At risk of sounding conceited and asking for gifts, I just want to remind you that if you were planning on sending something here (or to any missionary for that matter!) for Christmas or birthdays that happen soon before or after, now is a good time to send them, as they can take up to 6 weeks for us to receive them, plus there are many public holidays between now and then!
There are a few things that I would like to add to my previous list: Thin Mints (girl scout cookies), Crest cinnamon toothpaste, Buffalo Wild Wings Sauce: Asian Zing &/or Honey BBQ &/or Hot BBQ, and size 9.5 or 10 (41) dress shoes. Those are all things that I am unable to get in Macau, even at the Western/American stores. (You may be asking why I can't get shoes in Macau...I'm a little bit of a giant here with size 10 feet! I cannot get comfortable shoes here! I am a fan of Payless shoes, because they're inexpensive and usually trendy!)
I know packages are expensive, but they are truly appreciated.
On a different note, the city looks and sounds different today: it's much more crowded and a whole lot more noisy. We have the Grand Prix in town, and though it's exciting, it makes it a little 麻烦 (Máfan: troublesome) to get through the city. Since all of the buses that I normally would take had to change their routes due to the race track that was built on the major roads, I decided to just jump on the first bus that came that was headed south. It was worth it: I managed to get to work in a relatively good time. It took 45 minutes instead of the normal 25, but I was expecting an hour. That also included stopping along the way to pay a couple bills. So I'd say it was not too bad!
Hopefully I'll have more information to add later in a new post, but for now, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or would like more information about care packages, the Grand Prix, or anything else that I am doing/encountering in Macau!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
Lots of Activity!
I haven't stopped going for a long time. I have been spending a lot of time with my friends doing some relationship building, and spending about twice that amount of time at the office working. Classes have been good, but sometimes I have been yearning for ideas for some of my lower level and/or lower aged classes. I'm praying for a solution to my problem with my kids Bible class, and I just pray that it comes soon, because the kids don't speak English, and I don't speak Chinese. But I think the message usually gets through, and they spend time in a Christian environment, so it does more good than harm! :)
I had a great conversation with a friend today about what Christianity is, and what it means to me, and why I am a Christian. This person and I discussed their faith that is developing, and I learned what this person was feeling about becoming a Christian. It was such a great conversation that I was not expecting to happen, but God is always working in the lives of the missionaries and Christians here to talk about Him!
I think that I'll be going to bed earlier than normal tonight. It's been a while since I've gotten a good nights sleep. I had a slight accident the other day and ended up quite sore afterwards. (By slight accident, I mean that my clumsiness finally did me in and I ended up on the floor--long story for another time). That, along with having friends over until 2am some nights has kept me from sleeping well, and has kept me yawning throughout the day.
I can't complain, though, because I am sooo thankful for having that time with friends! Being a people person, it really energies and uplifts me to be around others, and so even if I do not get any sleep, it's worth it! The other night I went with some friends to a young adult gathering at a local church...not a worship service, but a time to get together, have fun, and praise God. It was in Cantonese, and my Cantonese is quite...bad, but it was good. We played a fun game with chop sticks and a ping pong ball. I was actually kind of good at it...not to brag or anything! ;) Afterwards, we went upstairs and we had a huge turkey dinner! That was quite a treat, because turkeys are very rare here and quite expensive. I was soooo happy to have a piece of turkey! :)
For those of you on my newsletter list, my inability to stop has pushed my newsletter back this month. I should hopefully get it finished soon!
Thank you for your prayers and encouragements! Please pray for me to have more conversations like I had today (mentioned in the 2nd paragraph), and for God to give me an idea for what to do with Christmas and teaching my friends about our customs! I am thinking about having a tree decorating party at my house, but I will be gone for Thanksgiving: so I am thinking that maybe I'll do it the weekend before Thanksgiving :) Yes, I know...a little early, but I don't mind! I LOVE Christmas, and would love to extend the season!
Have a great day, everyone! For those of you who might call me or want to Skype, just remember that daylight savings time has caused me to now be 14 hours ahead of Central time instead of the 13 that I was a week ago! :)
I had a great conversation with a friend today about what Christianity is, and what it means to me, and why I am a Christian. This person and I discussed their faith that is developing, and I learned what this person was feeling about becoming a Christian. It was such a great conversation that I was not expecting to happen, but God is always working in the lives of the missionaries and Christians here to talk about Him!
