One Month Down!

Walk as a child of the light producing fruit that is good and true. Expose the unfruitful works of darkness, for that which is called to the light becomes visible. “Awake , O sleeper and arise from the dead..” Walk with wisdom making the best of your time. Do not be foolish. Understand His will. Be filled with the spirit. Sing and make melody with all your heart. –Ephe. 5

As I was reading this morning I was hit with these words. Overcome by the truth and power they carry. I have officially been in China for a month and honestly it feels like its been much longer. Not in a bad way by any means, just in a busy trying to find a routine and learn how to live in a new place kind of way. There are still days when I have to remind myself that I am actually here and give myself grace while adjusting to the culture.

Last week as many of you know I was pretty sick. I was a walking mess, with a temperature and some type of germ traveling all throughout my body. BUT now I am feeling much better. I spent most of last week in bed, reading, watching Grey’s Anatomy, sleeping, and pumping Vitamin C. I was able to get back to classes on Thursday and Friday then headed to Wuhan with the rest of my Huangshi team to meet up with everyone from Zong Relations. It was so good to spend time getting to know everyone. We were together all day Saturday sharing our personal journeys to China and how we got to where we are today. It was super powerful and encouraging to see who He is in each person individually. We ate some amazing snack food from America, enjoyed Papa Johns Pizza for dinner and I had a blizzard from DQ for dessert. It was awesome to eat some “normal” food. J Sunday we went to foreign fellowship, which was great. To worship and come together with a body of brothers and sisters felt unreal. (There are more foreigners in Wuhan that meet every Sunday) It is incredible how much you can take for granted the things you’ve always had. After fellowship we went to eat at Aloha Diner, which is a restaurant owned by foreigners and the food is amazing! Needless to say I left way full and completely filled.

Teaching is going well. It is a learning experience to say the least. Classroom management takes on a whole new meaning when you have 60 students who can hardly understand you, all talking at once. There are times when I literally will just laugh because there is nothing else I can do. I am learning how to speak to them and gesture so that they understand (not that I didn’t before, but its way over the top now). I am also learning how to have fun and enjoy what I’m doing, thinking of lessons and ways to get them to become more confident with the language. Some classes feel impossible and 40 minutes seems more like 2 hours and others go really well. Its always an adventure to see which classes will be in what category each day. But seeing their faces and being able to encourage them and love them has taken on a new meaning for me. They truly are precious, and they work so hard for their age. Most of them in school 6 days a week if not 7 sometimes until 8 o’clock at night. Yet for the most part they still are excited to see me and have a desire to learn. I of coarse have a soft spot for some of my more challenging (outgoing) students who like attention and have fun getting them on my side.

Being here I am learning that I sometimes can create a need to be constantly distracted. Finding something to do or somewhere to go or something to fix. Not to mention my sleeping has been off this week from being sick and am now trying to get back to normal. I finally sat down with Dad this morning and realized how little I take time just to listen. I am living by myself for the first time ever, throw that in with the combination of it being in a new place where I don’t know anyone or speak the language and its bound to bring out weaknesses. I am learning so much about who He is in my shortcomings. I have always been a survivor, someone who makes up her mind to commit and fights to see it through. China became that for me last week. Mentally I clicked into survival mode. Between being sick, missing home and dealing with the pain that was surfacing inside I shut down my emotion and told myself I would survive. I would do what it took just to get through until I was okay again. Recently I was hit with the reality of how dangerous that can be. I am a fighter and easily China could become just another adventure to mark down, something that looks great on an application, so that I can say “been there done that”. I realized this when I opened the book I am reading called The Journey of Desire by John Eldredge. Its an incredible book which explains the importance of desire, and passion in our pursuit of the kingdom. I realized that if I continue to do what I’ve always done and “survive” I’m not really living. I am just doing what it takes to protect myself and get by. That’s when I recognized that I don’t want to just survive I want to live. If that means it hurts and its hard at times that’s not up to me but at least I’m living. Excepting that I am weak and not strong enough to really live on my own past trying to “survive”. I want to engage Him with an honest passion, actively pursuing who He is. To awaken the parts of my heart that are asleep, the areas of creativity and desires I have pushed away for so long too afraid to take ownership. I want a passion that’s owned not borrowed, one that drives toward a pursuit of divine beauty. I don’t believe this is just for me. So often many of us become apathetic in what we do and how we live because to be passionate means to take risk and to commit not only your time but your heart into something that could hurt. But as John wirtes “ Nothing is more important than the life of our deep heart. To lose heart is to lose everything.” I pry that this is something that would continue to stir in my heart and in my life. I pry that wherever you are, in whatever you are doing that you would be passionately chasing the dreams and desires He has set before you. That we as a body could be authentic, just the way He made us, to know and understand that He came to die, to set us free so that we may live and abide in His fullness, to understand the story of redemption and to awaken the dead places in our hearts. To choose to live and really be alive.

