thanksgiving adventures

I think Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday....it is filled with all things fall and is just downright American.

On top of that, the story of the Pilgrims, their journey to America, and their friendship with the Massanoit Native Americans is remarkable.

All that to say, here's some snapshots of our Thanksgiving celebrations this year.... as well as a funny thanksgiving memory. :)

and let the preparations begin!

thanksgiving story wheel - later they made little pilgrim, Squanto, and "mean king" clips to help them tell the story. :)

thankful turkeys

my kiddos were NOT being thankful at all....to the point that it almost brought me to tears. So one morning before school as I was bringing this to the Lord, I thought of "Turkey Tom" - the kiddos wrote things they were thankful for on a paper feather and put it inside Turkey Tom. Later, I pulled out the feathers, read them to the class, and stuck them onto Tom's body. The kiddos LOVED it - so much that we ran out of paper feathers in the first day. Of course, true thankfulness is the result of a heart transformed by Him, but thankful for this idea to get the kiddos to count their blessings.

thanksgiving cards for Mom and Dad

the day of our EK thanksgiving feast finally arrived - the parents came and brought food to share. The kiddos shared what they were thankful for - such a fun, but crazy day!

singing an impromptu Thanksgiving song :)

giving the parents an opportunity to share what they're thankful for. :)

oh yes....and here is this year's Mayflower - it kinda morphed into a much bigger project than I imagined, lol.

Thanksgiving Round 2....
This year, my roommates and I debated what to do the actual evening of Thanksgiving..... And as we were bouncing ideas around, we laughed about how we kind of identified ourselves with the Pilgrims - semi-helpless people in a new and strange land....and how we have so many "Squantos" (local friends) to help us! .....This silly discussion morphed into an idea and before we knew it, we were inviting our Chinese friends over to our apartment for a chinese-style Thanksgiving "feast"....as a way of thanking them for their generous help since our arrival. We had a blast celebrating together - and for many of them, it was their first Thanksgiving celebration. :)

Sally even dressed up like a Pilgrim, haha. :)

so we didn't have turkey....so we attempted to make our meat at least look like a turkey, haha. Any guess on what kind of meat we choose to eat??? :) 

it may or may not have been donkey meat.... :S

our meal complete with chinese take out and apple pie, haha!

game time

roomie Pilgrim pic :)

 Thanksgiving Round 3....
Every year, our school organizes a traditional thanksgiving feast for all the foreign teachers, their friends, and family. It is pretty impressive.

So much MEAT! :S

After the feast, we went back to our apartment to discover that we had accidentally locked ourselves out of our apartment from the inside (we left the spare key in the keyhole)....oops. We called our landlord who directed us to call a locksmith....who would arrive in who knows how long.

Since we didn't know how long it was going to take, we took it upon ourselves to be our own locksmith. We destroyed a few credit cards in attempt to pry our door open, but to no avail. We needed to unlock the door from the inside.

Grace waiting outside our apartment in the dark...

So we resigned ourselves to sitting outside our apartment...in the dark (our light is broken for some reason). We actually joked about we could probably could survive for a while since we had leftovers from the thanksgiving dinner with us. Our neighbors next door are currently in the process of remodeling their home, so most of their furniture is outside in the hallway. One of my roommates, Sally, found some of their foldable chairs and "borrowed" them for us to sit on while we waited.

Joanna, who is not one to give up easily, decided to knock on our neighbor's door just to check and see if anyone was home (even though we knew they most likely were not). To our suprise, our sweet elderly neighbor answered the door. A 60+ year old grandpa, our neighbor was working on putting a shelf together for his apartment. I'm sure we were quite a sight to see - four girls sitting on his chairs in the dark....haha. We explained the situation the best we could in Chinese. Being the industrious man that he is, our neighbor tried to help us with the door, but soon gave up as well. However, he thought of the idea of having us climb out on his balcony, onto the roof that connects our apartments and then drop down onto our own balcony to try to break through a window....

It sounded like fun to us! Joanna and I climbed out onto the balcony of our neighbor's, then onto the roof (it was really beautiful!)...then, our neighbor handed us a ladder (well, two actually - the first one was too short) - which we used to drop onto the other side of our own balcony. I broke/pryed open the bathroom window of our own apartment, climbed through, and unlocked our door from the inside.

very poor quality rooftop selfie

our sweet neighbor (aka rescuer!)