I think that I'll be going to bed earlier than normal tonight. It's been a while since I've gotten a good nights sleep. I had a slight accident the other day and ended up quite sore afterwards. (By slight accident, I mean that my clumsiness finally did me in and I ended up on the floor--long story for another time). That, along with having friends over until 2am some nights has kept me from sleeping well, and has kept me yawning throughout the day.
I can't complain, though, because I am sooo thankful for having that time with friends! Being a people person, it really energies and uplifts me to be around others, and so even if I do not get any sleep, it's worth it! The other night I went with some friends to a young adult gathering at a local church...not a worship service, but a time to get together, have fun, and praise God. It was in Cantonese, and my Cantonese is quite...bad, but it was good. We played a fun game with chop sticks and a ping pong ball. I was actually kind of good at it...not to brag or anything! ;) Afterwards, we went upstairs and we had a huge turkey dinner! That was quite a treat, because turkeys are very rare here and quite expensive. I was soooo happy to have a piece of turkey! :)
For those of you on my newsletter list, my inability to stop has pushed my newsletter back this month. I should hopefully get it finished soon!
Thank you for your prayers and encouragements! Please pray for me to have more conversations like I had today (mentioned in the 2nd paragraph), and for God to give me an idea for what to do with Christmas and teaching my friends about our customs! I am thinking about having a tree decorating party at my house, but I will be gone for Thanksgiving: so I am thinking that maybe I'll do it the weekend before Thanksgiving :) Yes, I know...a little early, but I don't mind! I LOVE Christmas, and would love to extend the season!
Have a great day, everyone! For those of you who might call me or want to Skype, just remember that daylight savings time has caused me to now be 14 hours ahead of Central time instead of the 13 that I was a week ago! :)
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Happy Party
Some friends who typically get together to spend time together and to share their faith with other friends call their gathering the 'happy party'. Here are some photos from happy party number 4, which was so big we had to take it out of our homes and we got together at Concordia English Center.
In this first photo, I'm (obviously) playing guitar, while the girl in the middle is singing and the girl on the left is signing it in Macau Sign Language. If you can read Chinese, the words are on the screen. It says 'you and me are the Heavenly Father's loved...'...and that's the extent of my Chinese skills right now.
The second photo is a photo of all of the ladies who showed up wearing plaid (or something along the lines of plaid.)
The second photo is a photo of all of the ladies who showed up wearing plaid (or something along the lines of plaid.)
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Hello everybody, how do you do?
If you've ever sung the song mentioned in the title, then you will easily know what I will be describing. For those of you who have not: The chorus of this song goes, "Hello everybody, how do you do, how do you do, how do you do? Hello everybody, how do you do? God loves you today!" The 'verses' go on to say "If you like _________, say hi" and those who like said object will respond with "Hello everybody, how do you do!", and after 4 different objects, you go to the chorus again. For example,
"If you like red, say hi"
(those who like red say:) "Hello everybody, how do you do!"
"If you like blue, say hi."
(those who like blue say:) "Hello everybody, how do you do!"
"If you like green, say hi."
(those who like green say:) "Hello everybody, how do you do!"
"If you like black, say hi."
(those who like black say:) "Hello everybody, how do you do!"
Sometimes it doesn't translate well, though. I sang this song with my kids Bible class which is fairly low English. After I said "If you like red, say hi" They responded with an unconfident "hi?" So I ended up saying 'hello everybody, how do you do' every time to help model. Confused yet? They were too. I realized after starting the song that it was going to be difficult. They did end up catching on, though, in a way.
We had just read the story of Samson and Delilah, so I sang:
"If you like Samson, say hi"
** unconfidently** "Hello everybody, how do you do"
"If you like Delilah, say hi"
**insert cricket noises**
"If you like the Israelites, say hi"
**unconfidently** "Hello everybody, how do you do"
"If you like Jesus, say hi"
**super loud, in fact screaming** "HIIII!!!"
Even though it wasn't the model that I wanted them to follow, they said the right thing :) It made me smile, and I hope this story makes you smile too :)
"If you like red, say hi"
(those who like red say:) "Hello everybody, how do you do!"
"If you like blue, say hi."
(those who like blue say:) "Hello everybody, how do you do!"
"If you like green, say hi."
(those who like green say:) "Hello everybody, how do you do!"
"If you like black, say hi."
(those who like black say:) "Hello everybody, how do you do!"
Sometimes it doesn't translate well, though. I sang this song with my kids Bible class which is fairly low English. After I said "If you like red, say hi" They responded with an unconfident "hi?" So I ended up saying 'hello everybody, how do you do' every time to help model. Confused yet? They were too. I realized after starting the song that it was going to be difficult. They did end up catching on, though, in a way.
