercising really needs to take place.

So now I’m preparing to give a presentation to several classes this week. The topic – “American Culture”. I’ll be able to share several different aspects of the American Culture – from family, education, to college life, to work. It should be fun. I’m actually looking forward to it. The more exposure I get before the students, the more comfortable they can get with me, the more likely I’ll be able to get to know them, learn from them, work with them, and build relationships with them. I do want to be involved in the campus with Bethany. These small presentations will hopefully all that to continue to happen.

And that’s where I’m at with my role: Keep my programming skills sharp, seek opportunities more involved in the ministry we’re doing here, and stay involved with the campus. I might even say the last two are more important than the first.

After all, relationships are key. And we’ve been able to build a few relationships thus far. I pray that we can keep these relationships going and be able to build more. As time goes on, these will become more clear, as will my role over here. One day at a time.