It was an adventurous way to conclude our Thanksgiving indeed. Through the whole experience, we learned that our apartment is pretty difficult to break into (so don't worry, Mom! :). And we learned that He has placed some pretty amazing neighbors right next door to us. We did our best to thank our neighbor by offering him money, food, and a dinner invite - all of which he politely, but strongly refused. We were just overwhelmed by his grace and help. Couldn't help but make the connection with God and how He gives His grace so freely and generously - there's no way we could ever repay Him. :)

All that to say, this year's Thanksgiving was very fun and full. Definitely missed being home and celebrating with friends and family, but I'm thankful to be here and the opportunities to share His love and light with others.

Hope you all had a very blessed thanksgiving! Thankful for you!

look at ME!

"Nick!" My voice rang out in the classroom.

Nick’s eyes remained down on his paper.

“Nick!” I spoke a little louder to get his attention.

No response.

“Nick, Time to line up!”

“Nick! Nick!”

Again, no response.

I tried not to get angry. I tried to exercise patience. Perhaps he didn’t hear me. Perhaps he doesn’t remember his english name.

Or perhaps he’s ignoring me.

“NICK!”

By this time, half of my students waiting in line attempted to get his attention, too.

“Nick! Teacher Rebecca jiao ni!” They whispered in Chinese.

Still, no response. His head remained down on his work.

Finally, in exasperation, I walked over to his desk.

“Nick,” I said more gently this time. “Teacher Rebecca is talking to you.”

And still, no response.

“Zhang Zi Han!” Jackie called out his name in Chinese.

Immediately, Nick’s head lifted and his eyes met Teacher Jackie’s.

I both laughed and groaned at the same time. Apparently this kiddo did NOT recognize his english name. Gently, I took my hands and turned Nick’s head to face mine.

“Nick,” I sighed, “What is your name?”

His cute glasses reflected the “deer-in-the-headlights” look. He obviously didn’t understand me.

Again, I asked, “What is your name?”

I could see the wheels begin to turn in his brain.

“Nick.” He face reddened with slight embarrassment and his cheeky grin slowly spread across his face. “My name is Nick.”

Finally.
I inwardly groaned and let out an exasperated sigh. My voice went into teacher-mode as I once again repeated a phrase that has become almost automatic with every conversation I have with Nick. “Nick, when Teacher Rebecca says your name, what do you do?”

Blank stare.

I continued, “Nick stops, looks, and listens to Teacher Rebecca. Okay?”

“Okay!” He nodded, but I knew he still didn’t get it.

I wish I could say that Nick is the only student in my class this year who has trouble recognizing his English name….but that would be a lie. In fact, it has become so troublesome that I’ve actually had to teach my students on more than one occasion how to respond when a teacher calls your name (Stop. Look at the Teacher. Say “Yes?”). We even practiced (multiple times). And still, I feel like certain names have been on a perpetual repeat in my classroom.

“Nick!” “Tank!” “Sissi!” “John!”

No answer.

Yet, all it takes is Teacher Jackie to merely whisper their Chinese names and their heads quickly turn to hers.

Its astounding really.

As my patience has been stretching thin lately, I just want to yell at them (even if they wouldn’t understand me), “Look at ME! What is your NAME?!”

I want my students to respond to their name. I want them to know who they are. I want Nick to know he is Nick. I want him to turn to me when I call to him.

As I’ve been thinking about this lately (and possibly complaining about it to my co-teachers), I just felt the Lord convict me. Perhaps that is what He is doing to me. He is calling me by name and wants me to know my identity in Him. He wants me to look to Him and respond when He calls.

So He calls. He gently whispers. And perhaps even yells.

And most of time, I’m afraid I’m oblivious.

I want to know who I am in Christ. I want to be secure in my new identity in Him. I want to answer Him when He calls. When He calls my name, I want my eyes to turn swiftly to Him and to respond, “Yes?”

