“Our father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains”Just a taste of home has made me consider the gifts and blessings that I have taken for granted for so many years: good home-cooking, friends & family, easy transportation, great fellowship, Monday Night Football, hot water from the tap, and toilets with water in them! We have been blessed with so many great gifts, but sometimes I wonder if we spend too much time focused on the gifts and not enough time focused on the Giver. Do we pursue the “blessings,” or do we pursue the Father?
An anonymous gift is never quite as sweet; we always want to know who to thank. The same is true of our Father. The blessings of life are never as sweet if we don’t know who is responsible for those blessings.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Why we are grateful this week:
1) This past week was extremely refreshing for Jessie and me. On Monday I had the opportunity to catch up with friends as we watched Monday Night Football. On Tuesday, we had dinner with one of my cousins, and Jessie got to see her doctor in Frederick. On Wednesday we had Thanksgiving dinner at Jessie’s parents’ home with my parents and her brother and sisters. Afterwards, we exchanged Christmas gifts, and then hurried to bed for 3 hours of sleep before we woke up and went the Dulles International Airport Thursday morning.
2) Our return flight to China was okay. We made our connection in San Francisco, and landed in Beijing on Friday afternoon at about 4:30pm. The turbulence didn’t help Jessie’s nausea, and she was sick the entire time. But we made it in one piece, and we were happy to see Tony’s friendly face when we landed.
3) For the Thanksgiving weekend the entire IECS team visited Langfang. We slept in Saturday morning, and around noon we played a game of flag football. After the game we all prepared different parts the meal, and 16 of us squeezed into our apartment for an amazing Thanksgiving feast!
4) On Sunday, it was great to spend the morning with the entire team as Newt taught and shared some words of encouragement. We really cherished this time since it is rare that we have the opportunity to meet as a large group.
Please continue to “think” about us:
1) Please keep Jessie’s health in your thoughts. She is still dealing with nausea. It has been difficult for her to eat consistently.
2) Tomorrow will be our third and final English club on the main Campus. Our “run-on” play will come to a conclusion, and Jessie will be speaking about the topic of “love.” We will go to the Western Campus on December 12th for their final English Club.
All in His name,
Brad
