C'est la vie

Walking out of the train station after saying goodbye to the team on Wednesday, I wiped the tears on my face and said to myself, “ C’est la vie!” Yeah…life rolls past many hellos and goodbyes before the sweet reunion party in heaven and I SO look forward to it! But it is between these countless Hellos and Goodbyes that we make friends, learn to encourage each other and in general
Experience life! I praise God for these Hellos and Goodbyes though Hellos are sweet and Goodbyes are sad. Another three words from my heart: I LOVE YAL!

I have gone through so much in the past few months that I don’t know where to start to talk about. But I am about to cry (a grateful cry) as I am organizing my memory. A song that the team sang most during worship was Blessed Be the Name of the Lord. It’s interesting how I used to lower my voice when it came to “You give and take away, you give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name!” You know, it’s something that I knew in my head and not being able to fully comprehend. I dare not say I understand it FULLY, but at least to a further extent. People often say after a few years you become a Christian, you’ll find yourself walking in the wilderness, namely, it’s not ALL about excitement. I think I am in the wilderness now yet, I truly feel that God is holding my hand walking me through…I’m trying to be patient and looking forward to seeing what is in the end of this wilderness!

My aunts came to visit Guangzhou from Hong Kong these two days. We went to visit Mr. Mario Marazzi yesterday at the school he managed for mentally disabled children. I’ve heard so much about Mr. Marazzi before I met him – he is a 79-year-old Italian Catholic priest who has sacrificed a comfortable life to contribute to many charities in mainland China and he is also my aunts old friend. I was so impressed by his fluent Cantonese! But after I saw where he lived, I was even more impressed by how much he has sacrificed. I told him I so appreciated what he did for the Chinese, and he simply replied, “It is all from the Lord!” Wow! The children lit up with tremendous excitement when we walked into the school, we shook hands and listened to them. Although I didn’t know what the kids were trying to tell me, but one message is for sure – WE LONG FOR LOVE!

My summer plan has been changed again. Summer school was canceled and I will be working at Crazy English Camp from 21st to 31st of July. So I will reply emails and facebook after that. Wish you have a great summer!

A Sunday Morning

Everybody has left for church except me staying in the apartment doing endless study… Raindrops are splashing on the porch outside and here I am procrastinating…In the past few weeks, school work and class project have kept me in a constantly crazy schedule, now combined with four finals looming the coming week and two more the week after next, I feel like I am completely a slave to school work! Sigh…

I got up at 6:30 this morning to study and in the meantime (in order to stay awake) listened to my favorite opera soundtrack – Snow Wolf Lake (it is still playing in my computer now). A song from it always encourages me so much, esp. during hard times, today is no exception. It is called HOPE. I couldn’t help but translate the lyrics as I was listening to it just now(it soaks deeper in me this way). Here it is:

Hope
Difficulty is unavoidable,
Sadness fills the process
As you look back, everything is heart-stirring
The road to the exit may not be smooth
The sky in the daytime may not be bright
(But) Tears are the buoyant force that lifts you up
After stumbles and falls can one become strong
Without uttering any complaint, you proclaim your perseverance
There is always someone to bring you hope
There is always something to warm your heart
It is this flame, it is this light
That help you forget the darkness before dawn
There is always someone for you to hold on to
Don’t let down the one who stands guidance for you
Keep the past firm and deep in your heart
Put aside all your worries
Set your eyes ahead

The rain outside has stopped but my thoughts continue…and (I have to say) SO is study…