Now Jojo sat at the table across from us.  She had sent a message to Hannah saying that she had been thinking of us and wanted to meet again.  I relayed to Jojo that Hannah and I would be leaving in May and wanted to invite her to a discussion time about Jesus and the Bible that we would be having at our home every Friday.  I was amazed as Jojo’s eyes began to fill with tears.

“Ginger and Razzle, I am so very sad to hear that you are leaving.  I feel that you are my best friends, and the time we have spent together has meant so much to me.”

Today I sit and think of Jojo.  In two weeks and two days I will be boarding a plane and flying far away from the friends that I have made here.   In the midst of packing up an apartment, last meetings with friends, goodbye parties, and final Bible studies, there is a cry in my heart to finish well.  Have I spoken the words to my friends that my Father has asked me to speak?  Have I reassured each one that there is more — a plan for their life better than they could imagine, a One that loves them enough to die for them and save them?  Have I loved them enough to share these things with them?

In these next two weeks I will continue to press in to God’s heart, and will press on in sharing His heart where He has placed me.  Will you join me in prayer as I run?  I’m almost there!

Please pray for:

• Me and the team here as we prepare to leave.  I am feeling a wealth of emotions as I prepare to leave China after nearly four years and remain in the States for the next season.  We need His peace, strength, and to know His heart as we process wrapping things up here and the transition back into America.
• My teams’ friends that are in the family: Laura, May, Harmony, Lawrence, Eric, Tom, and Chuck.  Please pray that as we leave they would understand that they can hear God for themselves and would have thriving relationships with Him independent from us.  Pray that that would understand our Father’s heart in sharing Him with others, even that they would be excited about what He’s doing that they wouldn’t be able to keep it to themselves!
• This Friday night we will be showing The Passion of the Christ with friends who have been coming to a Bible study every Friday evening.  They have shared with us that they know they need to have an experience with Jesus in order to really know Him.  Our Chinese friend Tom will lead a discussion time afterwards.  Pray that hearts will be overwhelmed with His love as they come face to face with what He accomplished at the cross.
• Our friends that don’t yet know Him: Grace, Rong Jie, Jojo, Deane, Candy, Coco, Racheal, Louise, Si Liu, Will, James, Alan, Kevin, Tom (another one), and others. Pray that we will hear our Father clearly as to what we need to speak to them and how to spend time with them before we leave.
• Pray for grace for us to be able to release our friends into the Father’s hands and to trust Him to finish the work in them that He has begun.
• Please pray for me as I return home!  I need to hear His heart for me as I return.  I also am asking Him for His provision- I am in need of a car for at least the coming year, and possibly a new laptop as mine is currently in laptop “heaven.”

I will be flying back to New York on May 20th, and then for the following week will be at Elim for a debriefing time, conference, and meetings in regards to my role in recruiting for next year.  After that, I will be in Rochester with my parents for June and July, and then plan to move to Elim at the beginning of August as I begin work in the office and recruiting.  I can’t believe it!

You are in my thoughts often!  Thank you for standing with me!

In His love,

Ginger

“Laura, please continue the conversation in Chinese!” I encouraged.  “We Americans don’t need to understand everything that you are saying!”

For the past 2 Friday nights my team and I have had friends to my apartment to have discussions about stories in the Bible regarding different miracles that Jesus did.  Our first week, we had 11 students.  This week, we had 6.  The smaller number of students seemed to encourage a lively conversation ranging from everything to whether Greek mythology was in the Bible, to Adam and Eve, to what God says about wives’ and husbands’ roles in marriage.  One student that was not yet a Christian had asked a question about Pandora’s Box, so I released Laura to answer to question in Chinese, and a discussion ensued with lots of laughter.

We had read the story about Jesus healing a government official’s son.  The last question that we answered together was, “How can we apply this story to our lives?”  After the students agreed that we should help people, I felt God wanted to turn the conversation in a different direction.  I began to talk about how Jesus healed people, and that He still heals people today.  I asked if anyone tonight was feeling sick or had pain, and that we could pray for them together and ask Jesus for healing.  Everyone was healthy and pain-free that night, but I left them with a challenge that if they or a friend is sick this week, they can pray and ask Jesus for healing and see what happens!  I encouraged them to be prepared to share stories of their experiences the following week!

