Back At It Again...
A few days ago, I took yet another plane ride back to China. For those of you who don’t know, the trip from Chicago to Shanghai takes about 14.5 hours. So, I had plenty of time to reflect. I can’t believe that I am going back to China for a fourth year. It really doesn’t feel as if it’s been that long. The past three years have been amazing. I really believe that it is what God designed me to do. The adventure and fulfillment that I’ve felt in these recent years completely shadows the six years of job-hopping and searching that I did before I came here.
I am so excited that I will be reunited with the thirty students in the study abroad program tomorrow. I’ve only been back for three days, but I start teaching on Monday. I suspect that the energy and excitement in my classes will be more than enough to combat the jetlag that woke me up at 3am today.
In just one more month, I’ll be meeting the next sophomore class; there will be around 800 new students. I love to teach them. They are always so curious about foreigners and always have hundreds of questions.
I’m also so glad to see my friends and co-workers again. Although I’ve only been gone for a month, it feels like it has been longer.
I am happy to be back, but at the same time I really miss home. It is such a strange thing to live in two places. Whichever place I happen to be in, I am able to be fully focused and dialed-in. Although I miss the other place immensely, I am given the strength to be fully where I am. I know without that provision, I would not be able to do it, but I have an amazing Father who just loves to provide for his kids.
Well, I hear the bell. Let round four begin.
“The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning.”
-Ivy Baker
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