Please be prying for “William” my wiaban and his family. His wife’s cousin died last Friday and it has been really hard for them. They were very close and his wife is struggling the most. I had a chance to speak with him today and I am amazed at how even though he is “crazy” William and can sometimes be a little much, my heart is softening towards him. He truly has seen me as a daughter and even through what he’s experiencing now he still takes the time to care and check up on me.

It was super sunny today(so rare and SUPER exciting!) so I had a chance to take some great pics while I was walking the lake. I will post them soon!! :)

I am having my internet looked at this week and will update again when I can! I am prying that you would be overflowing with His love and His freedom. I know I say this every time but SERIOUS you have no clue how much your emails and messages mean! Miss you and love you all.

chelsieleighpriest@gmail.com

Hey everyone!! So some sad news, my internet has decided it wants to be difficult. :( For some reason my computer is having a hard time with the schools network so I have been and will be out of internet until who knows when. Luckily some of my teammates have internet and I am able to come by their place to check email and jump online! Things are always a little more complicated when you're in a foreign place I suppose. :)
I wanted to at least stop by and give a quick update and share some photos while I was around the net. EVERYTHING has arrived!! My guitar came in this week on Wednesday, along with our last two beautiful teammates to arrive in our city. It is great to have it back with me especially without having the internet I have been playing until my fingers are purple.
So much has happened but there is not enough time or enough blog space to share it all. I started teaching September 1st and have been going since then! It was rough at first I am not even going to lie but as time has passed through out this week things have been getting much smoother! I really do love it. Most of my classes are really sweet and try hard for me.
I went out exploring earlier this week and found behind my house that there is an awesome path around the lakes in the city, with an incredible view of all of the mountains, it leads to this really beautiful Chinese park. It has become my favorite part of my day. Reminds me just how close He really is.
Being here has really opened me up to feeling more vulnerable and exposed than ever before. Dad has been my best friend, my constant, and I am finding that there are many things in my heart that just keep surfacing. Sometimes its hard but I know it is a good pain. :) I have had a chance to share with some exactly why I am here, which was a gift from Him I know. As I was walking today I saw a little boy with his father on their lunch break ( here everyone takes a lunch break in the middle of the day for two or three hours), the father was teaching his son how to use his sling shot. The son looked determined and was totally focused as hard as he could and when he let go the rock went no where but in front of him and to the ground. The boy looked at his father as if to say " I tried!" and his father looked at him and started laughing, he picked the rock up and stood holding the boys hands in place and showing him again encouraging him to keep trying. I realized I am so much like that boy in Dads hands and how often He must just laugh at me pat me on the head and encourage me to keep on trying until I get it just right, never leaving but always pointing me in the right direction. So good to know that He is more than just something in the distance. He is living and with me.
I want to leave you all with a funny story I wrote down last week after I went to my first official Chinese meal. :) I hope you enjoy and find it just as funny as it was!!
I love you all so much and am grateful for your support and love through all of this. I would be nothing without the other members of the body out there lifting me up and supporting me. I miss you all and home often. Please email me with updates on yourselves and things I can be lifting up for you!! chelsieleighpriest@gmail.com
August 27th 2011

I just ate dinner for the first time with William, the school leaders and other teachers. The Chinese culture is all about food and company. At first I was nervous that it would feel weird to be there. But I agreed to go anyway not really knowing exactly what it was. Then when I arrived at the car I found Williams sister and his nephew. His nephew is quite possibly the cutest child ever. He is 11 years old, his English name is Peter and he did he best to speak with me. I kind of felt like he and I were on the same page walking into the dinner, he maybe a step ahead of me. He held my hand on the streets and walked with me into the restaurant. As silly as it seems I was grateful for his company. I have never seen or been apart of so many toasts in my life. Not to mention when I refused the alcohol I was poured corn juice. Yes, corn juice it is exactly what it sounds like. Needless to say my lesson has been learned. I was stuck toasting all night with the chunks of corn just hanging out. It was gross. I made up my mind I was just going to bare through sipping a little with each toast. On the upper hand the food was great. The food is placed on a round rotating table top and is spun through out the meal. You take what you want into your bowl as it goes. It is all about presentation so it looks beautiful. There were a lot of foreign foods to me and since it was my first time I kind of played it safe. Most of what I tried I liked. At one point I had something that was black and looked like a mushroom but was extremely squishy. I had no clue what I had placed in my mouth and just kept going. (only in hina) Through out the meal they drink and talk and toast. Toasting is their way of supporting, encouraging and boasting about others. They do it often. Everyone toasts everyone. It is a huge part of their culture. I was greeted warmly and everyone came to give me a welcome toast. Then at the very end we all stood for one last toast. I had managed to keep my glass pretty full just sipping a little. I thought I has beat the system. Then I heard the dreadful words, “bottoms up”, which I found out means exactly what it says. It is done for the last toast to end the night. Yep, you guessed it I had to down the almost ¾ glass full of corn juice. I am not going to lie I was prying to get it down. So lesson #1 if you don’t like what your drinking make sure you ask for something else because whether you like it or not you will drink it.

Some photo's of my home pre- decor. :) ( there are more to come I just didnt have enough time to add them all! )