Please pray for:

1. One of my team’s friends, Chuck, recently made a decision to receive Jesus!  It was very unexpected, and encouraging to see how God had prepared his heart.  Chuck has committed to meet with my teammates Ben and Leonidus every week.  Please pray for continued growth in Chuck’s life, and that he will not be distracted in this season.
2. Please pray for those that are attending our weekly Bible studies.  Those coming (or who will begin to come) that have not yet made decisions for Jesus are James, Will, Shi Long, Jiang Yan, Alan, Grace, Deanne, and Laura’s 2 roommates.  Pray that they will encounter Jesus!
3. This coming Friday my roommate Razzle and I will go with 7 others from K-town and other CT cities to a city in the north part of our province.  Please pray for safe travel, health, good weather (the forecast is rain and snow) and that we would truly be led by God’s Spirit!

In 2 months I will be on my way back to America…away from the culture, people, city, and way of life that has become comfortable (well, relatively speaking!) and familiar to me over these past few years.  I can’t believe it!  In recent weeks I have been praying and seeking God as to His heart for what capacity I should serve next year.  I have heard clearly from Him, and received much confirmation from others, that He is calling me back to New York to serve as a missionary with CT on the recruiting and administrative team!  I feel that He wants me home for a season to reconnect with family and friends, and He has also placed on my heart to help share the vision for China with young adults there and help pave the way for them to come here!  I will be living in the Rochester/Lima area working with a group of other CTers, and will continue to receive financial support.  I will return at the end of May and plan to be back for a full year.  I’m really excited about this next season!

Happy spring to you!  Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

In His Service,

Ginger

You may remember from my last post that Laura is the friend whose village Razzle and I went to visit during the Chinese New Year. Laura knows our Father and, as we sat on the stage preparing for the village singing competition, all Laura could think about was the fact that the sea of people in front of us were in need of the hope that our Father brings.  This evening we sat together at the glass table in our apartment.  Laura was shoveling food into her mouth, as she needed to leave fairly quickly.

It still has not rained. Laura’s father has had three surgeries and is unable to work.  Her parents are farmers, so they have no income this year and are now deep in debt because of the hospital bills.  Laura’s mother has moved to the city that we are in to find work.  She expects to leave Laura’s father for at least one year to earn money.  For the past few days Laura’s mother has been working and sleeping at a restaurant.  She works 7am-10pm with barely enough time to eat two meals.  Laura will go with her mother the next morning to help her find a different job.

God has placed Laura so deeply on my and Razzle’s hearts and has made it clear that she is a friend that we should invest in.

“Laura,” I ventured, “Razzle and I really would like to spend more time with you and wanted to ask if you would like to meet together each week.  We can read the same chapters in the Bible the previous week and talk about what we feel God is speaking to us through it and what He wants us to do about it. We can ask each other difficult questions to help us grow.  We can spend time praying for friends and family that don’t yet know our Father.  We will also begin a Bible study on Friday nights for those that are interested in knowing Him more.”

“Ginger, that is exactly what I have done with friends before!” Laura replied.  “I would love to meet with you each week! And I will ask my roommates if they want to come Friday nights!  They do not yet want to make a decision, but I think they are interested to learn who Jesus is.”

We sat around the table together and prayed for Laura’s father’s health, for her mother to find a better job, and that the rain would come…and we believe that He hears us.  I tell Laura that I think God’s favorite language is Chinese.  She agrees.

Please pray for:

1. Laura and her family — that her relationship with our Father would grow, that she would come to truly understand grace, and for our weekly times with her.  For her parents’ health and financial situation.
2. Our team is beginning a Bible study this coming Friday.  It is evangelistic and discussion-based, and we will be inviting all of our friends.  Please pray that those that need to come would come, and that our friends would come to understand Jesus more through this time.
3. Please pray for me as I am seeking God’s heart regarding where I should be next year.  I do not yet have clarity where that should be and I feel divided between many different places and people.

Thank you!  He is at work here!  He always proves Himself faithful, and He will prove Himself to you.

In His Love,

Ginger

For many it was such… but for many more the splendor of Valentine’s Day was overshadowed by firecrackers and fireworks lighting up the night like a war zone, families gathered around tables full of 15 or more dishes and plenty of wine and beer, grandmothers offering food and incense to family gods, and the sounds of laughter and tipsy merry-makers singing karaoke floating through the windows.  February 14^th marked the Chinese New Year, the year of the tiger, and my partner Razzle and I were celebrating it in our Chinese friend Laura’s hometown 3 hours away.  Laura knows our Father, and He has given us such a gift in connecting us with her.

