Back to China

Joanna and I had to say good-bye to Yvonne early and it was so difficult to do! (Jo and I are in Louisiana... more on that later)
Yvonne flew out of Norfolk Airport this morning.

I woke her up as I left at 2:45 Friday morning and she begged me to stay. This child is so precious. She is VERY hungry for the things of God! The talks she and Joanna had made my heart dance. [Especially the confirmation that Joanna actually HAS been listening all this time. What an evangelist!]

We finally located a Chinese Baptist church - a half mile from our home!. My DH, Jay, brought her to meet the pastor yesterday and he gave her her own bible (in Chinese) and some other things to read. Jay said she read them every moment she got.

Please pray for Yvonne's faith. She is "ripe for the picking" and there are many religions in China that will vy for her attention. Pray the Lord woos her parents as well. They have emailed us, and have nothing but wonderful things to say about her experience here. We are praying that the door to this family remains open!!

I'd like you to meet God...

Every summer my daughter, Joanna, and her girlfriends have Fun Fridays - each week the girls do something fun together at one house or another. This week the girls wanted to see "Evan Almighty" in the theater, and they made their plans especially to include Yvonne.

I admit - I stressed a bit about their movie choice. Plugged In gave it a positive nod overall, but noted a few scriptural glitches that could be confusing. I wasn't sure it was such a good idea for her to see that movie. I prayed on and off today, and felt the Lord telling me to relax, and reminding me about the conversations the girls can have sometimes, and how God could use them to witness to Yvonne just through being who they are.

In the van Yvonne asked what the movie was about. So all of us, talking at once, told her about the story of Noah and the ark, the flood and the animals. She had heard the story before, and we explained that this movie was using that story in the present day, sort of a "what if?". The girls joked about Morgan Freeman playing God.

Then she looked at me and asked, "Who is God?"
Now, we only live about four miles from the theater... not enough time to get into deep conversation.
I'm shell-shocked, trying to think of the best way to explain, not wanting to mess this up!
I told her that it was kinda complicated and we'd talk about it later.
Coward!
My DH pipes up and says, "It's not complicated at all. Before the earth and the sun, moon, stars and planets there was God. And He made it all...." Nine year old Lynne chimes in, "He made us, too!" From that point on, everyone was adding their two cents to the story of creation.
Yvonne smiled and said "I understand. God is everywhere." The girls encouraged her some more and chattered the rest of the ride.

I sat there and could feel God whispering in my ear, "See? Not so hard."
Simple. A story. Child-like.

The movie was really funny. I really cringed only once at a politically correct representation of scripture, but overall it was really good.

Most important is the door of conversation that has swung wide. I know these girls - this isn't the end of the discussion. :o)

East Meets West

We have a wondrful temporary addition to our family. Her name is Weiyi and she is from Beijing, China. She's a live doll and she will be with us for the next three weeks.

Her parents sent her here with a program to help her learn American culture and practice her English in an immersion setting.
She chose Yvonne for her English name. Her English is very good, and she is coming out of her shell and talking more and more as she feels more comfortable with us.

Each morning at 9:00 we drop her off at school and pick her up at 5:00.
Last night, her homework was to interview our family about our Christmas customs.
It isn't as easy to explain to an outsider as we think it would be.

And it certainly didn't sound like much just ticking off our yearly itinerary.
As I attempted to explain that Christmas means more to us than just presents, family and food, it sounded hollow in my own ears.

For fun, we dragged out our video from last Christmas, so she could see our tree and our family enjoying each other.
But what really sets Christmas apart in our hearts is not on the video.
No pictures of our nightly devotions around the advent candles at the dinner table.
No pictures of us reading Luke's account of Jesus' birth before bed.
No pictures of our reflection on our priorities or our constant discussions about commercialism and "cultural" Christianity versus "authentic" Christianity.

I looked at my DH, and he looked at me.
How DO you explain Christmas to someone who has only a vague (and inaccurate) understanding of Christianity?

We have no idea what Yvonne thinks she knows about our culture. Her parents are members of the Communist Party. This is her first experience out of China, and we might just be the first Jesus she sees up close.
It humbles me to think of the incredible responsibility we have toward this sweet spirit.
I firmly believe that God knows who we are (flaws and all) and placed her in our home with a purpose in mind.

Please pray for our family as we rise to this challenge.

Joanna showing Yvonne the finer
points of making S'Mores

The first night Yvonne was here, all the kids wanted
to be together... Can you find all six teens?