Being anywhere but home for the holidays is always tough... I mean this is the first time I've ever been away for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, and certainly both. Although I do miss the frosted landscape of the Rocky Mountains, the frigid weather, and all of my friends and family, I managed to have a wonderful Christmas with my friends here in Kunming.
We celebrated Italian style making a large feast of pasta and pizza, homemade of course. We all joined together Christmas Eve for the celebration and had a great time. The highlight of the night was our Secret Santa exchange, which I had actually never done before. We all gave and received awesome gifts; gifts of love and meaning. We also had a few humorous poetry recitations, played charades, and enjoyed the many unique talents that our group has to offer. It was a festive evening full of joy and high spirits.
Christmas morning my roommate Chiara and I attended a local church service that was interesting to see. Although it was all in Mandarin, it was nice to be in a place of welcoming spirits. Some of the music they played were of hymns that any Christian would recognize; it's incredible how religion is such a unifying theme in our lives. It doesn't matter what side of the globe you are on or what language you speak, the foundational beliefs are the same. It was welcoming to know that there are some local Kunminger's who have the same values and morals as I do despite living in a controlling environment (Chinese gov.) surrounded by popular Buddhist tradition. The service was 2.5 hours of which we stayed 1.5. Ok ok, forgive me for ducking out early but it was a bit dry. Despite this fact I've never had Christmas feel so alive in my heart. I am overwhelmed with joy this time of year and am grateful for the birth of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is the comfort He provides that allows me to overcome the homesickness... and trust me, I wouldn't rather be anywhere but Littleton, CO this time of year!
Christmas day was fun as well as we watched 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Little did I know that the movie would have a profound effect on me later that evening. I was invited to a work party at a school I'm going to be teaching at this coming spring. On the way to the party, I had my iPhone stolen out of a zipped up jacket pocket on the public bus. I think I just missed the guy in action since I check my valuables every 3-5 minutes, literally. I freaked out for two seconds then calmed my nerves and tried to trouble shoot the issue but it was too late. I had gotten off the bus to look for someone suspicious who might have just napped my most prized possession. After the buses cleared I knew it was long gone. A nice gentlemen saw my bewilderment and I was able to explain the situation. He called the cops for me which was actually a worse idea. I couldn't call my phone since I didn't know my own number so I was helpless. I sat with the cops for 4 hours waiting to fill out a stupid form that will do nothing but add another number to the theft victim list for 2009.
While waiting a young women had come into the police office and had here laptop stolen out of here carrying case. She was able to put up a struggle but still was robbed. It didn't make me feel any better but at least I wasn't alone. After a long night at the police station and having missed my party, I just went home to rest.
The next morning was fine but after picking up an old-school Nokia to replace my iPhone, I came down with the 24 stomach flu which had been going around. I had a horrendous afternoon. That night I listened to the Rock Church's latest sermon that couldn't have been more appropriately titled as "Why do bad things happen to good people". It was very lifting; Miles quoted Job who at one point loses all of his wealth and worldly possessions at once. So what does he do? He strips naked and prays. He says he came into this world naked and everything that he'd ever owned belongs to God. We are simply managers of everything we have. The devil may temp and try us, but the kind of faith that Job displays is the kind of faith that I would like to have someday. The kind where no matter what happens, we never blame God and always worship Him for we know that each day is a gift no matter what. And now that I'm healthy again, I seek to live every day with such faith.
That's my Kunming Christmas story; definitely one I'll never forget!
No comments:
Post a Comment