We had just read the story of Samson and Delilah, so I sang:
"If you like Samson, say hi"
** unconfidently** "Hello everybody, how do you do"
"If you like Delilah, say hi"
**insert cricket noises**
"If you like the Israelites, say hi"
**unconfidently** "Hello everybody, how do you do"
"If you like Jesus, say hi"
**super loud, in fact screaming** "HIIII!!!"
Even though it wasn't the model that I wanted them to follow, they said the right thing :) It made me smile, and I hope this story makes you smile too :)
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Awkward elevator ride, anyone?
How to have an awkward elevator ride:
1) Get a neighbor who doesn't speak your language, and whose language you don't speak.
2) Have many awkward 'conversations' (if you can call them that) leading up to said awkward elevator ride.
3) Meet neighbor in lobby.
4) Say hello. The extent of both of your language skills in each other's language.
5) Ride up 16 floors in silence together, at one point exchanging the obligatory 'have you eaten?'
6) Get off the elevator, say "I don't speak Chinese/English, Goodbye."
Yeah...that happens a lot. I think it's time to learn Cantonese.
**For those of you who are saying: "hey...I thought she spoke some Chinese?!" ... I am learning Mandarin, not Cantonese. That may change soon, though, depending on my plans for next year.
1) Get a neighbor who doesn't speak your language, and whose language you don't speak.
2) Have many awkward 'conversations' (if you can call them that) leading up to said awkward elevator ride.
3) Meet neighbor in lobby.
4) Say hello. The extent of both of your language skills in each other's language.
5) Ride up 16 floors in silence together, at one point exchanging the obligatory 'have you eaten?'
6) Get off the elevator, say "I don't speak Chinese/English, Goodbye."
Yeah...that happens a lot. I think it's time to learn Cantonese.
**For those of you who are saying: "hey...I thought she spoke some Chinese?!" ... I am learning Mandarin, not Cantonese. That may change soon, though, depending on my plans for next year.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Jeremiah
I am going through a 1 year Bible, and unfortunately it's taken me 2 years to get through it--not exactly the plan, but I ended up almost catching up with the month. That a little beside the point though.
The re-arranged Bible goes through in order, but starting from 4 places at once. I read Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, and New Testament every day. For the Old Testament, I am at Jeremiah.
It's really been hitting me hard lately when I read Jeremiah. If you've ever read it, it talks about how the people of Israel were going against God, and were burning incense and worshiping other gods, in addition to other things. God punished them by delivering them into the hands of their enemies and in effect destroying their livelihood. There are a few things that really struck me hard.
The first thing is the harsh words used for the non-Christians. Now, I know that if you do not believe in Jesus Christ you will not go to Heaven. But for some reason that's not as pungent when you don't have non-Christian friends. For the longest of time, most, if not all, of the people that I came into contact with were Christians. I went to a Lutheran grade school, a public high school (where I found a group of Christian friends), and a Lutheran university.
Now, I am in the 'real world', per say. I live in an environment where most of the people that I befriended and run into on a regular basis (or non regular basis for that matter) are not Christian.
This makes Jeremiah's message even more painful for me to listen to. Jeremiah 14:11-12 states: “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.”
Of course, this is taken out of context. This is not how we should treat non-Christians. But once we die, this IS how non-Christians will be regarded in God's eyes. I do not want this to be the fate of my friends. I wouldn't even wish this upon enemies. It's just a harsh realization that God is serious about those who follow Him will go to heaven, and those who don't will go to hell.
It also struck me how God told Jeremiah how he was angry that the people were burning incense to false gods. You know, all of this in my mind was old-fashioned. Something you only read about in the Bible. Then I moved to Asia.
Here, incense is burned to ancestors and to gods alike. It's normal to do. It's expected. I just get to thinking about what this is in God's eyes. It's no different from Jeremiah's days...the people are following false gods--are following nothing--instead of following the Triune God.
It hurts me to know that my friends are doing this. It hurts me to know that they are not following God. It hurts me to know that they will not go to heaven.
Please pray for my friends. Also, pray for everyone else who does not believe in God, who sent Jesus Christ, also true God, to die for our sins, and who rose again from the dead to unite all believers together in heaven one day.
**If you are from Asia and are reading this, please know that I am not attacking your culture. I am stating that the traditional worship found within the Chinese culture (and many other Asian cultures) is not in line with what God wants us to do, and should be separated from the term 'culture'. Asian culture is beautiful, and I am happy to be living in it, but the worship that so often comes with it is not pleasing to God.
