And so, we left very early this morning. Harriet and I stayed up late talking, so we are both a little more tired than usual. Traffic was heavy within Shenzhen due to the festival, but then it cleared up greatly once we started traveling in her husband's car to the beach. We had to take a bus for about an hour to meet him first though. He was a super driver!! He drove so slowly and gently in his extremely nice and comfortable car. I was very thankful because it is not often that I ride in comfort around here, but that is okay.
Penny's husband is a member of the Communist Party and somehow also tied to the government. Perhaps it is because of his job; he works as a Chief Civil Engineer designing and actually constructing the buildings built locally but not exclusively nearby Shenzhen. He is also a fan of history and geography, and thus, we had much to talk about. Papa put it on my heart to talk with him much but to be very careful about what I said and to especially not offend or upset/embarrass him. And so, I obeyed Papa. (Daddy, you can celebrate this is you want. I am sure that it probably makes you feel better knowing that I listened to wisdom.) Her husband and I definitely disagreed about some things, but I chose not to really discuss or share the things that I disagreed with him on. I knew that I didn't need to argue with him and that that would be especially bad in this situation.
Harriet and Penny sat next to each other, and they got to talk a bunch too. Harriet was very helpful for both Penny, her husband, and I in regards to communication. Penny's husband didn't communicate with me in English (though he may know some), and Penny didn't say much to me in English because she is still learning a lot. Thus, without Harriet the conversations about geography and such mentioned above could have never happened. I think it was also personally satisfying for Harriet to be able to talk with Penny one-on-one as well.
Well, as all of this talking is happening we are driving from the city to the sea. As we traveled, Penny's husband shared with me some about the little towns that we passed through. They are mostly places of industry but are very rural. We passed through a lot of farm land, and the rice is close to harvest time there. That makes it look especially green. It was soooooooooooooooooooo incredibly beautiful!!! I think since I first ever saw the Chinese countryside six years ago that I have always been in love with it. It is simply that rustic and lovely to me and part of me yearns to live there one day!
I know that today I was given a very grace-filled and joyful day! I felt like such a kid at the beach. The beach had hot, white sand, rocks just off shore and some big ones on shore, and beautiful blue-green water with white-crested waves. Simple, Chinese tugboats drove by off shore contrasting the vibrant and astoundingly beautiful huge white clouds set in a perfectly sky-blue sky. We didn't stay there long, and that was good because of one part of the holiday's tradition that I didn't want to be around for. Then, we continued on to go eat yummy seafood. (If you want to know what I ate, read the Chinese food page on a different part of this blog a little later please.)
The wonderful gift of a day continued on with this hour-long or so ride through the Chinese countryside to get back to Penny's husband's office. Aside from the beach, I think this countryside drive may have been my most enjoyable part of the journey. My Papa made these places incredibly (to put it lightly) beautiful! I delighted from my heart in seeing the incredible creation and knowing that it was by His strong hands that all of it was made for His glory. I rode through paths with both lush green mountains AND strong, bare, rocky mountains. It is astounding to me how both can exist side by side here. There were little, bright flowers just off the roadside most of the way too. It was so enjoyable, and I thought a lot about how I wished all of you my friends could be with me on this ride. My camera's batteries were dead so the only pictures I have of the trip are on Penny's son's camera phone. He's going to send them to Harriet and I. Hooray!!!
Penny's husband had to stay in his office for a government meeting, so he couldn't drive us back to Shenzhen (SZ). He asked a friend to drive us back, and so, onward to SZ we went. When we arrived back there, Penny wanted us to go out to eat at a nice restaurant. This is the Chinese way of showing deep friendship and hospitality. It is hard for me to get used to this aspect of the culture as I don't care at all if I simply go eat a three RMB meal, but Chinese people especially those who want to be your very close friend and think that they are your very close friend would NEVER EVER take you for such a simple and cheap meal!!! To them, if they did that, it would be a most terrible insult to you! And so, we had another very nice meal.
Tonight after dinner I went shopping with Harriet to get a few necessary things, and when we came out there was this maybe three year old Chinese boy playing with a pink balloon. He was hitting it in the air and it came near me so I hit it back to him and played with him for a little longer. He really enjoyed it and came after me with the balloon when I walked away wanting me to play with him more. It was such a simple, childhood game, and it and he were so cute! Playing with him helped me to continue to feel like a little kid even longer and enjoy this amazing gift of a day a little bit longer.
I know am posting this several days after Dragon Boat Day, but I wish to wish all of you a Happy Belated Dragon Boat Day! Please continue to pr for Penny and her family so that they can be a part of the family that means the most to be a part of!
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