Friday, September 10, 2004 / Comments (0) / by elizabeth

from my livejournal...

At least we have a nice view from the kitchen...or not. Actually, we have a nice yellow tiled wall in front of our kitchen window. We are learning to just laugh about these things. Anyway, hi from far far away! I hope everything is going well there. Today Ellie and I had our first Chinese lesson...we all know how great I am at other languages. But it was fun. We learned how to order food, so we won't starve. We are in the process of "personalizing" our apartment. It is becoming more and more like home every day. We are also finally catching up on our sleep and getting used to things here. We took our first taxi ride this morning by ourselves...meaning, we didn't have to have a Chinese person talk to the driver first. We are trying to learn independence so we don't have to rely on the people here to do things for us. Today has been a really good day so far. It's becoming more and more obvious that Ellie and I are supposed to be here together...He has definitely molded both of us for this. I have NO idea what I would do without her. Ecc4:9-12 says, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down,his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." This has proven so true the past few days. This afternoon we will be contacting some people we met previously. Talk to the father about this...that He will guide our thoughts, words, and steps. Part of me wonders why I am here...not doubting Him, but amazed and humbled that He chose me. I am so grateful to be here. It's hard, though, and I know that it is going to get harder at times. I am learning desperate dependence on Him only...something I don't fully understand but am sure I will have a better grasp on it when my time here is up. I love you all...the other day I was wondering how in the world you tell someone how much you love them...and realized that you can't. All I know is that I hope I have shown each of you with my actions that I truly love and care about you...and that I am incredibly grateful that you are part of my life. Anyway, enough of that deep mushy stuff! Talk to you soon. e