The re-arranged Bible goes through in order, but starting from 4 places at once. I read Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, and New Testament every day. For the Old Testament, I am at Jeremiah.
It's really been hitting me hard lately when I read Jeremiah. If you've ever read it, it talks about how the people of Israel were going against God, and were burning incense and worshiping other gods, in addition to other things. God punished them by delivering them into the hands of their enemies and in effect destroying their livelihood. There are a few things that really struck me hard.
The first thing is the harsh words used for the non-Christians. Now, I know that if you do not believe in Jesus Christ you will not go to Heaven. But for some reason that's not as pungent when you don't have non-Christian friends. For the longest of time, most, if not all, of the people that I came into contact with were Christians. I went to a Lutheran grade school, a public high school (where I found a group of Christian friends), and a Lutheran university.
Now, I am in the 'real world', per say. I live in an environment where most of the people that I befriended and run into on a regular basis (or non regular basis for that matter) are not Christian.
This makes Jeremiah's message even more painful for me to listen to. Jeremiah 14:11-12 states: “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.”
Of course, this is taken out of context. This is not how we should treat non-Christians. But once we die, this IS how non-Christians will be regarded in God's eyes. I do not want this to be the fate of my friends. I wouldn't even wish this upon enemies. It's just a harsh realization that God is serious about those who follow Him will go to heaven, and those who don't will go to hell.
It also struck me how God told Jeremiah how he was angry that the people were burning incense to false gods. You know, all of this in my mind was old-fashioned. Something you only read about in the Bible. Then I moved to Asia.
Here, incense is burned to ancestors and to gods alike. It's normal to do. It's expected. I just get to thinking about what this is in God's eyes. It's no different from Jeremiah's days...the people are following false gods--are following nothing--instead of following the Triune God.
It hurts me to know that my friends are doing this. It hurts me to know that they are not following God. It hurts me to know that they will not go to heaven.
Please pray for my friends. Also, pray for everyone else who does not believe in God, who sent Jesus Christ, also true God, to die for our sins, and who rose again from the dead to unite all believers together in heaven one day.
**If you are from Asia and are reading this, please know that I am not attacking your culture. I am stating that the traditional worship found within the Chinese culture (and many other Asian cultures) is not in line with what God wants us to do, and should be separated from the term 'culture'. Asian culture is beautiful, and I am happy to be living in it, but the worship that so often comes with it is not pleasing to God.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Anger?
I am usually a very go-with-the-flow kind of a person, which is why my anger today caught me by surprise. Even when I realized I was angry, I couldn't help it, and wallowed in it for a while.
So here's what happened.
Going home, I have the option of taking the 10B bus from my work bus stop to a bus stop 2 or 3 blocks from my home, but that backtracks about a mile or so, taking the 10, 28a, 28bx, or 28b on a route without the backtracking, but to a bus stop 4 blocks from my house, or taking the 3 or 28a to the ferry terminal, transferring busses (which is free...and important for my story), and getting on the AP1, 10B, or 3A from there to take me back home, with the AP1 dropping me off pretty much right at my door, and the 10B and 3A dropping me off at the aforementioned stop 2 or 3 blocks from my house. (...deep breath...)
So. Today, I took the 28A to the ferry terminal, and transferred to the AP1. As I got on the bus, I scanned my bus card, and lo and behold, I got a long beep instead of a short beep. Short beeps are the normal sound, and a long beep means something went wrong and it didn't scan. I tried it again, as sometimes it just doesn't scan correctly. I tried it yet again after receiving the long beep once more. The bus driver told me in Cantonese that I have no money. (Remember: I am transferring busses, which is a free service in Macau). I kindly responded in Cantonese that I have money. He then decided that my answer was not good enough, and apparently my responding in Cantonese (correctly, mind you) meant that I did not know what he was saying, so he shouted "no money" in a way that it took him 4 shouts for me to realize that he was in fact speaking English. He then said, "PAY MONEY! PAY MONEY!" and (lightly) hit the change collecter. I proceeded to (not quite as kindly as before) tell him in Mandarin (as I bitterly pulled out my wallet to find some coins) that I have money on the card, and I just took another bus, I shouldn't need to pay money, and I don't know why it didn't work. I threw the change in, and walked to the back of the crowded bus. Even if my card had no more money on it, the transfer should have been free, regardless of my account balance
I was not happy! I realized that I actually was angry at that point. Had I known more Chinese, I probably would have added a few more words in there expressing that frustration. (Not the bad ones, don't worry). But I just didn't understand why my bus card wasn't letting me transfer busses. I of course was not angry with the driver, but he wasn't dealing with me kindly, so I didn't feel bad about not being so kind to him. In that aspect, I was in the wrong, and I know it.