After riding a bus for 2 ½ hours, Laura, her uncle, and her cousin picked us up in a van donated by the village for our arrival.  As we drove out of the town toward Laura’s village, Laura exclaimed that the entire village was awaiting our arrival.  We were the first foreigners ever known to visit the village…

As we pulled into the village I remembered times when I had sped by places like this while on a bus and had thought to myself, “God, these people are so poor.  Thank you for everything that you have given me,” but then never giving the people a second thought.  After placing our backpacks in a bedroom in Laura’s uncle’s home, we walked through the dry and thirsty fields, trying to avoid falling into the sewage that runs directly into the farming plots, a dry wind whipping our hair about and blowing dust into our faces.  There had been no rain for 6 months.  Laura’s parents are tobacco farmers, and the land has yielded no crop this year.  Her father has recently had 3 surgeries, and her parents are very much in debt.  Later that New Year’s Eve, we sat at little stools around the table with her family, eating, toasting to each other’s health and prosperity in the year to come, and feeling welcomed into this family that was so very different from our own…and yet so very similar.

On Chinese New Year’s Day, our friend and her cousin were the hosts of a singing competition which the entire village would attend.  Razzle and I were the guests of honor and sat onstage with Laura’s family and the judges.  Of course, Razzle and I needed to delight the audience of over 600 villagers with a song.  Before we got up to sing, we prayed with Laura for hope for the villagers, and that they would come to know the one true God. We sang “Amazing Grace” as we looked out into the faces of these poor and weary farmers.  As Laura explained the meaning of the song to them, she said that glimmers of hope flash in their eyes for the first time she could remember.

Laura and her cousin accompanied us to the bus station the next morning.  As we waited for the bus I asked Laura if she had slept well the night before.  “No,” was her reply.  “I slept for maybe 2 hours.  I was awake all night thanking God for how He has brought you and Razzle to our village.  My mother says everyone is talking about you and wondering how long you will stay.  You truly are angels, and messengers of God’s hope to our village.  You were sent by Him here.”

My eyes welled up with tears as I realized how much our visit had meant to Laura, her family, and the entire village.  “Laura,” I said, “I know that you are the only Christian in your village.  You may not feel strong and may feel hopeless, but God’s power is in you.  Your prayers are effective.  You are His daughter, and He hears you.  Keep praying. Don’t be afraid to share with them the reason for the hope that you have.”  We prayed with her for her family, that they would know Him, for rain to come, and that our Father would speak His heart to Laura as she is home for the next 2 weeks.

As our bus pulled away, Laura and her cousin stood and waved until we could see them no longer.  Razzle and I felt our Father’s presence so strongly.  We prayed and took communion together with a little bottle of grape juice and some crackers, remembering how His blood has covered us…and a little tobacco-farming village in southwest China.

********

It has been much too long since I last wrote!  Please forgive me for not keeping you up-to-date.  Since my last update in December:

1. We had a Christmas party at which over 25 friends heard the message of the gospel!  The next day Leonidus and Ben’s friend, Tom, made a decision to receive Jesus!
2. Many of our friends left much earlier than normal for their winter holiday, so January was not quite as eventful as normal.  We said goodbyes to friends, made a wonderful new friend named Grace, had a citywide prayer and fasting time, did prayer walks on all of the campuses in the city that we are working on in the city, and had Ben’s family come for a visit!
3. The first 10 days of February were our retreat in Thailand.  God truly ministered to my heart on a very deep level, and reaffirmed my call to leadership and my place of ministry here.

Please Pray For:

1. Our friends that are in the family- Laura, May, Harmony, Eric, Lawrence, and Tom. Pray that they would meet the Lord as they are at home for the winter holiday. Pray against distraction and that they would have an insatiable hunger in their hearts for the things of Him.
2. The deadline for making decisions about whether we will return to China next year and in what capacity is March 1^st.  I am currently committed to work with CT for at least the next 3 years in whatever role He is calling me to.  The cry of my heart is to see His kingdom come on the campuses here- to see the students here experience Him.  I want to do this in whatever capacity would serve this best- whether I am leading a team her next year, home for a season recruiting new people to come, or studying Chinese full-time to better serve the work here.  I am currently in the process of making this decision, and I ask that you would pray for clarity and the Lord’s peace for me within the next couple of weeks as I am seeking Him.
3. The next 1 ½ weeks before our friends return will be a “Winter Session” time where we will have special guest speakers come through the city and do training with us.  Also, each of us leaders in the city will teach at least one session.  I will teach a session on prayer.  Please pray that the Lord’s heart would truly come forth during this time.

