Success!!

It is amazing how now, when I am completely out of my depth, I have learned to take pleasure in small victories. In my last post, I wrote of the difficulties I was having in navigating the streets of Macau; so much so that even finding my own apartment was proving to be an elusive goal. Being completely out of my element also brings into focus how completely dependent I am on the Lord in accomplishing even the smallest task of the day. Such was the case with my first attempt to find my own way to work.

The adventure begins in my apartment. As I leave, I say a quick prayer to the Lord that he will keep me from getting so lost that I can not get back home and that along the way I will not be ran down by the millions (at least it seems like it) of mopeds that are buzzing around the city. Down the four flights of stairs I go and out the door. Ok so far so good. I have now successfully made it to the street. I follow a hand written map that was quickly scrawled on a scrap of paper by one of the veterans here in Macau. That scrap of paper, which holds all of the answers to my current dilemma, shakes in time to the tremors that have over-taken my hands. The first 100 yards of the journey are fairly uneventful, however, that quickly ends as I come to the first of many intersections that are scattered throughout my journey. More success. I made it across the street. And so the process continues until I finally make it to the English Center where I work. Praising the Lord and rejoicing I hurry into the office to tell my co-workers of the success I have just had. They are so kind and celebrate this success with me.

This is just another example of how the Lord strengths are seen in our weaknesses, because I am certain that it was not my navigational skills that got me to work.

On to other topics, many people have been curious about my living arrangements, so below are the much anticipated pictures. Please keep in mind that at this point little has been done. Just consider these the "before" pictures.

This is a picture of my living room and the big comfy, American matress that I mentioned previously. As you can see the only things that occupy the room at the moment are a bed and table. The sofa and TV are on the way!

This is of course my bathroom. It has a western toilet and believe me after using the bathroom in mainland China this is definitely one of the nicer features of my apartment. A "squatty" (minus toilet paper) is most common in mainland China.

This is my kitchen which has the room for the most improvement. I probably will not be doing any cooking for some time.

This has to be the best feature of my apartment. This is the view from my balcony. My fourth floor apartment overlooks this square and every morning I awake to the sound of the water in the fountain.

Hopefully I will soon be a bit more settled and the apartment will start to feel more like a home. I will post some "after" pictures when the process is complete. That is it for now. I pray that everyone is well. May the peace of the Lord be with you!