Ingenuity

I grew up being taught stories and seeing black and white movies of people like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and later, Audie Murphy (WW2 hero) who all had something they put to work. Ingenuity. They had an idea, developed it, worked hard, very hard, made mistakes, but kept going - eventually overcoming obstacles to reach their goals. Back then we called it, "The American Way."

On this side of the planet, China, I am seeing these same attributes at work; average people, going about their work and bringing to the surface that wonderful ingredient - Ingenuity. They don't expect someone else to do their work. They do not seem to complain about the lack of power tools, safety equipment, or long hours. They simply seem glad to work and take pride in it.

My wife, Debbie, called me to tell me that she was startled to suddenly see a man outside her office, about six floors up, sitting on a little board with a single rope - being lowered down the side of the building to paint. He had no major safety equipment; just a board with a rope pushed through a hole in the middle of it which he straddled. He had a paint can, brush, and someone above to lower him, and one below who would fill his bucket when he lowered it by another smaller rope. Ingenuity.

I know, I know, what if he fell? What if he spilled the paint? What if, what if, ...but he didn't. He took responsibility for himself and his work and got the job done. Is that being too hard on someone? Maybe - but maybe not.

A man came to my door, this morning who had been hired to build two sliding screen doors for our townhouse balcony doors. I realized that this man had not only built these personally, but had then built a small framework to carry them on his only means of transportation - his bicycle. He had two full-size, well-made screen doors, all the frame work, a sack with his electric drill, hack saw, and screws attached to his bike. And this wasn't a ten speed - just a normal Chinese bicycle like we see thousands of people using every day in Shanghai.

He came to work. He did a fantastic job. Seriously, what wonderful, solid screen doors. They work perfectly - and look great.

The American Way? I wish that were true all over America - but I'm concerned that some expect far less from themselves. "MORE MONEY- MORE TIME OFF - LESS WORK HOURS - MORE BENEFITS - I DESERVE THEM, I WANT THEM, AND YOU NEED TO HAND THEM TO ME."

I'm not saying everyone thinks like that - but let's face it. We've changed as a nation, haven't we?

I used to hear about how cruel and terrible other countries sometimes were to their people, and that ours was the best way, the way that brought out the best in people. I've seen the news, too, that says that there are countries that ARE cruel to their citizens. And I am proud to be an American. I love my country.

But what I'm realizing is that even in the midst of cruel regimes in the history of the world, people still had the choice to rise above it - to work hard - to be creative - to take pride in a job well done. In fact, they had to make that choice every day. It was true for the Jews under the Roman Empires' rule, and it's true for wherever people live on the planet. We choose how we will respond to life.

Detrick Boenhoffer, who was a Christian imprisoned during WW2 for helping the Jewish people, described being brought to a concentration camp, being stripped of all his clothes, having his wedding ring yanked off his hand. His family had been killed or imprisoned. He had no idea how long he would be alive. But in the midst of that situation, he formulatedwhat would be a great resolve in his life - He said, "You can arrest me and take me to a prison. You can strip me of all my clothes so that I am naked, you can beat me without mercy, but there is one thing you can never take fron me - the freedom to choose how I will respond to what you do to me."

Some might say, "Why go out of your way if you have to live in a country that isn't like ours?" OR "Why work hard if I'm not going to get top dollar for my work?"

That kind of thinking may well cause the downfall of all that we hold dear as a nation. I am hoping - I am praying for a rekindling the American Way - of ingenuity and honest labor for the pure sake of pride in workmanship.

We have a tree in our front yard. Everyday, two women come down every lane in our complex with hand-made brooms, to sweep up the leaves that have fallen on the walkway the day before. They are friendly, talk as they go about their task, but seem to have a single mindedness about getting the job done. Think of that - everyday - sweeping the walk and lane to keep the leaves off of it! Some might say, "Why bother - the leaves will keep falling?" But they just go about their jobs every day - every day making certain the leaves are picked up and thrown away.

