Reflections in the Rear View Mirror

From Stefan:

Two Years in the Mirror

Two years. A drop in the proverbial bucket. But, nonetheless, long enough for one’s life to be changed irreversibly. Sometimes the changes are obvious and breathtaking sometimes they are subtle and slight. August marks the two year anniversary of our arrival in China and as I think back across these past two years I am struck by all that has transpired and all that we have learned. Its hard to summarize what the past two-years have been like, but I’ll try by sharing of few of the things we have learned while doing life here in this foreign land.

Learning to say, “See you later!”

For anyone who has ever moved far from home or who has had a loved one move far away, the loss of people you care about leaves a mark. That is one of the first experiences that comes to mind when I think about the past two years. Longing to see loved ones. The feelings of hot tears on my face and shoulders and the painful lingering just before going through security at the airport are still with me. But, God is faithful, and through it we’ve learned on a more real level than ever before the truth that for those of us who are together in Christ, there is no “goodbye”, only “see you later.”

             

              Honoring God and Honoring People

Sometimes as a teacher it’s easy to question if you are
making a difference or if anything you are saying is
making it through to your students. But, over the past two years I’ve had the privilege of experiencing the joy of watch timid students grow in confidence, struggling students nail that tricky pronunciation, or obstinate students become cooperative . These may seem small, but for me, moments like these have made teaching worth it and have forced me to reconsider what things are important in life. In the process, I’ve rediscovered that honoring God and other people remain the two most important things we can do in our short lives, even if its just through listening intently as my students
share their heart and thoughts.

Speaking the Heart Language

Language is the backbone of human interaction. From the time our plane first touched down in Beijing until the time we started learning language this past year, we were like small children who could only communicate through gestures and grunts. This unmistakably branded us (if our white skin and light hair didn’t already) “outsiders.” Learning language for the past year has opened up China to us in ways that we could have never imagined and we’ve witnessed first hand the amazing humanizing effect that learning a people’s heart language has on relationships. When we speak we are no longer just “foreigners” to them and when they speak they are no longer just “Chinese” to us. We are all at times strangers, friends, and with some even family.

           

Understanding the Meaning of “Helper”

Being willing to rely on other people for help has never
been a strong suit of mine. I like to think of myself as a
pretty independent and self-controlled guy. The reality though is that sometimes both Sarah and I  need help and that God has provided us with each other for that purpose. When we first moved to China, our world changed dramatically. We went from spending most of our time apart, between my job and her studies, to spending most of our time together, prepping lessons together at home and teaching in the same building. At first, that created some tension, but over the past two years we’ve grown to love the time we have together. Being a helper sometimes means literally helping each other plan tomorrow’s lessons and sometimes it means keeping the other spouse from throwing a flower pot out the window at the honking car below our apartment window. Marriage is more than a contract. It’s a covenant
defined by service.

More to Come

With two years in the rear-view mirror it’s impossible to know how long our lives in China will continue, but we do continue to look forward to the future with open hearts. And, I’m satisfied with what the Lord has taught us through these two years. He has never left us in our moments of sadness, fear of failure, or frustration. He has taught us something through each of them and I look forward to all the ways He plans to mold and transform us further as we continue our lives in this foreign land.