China Update

We’re here! I’m actually in China!

I’m sitting in the kitchen of Samaritan House on the Shepherd’s Field campus trying to sit and blog along with a few of my friends, and I’m at a loss for what exactly to write about. There’s been so much happening in the last few days, all of which works together in some way but also feels like different experiences. So here’s my attempt at an update from across the world.

The Flight

I hate sitting still, so a 13 hour flight was daunting. I now know that I can survive, and it actually isn’t all that bad. Nothing really has been quite as bad as I expected it to be like even jet lag was pretty easy to handle, and I am now happily on a Chinese schedule.

The only thing that is as bad as I thought it would be is the humidity. Soon as we stepped out of the airport, the air crushed us with density, heat, and a lot of rough smells. I don’t think I’m going to ever adjust to the humidity, but I am handling it.

Shepherd’s Field

Shepherd’s Field is a home for special needs orphans. Or at least it was.

They have a 7 acre property an hour out of Beijing, in the Tianjin region that they bought for the equivalent of about 12 cents over 12 years ago. They opened their doors in 2006. Up until last year, they housed special needs children and provided surgeries, therapy, and education to these kids. They even had over 900 kids adopted.

Things changed last year with some new laws from the Chinese government. All orphans had to return to their home province so most of the children could not stay on the Shepherd’s Field campus.

The Lord works in mysterious ways however, and the leaders at Shepherd’s Field found new ways to help. Leaders went around to orphanages and continued to provide surgeries for kids in need. They’ve also hosted some camps on their campus and help families with special needs kids to get care.

Their most recent endeavor is now in conjunction with the Tianjin orphanage, because they are still allowed to work with that one. They are getting ready to bring in multiple teenage, special needs girls. After the age of 14, kids cannot get adopted in China, so Shepherd’s Field is going to take in these girls and work with them so that they can get vocational training and have home.

We are blessed to be here at a time where we get to help the leaders at Shepherd’s Field prepare for the girls’ arrival, so they can get in as soon as possible. We are remodeling rooms, putting together furniture, moving basically everything, doing yard work, and just sweating more than I thought possible. It’s been awesome!

I couldn’t encourage any of you enough to look into this amazing organization’s ministry. They are always open to volunteers coming to help. They have a guest/volunteer house and amazing food right across the street.

End note

I’m hoping to throw some pictures up soon, but it may not be until I’m out of China and able to get most of the pictures off of my camera. I’ll also hopefully get my post up about the Great Wall and more of the recent adventures soon!

-Payton

Reese’s Passages

So here’s a little add on that might appear in random posts. This is a message from my friend Reese who popped into the kitchen for a bit while I was writing. Reese is one of my stranger friends in a lot of regards, and I didn’t guess that this was what I was gonna get out of him when I asked him if he wanted to write. I hope you find it as encouraging as I do!

Hey Friends! My name is Reese, and this is the first installment of “Reese’s Passages”. These passages will be filled, hopefully, with a piece of wisdom. Today’s wisdom is about avoiding pride in our ministry. I am often guilty of trying to do more than God has planned on me doing, in the effort of serving Him. My intentions are pure, but I get in the way of what God is truly trying to do it seems. The point is that we need to remember it is God doing the work through us and not us converting or changing people. We are a lighthouse God will work through so the Holy Spirit can appeal to those we are targeting.