East Asia Update
Yeah, I whipped that title up in 30 seconds. Creative Genius? Perhaps.
Although i don't have any fantastically hilarious stories to keep you laughing, I thought I'd share a little about my spring break trip to East Asia.
It all started at 3:30am Friday, March 6. I had gotten a solid hour of sleep before I joined a caravan to the Indianapolis airport. Giddy that I had the least amount of suitcases I've ever taken to East Asia, 1/3 or which were filled with goodies for other people, I crammed into a borrowed van with 5 of my best friends and hit the road, embarking on our adventure. And I'd like to thank the motorcycle man for his patriotic send-off on 465...decked in leather at 4:30 with a huge American flag flapping in the wind, he inadvertently escorted us all the way to the airport. And I'd be lying if I said we didn't break out into "America the Beautiful" AND "The Star-Spangeled Banner." Then we flew. And we flew. And then we flew some more. From Indy to Denver, to San Fran, to East Asia. And amazingly, although our flights were scheduled right after the other, and although there were mild delays, we made each flight, only having to wait 20 minutes before boarding the entire series. Needless to say, we cut it short, but we made it. On the international flight, which is always a bear...12 hours of straight flying, I scored an aisle seat across from Heather Harris with my roomie Kristin on my right side. The movie selection looked promising...Slumdog Millionaire, which I'd resigned I'd never see until it came to the Muncie Public Library because I'm a bit...how to say...frugal, The Express, a classic sports triumph movie, The Secret Life of Bees, and a few more I forget right now. It had all the makings of a great flight. So I watched Slumdog on the 1 inch screen provided for me with headphones that I think were bought on a Goodwill clearance rack, which I think it the only way to watch an Academy-approved film. And then hour 4 hit and I thought I was going to die of restless leg syndrome, if that's possible. So I grabbed Heather and we had a dance party in the back of the airplane while my friend Kate laughed at us.
Flash forward, we finally landed, got everyone situated, got the hotel, ate, slept, ate, then got on another 2hr plane ride to my beautiful Asian hometown. And as we boarded the bus and took a familiar drive from the airport to my side of the city, I was struck by how much it had changed. The dirt-covered mountains had grown just a shade greener than before. 10-story apartment complexes now stood tall in the sky where dirt huts had once been. And as we neared my old campus, I hardly recognized where I was. And all the change hit me when we pulled into the hotel we'd be staying at, which was not even a block from where I'd lived when I first went to EA. And when I left, it wasn't a hotel...it was a janky apartment complex. So much had changed, and I had not been there for it. And that was incredibly hard. Just like when I came back to the States after having been gone for 2 years and my friends had gotten married and had babies, Greensburg got (and lost) a Starbucks, my dad had gotten a new job, etc. So I mourned the loss of what once was by crying for about 15 minutes, then I got it together and went to the market. And that felt like home. Although it was a little cleaner that I remember before, meaning the animal carcasses that once hung on hooks in the open air were now behind little walls in the open air, it just felt right. My language came back as I began bartering for pineapples and bananas, and all felt right with the world.
And experiencing a culture like East Asia with people who are experiencing it for the first time is such a treat! It was great to see how the students and interns were seeing the city...how they found split pants, kids peeing on the street, open air markets, playing Frogger to cross the street, eating meat on a stick, riding in cabs that may have been trained by watching the movie Death Race, and the overall "differentness" of the East Asian city so hilarious and new. To me, it was like walking through the halls of my old high school. Familiar in setting, but so very, very different.
This is going much longer than I had anticipated, but overall, it was a great week. I was able to put some of my language skills to use to be helpful for the group, I had a blast with my team, I got to see my old team and meet a few new friends who are doing work there currently, I got to spend time with the STINTers, and I was blessed to meet up with some of my old East Asian friends, both Christian and non-Christian. I cherished the conversations I got to have with them. One particularly encouraging one was w/my Muslim friend. Through a series of events I hunted her down and went to her dorm room. And as I talked awkwardly with her and her 7 roommates (imagine how awkward it is after you haven't seen a friend for a couple years...then add cultural and language barriers and that is what I felt) we just mainly exchanged look s and as she stared at me with a dull gaze, which may have been because I had wakened her from her nap, or just because she was in pure shock, she said "I feel like I'm dreaming right now" which I found hopelessly adorable. And I so desperately wanted to see if she'd been thinking more about Christianity, to ask her if she had thought more about Jesus since I'd left her, but was prohibited because of the other 6-7 girls in the room. So I left about 15 minutes later, disappointed. But as I waited for another friend by the school gate I got a call from my sweet Muslim friend and she asked if she could come bring me a gift. So I stood by the school gate, snow coming down, and she brought me a little parting gift that she'd scrounged together in the 15 minutes we'd been apart. And then I realized...here is my opportunity to have a spiritual conversation. And I heard how she had been reading her Bible, and how these missionaries were sharing with her. They gave her some Christian books to read and at first she just read them because she wanted to see the differences between Christianity and Islam, but something happened in her heart and she saw how they could apply to her personally. She realized the information was good for her life. And as she said these words, my heart lept with joy as I realized the goodness of the Lord. He used me to plant the seed for 3 years ago. And I left not knowing what would happen with that seed, or how effective I'd been. Then I realized...it really is the Lord who pursues and changes hearts. And He can choose to let me see the fruit of my labor, or He can allow someone else the change to see the fruit. But ultimately, it was His job to make the fruit grow. And He cares for my Muslim friend, He cares for all my friends in East Asia, and He is truly at work there. And the cool thing is that He's at work in my heart, too.
So, I have some funny stories I could share, and may share at some later time, but overall, the trip confirmed a few things for me.
