I’m realizing how close to an end my time in China is and how I can’t even keep up with my own adventures. It’s hard to know what to write about, what to share, and what to keep as sacred moments in my heart. China has been a roller coaster. Some days I count on my calendar how many days I have left and look at all my plans for coming home with excitement. On those particular days I have felt more than ready to move on and embark on my next phase of life. Other days I have been hit by a wave of emotion realizing that I will most likely never see these kids I teach again, and that as much as I miss home, I will be leaving another home behind as well.
I’ve been thinking about what happens on a daily basis in China and have come to a conclusion that my thoughts on my adventures are a sort of a paradox. On an average day, my friends here and I will set off to look for a new adventure. Sometimes they are more planned then others but often they are pretty spontaneous. They are never what we expect but always exciting. Just last week we were looking for a park that apparently didn’t exist and instead found a ginormous international hotel where we waltzed into like we owned the place. We tried to stop at every floor, snuck into the golden emperor club suite, climbed out a window, almost got kicked out, and then found a different park we think was owned by the hotel. We found a cave-like path that led to a beautiful view. At the top of the view point was a small table where sat down and started playing cards. Soon enough we attracted two new friends with broken English who we taught an American card game to. Things like this are really not out of the ordinary for us while in China, but yet they are pretty out of the ordinary.
I am caught between a feeling of thinking that adventure is not that uncommon if we just go out and do something and let the wind lead you, and thinking that maybe adventure really isn’t that common and I’ve just started to view my life in China as the norm. I don’t know if those thoughts even make sense on paper but I think what I want to get at is two different lessons I’ve learned. One, that we should never let a place or a life style become boring to us. China is beautiful and my life is beautiful, but living somewhere for a certain amount of time, it is easy to just get used to the way things are. I want to be able to appreciate daily and take in the life around me, and how beautiful it is, and what a privilege it is to be living where I am living. Along with that, the second thing I’ve learned is that, if things do start to get boring or your life starts feeling average, seek out something new! I think no matter where you are at or what you are doing, there is room to explore. I think adventure is everywhere. So, no, I don’t think you need to go live in a foreign country to have a life full of meaningful adventure, but this experience has definitely made we want to travel more and see the world simply because adventure is everywhere and I want to look for it all around the world.
I also think that traveling is a special way to gain more light as well as spread light far and wide. China truly has been a life changing experience for me. I have decided on a new major, committed to new life goals, and gained spiritual insights that have impacted my beliefs and faith deeply. Being in this land has not only inspired me and lead me to a deeper light, but allowed me to enhance myself in a way that now I have a light to share with the people in China and others that are a part of my life.
My decision to come to china was not like a big revelatory thing I felt I needed to do. It is something I wanted to do so I did it. As I prayed about coming here I knew that God trusted me and would guide me as I went forward. I have a testimony that God has a lot of trust in us and wants us to make our own decisions. As we make them with righteous desires and good intentions, he supports us and helps us along the way. China was my idea but God has not left my side while I have been here. I think sometimes we get caught up on making decisions because we don’t know if it’s “right”. If we just choose a path, things tend to work themselves out. This is not to say there won’t be bumps and detours along the way but I believe they do work out in the end. As we do venture on to a path we will see opportunities pop up in ways we never would have expected. I have come to learn that whatever opportunities come, and whatever we feel is our calling and path in life, God wants us to do whatever will reach the most people. His purpose is for all of his children to return home to him. If we can choose a path that we are passionate about and enjoy, or passion can help lift, encourage, and inspire others to also live a fulfilling life. Living a life like that, with purpose and meaning, is what leads us to a loving god who wants us to succeed and have a fullness of joy.
What are you passionate about? What do you want to do in life? Do it. If you want to go to a foreign country, make it happen. Just start and make your own choices, I know that as we do, God is proud of us and will help us and will provide us with life altering blessings that will light your world and those around you. When we are doing what we love we have more love in our heart and everyone is effected for the better.
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