Starting a study in Colossians AND day 1 in China

Favorite verse from Chapter 1....

"All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since they day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." Colossians 1:6

I am going to share a little of my journal each day this week (that is the goal anyway) from our trip to China.

Sunday, April 17th- I'll go backwards to a few answers to prayer from our flights. I'll be honest I was a bit nervous about having 8 suitcases, one wheelchair and only 3 adults. God is so faithful to help in even our small times of need. We didn't have to pay for the wheelchair even in China and with all the medical supplies in our suitcases we just walked right past security in China. PTL!! And we didn't loose any suitcases in Shanghai trying to get them on and off the shuttle while trying to get to the other terminal. All this may seem trivial but it really was the only thing I was the least bit nervous about for the whole trip and I was so grateful the Lord worked it out!

Back to Sunday, our first full day in China. We slept in and met with Joy's foster family and our friend's Bruce and Sophie at 1pm. On our way to meet them my friend, Willette, said "Angie, I don't think I could do what you are doing in meeting Joy's foster family again." I had a moment of panic, like maybe this isn't a good idea, but seeing Joy with her Nai Nai again made it all worthwhile.

Joy is so proud that she is almost as tall as her Nai Nai. They had a wonderful time together. We went walking at the Seven Star Park. It was a beautiful park in Guilin. Joy even got to hold a monkey! (Only in China do you get to hold wild animals- last time we were in Guangzhou the girls got to hold a baby tiger)

 

The other amazing thing we got to do on Sunday was meet our friend Bruce again. We met him on the train last year from Nanning to Guilin and have kept in touch through QQ. He brought his classmate, Sophie, with him. They are pictured in the middle photo above. They helped with translating with Joy's foster family whenever we saw them. We were able to share more of the gospel with them, give them a Chinese/ English Bible and Jesus film in Mandarin. God did a lot with these relationships during the week that I'll share later. They invited us to come see their campus Sunday afternoon so we were able to start some relationships with other students.

 In the evening we met with the Trower's for dinner to talk about our week at the House of Love. It always amazes me how those with hearts for orphans are instant friends and the Trower's were no different. There are so many things about orphan care that I have a hard time wrapping my mind around. Like "Why do some kids make it while others don't?, Why do some kids get families and others don't?, Why don't more believers care about those that don't have a voice of their own?" I enjoy talking with believers who ask God the same questions. God always brings His children to a quiet resting place of peace and trust in Him. Our minds can't fathom His greater plan and the fact that He sees past, present, and future all together. That is why He is God and we are not. But it does motivate me to do all I can for orphans while I am still on this earth.

 Okay, so just because we were in China I had to include the yummy food... can you guess what animal male parts these are?! (Oh yes, the upper middle thing is pig male parts on a stick!)

So over dinner we finalized plans for the week... Here is a picture of what is to come for our week at the House of Love. I am convinced it is one of the most amazing places on earth. I still can't believe I actually got to be in a Chinese orphanage loving on these sweet kids.