Well we have had another busy week, but a joyful one! Our friend Peggy came to visit from America and shared some wise insights while she was here. Now I have to say Peggy has the energy of an ant... she got up early and powered on all day long. She was selfless - I mean the lady didn't even get to see the Great Wall, and when she was asked to join a group of friends on the evening of our only planned outing, she gladly relinquished her playtime to have a few hours of quality time with new friends. Wow, she really pumped me up and encouraged me with her servant heart.
Peggy taught several English classes while she was here and the students just loved her! She told them all about the beautiful state of Florida and then shared some much needed information about sexual purity, a course she has been teaching as a volunteer in Florida.
We did get to see one small mountain and a village wedding as an alternative to our day trip. Mei Ling Shan is just outside our city so we spent a morning climbing trails, taking pictures of unique structures (like a table and chairs made of rock that resembled a mushroom), and inspecting humongous spider webs with their hosts magnificently standing guard front and center. At the top of the mountain was a giant lake and a beautiful view so we took a few minutes to enjoy the breeze and talked about this and that. Before trekking back to the bottom where our chariot (a Chevy van) waited, we stood as intercessors and joined hearts and hands as we thought about the weeks blessings and those we'd seen and spoken too.
On our way to the mountain we took a "right" turn, although I think our driver would disagree. He didn't exactly know where he was going and after asking directions from a local man took us down a small street where a wedding was taking place. When we saw the old Model T era car we knew we had to get out for a photo op. (Unfortunately all the photos are on Peggy's camera.) After inspection the truck filled with appliances, the baskets containing a live chicken, eggs, a sack of raw meat, and some other goodies, and all the other gifts being brought out to be stuffed into one of the cars that were lining the road, we asked an old lady who it was getting married. Surprisingly she said it was her grandson. They brought out handfuls of wedding candy and sunflower seeds to us and then we were escorted in to see the bride and groom. We gave them a little gift and as we were leaving we blessed them. Another lady standing nearby announced that she was blessed, that she indeed knew the One who gives all blessings. How cool is that - she happened to be the old woman's daughter. I asked her to share all those things with her mom and she agreed. About that time the firecrackers were set off and we were only about 5 feet away. We decided it was definitely time to go and our driver promptly turned the car around to go back the way we'd come. I just love 'right' turns.
The week was full and I was sure glad to be able to sleep pass 6am today, but what a blessing to have such a delightful guest in our home for a week. Now I just need to blog about my 3 weeks with mom and Aunt Merylyn. I figure that'll take a few days so I'll save it for later!
