Arrival in Nanjing

I went to the grocery store to get an apple.  All I wanted was an apple.  I was successful in finding the produce section, selecting the apple I wanted, standing in line and arriving at the cashier.  But I was unsuccessful in the most important step: purchasing the apple.  Totally unable to comprehend what the cashier was trying to tell me, I decided that maybe she wanted the “Fuji” sticker to know which brand to ring up.  I returned to the produce section and pealed a Fuji sticker off one of the other apples.  Surely this is what she wanted.  No.  I was met with failure and frustration and had to leave the apple at the store as a result of my inability to communicate.  What I know now, but didn’t know at the time, was that in China you have to have your produce weighed by a grocery store worker and receive a sticker with the bar code and price before bringing it up to the register.  Such a simple act as buying an apple became impossible for me.  And in fact, I could recount many more such stories from my daily life here.

My team here in Nanjing has been incredibly welcoming, helpful, and generous to me as the new teammate.  My apartment is the most wonderful little place that I have affectionately named “The Bird’s Nest”, as it sits on the top level of the building and my windows look out into the tops of the trees. (I realized I could also call it “The Penthouse”, but felt that the first title was more appropriate. :))  One of my teammates donated a bike to me – which has been fantastic!  Another teammate gave me his old iPhone 3 to use.  One day, two of my teammates went with me to IKEA to purchase a bunch things for my apartment – which now looks great (if I do say so myself)!  Team members have also already invested meaningful time with me in which we’ve begun to build the basis of strong relationships.  The things I’ve listed here are really just the beginning of their generosity to me.  I could go on, but I’ll just say that I am so thankful.  It’s safe to say that I would barely be functioning at all here if it weren’t for them.  Today I was feeling incompetent in another such situation as the one recounted above, and I was just wondering how in the world the Father was going to use me here in China – a person with the functionality of a five-year-old and the language abilities of a one-year-old.   I thought, “How can I serve anyone else when I can barely take care of myself?”  That was when I listened to this message from John Piper (I did my best to write down what was spoken):

When you just want to throw in the towel, remember – you are helpless.  And you’re appointed to make it happen. It’s a wonderful position to be in. You can’t make it happen and it will only happen through you.  [The Father] doesn’t move around [zapping people with the Truth], He won’t just go over there while you ask: ‘Oh [Father] save my neighbor, save my neighbor.’  Go!!  Because there’s this amazing, thrilling, miracle of supernatural illumination; [The Son] is saying to Paul, ‘I send you to open their eyes.  And only I can open their eyes.  So be the agent of My power.’  We have this treasure in jars of clay in order that the surpassing power might belong to Him!  We’re all clay pots. Our words are never adequate.  You never come away from a [sharing] situation saying, ‘Whoa, I really did it good.’ Never.  You will always be a broken clay pot and there’s design in that. [The Father] wants the glory.  And He’s going to get it… for His power.

This message couldn’t have come at a better time, and it couldn’t have been more planned.  He knows exactly what we need, exactly when we need it, and often doesn’t give it to us until that precise moment.  What a journey of trust our lives are.  What a powerful One we serve.