Theological Anthropologist

When I wanted to go on an adventure with God to China, so that we could do that cool thing where I unravel and he shows up and I meet God in a new and fresh way and I feel alive again, I really thought the underlying pretext of the plan was that I would stay in China for a year. God totally psyched me out and flipped the script by giving me adventure in spades by causing all my dreams to fall apart and for me to now be sleeping in my friends' kids bedroom, while I figure out what the next step is. From this vantage point adventure is for the birds and I want my old comfy predictable existence back.  Funny how adventure and trusting God was perfectly ok with me, if it came on my terms aka China, but doing the "trusting God on an adventure" in America suddenly makes me want to call the whole thing off. Almost makes me wonder if perhaps, I was not really interested in the trusting God part of the adventure, just the international Traveller portion. So basically...

I find myself wading through the deepest trenches of sadness these days. I listen to Shane and Shane's "My Jesus I love thee" and weep. In it they sing, "Let the Amen, sound from your people again." Not sure why that phrase grips me like it does. But it is like a groan deep in my belly.  I don't even know if I truly understand my own emotions. Get Outlook for Android

Much in the same way of Gods provision to come to China there is also miraculous provision to get the heck out.  I sold all of my dishes and thing I bought here for 2000 rmb which is only slightly less than what i paid for it.  a lady at the bible study gave me 2500 rmb. iv been told.that i will get one month of rent back a well which is 3500 rmb. that adds up to close to 1500usd. 🙌 i have had many friends offer money in the states as well.  my passport is ready today instead of the 21st. this will make it much easier for me to travel to beijing to see the great wall. i am doing a two day trip for $100.  my wechat (social media in china) broke today a well so i am not able to communicate with any chinese people.  such a weird transition. i will be home soon. Get Outlook for Android

Dear friends old and new： These change winds have me feeling like I am standing out in the open during a Nor'Easter in the middle of winter.  From the moment I decided to come to China to teach English，I felt two distinct and contradictory emotions：happy and sad. During the 8 months of preperation that continued. I watched what appearerd to be the hand of God provide financially for this trip through cash donations and seemingly miraculous car sales. I had the backing and support of my family and most of my friends. I felt like God was in this but I also knew that it was what I wanted to do.  7 weeks ago I landed in China and began working for Webi International English as a teacher. Life was hard. Probably the worst case of culture shock Ive ever had. There is an oppressive atmosphere here that makes life very difficult. I thought about giving up many times. But then slowly prayers were being answered and I was feeling hope about life in ...

Such an approrpriate song for this week. This is my anthem this weekend.  Get Outlook for Android

So I've been told that I have to leave China in 15 days. I am deeply saddened and extremely relieved at the same time. Everything about this trip has been so hard, but was just starting to turn the corner. I likely will be offered a job next week and perhaps they can help me to change the visa to a tourist visa and then send me to Hong Kong while we apply for a work visa. I really don't know what to do. I am sad. My head is swimming. I am running very low on money and don't know what to do. I appreciate anyone who reads this to pray.

This song has been on repeat practically everyday since Ive been in China.  This last phrase "let the amen sound from his people again" resonates deep within my belly.  Is it intercession for the people of China？I dont know. Maybe just for me. My declaraion.  I say Amen. My Jesus i need and love thee. 

My school just declared bankruptcy. i may never get paid. i have to find a new job immediately. please pray For wisdom and provision.  Get Outlook for Android

I started a Bible Study yesterday and we are discussing the Armor of God. Priscilla Shrirer makes the comment about a sculptuer removing everything from a hunk of rock that doesnt look like its intended design. That is tge sanctifcation process，where we are molded and shapes to look more like Christ. Reminds me of 2 Cor 10：3-5 (MSG) The world is unprincipled. It's dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn't fight fair. But we don't live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into mat...

I left a job that was deeply fulfilling in many ways but ultimately had no growth opportunities for me，as far as I could tell. Had I simply gone from 28-40 hours，I would be making the same amount of money that I am making in China. The rest is nearly a wash, but because the cost of living is less here，I come out ahead by a few months on how fast I can get out of debt if I stick to the plan.  And yet，I am in the process of becoming. I am like my  previous place of employment going through a renovation process. It is rife with difficulties. But the hope that lies on the other side is what we yearn for.  Life in China at this stage is simply about the basics：eating enough or the right foods to fuel my body，sleeping enough or at the appropriate hours，and showing up and doing a good job at work，being diligent to watch spending，spending time with the Lord，finding some friends. With Each piece  of this becoming more like a natural rhythm，life her get...

