laughing traveler

One of my friends told me the story of a Christian missionary in Africa. On his first day he invited the whole village into the church. He told them the gospel and warned that anyone who did not repent and turn from their sins would suffer eternity in hell. The next week only half the people came to hear the massage. The missionary was shocked by the low attendance and decided to show them pictures and videos to explain how serious he was and how awful hell really is. To his surprise the next no one attended his service! When he went to the villagers and asked why, they replied that hell was only for white men, so it didn't apply to them. Because all the pictures he showed of Hell only had white people. My friend added at the end of the story, that as an Asian he feels the same way. Many people see missionaries as an extension of the western aggression, trying to make the eastern world more like the west. It was shocking for me to hear this, but I can see the misconception.

Today is the funeral of my sister from another mister’s mom, Teri. A few days before New Years, she lost her 8 month battle with cancer.   It’s hard to be so far away and miss my chance to say goodbye. It almost doesn’t seem real when you read about it in emails; It was a few days before I said it out loud. My first thought was why not 1 month later! I just wanted 1 more month. A month later she would have been a grandma.   A month later I would be back in America introducing her to my new boyfriend. I had promised this summer that I would bring him to South Carolina to get her approval.   More than anyone else, Teri really saw herself in my travels and adventures in China. She was one of the few people that shared my love of adventure and experiencing new people and cultures. After my first year in China she sat me down and shared some of her hard learned lessons in travels. We talked about how easy it is to get wrapped up in the newness and excitement and think, ‘I love this’,