“But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Father, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the prophet told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.”
How often do we complicate the grace of our Father with our own expectations? So often we want to be healed from all the pains in our lives, but we want it on our own terms, conditions, and cost. The beauty of our Father is the simplicity of his grace. All of the terms and conditions of grace have already been fulfilled. The cost is paid! All that is left for us is total surrender to the simplicity of his grace.
We are grateful this week:
1. This has been an exciting week for us. We have two new family members, one in Baoding, and the other in Langfang!
2. On Tuesday we went to Beijing for another baby check-up. It was the quickest appointment yet! We were in and out in an hour. The baby is healthy, Jess is healthy, and we can't wait for the end of June!
3. We spent the early part of the week calling our family to tell them that we have decided on a name for our child: Naomi Faith Distad.
4. On Saturday night we ate asparagus for the first time in the least two years. It is amazing what you will be grateful for when you have lived in China for the better part of two years!
5. We had our final English Club on the Western Campus last Friday. It was amazing; even though many students had an exam on Saturday morning, the room was packed. I will try to post a video as soon as possible, but youtube.com has not been accessible in China for the past few weeks.
Please think about us:
1. Next Friday night we will travel to Beijing to spend the night in a hotel before running the North Face 40K on Saturday morning. A few students will come with us, and many of the other IECS teachers will also be coming to run the 10K. It should be a fun couple days as we travel and run together.
2. Jess' father had back surgery this week and although it took longer than the doctors predicted, it went well. He is home now and trying to enjoy the time away from work.
3. During the third week in May we will have our annual English week! About 13 teachers will come from the States, led by Newt and Claire Hetrick. We are very excited about English week! Please continue to “think” about it as the final details get sorted out in the upcoming weeks.
4. Naomi's next baby check-up is Tuesday April 28th.
Living outside the boat,
Brad
