Rewind

Since we have been forced to temporarily push the pause button on our on-site, overseas service for the time being, now seems like a good time to begin reviewing the past 18 months in China.  With likely several weeks or longer to work with, I might as well begin at the beginning.

We boarded a plane on August 29th, 2018, to return to China for our third stint.  We knew going in that the organization we had chosen to join was facing some hard times.  But nothing could have prepared us for what was to transpire in the coming months.  It would be a year and a half of what felt like a potent cocktail of constant change, continuous crisis, and unprecedented opportunity.

The first ten days, we lived with a family of four in their four bedroom apartment.  Talk about cramped!  They were very kind and yet after ten days, we all felt the need for a change.  The couple living at the guest flat moved to another colleague’s apartment so we could have our own space.  And since we were required to live in the same complex as our teammates, it made for slim pickings when it came to apartment hunting.  

Not used to restrictions and limitations, this was our first introduction to a charity project in open collaboration with the government.  In our previous times in China, even though we knew that we needed to be particular in what we did or didn’t do, we were rarely in regular communication with local authorities.  In this situation, we needed their explicit permission to engage in any new initiative.  I knew there was going to be a learning curve.

In addition, our wonderful international team of volunteers was truly “International.”  In our previous experiences we had worked with all Americans except for one German couple, one British couple, and one family with a Canadian father.  Our new team had Canadians, British, Australians, Singaporeans, a gal from Taiwan, and short-term volunteers from various other parts of Europe.  It was both a breath of fresh area and an awakening to various new points of view!

And though in retrospect I am nothing short of both grateful and amazed at what God has allowed us to participate in, there is no doubt that this third “new beginning” was a shock to our individualistic, American style of life and work abroad.