May I Ask if You Will Return?
New missionary Xiao Yin’s letters home for four seasons
The willows are green and hanging on the ground, and the poplar flowers are flying in the sky. When all the wicker branches are broken and the flowers fly away, I would like to ask the passers-by if they are returning home? ("Farewell Poem", Sui Dynasty, Anonymous)
spring – Not to lack
When I came to the factory, I was subject to many restrictions due to the epidemic. The first thing to do after the lockdown is lifted is to find a house. I searched for three weeks, found several agents, and visited dozens of places. In addition to the high rent, Muslim landlords believe that kitchens used by non-Muslims are unclean and need to be reorganized after renting out, so they are unwilling to rent them out. I was rejected many times and felt very discouraged.
In the evening at the end of the year, I received a call from an agent saying that a room was available for rent. The location, size, and rent were more than what I asked for. It also came with basic furniture, so you could almost move in with your bags. Xiao Yin and her husband A Yuan signed the contract on the spot after viewing the house.
God always takes action at the last moment. Before the Chinese New Year, I moved into my new house and once again experienced, "The Lord is my shepherd, I will never be in want!"
Follow the Romans
During the epidemic, Xiao Yin met two Muslim ladies. They met while waiting in line, and later invited them to their home for tea. After meeting three times, we revealed that we were Christians and now the two of us are friends who are in regular contact and can talk about faith.
Please pray for us to learn to adapt to the local food, culture, dialects, habits, thoughts, and lifestyles; let us live to learn, be faithful and serve, and become wise and fruitful disciples of Christ.
open day
Open House in late February, ten parents and students participated. Xiao Yin communicates with her parents about class methods, and A Yuan plays board games with her children. Parents here have special respect for teachers, and the younger generation of parents also pay special attention to their children's education. Looking forward to establishing further relationships with them in the future.
What I most hope to see is that the gospel changes lives and improves relationships between families, husbands and wives, and parent-child relationships, but all changes must come from the heart and values. This is why we live here for a long time. Life does not change overnight. Our power is limited and we can only do our duty and do what God wants us to do.
Ask the Lord to help us learn to empathize with our hearts, integrate into the local Muslim community, interact more deeply with the friends and neighbors we already know, and naturally and sincerely care for them.
Ramadan
The month-long Ramadan begins in late March, which is the first time in our lives and the biggest shocking experience in the past six months. Most of my friends are fasting, including girls over 9 years old and boys over 12 years old. At around 3:00 in the morning, my friends got up and started preparing breakfast. They had to finish it before dawn, then do morning prayers before rushing to work. A friend said that Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year; if you follow the etiquette and do good deeds during Ramadan, the effect will be a hundredfold, that is, "deposit one to get a hundred." Therefore, everyone does their best to fast, practice abstinence, chant scriptures and cultivate their mind, worship and pray, follow the rules, and be charitable.
During Ramadan, local friends generally don’t see us very often, so we make arrangements to meet and celebrate after breaking fast. During this period, Ayuan visited several nearby mosques with hundreds of people, and saw many men gathering in the temple to worship, which really opened his eyes.
hospitable
Eid al-Fitr, like the Muslim New Year, is celebrated for three days. Invited to Xiaoyin's first local friend Lili's house. An old-fashioned self-built house, the bedroom/living room/dining room are all in the same space. Lili is a single mother whose financial situation is not sufficient, but she served six dishes of large dishes that day, which was full of sincerity.
The conversation revealed more about Lili’s family. Pray and bless her and her children, and share testimonies. In fact, our marriage has gone through ups and downs, and it was Heavenly Father’s love that rekindled the flames of love! I pray there will be more opportunities to share experiences like this.
summer
Starting in May, Xiaoyin met with her local friend Shasha every week to teach English and build relationships. Three nights a week, Didi, the son of fruit shop owner Arin, comes to his home, and Ayuan teaches him English and math for free.
Weekend English classes have been increased to two classes. Xiao Yin has endless physical strength, energy, vitality and enthusiasm to teach children English and drink tea with female friends. Perhaps due to the warmer weather, or perhaps due to regular exercise and better sleep quality, Ah Yuan is gradually getting stronger and maintains regular contact with local friends.
Metamorphosis
Listening to the Sunday messages recently, many pastors mentioned the transformation of life. Now that we have new life, why are we still controlled by the bad habits of our old self? For us, age cannot be used as an excuse for not studying diligently. If you are not careful, "laziness" often seeps into your goals and actions in life. I left my hometown and got out of my comfort zone, but when I came to the factory, I gradually adapted and established another comfort zone. I should always remind myself not to be content with the status quo and to go out more often.
Looking out the window, catkins are flying, poplar flowers are all over the city, and it seems like fine white snow is floating. You can't see this kind of scenery in my hometown! The poem says: "When the wicker branches are broken and the flowers fly away, I would like to ask the passers-by whether they are returning home." Does this tell us about our situation? No matter what the date of return is, if you have the opportunity to live in a different place, you should thank your Heavenly Father.