I realized I was angry, and I even tried to quell it by rationalizing with myself: it's only 3.2 pataca, which is less than 50 cents. Still: I thought about calling the bus company and complaining, and demanding my 3.2 to be refunded to me. Then, I realized how crazy I was. My anger subsided a little, until I went to the grocery store to figure it out. I went and bought a few things since I was there anyway, and she rang up the groceries, I paid, and then I said in Mandarin: I want to add money. She just ignored me completely and went to the next customer. I figured, well, maybe she just wanted to do that customer then will come back to me. I waited 'til she was done with him, and then tried to get her attention, but she ignored me again. AHHH
Sometimes I feel that even knowing the language, some people just refuse to help me. I don't understand. I learned how to say "Why are you looking at me, do I look like a monster to you" in Mandarin class today. I need to memorize that so that I can say that next time someone stares at me because I am speaking seemingly perfect Mandarin. (I say seemingly, because supposedly my pronunciation is "amazing" but my vocabulary is quite poor.)
This all went down half an hour ago. I'm over it now, but I just hope that next time, I don't get so angry about it. I think later I'll be able to laugh about it and just add it to another adventure during my time abroad!
So here's what happened.
Going home, I have the option of taking the 10B bus from my work bus stop to a bus stop 2 or 3 blocks from my home, but that backtracks about a mile or so, taking the 10, 28a, 28bx, or 28b on a route without the backtracking, but to a bus stop 4 blocks from my house, or taking the 3 or 28a to the ferry terminal, transferring busses (which is free...and important for my story), and getting on the AP1, 10B, or 3A from there to take me back home, with the AP1 dropping me off pretty much right at my door, and the 10B and 3A dropping me off at the aforementioned stop 2 or 3 blocks from my house. (...deep breath...)
So. Today, I took the 28A to the ferry terminal, and transferred to the AP1. As I got on the bus, I scanned my bus card, and lo and behold, I got a long beep instead of a short beep. Short beeps are the normal sound, and a long beep means something went wrong and it didn't scan. I tried it again, as sometimes it just doesn't scan correctly. I tried it yet again after receiving the long beep once more. The bus driver told me in Cantonese that I have no money. (Remember: I am transferring busses, which is a free service in Macau). I kindly responded in Cantonese that I have money. He then decided that my answer was not good enough, and apparently my responding in Cantonese (correctly, mind you) meant that I did not know what he was saying, so he shouted "no money" in a way that it took him 4 shouts for me to realize that he was in fact speaking English. He then said, "PAY MONEY! PAY MONEY!" and (lightly) hit the change collecter. I proceeded to (not quite as kindly as before) tell him in Mandarin (as I bitterly pulled out my wallet to find some coins) that I have money on the card, and I just took another bus, I shouldn't need to pay money, and I don't know why it didn't work. I threw the change in, and walked to the back of the crowded bus. Even if my card had no more money on it, the transfer should have been free, regardless of my account balance
I was not happy! I realized that I actually was angry at that point. Had I known more Chinese, I probably would have added a few more words in there expressing that frustration. (Not the bad ones, don't worry). But I just didn't understand why my bus card wasn't letting me transfer busses. I of course was not angry with the driver, but he wasn't dealing with me kindly, so I didn't feel bad about not being so kind to him. In that aspect, I was in the wrong, and I know it.
I realized I was angry, and I even tried to quell it by rationalizing with myself: it's only 3.2 pataca, which is less than 50 cents. Still: I thought about calling the bus company and complaining, and demanding my 3.2 to be refunded to me. Then, I realized how crazy I was. My anger subsided a little, until I went to the grocery store to figure it out. I went and bought a few things since I was there anyway, and she rang up the groceries, I paid, and then I said in Mandarin: I want to add money. She just ignored me completely and went to the next customer. I figured, well, maybe she just wanted to do that customer then will come back to me. I waited 'til she was done with him, and then tried to get her attention, but she ignored me again. AHHH
Sometimes I feel that even knowing the language, some people just refuse to help me. I don't understand. I learned how to say "Why are you looking at me, do I look like a monster to you" in Mandarin class today. I need to memorize that so that I can say that next time someone stares at me because I am speaking seemingly perfect Mandarin. (I say seemingly, because supposedly my pronunciation is "amazing" but my vocabulary is quite poor.)
This all went down half an hour ago. I'm over it now, but I just hope that next time, I don't get so angry about it. I think later I'll be able to laugh about it and just add it to another adventure during my time abroad!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)