“Speak, O Lord for your servant is listening.” 1 Sam. 3:10

....And speaking of calling, tonight my parents took my roommates out for Beijing duck. During dinner, my Dad discussed with my roommates about how parents don’t always look at their child’s calling and gifting, but put their own expectation/calling upon them. As teachers, his words resonated with us and what we've seen in our interactions with our student's parents. Anyway, as he was sharing, it was just once again confirmed in my heart that, yes. I am doing what the Lord has called and gifted me to do. Teaching and working with these young children and Chinese people. This is what I’m meant to do. Maybe not for forever - but for right now. I’m where I’m supposed to be right now. So thankful for that. 

embracing "here"

pre-ride selfie - if we only knew what our journey would hold, haha

I'm on the train from Ordos to Hohot Inner Mongolia, and I'm exhausted. We've been traveling in Inner Mongolia for the past four days - three of which have been with limited running water and internet service. 

Its late, and three hours remain in our train journey. To be honest, I was ready to arrive in Hohhot before we even began our journey one hour ago. 

Miserable - that word successfully describes the journey thus far.

I guess I wan't the only one who felt like this, haha

The train is packed and filling more with each successive stop. I want to drone out all the noise of screaming children and chattering of Chinese that surrounds me. I want to ignore the stares and whispers of "wai guo ren" (foreigner) that seem to never cease. I want to trade the weird and pungent smells that permeate the stuffy train car with FRESH air. 

So, I plug in my earphones and turn on the tunes. I try to drone out the screaming and yelling of the soliciting salesperson who unfortunately decided to grace our train car with his presence. I close my eyes to ignore the stares of all those around me. Like a little child covering his eyes during a game of hide and seek, I reason, maybe if I can't see them, they won't be able to see me. I pull up my scarf over my nose and hold my breath to avoid the smells of smoke, body odor, instant noodles, and tofu snacks.

Truly, I love China. But on this particular train ride, I just want to escape it for a little bit. I think of my family celebrating my nephew's 1st birthday together and of my boyfriend and of my friends in America. How I'd love to be with them all right now....with them there in America and not here in China on this crazy train.  

But then, His voice whispers....I've placed you here.

This is your area of influence, He whispers to my heart. Right here. Right now. On this train. 

Embrace it. He both lovingly and firmly commands.

Conviction hits me. He has placed me here for this season. Here, in China. Not there, in America. This loud, noisy and sometimes smelly culture I'm a part of is His country that He loves. The people that surround me are HIS creation. 

In repentance, I slowly open my eyes. Yes, they are still staring. The little girl behind my seat once again peeks her head around my chair to look at the foreigner. The man across from me still glances in my direction with evident curiosity. I look into their eyes and ask Him to help me see them like He does - with compassion and not frustration.

I take out my earbuds. The children are still screaming. I laugh and think how I might want to scream, too. The salesperson comes over to me and pokes fun of me on his handheld speaker in Chinese. I inwardly groan, smile a "God is using this to sanctify me" smile, and try to politely refuse the silly hair towels he's selling. 

I pull down my scarf and the smells still remain - growing more pungent with each town we pass. But I choose to  breathe it in deep because He has placed me here.

Yes, living here is no fairytale. It is real and smelly and uncomfortable at times. But it is where He has placed me right now. And knowing that, I will CHOOSE to embrace this sometimes uncomfortable and crazy china life He's given me. 

"But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us....our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you...." 

~2 Corinthians 10:13, 15-16

and when you call for a taxi driver.....

make sure to explicitly tell him how many people will be joining you in the car.

This past week, my parents were in BJ for business. I LOVED seeing them - such a major heart encouragement.

Since they wanted to visit the Great Wall, I decided to take a day off of work to take them to the Great Wall. I called a private driver to take us to the wall. However, when I called, I forgot to mention how many people would be joining me on the trip.

Needless to say, he ended up bringing his aunt along - which made for a interesting trip. "Auntie" as we affectionately named her, joined us for the trip and volunteered to be our personal photographer for the trip.

nevertheless, it was a blast (well, execpt for the part where I persuaded my parents to take the stairs up the wall instead of the cable car....it was a lot more stairs than I expected, haha). They forgave me, though, and we had an amazing time.

here's a few pictures of our journey...

On our way up the million stairs, a random middle-school Chinese girl gave me this flag....seriously, its the little things like this that He uses to just make my day!

thankful for this goofball....and the flag. :)

Wish I could adequately write more to tell you about our trip (which included a drunk Austrailian and a grandma on a taboggan), but I'll spare you. Instead, I'll just tell you that I love these amazing parents of mine who would choose to venture thousands of miles (and Great Wall steps!) just to be with me. What a picture of His love...and a blessing to my heart. :)