Ingenuity - Hard work - Pride in one's self.

The (American?) Way.

Night Mosaic

Taxi's hurry by the main entrance to our apartment. Many nights, Debbie and I stand on our living room balcony on the 7th floor and look at the street below and the main gate - which is never closed.

From my office window in our spare bedroom on Hongqiao Road, the view at night overlooks postage stamp windows of light, each representing a family, a story, a life. I even speculated about one for a writing contest I entered - the results of which I haven't heard.




We are moving today to a townhouse down the street and which is on the first two floors. It sits about a half mile back from the Hongqiao Road. No taxi horns to hear. No construction sounds. A guard stops every pedestrian, every vehicle from entering without getting his approval. A much more quiet, gentler place reminding me of something that might be found in the deep south of the United States.

Why move? More room for entertaining new friends, and far less dust. The dust from the construction sites around our apartment coated everything, causing us to have to clean constantly just to keep up with it. My laptop keys often felt gritty, which is bad thing in the world of computers.

The townhouse will have little of that. Lovely trees planted in every yard, side-by-side, form an umbrella over our new place. My office will be on the second floor overlooking . . . leaves.

Bigger, cleaner, nicer, and certainly more quiet but, I hope, not boring.

I must admit that I'm going to miss the view from the busy street called, Hongqiao Lu. But to be in the middle of life, you have to be willing to put up with the dirt that comes with it. That's the "life lesson" I'm getting from this move. Touching people with the love of Jesus means putting up with the dust, noise and progress of the construction that is taking place. Initially, it may not be pleasant. But the end result will be beautiful and worth it.

Symbols

The Ching Ming Festival (Pure Brightness Festival) or "Tomb Sweeping Day" is a national holiday in China which brings families to the graves of departed loved ones to clean the grave sites and honor their memory.

































































Families leave symbols of those things that the dead enjoyed when they were alive and by which they are remembered. For instance, if someone liked tea, the relatives would drink tea at the grave, smoke a cigarette, etc. If the dead were remembered for how hard they worked to make money, then fake money is purchased and burned so that the dead can have funds in the next life.

It begs the questions: "By what will I be remembered?"

Within a few days of Tomb Sweeping Day begins several Blossom Festivals which mark the growth of crops of flowers such as the beautiful pink Peach tree blossoms and the bright yellow Rapeseed plants from which are harvested beans which make a vegetable oil for cooking and the plant itself is used for livestock food. Canadian farmers created a low acid variety called, "Canola Oil." Debbie and I traveled with some friends to two major blossom festivals in the countryside. We also stopped by the boyhood home of one of our new Chinese friends, and the bright yellow Rapeseed plants can be seen growing not only in fields but along one of the ancient canals directly beside his home.

The fact that following the day of remembering the dead are festivals to celebrate the blossoms of spring is not lost on my soul.

Easter Sunday marks a day of remembering the life and death of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God. By what symbols is He remembered? The cross - for his death; and the empty grave - for His resurrection. These symbols were not for Him, but for us. His death was for the price of our sins and the empty tomb, the victory offered to anyone who would surrender to Him as Lord of their lives.

The Girl In the Window

This story is based on real interviews and observations of people in Shanghai. Names have been changed and the photos are not the characters of this short piece of fiction. Life in China is not easy for most. It is improving, though. Hard work is required and expected. No one expects to be handed something for nothing. There was a day, not that long ago when those who came to the new land of America also knew that if they were going to make it - even survive - it would take hard work and creativity.

Annchi was doing the laundry when she got the call from her husband, Li, that he would have to work most of the night. The spring weather brought sunshine, but that also meant more people chose to walk. Li would now watch carefully for workers leaving their offices. The wealthy foreigners from the United States or England always paid a little more than the fare. Yes, he would keep his eyes moving for the wave of their hands toward his taxi. Later, in the early morning hours, he would drive past the more famous bars and music clubs where, perhaps, tonight, a tourist would stagger to the curb for a ride with him. Li would work all night, if need be, and nap in his taxi. Money was scarce and the cost of living in this huge city, expensive.

