Taking it Easy

These last two weeks since our return from Thailand have been noticeably calmer than our usual weekly routine! While in Thailand, we made a decision to take an intentional break for a short time--mainly at my conviction and mainly in the areas of hostessing others in our home. I'd gotten to the point that although I LOVED all that we were doing and all the people we were having come over on a regular basis, I was also noticing a restlessness inside me if we DIDN'T have our schedule filled to overflowing with people lined up to come to our home. Besides the fact that the hostessing element in and of itself is exhausting and several close friends here were warning me about them seeing impending burn-out on our radar, I also decided that maybe it was time for me to do a little more heart examination about this restlessness I was feeling, and see if I could get to the bottom of what might be the root cause. While I don't feel like I have all the answers after only 2 weeks, I will say that I have been really challenged by what I have seen and what has been revealed--mainly my own pride in thinking that so much of what happens around me and to others around me is dependent on me rather than on Him. I have been challenged to have my faith in Him grow to a whole new level and my control (or desire to control things) diminish. And has it ever! I feel daily the battle of wanting to try to control or manipulate things or circumstances around me, and regularly am reminded of my this being an opportunity to grow in Him.

I also recognized that this area of desiring to have control over things in my life was largely tied to my busy schedule. I do LOVE hostessing and entertaining, but I am also seeing how it is somewhat of a coping mechanism in my life that I use to numb myself to some of the bigger stressors we experience in living overseas. I felt this most poignantly upon our immediate return from Thailand. Each time we leave the country and return, Kevin and I both have what we describe as an "unsettled" feeling; we have a day or two of thinking, "Where am I?", "What am I supposed to be doing again?", "Is this really home?", etc. My immediate response to this unsettled feeling is to jump back into the game with both feet, with schedule out and texts being sent out in rapid succession to line up as many events as we can that are outreach related. This time, due to my intentional "break" from hostessing, I couldn't do that. And I really felt it! I had an anxiousness about me that I couldn't shake for a good 2 days, but thankfully which has gradually decreased over the last week and a half.

So rather than having our usual regular friends and dinner guests over these past two weeks, I've tried to use the evening times to practice being still. My hope is that over these weeks (I have a little less than one more to go before my self-allotted period of "cease hostessing" comes to an end), I will be able to experience within my heart an increased time and degree of stillness. That I will be able to be content just being and not having to be constantly doing (guessing most of you are familiar with the Mary and Martha story....) in order to feel like I am being productive or effective in life.

All that long explanation--quite possibly more than you wanted to hear!--to say that these past few weeks have been slower than the norm at the Joseph household. The kids started back to school right away (the day after we returned from Thailand, the photo showing them all dressed up for China Day) and Kevin and I have each had a week or so of classes ourselves. We celebrated Valentine's day with our dear friends Mr. Rob and Ms. Barbara, eating heart-shaped hamburgers and jello at their house. Kevin preached at our International Fellowship this past Sunday. And the kids have been getting some of their energy out on the new contraption we have hanging in the doorway of our guest room--a bar that has both a swing and trapeze bar attachment that a friend sent for Christmas (you can see Noah on it in the picture). And the highlight of our week--my sister and her husband (and their two boys) have purchased tickets and are planning their trip to China! They come next month and are staying for 3 months, and we couldn't be more excited!

Thailand Adventure

Our family has just returned from two wonderful weeks in Thailand. The first week we spent basking in the sunshine on a remote beach at our family's favorite vacation spot on this side of the globe. We spent days swimming, catching hermit crabs, avoiding tiny jelly fish, fishing at 6am in the morning, hiking in a breath-taking cave in a national park, and feeding fruit to the wild monkeys on Monkey Island. It was fantastic! We had sweet family time, and even got to share it with Lief, Kevin's best friend here in China who came with us for the first 5 days. It was his first time out of the country to such a place, and hearing his take on things was fascinating and eye-opening for Kevin and me. I don't even think of culture shock as being something you would deal with in going from China to tropical paradise--and yet he did for sure! On one of our first days there we drove about 45 minutes to the nearest larger city for dinner, and Lief asked us on the way where all the tall buildings were. We reminded him that there weren't nearly as many people in Thailand as China, so therefore there was no need for the sky scrapers that literally cover the horizon of every Chinese city Lief has ever been to. But the question sure brought our environment into a whole new light for Kevin and I as we tried to experience it all through Lief's eyes!

Our second week was spent meeting with friends, who have become dear to us over the years. We had another great week of getting encouraged and fed, even though the only wild monkeys present at this location were our own kids! It sure filled their tanks to have such sweet time interacting with other ex-pat kids to whom they can really connect with on a deeper level.

Since we've returned, we've been battling our own fair dose of culture shock! We got into the Beijing airport at 2 am after our flight was an hour late, only to discover that our driver just didn't show up to get us (even after Kevin had gotten a texted confirmation from him that day!). No explanation when Kevin called him at 2 am from the airport, just a statement that he was at home in Tianjin--a 3-hour drive away from where we were waiting! With kids literally melting down in exhaustion and a couple new to China along with us, we scrambled to figure out how to get 8 people and all our luggage back to our city. We eventually came up with 2 drivers who liked to smoke, didn't really know the route to get us home, and charged us a small fortune for the incredibly-cramped 3 hour drive they took us on. We DID eventually arrive safely home and crawled in bed at 6:30 am, thankful that our kids too were tired enough to get several hours of sleep in before they were up and at 'em, ready to play with their own toys again after their absence. We had a low-key rest day on Sunday, which was much needed as they all started back to school on Monday.

One other aspect of our culture shock has been the continuing of the Chinese New Year celebration. It is CRAZY here! I only wish I could record the exploding fireworks that are constantly exploding all around us. Last night they started by 6pm and were still continuing when I awakened at about midnight. And not just a few--but literally non-stop. The kids entertained themselves after dinner by running from one widow to another within the apartment to see which display of fireworks at the moment was most eye-catching. Any direction you looked, there were at least half a dozen being set off--and of all varieties. Everything from the loud ones that boom with such force they fairly shake the walls, to the bright exploding colors that shower down all around you. I chuckled as I walked the kids from the bus stop. There, in the open courtyard of our building, was a stand filled with fire extinguishers for public use! I was trying to imagine such unrestricted use of fireworks any where in the US. I also shuddered when I considered what my sister (an ER nurse) had told me about the 4th of July in the US and the number of burn victims that came in on that particular night; I can only imagine with the lack of expertise and the prevalence of their use here that the injuries are much worse and much more common!

In addition to dodging the fire extinguishers and piles of rubbish all over left from the debris of the fireworks, we also were dodging piles of vomit all over the ground. I can only assume that drinking here at this time is also at an all-time high, as the revelry seems to take whatever form is most raucous. Instead of the kids just calling out the common warning of "Watch the poop!" as we made our usual trek to the bus stop, it was coupled with "Watch the throw up!" as well over the last few mornings....Must say there are a few aspects of Thailand that I prefer to China (besides the warm sunshine and clear blue skies!).... :)