Today in ESL classes，I am teaching Lucy about the future tense. We are talking about planning for the future. From there，I will teach about 7 students For two hours. We will cover topics like the past in China，traditions，gender roles，feelings，the elderly and more. Their names are Emily，Cici，Hillary，Lucy，Shelley，Gary and ？I cannot remembe the other boys name. Next I will teach Leo about likes and dislikes.  Then I will teach Emma，Charles，and Jackie about using their imagination to create a new country.  Finally，I will teach seven students about terms to describe families. Their names are Li，Colin，Henry，Jackie，Emily，Oliver and Cathy.  Get Outlook for Android

I am learning in a new way that there are layers of survival when you move to another country. You first need to do the basics and ensure you have a place to stay, a way to communicate, a way to get around, and your basic legal protections like getting the appropriate visas and such. I suppose getting a job or making sure you can access finances if you are a missionary is in that first batch as well. Also, being able to feed yourself is included here. This includes knowing how to order at restaurants, buy from local markets, knowing how to work with the types of foods you find at local markets and more.  Then there comes another level, once you've acclimated to that stage. This is where finding friends, socializing, enjoying entertainment, comes into play. These two levels can overlap and usually can be attained within the first two weeks to two months. The longer it takes, the harder life is in a new country.  As you know I am hitting the end of my...

As anthropologists, our dream is to dive head first into another culture so that we can experience the other.   It is this dream that pushes us through school and informs our choices along the way. We save sacrifice certain pleasures in one life so that we can have money for traveling to live another life. We research packing lightly and traveling efficiently. We know how to sleep on planes and trains, so that we can make the most of the daylight offered to us in our desired locations. We know basic phrases in many languages, and have an ear to pick up the new ones to add to our tool belt. For many of us, much of life is spent in a constant state of wanderlust, always dreaming of the next opportunity to experience something new. We crave paradigm shifts like most people crave potato chips. We love the revelatory journey of interacting with people who have experienced life differently. Whether we are studying linguistics, gender roles, religious practices, or ...

When you  stwp  outaide of  your comfort zone and face new challenges, you realize what kind of mettle you are made of. Scripturally, this is analagous to the wine press or the oil press. In order for oil and wine to be produced, the grapes and the olives must be presses and squeezed. They give everything of themselves and are reborn in a new way. Kinda like, "unless a seed falls to the ground an dies it will not bear much fruit.." thats what life feels like right now. pressed, squeezed, and hopefully producing something worthwhile in the next season. everything is a challenge: doing laundry like its the 1800's and hanging it to dry, sleeping on  bed hard as a rock, no friends after 5 weeks, craptastic internet connections, etc. i know it sounds like i am complaining, but really i am just pointing out that these are the tests that i face and i get to choose how to respond to. For 5 weeks i have complained and whined. i hope to change that no...

i also just want to make sure that its clear that this is NOT really about the internet/netflix/friends. its really about Him.  it is ok to want comfort and to need companionship. there is nothing inherently wrong with those things. it is confronting idolatry in my heart. 

It seems like the stress of life here feels small like someone has asked you to carry a pebble. but there are 10.5 million people in this city. and suddenly before you know it，you are carrying around thousands of pebbles and it feels like you are carrying a boulder. let me be clear i am not，as far as i know，even talking about carrying the people around me in prayer. truly，it is my own selfish problems，concerns，worries，and hardened heart that weigh heaviest on me.  i feel weak and broken again today. i confess that i may not be strong enough to do this. what is amazing is how fast and out of nowhere these helpless and hopeless feelings come upon me.  i confess i am worried about money and not choosing to trust in the Provider who Got me here to begin with. i feel like i have something to prove to all of you，i think. i am not asking for money. i am talking about my emotions. i confess that i am mourning the loss of community in Brookhaven and the barrenness of ...

I work on Wednesday through Friday from 1 pm to 9 pm. I typically have 4-5 classes each night. The other 4-5 hours are spent getting ready for class as well as eating dinner each night. Wednesdays are usually a five class night. Thursdays are a four class night. On Wednesdays I teach two social clubs, which is free range talking about any subject. I usually do one for advanced level students and one for lower level students. My upper level student, Peter, is a joy to teach. He is in his twenties and is trying to figure out life. I have always loved working with the college age students. As I learn more about him, then I can begin teaching him and encouraging him with the truth. It is great to be able to teach classes like "Knowing your Value" or "Believing in a Hope and a Future" which are encouraging and unheard of lessons here. My younger students are more challenging. It mostly feels like glorified day care. I usually have approximately 10 students around...

