Stepping Before the King… in China

One of my favorite people in the Bible is Esther. She was a woman who was not necessarily larger than life or exceptionally brave but she managed to save her people and overcome her fears.

In case you need a reminder of the story: Esther was chosen through an involuntary contest to be the next Queen. (Think ABC’s Bachelor, but way more intense…Esther was forced to accept the final rose.) While she was queen, an evil man convinced the King to issue a decree to kill all Jewish people. The King did it without realizing that his own Queen, Esther, is Jewish. Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, encourages her to try to change the King’s mind. But, Esther knows that if she goes and talks to the King without being summoned, she could be put to death. Esther is afraid and unsure of what to do next. 

Mordecai’s response to her fear is startling.

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14) 

Moredecai trusted God’s timing and his planning, without question.

This summer, I will spend three months in Luoyang, China interning for a non-profit called Show Hope, at their Special Care Center. The center, called Maria’s Big House of Hope, houses children who require extra medical care or attention. My duties will range from taking pictures of children to hosting mission teams that come and visit MBHOH.

The internship came almost ‘naturally’ (although every piece of God’s plan, I believe, is miraculous). I have volunteered with Show Hope for about four years now and have been deeply involved with their Student Initiatives. I know their staff well, I have visited MBHOH twice, and I have friends who have interned before, so the decision to apply came relatively easy.

But, now I feel kind of like Esther. Much like Esther probably had moments when she was excited to be Queen, I am often excited about the summer in China- about the relationships I will develop, the children that I will meet, the culture that I will experience, and the pieces of God that I will encounter. But, like Esther I feel as if I’m about to go before the King and I have no idea what will happen and I am afraid of the unknown. Yes, I have met the King before, but what if, in this instance, he denies me? What if he doesn’t hold out his golden scepter and I don’t come out in one piece? What if everything that I have seemingly sacrificed in the past is wasted?

And like Esther, I am convinced by Mordecai’s words: “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

What if my family moved to Tennessee, if we chose to attend FBC, if I got involved with the youth group, if I decided to go to Peru, if I met my youth pastor, if he invited me to get involved with Show Hope, and if I decided to help them develop student ministries, all for such a time as this? What if all of that happened, not so that I could attain the internship of my dreams, but so that I could speak up on behalf of the more than 153 million children in the world who have been orphaned, just as Esther spoke up for the Jewish people?

The truth is, that I will never know if all of that was for this internship or one specific moment. But, I want to live as if it is. I know this God is faithful. My hands are shaking and I have no idea what will happen, but I’m excited to see what God will do as I step into the throne room. 

Just as Esther asked her people to fast and pray for her, I ask that you pray for me during this time. My life is not at stake. But, my flesh and my spirit are so weak, and it is only by the Power of the Lord that I will be able to constantly walk in His will. So, please pray on my behalf.

To give you a better idea of what the next three months of my life will look like, I’ve included some pictures below!
 

This is where I will be living for three months! On the sixth floor! The rest of the floors are filled with about 120 children!

Since there are so many children... this is what most of my days will look like! :) 

And this!

One of the best parts is that I will be interning with my Best Friend! Emma! We have known each other since 7th grade (thats about 7 years!) and have been to China together twice!  She has a blog too! Follow it at www.jumpingoffwaterfalls.blogspot.com

This is where we anticipate spending a lot of time. The roof of Maria's! 

This is the type of signs that we will be reading for three months. We will try to learn Chinese while there. (Add that to the list of prayers!) 

This is the type of food that we will be eating for a majority of the three months... Not exactly Panda Express.

We plan to branch out and try a few things.

We are told that this will become a little 'taste' of home... 

Emma and I will have to learn how to get around China... through streets like this! 

But we will always be working hard...

These are some of the nannies that work at Maria's... I'm praying that I can get to know all of the beautiful, special women that work so hard and love all of the children so well!

Added Bonus: My Mom and Emma's Mom will be visiting us in July! WOOHOO!  

It is children, like Liliana who I will be playing with and growing to love over the course of three months!

The plan is that I will be blogging weekly while in China, as will Emma. I will be blogging every Monday. Emma will be blogging every Thursday. You can subscribe to both of our blogs, which means that you get updates right to your email! Also, as I mentioned, we will be working for Show Hope, a non-profit based out of Franklin. They have a blog that Emma and I will most likely regularly be blogging for, so keep a watch out there for updates too! www.showhope.org/blog 

I am so thankful for each and everyone of you!