Theological Anthropologist

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...