The volunteering team who went to Sichuan earlier shared their experience during fellowship tonight.  I hardly spoke a word as I was very attentive in hearing their heart-warming experiences.  I couldn’t help but recall the summer of 2008…

I remember that summer vividly.  I was doing my thesis and defense that summer, and two major events happened during that course of time – the Sichuan earthquake and the Beijing Olympics.  I was very saddened by the first and felt rather proud of the latter.  I didn’t feel so strongly about my Chinese identity before that summer of 2008.  For some reason, I felt that was a sign that God was telling me to return to my root, my family, my country.

I can still vividly remember the one time I had lunch with my research colleagues that summer, one of them was from Mainland and he told us how devastating it must be for the parents who had lost their child in the earthquake, because most people are only allowed to have only 1 child in the household due to the 1-child policy.  I’m not sure what got into me that time as I suddenly told them that I wanted to teach kids in the orphanage how to draw.  I said “sudden” because that thought never occurred to me prior to that lunch.  That thought sounded right at that time, and I still think that would be something I want to try to do someday when I’m older and more qualified to teach.

The sharing during fellowship tonight brought me back to the summer of 2008, I was so full of dreams and hope before returning to the city I was born.  I felt that God had big plans for me, He had blessed me so much that it was about time that I return the favor and use the gifts He had given me for His works.  That sense of purpose seemed to have faded after returning to this city for about 3 years, but was rekindled a little bit after tonight’s fellowship.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,  “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”(Jeremiah 29:11).