Windows of Heaven

George Mueller (circa 1840) wanted to show God's glory by only praying about financial and material needs for the orphanage he ran.

I (circa 2009) was inspired by good ole George. So instead of prayer letters to raise support for the short-term missions trip to Beijing, I prayed that God would somehow provide. Lo and behold, in the process of buying the apartment in June, I met with an accountant who found an error on my taxes - in my favor. How cool is that?!?! But it's not the end of the story....

There's a verse in Malachi (3:10) that says "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."

I should say here that I learned this verse early in my Christian life and have consistently given financially to my local church and when there is extra to local and overseas organizations. Since that time, I've never been in want and God is so creative to provide. Back to the story, though...

When I arrived back to NY and got the check in the mail from NY State, I was blown away! I shared the story about God's provision at our church's praise time, but got the numbers wrong. The refund was for $5026 -- I thought that was $26 more than what my need was. But when I double checked the numbers, I found that my exepenses were higher than I thought. The check was $317 short. Not quite what I thought, but a great praise all the same.

So when I checked the mail two days later and found something from the Federal government, I was surprised. I was more surprised that it was a refund check for Federal taxes! And even more surprised than that to see that it was for WELL over $317. More like over $12,000.

I'm blown away. He wasn't kidding about those windows.

...and we're back!

Paris, Dublin, and now home in New York city... it's been a great week!

There were many things that were wonderful ~ to name just a few: cafe au lait, chocolat croissant, Jardin des Tuileries, lunch with Marie, Gallerie Lafayette, glass of chilled Sancerre on a warm night, Shakespeare & Co, answered prayer for lost keys, sipping wine in the back garden, lovely weather for a picnic at Stephen's Green, and Jen Paul & Grace.

Enjoying the balmy New York August weather from the lovely new apartment, catching up a bit on email and staring down the stacks of boxes in the bedroom. I hope to win the stare down ... or unpack them this week.

Part 3: Singapore - A truly wonderful surprise!

Kevin & I arrived Singapore late Sunday night. To be honest, I knew precious little about the place before cramming on the plane with the guide book (thanks domad!). Kevin's conference began Monday morning so we made plans to meet for dinner Monday evening. I loved many things about Singapore - it is a tropical island, essentially, with a sophisticated metropolis that has been shaped by many people groups who have been through the city as it's a major trade route. There are influences from the British, French, Chinese, Malay and Indian people to name a few. This appears in the eateries, the shopping, and the architecture. All set on an island with palm trees, orchids and birds of paradise growing along the sidewalks. Such a fascinating place!Monday morning I wandered a bit around the 'Colonial area' and just fell in love with the Raffles Hotel which is plantation white with archways and gardens within its grounds. Wonderfully, the downtown area is only a short cab ride from the 'East Coast' shoreline and it was a great treat to walk barefoot along the beach and in the waves! So refreshing to see God's beauty in creation, the sky and the sea. In the afternoon I walked through the shopping district and was surprised by many malls. Many many malls. Kevin and I met and went to the Chijmes area - it was a convent in the 1800s and, when the sisters moved, it became an area with many restaurants. We had a good dinner of middle Eastern food and then went for ice cream at Raffles Creamery. Perhaps the highlight of the evening was walking by a hotel that was having a Durian Festival. Now, a certain brother is somewhat expert and has spoken on the subject of exotic fruits. Durian, aka 'stinky fruit', falls into this category. You can imagine how excited we were to take photos with the gi-normous plaster durian! And then, a lovely woman eating durian with friends at an outdoor table saw us taking photos and offered us a piece of durian! What a moment! I'd never had it so I tried only a small bite. Sort of like the texture of mango and the flavor of onion. Kevin offered me a second bite. "I'm good, thanks though." It was a fun day, and Singapore a happy surprise of a city!

Part 2: Seoul, Korea

Last Thursday, after a tearful goodbye in Beijing, I flew to Seoul to meet up with brother Kevin & his university friend Eunice. She grew up in Seoul and now visits her folks during the summer - fortunately while we were there! Friday we met up, drove all around, saw an open air market and went to a mountain which has at its top the 'N Seoul Tower'. A healthy hike up to the top, the views were great and we took many many photos. We strolled back down, had a delicious lunch at a fusion restaurant in Eunice's neighborhood and she showed us around, her church, her elementary school, some local shops. We ended our day with a vegetarian 'Buddhist temple food' restaurant for dinner followed by a stroll in the park. Next day, Saturday, we had a late lunch and hopped on the city tour bus, getting off at the historic village Namsangol. We had a late dinner at a restaurant famous for their oysters - and with good reason! Beautiful, delicious and large! It was the first two-bite oyster I'd ever had! Sunday morning Eunice saw us off and we were on our way to Singapore.