I am recognizing that as I spend more and more time here on the other side of the world, it becomes easier for me to focus my attention here and not communicate as well with you back home.  This is not ok with me!  I want to apologize to you for my lack of contact recently.  I want you to know that I appreciate you so much, and know that without you what is happening in the lives of students here would not be possible.  Please keep in touch, and know that I hold you in my heart!

In His love,

Ginger

As Orchid thoroughly explained to May once again what it meant to be baptized, I felt a strong impression on my heart that the three of us should lay our hands on May and ask God what He wanted to speak to her as she was making this significant step in her relationship with Him tonight.

We gathered around May and spoke of the love that our Father has for May and how He wants to lead her. Beautiful tears ran down her face…tears of realization of His love for her, realization that He knows her and has always wanted her for His own.

In preparation to baptize May, Orchid placed her hands on May’s shoulders, looked into her eyes, and told her how excited her God was that she had chosen to follow Him.  The tears continued to roll down May’s stained cheeks.

Once May came out of the water, she was beaming.  “May!” I asked her as I stood behind a camera, “How do you feel after coming out of the water?”

“I feel fresh!” was her fitting reply.

As May was drying her hair, she poked her head out of the bathroom and said, “Girls, my phone got baptized!”  Unfortunately, May’s phone had gone into the water with her…and was no longer working.

With Christmas in only a few days, as we share the story of Christ’s birth with friends, am I brought back to May’s response as she came out of the water- “I feel fresh!” Jesus came to make us fresh as newly fallen snow- clean, pure, light and no longer weighed down by the burden of our sin.  He has taken it all upon Him.  What a beautiful gift He has given us!

In His Love,

Ginger

I do want to let you know that our team member, Orchid, needed to end her time here and returned to America this past week.  Please pray for Orchid as she adjusts to life back in the States, and that she will be able to receive everything our Father has for her in this season.  Also, please pray for our team as we cope with the loss of a friend and team member; especially for me and Razzle as we adjust to Orchid’s absence in our home, and that we would have grace to adjust to my new role as Razzle’s partner.

Please also pray for:

1. My team members Razzle, Ben, and Leonidus as they experience their first Christmas here in C-land.  Pray that each one would be blessed, especially as they continue to share the true meaning of Christmas with their friends here!
2. Our friends as we share with them the Christmas story and present opportunities for them to receive Jesus – pray that their hearts would continue to receive the truth, and that no plan of the enemy would prevent them from receiving it.  Please pray especially for: Jojo, Racheal, Deane, Rong Jie, Liu Si, and Tom.
3. Me as I adjust to balancing my roles as team leader and now Razzle’s partner.  I need wisdom for time management, and I need to be led by the Holy Spirit!
4. I have also been quite homesick this year, especially with Orchid’s departure.  Please pray for the Lord’s comfort.

I remember you back home and my heart is overwhelmed with thankfulness!  I pray that you have a wonderful Christmas, full of joy.  May you be reminded of the precious gift of Jesus.  You are in my thoughts! Merry Christmas!!

“Orchid, let’s go eat lunch on campus!” I suggested. “I really feel like we need to go and make ourselves available for God to connect us with friends today.”

Chinese students usually eat lunch early, and it is quite common for most of the cafeteria food to be gone by 12:30.  It was now after 12:30 as we hurried into the lower level of the student canteen.  Most students had finished eating by this time.  As we went through the line with our cartons of rice, eyeing the slim-pickings of meat and vegetables that remained, I heard a distinctive male voice say, “Hello, Ginger!”

I looked up to see Jimmy, a good friend of our teammates, Leonidus and Ben.  As Orchid and I said hello, three of our friends, Lucy, Deane, and Harmony, were excitedly walking up to us.  They all had not eaten lunch yet, so Orchid and I invited the 4 of them to join us.  Jimmy had never met the other girls before, and we had been unaware that Lucy was friends with them.

We headed outside and found a little stone table where the 6 of us could sit and enjoy our spontaneous picnic lunch.  I smiled as I watched all of them interacting.  Harmony is already a sister, Deane is one of her good friends, and Jimmy has a close friend that is in the family as well.  They are all very open to talking about God, but Lucy has seemed quite closed to the idea.