Autumn – Interaction in rhythm
Return to learning the rules of life in September. Weekends are the busiest, with two classes, video homework during the week, back-and-forth communication with students, and irregular visits to parents. If students are absent from class, they must find time to make up classes. In fact, I really enjoy going to students’ homes to make up lessons. On the one hand, I get to know their family life, and on the other hand, I chat with their grandparents. In many cases, I even receive warm hospitality!
We visit friends at least once a week. Lao Cha, Lili, and John are among the many local friends who are willing to come to our house for tea and chat. Most of the other friends make appointments outside at teahouses, restaurants, or at their homes. We have known each other for nearly a year, and we already have basic trust. We can be considered some good friends. Not only can we chat about common things, but we can also talk about more in-depth topics.
Sometimes I ask myself, what attracts them? Why should they listen to us? Do we have authority to speak? Deep conversations often arise from closeness and affection for one another. Friends feel our sincerity, and we feel their care.
We love because God first loved us
Student Didi suddenly suffered from leukemia and had to receive chemotherapy twice in the hospital. Not long ago, he went home to recuperate for a week, and we made a special trip to his home to visit him. The 13-year-old boy was supposed to be full of youth, but looking at Didi's pale face, he felt really sad.
That day, Didi’s mother was invited to pray together for the first time. She followed us word by word, praying urgently and tearfully for her son to be healed. We encouraged her with Heavenly Father’s words and hugged each other while weeping.
Didi later returned to the hospital. Please continue to remember him for finding the right bone marrow for transplantation.
abundant life
It’s our anniversary here, let’s mark the past year! Xiao Yin gave it 9 points without thinking, while A Yuan only gave it 7 points. It may be due to altitude sickness and poor sleep that two points were deducted.
The past year seemed like I had lived for three years, made two more years, and had so many experiences that I had never had before: isolation, finding a house, decorating a new home, meeting new friends, adapting to a new environment and culture, taking an overnight train, and exploring Visit the thousand-year-old ancient capital, travel to the desolate desert, experience Ramadan, etc. There are rich experiences, and there are also humble experiences. What I am most grateful for is meeting friends at the right opportunity, receiving their sincere friendship, and having the opportunity to deeply share the good news from heaven.
Knowing that there is still a lot to learn, break through and grow, the encouragement we give ourselves is to live well, live meaningfully, and live gratefully! Let us have a more abundant life in the Lord.
winter – win friendship
The apostle Paul once said that he "becomes all things to all men...for the sake of the gospel, that he may share in the benefits of the gospel."
After arriving at the workshop, the main theme of our lives is winning friendships.
Fruit stall Arin's son is seriously ill, but he is still setting up his stall optimistically in the cold winter. In order to save more money for his son's medical expenses, he took advantage of the winter to sell hot roasted chestnuts. Every time they see us passing by a stall, they always offer fruit and ask us to take a detour to avoid being overwhelmed by the hospitality.
Visit Didi in the hospital and treat his mother to dinner. The three granddaughters of Ali, a grocery store owner, attended English classes. We began to interact frequently with Ali, and we met once a week. The so-called "friendship" is the friendship accumulated over time! A few days ago, A Yuan lost his waist, and Ali Te came to visit him at home and gave him a massage, which moved us very much.
December is a very busy month. I deliberately decorate my home and prepare gifts. I invite friends to my home for dinner, celebrate Christmas together, and share the true meaning of the festival. We cherish every friend we have, share good news with them, and of course sometimes offend them and cause little arguments.
No matter what, be what you want to be. The biggest learning of this year is contextualization, in order to shorten the distance with neighbors. As the saying goes, "The winds are different in a hundred miles, and the customs are different in a thousand miles." Gradually, I came to understand the strong and close connection between the culture and beliefs of this place.
Gratitude, Reflection, Goal Setting
I still remember moving into the house that Heavenly Father prepared for us at the beginning of the year, full of expectations for the unknown. Entering the end of the year is a season of counting graces and a time of reflection.
I agree with what my friend said: "We do not learn from experience, but from the reflection of experience." Days without reflection are like drifting with the tide. In the past year, we set three goals for ourselves: live with gratitude every day; make ten local friends; take a long overnight sleeper train to experience poetry and distance.
Yes, all three goals were achieved!
I recently read a book that mentioned the importance of “setting goals.” A disassembled pyramid is just a pile of scattered stones; a life lived without a goal is just a few scattered years. If you work together to achieve a certain goal, the scattered days will become a real landmark.
Sowing in spring actually starts planning as early as winter. Entering the new year, can we also move from sowing seeds in the new man stage to watering and nurturing, and see the seeds sprout and grow? We set three more goals: reading the Bible together as a couple; inviting others to read together; and taking a casual trip. I look forward to reporting on the progress in my next letter home.
Dear family, make up your mind to set goals and realize your own dreams!