Day 27

Day 27:

Hey Everyone, this is Phil.  I hope you all are well and enjoying some good fall weather.  It's hard to believe Danielle and I have been on the other side of the globe for almost four weeks.  We have done so much, however it feels like we were just getting off of our plane.  I think my perspective on many thing is starting to change- and may be forever changed.  There was a guy standing outside of Wal-Mart begging for money.  I am definitely willing to give, but I always want an explanation of what these people are doing with my money, so I tend to ask questions in my head before so.  Anyways, I walked by and Danielle said we should give this guy some money.  I again looked at him (I mean seriously, who am I to judge!) and wasn't so sure.  Anyways, Danielle reminded me again that Jesus commands us to give to the poor, and for whatever reason it really hit me this time.  Jesus commands us to give, he does not ask us to give nor does he tell us to ask questions about the person before you give. My wonderful wife also reminded me about birth right papers in this country that many people do not have.  Basically, there are many unidentified people that the government technically doesn't claim their existence.  This guy could very well be absent of these papers and have no choice but to beg for money.  Whatever his reason is, we are to be faithful with what God has given us, and let Him do the judging.

This all reminds me of lyrics in the song, "The Way It Is," by Bruce Hornsby.

"They say hey little boy you can't go
Where the others go
'Cause you don't look like they do
Said hey old man how can you stand
to think that way
Did you really think about it
before you made the rules
He said, Son
That's just the way it is
Some things will never change"

Right now "leaders" in this country are spending countless hours horse trading in closed doors determining who the next people in control will be, without any democracy, any elections, anything.  Many of these people only think of themselves when it comes to the rules that are in place, and some people over here literally cannot buy a job.  Some kids can go where others can't- it's unbelievable that a system like this even exists.

The older I get, the farther and farther I get away from putting my trust in politics.  I encourage you all to vote, express your rights, and enjoy your freedom, but not to put your complete faith in trust in a government.  I think we can find over and over in the scriptures that everything will come and go, rise and fall, start and finish, but the Lord remains the same.

Isaiah 40:8 "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever."

Psalm 20:6-8 "The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of His right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm."

Lastly, I was reading today and I came across this, it might be my new favorite verse in the Bible. I definitely need to apply it to my own life more.  We don't have to retaliate or get others back for their wrongdoings, but instead we can live a life for righteousness.

1 Peter 2:23-24 "When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to Him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and life for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed."





We miss you all more than you could imagine and wish you the best!

Please enjoy a bowl of cereal for Danielle and I! (and every other kind of American food that we are constantly craving!)

and as always.... Go Pack Go!

Danielle found a book store across from our favorite drink shop.  Most of the books seemed pretty legit, although most of the electronic media in town is definitely copied!

I don't think we ever saw this cover to a H.P.  book in the states before!  A lot of texts here have a much different look.

I am always on a mission to find a book that might help me learn Chinese better.  All the texts seem either incredibly difficult or obscure.  Why can't they just have a Chinese language Sparknotes???...Like the ones that helped get me through probably at least 50 pieces of English literature through the years!

Danielle is getting quite well at ordering us two Chocolate-like drinks here!  They always ask us a question once we are done ordering, and we finally figured out that they are asking us if we want cool whip on our drinks!

Danielle has been talking non stop about finding Bold Chex Mix and to her surprise (and mine!) we found some in this  city for roughly $7 US Dollars a bag! 

These boxes of cereal are actually quite small, probably two bowls worth if I'm doing the eating, and cost close to ten bucks a box!

I always loved Gushers when I was a kid, but again probably out of my price range for what I'm going to pay for them!

We were driving to downtown on our mo-ped, and Danielle out of the corner of her eye spotted a sign for Walmart.  We got there and convinced ourselves that it was just a distribution center, only to run into a friend of ours who took us down three streets every which way which took us to the entrance!

There's always a KFC or a Mc Donald's by these stores it seems!

Check out these rolling baskets!

I spotted these sleeping dudes.  They were out cold, so I told Danielle to take a picture of them! You never know what your going to see!

Ha, the checkout people are probably thinking, "Typical Americans" while everyone else is buying fish or chicken heads.  We usually don't get many treats here, but Gatorade is a staple in our diet!

This store was probably five stories worth of dong xi (stuff). The store was completely unorganized, it smelled like a billion different things, and the higher you went, the hotter it got.  We had to leave it was so warm and humid in the store!

That's me on the far right with the helmet, doing my typical daily navigating through the crowds!

This is what you would call smooth flowing traffic!

This picture does not do this situation justice!  We were in the middle of probably 100 various bikes, cars, people, you name it.  It's a wonder anyone ever gets through!

Is that Edward?!

Not quite! But he said to say hello to Edward and KuJo for him!