As I was about to ask if I could pray for our lunch, Lucy quietly said, “Maybe we need to pray before we eat!”  Here, God was confirming to us that not only was Lucy friends with Harmony, who already knows Him, but she is also very aware of the fact that Christians pray and does not disregard it.

Orchid said a simple prayer thanking God for the friends that He had given us and our food.  For the next 2 hours, we laughed and chatted together.  Orchid and I left excited to see how God was connecting our friends to each other, and grateful that He had shown us the openness in Lucy’s heart.

Please pray for:

1. An ever-increasing passion in my team’s hearts for our God and the beautiful people that He has sent us to.   We want to work not just for the sake of completing what we were sent to do, but out of a place of love and purity of heart.
2. Continued energy, health and good sleep for everyone in our city.  Many have been experiencing prolonged sickness and trouble sleeping.
3. That we would see the power of the Holy Spirit move through us as we meet with friends, relate to them, and share Jesus with them.  We want to see healings and have them undeniably experience the touch of His presence.
4. Wisdom in planning, as we have upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas parties.  We will also plan to begin regular “Girls’ Nights” and “Guys’ Nights” for our friends in the upcoming weeks.  It will be a time for us to gather friends in our homes, have fun together, share stories from the Bible with them, and, hopefully, begin to see a hunger in more of them to know our Father.
5. For our friend May, who chose to receive Jesus into her heart last month, but who has been busy and cancelled meeting times with us.  Pray that God would draw her into His presence, and that she would be able to meet with us regularly!

It has been in the 70s and even low 80s here, with no rain for more than a month!  But this will soon change…They are forecasting snow for next week!  Perhaps this will help me feel more connected to you back home as I remember what a New York November is like!

You are in my thoughts often, especially as we begin to prepare for the holiday season. Thank you for your prayers and financial seeds that you are sowing.  You are such an incredible blessing to me.  Nothing that I do here could I do apart from you and your support.  “I always thank my God for every remembrance of you…”  Please let me know if there is anything that I can pray for you about!

In His Love,

Ginger

I wearily sat at a stone table on our campus with a smile on my face, but my eyes were unable to hide the exhaustion I was feeling.  Joining me around the table were my teammates Razzle and Orchid, my sister Firefly, and 4 women who were part of a team from the States that had come to be a help to us.  These women joined us to pray on our campuses, and now they were praying for us.

As they prayed, they commented on how oppressive things felt on the campus, and they wondered how we were able to come here day after day without feeling worn down.  In the moment we heard that, Razzle, Orchid, and I realized that we weren’t crazy or simply feeling tired every day from lack of sleep — war is tiring.  Our friends prayed with us for breakthrough to come on the campus, asked our Father for His joy to be present, and asked Him for vision and strength for us.  Even as we finished praying, the sun broke through the clouds, and we tangibly sensed heaviness lifting.

Since that time praying on the campus last week, the battle has clearly intensified, but with great victories being won!  Our Father has been answering prayer after prayer after prayer to His glory!  Four days ago, as I was sick in bed, Razzle and Orchid shared with our friend, Mei, the story of how He sent His Son for her.  The same day she asked Him to come into her heart, as tears streamed down her face at the realization of His love for her.  That night my team and I had a party at my house, and 26 students came, many of whom we had never met.  We had specifically been asking God to send us new friends that were open to Him and spoke good English, and He connected us with both!

To be fighting on the front lines may be intense, but what we fight for is the most worthy cause: to advance His kingdom on these campuses.

Please pray for:

1. Please pray for our friend Mei, who chose to receive Jesus into her heart!  Pray for wisdom for us in knowing how to help her, and pray that she would seek after Him and be bold and confident in her relationship with Him.
2. A member from another team in our city is leaving to return to America today and will not return.  Please pray for him as he goes, as well as for those of us here as we adjust to his leaving.
3. Please pray for our leadership team here in K-town, as we have had quite an intense week!  One of our leaders had to fly to Bangkok for an emergency appendectomy.  She is doing very well.  I was sick for a couple days and am feeling quite worn down.  I was also experiencing oppression, attacks of fear, confusion, etc. I know that God has been close to us, but we need others to cover us in prayer!
4. We will travel to Hong Kong for a day trip on Wednesday to renew our visas.  Please pray for safe travel, and that the trip would be refreshing rather than tiring.
5. Please pray for my teammates: Razzle, Orchid, Ben, and Leonidus.  Pray for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit for them.  Pray that they would have our Father’s heart for the students that they are reaching out to each day.  Pray for unity as they work together.
6. For continued wisdom for me as I lead my team!

