Where is home?

Hm. It's 1:15 AM, so if this sounds a bit like an awkward post, then that's probably because my body is screaming at me that I should be asleep, and yet for some reason I can't seem to get there. Lately I've read about a Christmas parade in Ranburne (the town where I grew up) and seen pictures of my family who lives there. I've seen pictures and heard comments about Auburn and the campus fellowship there that I was a part of for 2 years. And I've been here, in China. And I've seen people's faces light up when I say "Sheng deng kuai le" (Merry Christmas in Chinese). One of my teammates, who is much more like my brother now, asked me on the bus today something about studying "when you are at home." I couldn't answer. Because it took me a full 2 minutes to understand the question. I didn't know where home was. I'm still working on what exactly that means.


I've gotten to spend the past few days with people and children that I would gladly adopt.. as grandmothers and grandfathers or even as my own children. I've seen smiles and a few tears. I have seen snow and ice, frozen bus windows, and frozen lakes. Muffins, Christmas songs, bananas and oranges, sharing His word. I love it. I love the people. What now? One of my favorite songs. By Steven Curtis Chapman. What can I do with it? What will I do with it in my future, and where will I put it in my life? This trip, more than a trip really, had been a lifestyle, it has been a complete rearranging of thoughts of feelings, of who I am. I look forward with anticipation to the continued change.

A Friend

So today we went to a new nursing home. It's about 3 stories tall and we saw only a few of the many residents there. We were, however, able to pass out a muffin to each person there thanks to a couple of sisters here in our community who were willing to make and wrap about 150. =)

So anyway, on the way home we each shared something we learned. One of my teammates has just arrived back from Beijing. She was sharing that she is not a believer, but recently has been introduced to a reason to believe in Dad's existence. She had just bought some new earrings in Beijing, and not ten minutes later, a piece fell off of one and she couldn't find it anywhere. She was all prepared to give up when she said "*Father help me." It was barely out of her mouth when she stepped on the piece that had fallen off. =) So now she's "waffling" back and forth. Please pr for this sweet girl and all of those family members surrounding her. She has such an amazing heart.