Couple of thoughts on Seoul (I was there for about 48 hours, so apply many many grains of salt to the following..)

Coming from Beijing, Seoul seemed really really clean. And orderly and polite. Perhaps it really is, or perhaps it is in my mind when compared to Beijing.

Exchange rates took a minute to get used to. The current rate is about $1 USD to about 1,200 Korean Won. Right. So a cup of coffee may cost you 4,500 Won. Dinner for two? About 36,000 Won. Souvenir magnet? 2,000 Won. The iTouch calculator feature? Priceless.

Stepping off the plane into Korea I knew two words of Korean: yo bosay-o (which is a greeting when you answer the phone) and kim-cheewhich is one of my favorite dishes. Completely my fault for not learning more prior to my trip. So I asked Eunice for some basics.
Thanks = Kam sa Ham nee dah (phonetically)
Hello =ahn Yong Ha say-o
Yes = Neh
No = Anio

Now, I'm no linguist. But these seemed like a lot of syllables. So I asked Eunice, do you ever abbreviate? No, you always say the whole thing. It took a full two days for me to remember all the syllables of KamSaHamNeeDah and make my mouth say it at the right time. For the first 36 hours I was like a happy mute, nodding and smiling because I knew no words!

Three Cities, Three Countries, Seven Days

Tian Jin, Seoul, and Singapore

Part 1: Tian Jin, China
Last Tuesday & Wednesday I traveled with my friend and fellow TIP teammate Karen to Tian Jin. One of her students from last summer, Linda, invited her to visit. Tian Jin is a city of 10million people and a two hour drive from Beijing.
We took the express train though and arrived in under 30 minutes. On Tuesday we walked all over the city with Linda and her husband and on Wednesday Linda, Karen and I visited Linda's parents.
We pretty much ate our way through the city! Linda and her husband were the epitome of hospitality, treating us to many delicious traditional foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Highlights: hotpot dinner with meat (sliced pork, ox stomach, bone marrow,meatballs), vegetables and noodles; breakfast dish that was like a thin omelet, wrapped in a thin pancake with delicious sauce, so that it looked like a burrito of sorts (super yummy); flavored ice, a mountain of ice with some milk in it, and topped with red bean sauce and corn (yep, it's a dessert); pears and peaches picked straight from the trees at Linda's folks' house in the countryside; homemade dumplings and "jar-bing" which is like a bouza but with a thin breadwrapping and fried, all with vegetables, and soooo good!

Among other culinary adventures, Karen & I fixed an 'American breakfast' for Linda and her husband. A trip to the grocery store was very interesting and it was no small miracle that we found baking powder for the pancake recipe.

"Baking powder?" Asked Linda,
"Yes, baking powder... It is... hmm, white, like flour, you put it in when you are baking, and...". Yea...

I think Karen and I were both praying when she was staring at the shelves and said "Baking powder!". And there it was, in English no less, Baking Powder. We got up early to cook so that we could eat with Mr Sung before he went to work. Perhaps most challenging was when we went to toast the bread... No toaster. No problem! We'll use the oven. No oven. Turns out, you *can* use a wok to toast bread. Carefully, though... I burned the first piece or two. Karen was a rock star making the pancakes, adding milk and flour and sugar to counteract the super salty butter (was it salted butter? We may never know...).
All in all the pancakes with peaches, scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast made for a good breakfast. Perhaps my favorite moment of all in Tian Jin was when Linda showed us her mother's prayer room. There was a table acting as an altar, framed pictures of many different gods, incense, and music that sounded like chanting. Her mother found us there and showed us the ritual way she prays, standing, kneeling, prostrated on a cushion before the altar. We said, "May we show you how we pray?" and told yes. We stood, all four, in a circle, held hands, bowed our heads and Karen prayed to Jesus, asking His blessing on China, its people, and Linda and her family, that they may have joy as they know the greatness of His love. Linda translated to Chinese for her mother, and we all said Amen together.