Thank you for your prayers!  It’s been a long time since I’ve been in touch, so I have much to share.  I would love to hear from you, as well.  Please write to me to let me know how I can pray for you!

In His Love,

Ginger

Oliver and our friend Tracy were having a spirited discussion about ancestor worship and Chinese culture. Tracy has been in the family for a few months, but he had obviously been seeking for answers about this subject and was asking Tracy question after question that stumped her. The rest of us jumped in and shared our thoughts as well. The conversation continued with me, Shamgar, Oliver, and Tracy as the other 3 girls went to the market in preparation to cook dinner. We all shared our hearts about who God is, how we should pray to Him, and why we need Him. It became very clear that Oliver just needed to take the step to ask Jesus to be Lord of his life. He believed every word that was spoken!

Shamgar, Sierra and I later sat with Oliver as the other girls were happily cooking up dinner. I couldn’t contain my excitement as I heard Oliver exclaim, “Yes, I’m ready! I want to pray to receive Jesus!” Oliver repeated Shamgar’s words, repenting, receiving God’s forgiveness, and asking Jesus to come into His heart. He then began to pray on his own, “God, thank you so much for all of the people who have told me about you, including Shamgar, Shaggy, Sierra, and Ginger. I know that if it weren’t for them I would be going to hell…”

In that moment I was struck with the reason of why I am here. I now sat next to a man of whom I had just been a part of his choice to step from eternal separation from God to life with Him forever.

“Tracy,” asked Pinky, “Are you ok?”

Tracy said she had caught a cold and thought she had a fever. She didn’t feel well at all, but really wanted to come to our Girls’ Night Bible study this evening. Five other girls had come, four of which were not yet in the family. I felt her forehead. She was burning up and sweat ran down her face. She was pale and could hardly keep her eyes open. Sierra immediately explained that we believe God wants to heal us, and mentioned how our friends had gathered around me and prayed for me a few weeks ago when I was sick.

All of the girls circled around Tracy and laid their hands on her. Every person lifted up a prayer for her, including two girls who had never prayed before. I was amazed by everyone’s immediate response and their concern for Tracy.

The evening went on and we all read and talked about the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. We talked about how the little boy whose 5 loaves and 2 fish Jesus multiplied must have been unselfish to share it. Tracy’s head had been resting on the table. She lifted her head and said that the little boy’s sacrifice of his food and then seeing God provide out of it reminded her of Abraham being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham then saw God provide the sacrifice even as he was faithful to trust and obey God. As she continued sharing, I found myself amazed at the knowledge God has been pouring in to her. We hadn’t shared all of this with her, or at least I didn’t think we had!

After we finished our lesson and chatted in small groups, I looked over and saw Tracy eagerly sharing the Gospel message with our friend Charry. She looked bright and full of life.
Later, as all of the girls were preparing to leave our apartment, I again felt Tracy’s forehead. Her fever was gone. I looked at her as she said goodbye and realized that her checks were full of color. I asked how she felt and she said she felt much better. We hugged each other as we recognized that our Father had healed Tracy even as she testified to Him this evening. Tracy had brought the sacrifice of herself before Him tonight, and He had provided health and His words for her to speak!

I pulled away from my reading and peered out the window to my left. A tall limestone peak stood in the distance, enshrouded by a misty haze and jutting up from the gray-green plain. As we grew closer to our destination, these peaks grew more and more numerous. I marveled at the beauty only a window-pane away, and remembered the words of a famous Chinese poet. The river we were approaching and the surrounding mountains “is like winding blue ribbon secured by hairpins of jade.”

Along with these mountain peaks came the realization of a hope held in my heart for years. I remembered being a young girl and hearing about the fisherman on this river that wore cone-shaped straw hats and used cormorant birds to help them fish from their rafts made of bamboo. I remembered looking at my friends’ pictures of this place almost eight years ago and dreaming that I would someday visit.

It is moments like these in which I realize God has been running a thread through my life, pulling it together, and ordering the steps of my path. He had called me here, even when I was very young, although I was not yet aware. It is moments like these, when I see God’s hand of direction upon my life, that bring me refreshing when I am discouraged and forget why I am here.
During those many days that life in Asia now feels routine to me, I remember the One who called me. I remember that He loves my friends here so much more than I do. I remember that He loves me so much more than I do. And I know that as life continues to stretch before me, that God has secured my path, just like He secured the river with the mountain hairpins of jade. And it is beautiful.