Next week is a major holiday in China. It is a Chinese National Holiday. Basically, China's version of a patriotic holiday. I don't know that it celebrates Independence like America does, but it just is a holiday to be proud to be Chinese. And they take it seriously. They get a minimum of 3 days off of work to celebrate. Some get more than that. For me, I will get the three days plus my normal two days off. So I have a whole week of vacation starting Sept 30-Oct 5. And nothing celebrates how great China is, like shutting down the internet so that Americans or any other foreigners cannot connect to back home. 🙁. As of right now, I am already seeing my internet speeds slowed significantly. I cannot access any American websites or connect to a VPN, if I were trying to do that. It may be illegal, so I cannot confirm or deny whether I am in fact trying to use a VPN. Luckily, I can post to my blog via email, so I can keep you up to date. For my vacation, I am ho...

I have lived most of my life understanding that there are circumstances in life that create feelings that are often contrary to the word of God. For instance, I'm sure you like me have felt hopeless at one point or another. Well, Romans 15:13 says that we serve, "the God of all hope."  So reality is that there is no circumstance on earth that is truly hopeless. We just have to ask the God of all hope to fill us with hope for our current circumstance. The same is true with other emotions: fear, loneliness, etc. "God has not given us a spirit of fear." "God places the lonely in families." (You can look up the references easier than I can, you gave google.) Perhaps that is why I don't know what to write. I am in a constant state of having feelings that I know are not true, according to the Kingdom of God. So every moment I am warring in my spirit to choose to believe the truth. I am living a sort of Maslov's pyramid of necessities. We cannot...

Hello everyone. It looks like getting wifi in my apartment may change everything. I can update my blog. I haven't figured out how to upload pictures yet, but this is a good sign. Since I don't know if I'll get to do this again soon, let me update you quickly. Life has had its ups and downs since I've moved here. I am enjoying China for the most part. The food is amazing and the people are very friendly. Since I've been here, I've rented an apartment and started work teaching English. Classes are mostly 1-5 kids ages 9-14 and then a handful of 20ish year old students. I've only had 1 or 2 older than 20s. I think my biggest class is 6 students. We talk about anything from adjectives and adverbs to names of clothes, occupations, where you go to buy certain things: post office, supermarket, department store, cinema/movie theater, etc. I work Wednesday to Friday from 1 pm to 9 pm. I usually teach 4-5 classes a night. Then I work on the weekends Sat-Sun from 9a-...

I know you have been waiting on an update. i am sorry it has taken a long time to post. between exhaustion an stimulus overload i havent had the energy to write. as i type it is noon on Monday which means it is approximately midnight Sunday night for most of you. i feel like a prophet because i am seeing and living in the future. in 3 hours i.will teach my first class. i will introduce myself an talk about America (Texas an Pennsylvania). (punctuation is hard to do on my new Chinese phone so forgive the awkward typing) i have rented a two bedroom apartment. it takes about 10 minutes to walk to work. follow me on Instagram @nihaojillleann (nihao is hello in Chinese. my full name is jill leann.) to see pictures. i you want to text or call me please download Whatsapp. use my american phone number to.contact me. today i will go to police station an become a temporary resident of China. quick observations：China is the antithesis of Nepal spiritually. It is very secular and athei...

I don't know if you've ever heard anyone say "we are operating on African time today." That basic phrase is uttered thousands of times daily, albeit with various cultures inserted into the sentence. It could be African time, Puerto Rican time, Mexican time, etc. These statements most often made by people who grew up as a minority in America or are visiting/immigrants to America, represent the growing awareness that different cultures operate on a different sense of urgency regarding timing. Minorities recognize it and most Caucasian Americans who are lucky enough to have friends from other cultures recognize it too. Here's the challenge for most people. We typically like to assign a hierarchy or state that one way of doing things is better than the other. This is what anthropologists call, ethnocentrism. It is a $5 word that simply means, the way my culture does things is the best. For the most part, every culture thinks their way of doing things is the best...

Welcome to my new blogging adventure as a theological anthropologist. Fairly soon, I'll explain in more detail what that means exactly. For now, the basic premise is that I will be blogging about my adventures of exploring other cultures and discussing things from both a travel blogger perspective but also looking at bigger questions that all humans wrestle with about the meaning of life. One key definition of an anthropologist is that they are often more commonly called cultural interpreters or translators. Anthropologists work hard to explain one culture to another. So much of this blog will be me presenting ideas from one group of people to another. This doesn't necessarily mean that I agree with the views (or disagree with them). If I do my job well, you shouldn't ever really know where I stand on an issue as an anthropologist. Unless, I specifically state where I stand. I really appreciate you going on this journey with me. Feel free to ask questions and comment (a...