Country Living in China - Part 8

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Go Back to Part Seven: Eating Chinese Food or Begin with Part One: The Call 

Many things take a lot of getting used to in China. I realized how fortunate I was to live in the city when Sarah decided to take me to the country in October. I asked how long we would be gone and Sarah said a few hours. Actually, it was the bus trip that took a few hours. The trip to the country turned out to be an overnight stay and all I’d taken with me was my purse! Now, that’s traveling light!

While traveling through the Chinese countryside, I was privileged to experience the diversity of Chinese transportation. Interesting? Well let’s just say that vehicles in China tend to leave something to be desired. For instance, it’s not uncommon to find yourself in a vehicle that is somewhat lax in the brake department.  On this trip, the clutch was either out or going out on the bus we rode. Every time the driver moved the clutch there was a shrieking protest before the bus lurched into gear. Not quite as bad as no brakes, but still a bit nerve-wracking. Plus, they don’t have seatbelts. I was sandwiched in between the driver and another passenger. They both needed a bath and after a three-hour bus ride, I needed a bathroom. And all that lurching was not helping.

The community leader (At times it seems as if almost everyone in China is some kind of leader.) met us at the last bus stop and took us to a small, Korean restaurant. Sarah went back to the kitchen with the leader to select food. In a few minutes, she was back. “Is it okay if we eat dog?” she asked. “Uh, sure, just don’t tell me.” I must have been a little green around the gills because she said, “Okay, we won’t eat dog.”

When the meal was served, there was spicy cucumber soup, a fish (Why do they always have to look at ME?), a strange meat whose origin Sarah refused to divulge, duck eggs, tomatoes and eggs, as well as several other dishes. Sarah told me I didn’t eat dog, but….I reserve the right to be skeptical.

I might not have eaten dog on my country journey, but at the leader’s house that first evening, I got to eat one of the most unusual foods I found in China—pig snout. I managed to get it down and keep it there, but avoided second helpings.  Really, Chinese food is very good. Honest.

October 3, the end of my country journey, became the most important date during my stay in China.  As we bounced toward home, I watched the rice fields and the people working in them. The Holy Spirit brought to mind the words of John 4:35, “…look on the fields; for they are white already unto harvest.” At that moment, the Lord filled my heart with such a love for the people of China that I could not stop the tears from spilling down my cheeks. When I went to China, I went because I knew that was where God wanted me, but I did not have any more of a burden for the people of China than I would for anyone in the US. But in the bus that day, God gave me an overwhelming desire to tell the Chinese people about Christ. China’s people became my people.  My heart burns within me to tell China about God and his Son. I love China. With all my heart.

• Matthew 9:36-38 says, “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

• There are 1.3 billion people in China compared to only a few missionaries. “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers…” Is God calling you to go into his harvest?

 

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