Survival Skills

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 6th week in China, and I am just barely breaking into the second level. I had two exciting things happen this last couple of days: 1) I wrote a local international church and asked if there are any small groups, women's bible studies, etc that are happening currently. I am hopeful, this will provide not only friendships but also spiritual nourishment. Secondly, I spent several hours with a lady named Kim* from California yesterday. We ate lunch together and shared tips for successful living in China. She has been here a few weeks more than I have. She is a few years older than me and has previously lived in Thailand for four years. So she is experienced in living overseas as well as teaching ESL. She comes from a different religious background than I do, albeit slightly. She is Catholic. I am hopeful that we will be able to become friends to some extent, though since our days off are different, it will limit the amount of time we can spend together. I'm not sure that that is not a bad thing. We'll see. 

I continue to ask the Father for a bosom buddy, as Anne of Green Gables calls it. For those that are not familiar with this famous book/tv show, it means a dearest friend. For now, I still feel fairly convinced that the Father is jealous for my affections and wants to cement our connection once again. I have started spending time in the mornings before I go to work, meditating on his character and listening to worship music. It's funny how having all comforts stripped away can make you keenly aware of how much you need the Father. I'm not saying I didn't know that in America, just that the sense is heightened. Coming to another country is like fasting, it intensifies your hunger for the Father. Thus, spending time in meditation and contemplation is definitely another survival skill. 

I highly doubt anyone reads these blogs, but if you do happen to read this, I would highly encourage you to start your own journey by reading the book Celebration of the Disciplines by Richard Foster. This is such a rich book that walks you through connecting with the Father in different ways, some internal and some external. I found it to be one of the most transforming books I've ever read. 

My China playlist as of right now has two songs from Shane and Shane: Hymns 2 on it: Be Thou My Vision and My Jesus, I love thee. It also has two songs by Kim Walker Smith: Christ the Rock and Face to Face. As you listen to these songs, you will get a sense of where I'm at in life. I am literally in a day to day, hour by hour, level of survival. He alone is my sustainer. In fact that cheesy song from back in the day is very apropos right now: You are the air I breathe, Your very word spoken to me.....You are my daily bread, Your very body, broken for me....

So for today, I am abiding in the vine. I am plugging into the only energy source that matters. I am resting in the Oneness I have with Christ. For the word says, it is not I who lives, but Christ lives in me, and I know that he can face today. He can teach English today. He can love the people of China today. He has the strength needed to not only survive but to thrive today. So I rest in him. I rest in the Shalom of the Lord: and receive full salvation, health, protection, peace, joy, hope, and everything that the complete Shalom of the Lord provides for me. This is my survival skill for today.

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