Annchi leaned on the windowsill, taking a moment from her labor to talk with Li. If only she could do something to make his work a little easier. Together they had dreamed wonderful dreams when they first fell in love in high school. But now, even after ten years in the military, Li faced the harsh reality that employment options for a civilian had diminished due to the economic downturns in Shanghai.

Tonight, Annchi would only have the company of their six-year old son, Wen. With that thought, she glanced toward the pavement below her second-story window and the sound of his familiar laughter. The clothes would not wash themselves, she thought to herself, but for a moment longer, she watched Wen playing with the wooden top his grandfather gave him when last he visited from Mongolia.

In Search of God

Longhua Pagoda is the one of the oldest pagodas in Shanghai. That's amazing in itself, I'm sure, but when you realize that it was first built in 242 A.D. and has stood on this site ever since, then it gets VERY amazing! It was completely renovated in 977 A.D. when the Buddhist Temple was built, but since then has only had repairs to replace rotting wood.

There are 16 pagodas in Shanghai, many of which, were built during late 900's.






The entrance gate to the Longhua Buddhist Temple complex - across this walkway from the Pagoda.

We paid our 10 RMB to enter, and found folks who were lighting incense sticks and bowing as a way of honoring the various "gods" who are enshrined here.


I don't say that with dishonor in mind. Quite the contrary. I say it to describe the beginning of their rituals.

One of these gods is suppose to be particularly good at getting souls out of Hell, one is good at helping people financially, one is more for health issues, and one a god of war. There were people occassionally kneeling at all four locations.

These buildings and rituals were very interesting and outside of my previous observation. However, I did walk away from this visit with the reminder of how deeply people try to look for the Creator, the Maker of all things. They also look for answers for how to deal with the eternal question of life after death.

In a discussion we had in a cell group of people who were studying their Bible beliefs and how to share them, one person remarked that it is through logic and answers to questions that help people become interested in knowing Jesus. Another said that it was heart or emotional issues that often help to open people to meeting Jesus.

I think both have their place. However, when faced with the eternal question of life after death, and the reality of a living Christ, I have found that Jesus is very good about making Himself revealed in a person's life who is looking. The Holy Spirit moves in ways that are beyond logic and/or pure emotion. If we express the Love of Christ by our words and actions combined - the seed is planted.

The Word of God - the Bible - indicates that we are to be faithful witnesses of the presence and reality of the risen Savior, Jesus. We can be certain of this fact: if we plant the good seed of the Word of God, and water it with prayer, God will make certain that life that is in the seed WILL GROW! It will produce a harvest.

One of the claims to fame of the Longua temple is the legend that says that some of the ashes of the original Buddah were placed in it.

Our faith, our core belief, is that Christ's tomb was empty, the stone having been rolled away supernaturally. He lives!

And because He live - I, too, can and shall live forever with Him in heaven. Yes?

In Honor of Piper and Riley

from the poem, "Baby Feet" by Edgar Guest

Little feet, so rich with charm,
May you never come to harm.
As I bend and proudly blow
Laughter out of every toe,
This pray, that God above
Shall protect you with His love,
And shall guide those little feet
Safely down life’s broader street

When the Dancing Stopped

A factory authorized repairman came to look at our dancing washing machine. He opened the back, removed three hard blocks of plastic, and handed us a bill for repairs. The machine was not meant to operate with the shipping blocks in place. They were only meant to keep the drum from getting damaged during delivery. The people that installed the washing machine didn't know to look for something inside that kept it from operating properly.

We've had hundreds of people view our video on YouTube showing our washing machine jumping, dancing and I'm sure, making the neighbors below us wonder what in the world all the noise was about.

Here's my take on it - when there's something inside that shouldn't be - life doesn't go well.