This past week has been a bit of a whirlwind. Where to start...
We had to say goodbye to a good friend and coworker at the end of June, so last week was the first week we had without her at our center. She did a lot of work, so trying to figure out exactly how to do her job took a while, but I think that we made it through the most difficult part...in addition to being the first week without her, it was also the beginning of the term, which involved keeping track of payments and student schedules. It wasn't a huge deal, but last week was just very busy.
So on Wednesday, I was scrambling to get my house ready to have guests from Taiwan! They arrived on Thursday and left on Sunday. I was so happy to have them come, and it was honestly fun to have roommates for a few days--even if it was 6 of them! There were so many, and though all of them had some knowledge of English, one spoke fluently, a few spoke a little less than that, and the rest were beginners. However, it was great for me to practice my Mandarin. As I believe I posted a few posts ago, I've just recently become confident enough to talk to people other than my coworkers and teacher in Mandarin, even if they speak English. They were a joy to host, and they did some wonderful things at our center! It was so great to have them here, and I thank God for their willingness to do evangelism here!
On Saturday while the team was working at the center, I was entertaining! I had a few friends come over for supper. I made lasagna and apple pie, and we played Uno and Yahtzee! It was a lot of fun. Most of them liked the lasagna--some didn't but I don't take offense to that. It's their first time to eat something like that! The noodles fascinated some of them! :) The apple pie was a big hit too. I said, "You don't get much more American than Apple Pie!"
Sunday after the team left, I was able to spend some time with a friend who I haven't spend one on one time with yet. It was a lot of fun! We went to dinner and then walked around Macau in search of green! We found a park where we saw a badminton court, and we made loose plans to play badminton in the future :) We also went to the water reservoir to escape the sounds of the city for a while and look at the large open area where the water is kept.
After that, I went to a friend's place where I had a midnight snack with 2 old friends and 2 new friends! We had some great conversation that led to worship! We sang a Chinese song. I sang the characters that I new and hummed the rest. I did a lot of humming ;)
Monday, I went hiking with 2 of the friends from the previous night. We got a little sun burnt, but it was worth it! After hiking, we met up with another GEO from a sister center who came to Macau for the day, and we went out for dim sum where I met 2 students. It was really busy, and they had just finished eating, so they gave us their table. After dim sum, we went shopping, and then to a park, and then out for a drink. On our way to get some coffee/tea, we ran into another student of mine. I ended up ordering an almond milk. It was really good. I got a white syrupy liquid filled glass, and a small metal creamer cup full of...something brown. Probably the liquefied almond powder. I mixed them together, and it was delicious. I will probably order it again!
After drinking tea, we parted ways, and 2 of us went to a show called the House of Dancing Waters. It was amazing. The way that people move around and dive into the water and so on is just amazing. The technical elements are amazing also. The stage moves as if by itself in a beautiful, quick, and fluid way where it sometimes completely covers the pool, and sometimes half way covers it, and sometimes leaves it completely open for divers to dive from what seems to be 3 stories high! It was amazing to watch.
After that, I went home to rinse off and to get some ingredients, then I went to the store on the way to a friend's house, and cooked dinner for 2 friends. (I know I'm ambiguous with the word 'friend', but I want to protect the privacy of my friends, and I'd prefer not to mention their names as this is on the Internet). It was a delicious dinner. We had dumplings, black pepper chicken, and a Chinese vegetable that I don't actually know the English name for. After doing the dishes, we relaxed on the couch and watched House on Pearl TV (Hong Kong's English TV station). It was a lot of fun, though it was a very busy day!
I was talking with Serena, and we decided that it's because I'm leaving. I've been craving having this time with friends for so long, and now that I'm leaving, it's finally starting. So hopefully it will still come together like this when I get back in August!
Today has been less eventful, but it still involved a half an hour conversation with a friend who works across the street from me. It was great :) I've just been having more conversations and hang-out sessions with friends lately, and I feel very blessed :) Many of the people who I spent time with are Christian, and I think that during all of the times, the conversation naturally flowed to Faith in one way or another. I was able to share some things and encouragements to those who are not Christian, and to give and receive encouragement from those who are!
What do you feel blessed about lately? How's God working in your life?
