Happy New Year!

The Chinese New Year is also called the Spring Festival.  It is a very festive time leading up to the bid day, which is this coming Sunday Evening here.   Gift giving of usually food items is the normal tradition.  Also fireworks all night and all day.   Nothing super fancy about them so far, just the big fireworks that clang and bang.  They are especially loud ringing through the spaces of these big condo towers.  There is a small celebration, called the Small New Year a week before.  The entire evening from 6 pm to 10 pm rang with fireworks.  It seemed like a small war was going on outside the windows.  The bursts of light and sound were fun to watch for a while.  I'm told to expect even more fireworks than this for the actual night.

I met my class last week.  It is a mixture of Chinese, Japanese, and a Korean child.  We seemed to hit it off well.  There is one child that I remember from my April visit.  His name is Shunda.  He has big eyes, and energy that rivals the energizer bunny.  He reminds me of one of those Japanese Anime characters.  He climbed up my legs to do continual back flips.  He said "I like Mike".  I like Shunda, too.  At 4 his English is excellent, his native Japanese is superb, and he speaks Chinese.  I can only imagine what is in store for this little warrior in training.

Remember my last post about having only a smile to reach out.  Well, smiling and saying Hi at the bus stop,  I made my first Chinese friend, Kevin.  He is into World trade (Imagine that! :) )  We met and had lunch at Papa John's.  Good times.  He is going to treat me to Chinese food after the new year.  I am reminded that in God's economy there are no coincidences.

So, New Years, New Classes, and New friends reminds me of the Ultimate One who makes all things new.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.


May you know every new thing that God has planned FOR YOU this new year!