1. I still love East Asia, but maybe not in the way I used to.
2. God is at work there.
3. I am not there right now.
4. I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
5. I love getting hour-long full body massages for $5.
Although i don't have any fantastically hilarious stories to keep you laughing, I thought I'd share a little about my spring break trip to East Asia.
It all started at 3:30am Friday, March 6. I had gotten a solid hour of sleep before I joined a caravan to the Indianapolis airport. Giddy that I had the least amount of suitcases I've ever taken to East Asia, 1/3 or which were filled with goodies for other people, I crammed into a borrowed van with 5 of my best friends and hit the road, embarking on our adventure. And I'd like to thank the motorcycle man for his patriotic send-off on 465...decked in leather at 4:30 with a huge American flag flapping in the wind, he inadvertently escorted us all the way to the airport. And I'd be lying if I said we didn't break out into "America the Beautiful" AND "The Star-Spangeled Banner." Then we flew. And we flew. And then we flew some more. From Indy to Denver, to San Fran, to East Asia. And amazingly, although our flights were scheduled right after the other, and although there were mild delays, we made each flight, only having to wait 20 minutes before boarding the entire series. Needless to say, we cut it short, but we made it. On the international flight, which is always a bear...12 hours of straight flying, I scored an aisle seat across from Heather Harris with my roomie Kristin on my right side. The movie selection looked promising...Slumdog Millionaire, which I'd resigned I'd never see until it came to the Muncie Public Library because I'm a bit...how to say...frugal, The Express, a classic sports triumph movie, The Secret Life of Bees, and a few more I forget right now. It had all the makings of a great flight. So I watched Slumdog on the 1 inch screen provided for me with headphones that I think were bought on a Goodwill clearance rack, which I think it the only way to watch an Academy-approved film. And then hour 4 hit and I thought I was going to die of restless leg syndrome, if that's possible. So I grabbed Heather and we had a dance party in the back of the airplane while my friend Kate laughed at us.
Flash forward, we finally landed, got everyone situated, got the hotel, ate, slept, ate, then got on another 2hr plane ride to my beautiful Asian hometown. And as we boarded the bus and took a familiar drive from the airport to my side of the city, I was struck by how much it had changed. The dirt-covered mountains had grown just a shade greener than before. 10-story apartment complexes now stood tall in the sky where dirt huts had once been. And as we neared my old campus, I hardly recognized where I was. And all the change hit me when we pulled into the hotel we'd be staying at, which was not even a block from where I'd lived when I first went to EA. And when I left, it wasn't a hotel...it was a janky apartment complex. So much had changed, and I had not been there for it. And that was incredibly hard. Just like when I came back to the States after having been gone for 2 years and my friends had gotten married and had babies, Greensburg got (and lost) a Starbucks, my dad had gotten a new job, etc. So I mourned the loss of what once was by crying for about 15 minutes, then I got it together and went to the market. And that felt like home. Although it was a little cleaner that I remember before, meaning the animal carcasses that once hung on hooks in the open air were now behind little walls in the open air, it just felt right. My language came back as I began bartering for pineapples and bananas, and all felt right with the world.
And experiencing a culture like East Asia with people who are experiencing it for the first time is such a treat! It was great to see how the students and interns were seeing the city...how they found split pants, kids peeing on the street, open air markets, playing Frogger to cross the street, eating meat on a stick, riding in cabs that may have been trained by watching the movie Death Race, and the overall "differentness" of the East Asian city so hilarious and new. To me, it was like walking through the halls of my old high school. Familiar in setting, but so very, very different.
This is going much longer than I had anticipated, but overall, it was a great week. I was able to put some of my language skills to use to be helpful for the group, I had a blast with my team, I got to see my old team and meet a few new friends who are doing work there currently, I got to spend time with the STINTers, and I was blessed to meet up with some of my old East Asian friends, both Christian and non-Christian. I cherished the conversations I got to have with them. One particularly encouraging one was w/my Muslim friend. Through a series of events I hunted her down and went to her dorm room. And as I talked awkwardly with her and her 7 roommates (imagine how awkward it is after you haven't seen a friend for a couple years...then add cultural and language barriers and that is what I felt) we just mainly exchanged look s and as she stared at me with a dull gaze, which may have been because I had wakened her from her nap, or just because she was in pure shock, she said "I feel like I'm dreaming right now" which I found hopelessly adorable. And I so desperately wanted to see if she'd been thinking more about Christianity, to ask her if she had thought more about Jesus since I'd left her, but was prohibited because of the other 6-7 girls in the room. So I left about 15 minutes later, disappointed. But as I waited for another friend by the school gate I got a call from my sweet Muslim friend and she asked if she could come bring me a gift. So I stood by the school gate, snow coming down, and she brought me a little parting gift that she'd scrounged together in the 15 minutes we'd been apart. And then I realized...here is my opportunity to have a spiritual conversation. And I heard how she had been reading her Bible, and how these missionaries were sharing with her. They gave her some Christian books to read and at first she just read them because she wanted to see the differences between Christianity and Islam, but something happened in her heart and she saw how they could apply to her personally. She realized the information was good for her life. And as she said these words, my heart lept with joy as I realized the goodness of the Lord. He used me to plant the seed for 3 years ago. And I left not knowing what would happen with that seed, or how effective I'd been. Then I realized...it really is the Lord who pursues and changes hearts. And He can choose to let me see the fruit of my labor, or He can allow someone else the change to see the fruit. But ultimately, it was His job to make the fruit grow. And He cares for my Muslim friend, He cares for all my friends in East Asia, and He is truly at work there. And the cool thing is that He's at work in my heart, too.
So, I have some funny stories I could share, and may share at some later time, but overall, the trip confirmed a few things for me.
1. I still love East Asia, but maybe not in the way I used to.
2. God is at work there.
3. I am not there right now.
4. I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
5. I love getting hour-long full body massages for $5.
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