China Missions 2008 - Laundry Day

On Day 4 Bethany and I volunteered to do laundry. I didn't really need to take the language class anyway, and figured doing laundry for 20 people would be an interesting experience. What's ironic is that I don't even do laundry at home, haha! I actually really enjoyed the day with Bethany. We had some great conversations. And at such a young age, she already knows her calling to be a missionary in Asia, it's so awesome to see young people walking out their faith.

Bethany and I doing laundry.

















We took a break and got some bubble tea and watched the guys play soccer.



















































It was around this time that I started craving alone time. I'm not used to being around people all the time for so many days, and having such a packed schedule. Like I just wanted to go for a walk by myself. I knew I wasn't spending enough time with God. But while I didn't like what I was feeling, at least I knew that I desired the quiet time with Him. I never want to get to a point again where I get so used to being busy that I don't even notice that I'm not spending enough time with Him.

After dinner that night, a few of the 'older' people were going out to get ice cream together and I went along. We were mostly just joking around and laughing. Not that there was anything 'wrong' with it, but I realized that I wasn't making most of the opportunities that God presented in front of me! This wasn't a vacation, and we were there for a purpose - to share God's love with the people of China. I should be making myself available to hang out with the students whenever possible.

Yes, our 'free' time was limited because we had things on our schedule during the day, and then we have to be in our buildings by 10:30pm every night, but that still leaves a couple of hours after dinner and time to hang out 'in' our building after 10:30! The first night at the school, I was so tired from jetlag that I went straight to bed after our group meeting. Then the next couple of nights, we hung out a bit in the hallway before going to bed, playing cards and chatting. Most of the guys in our group played the guitar and so did some of the Chinese guys, so a few of our guys went to hang out with them down the hall. Since they were a bunch of guys, I didn't feel comfortable being the only girl to just walk over and introduce myself. So I asked myself, what am I doing here?

At the end of Day 4, I made the decision that I was going to make myself as available as possible to spend time with the students. After all, time was passing by very quickly, and I realized that we only had 4 days left. There is no, 'oh there will be other opportunities' or 'eh, I have tomorrow'. We needed to seize every opportunity as it was presented because most likely there won't be another chance. I basically said, okay God, I'm here and I'm open to however you want to use me, make it happen.