I leave for China on Monday.
One of the things that I learned early on in doing missions, ministry, and cross-cultural work (and I guess any work for that matter), is that one thing you can absolutely count on is change. So we plan the best that we can, be as prepared as we can, and then know that something about our plans - sometimes something small, sometimes something big - is going to change.
Part of the plan for my time in China was to visit the rural orphanage shown in my previous post. This trip would serve a significant role in my planning for the team I'll take there in June. The orphanage has a great story and great need for its children. Today, when the final confirmation call was made to them, we were told that apparently the local government has built a brand new orphanage, that this one will be moving, and that there won't be a need for us to come this time or in the future. Hmmm...ok...
This isn't something that I really understand. It wasn't in the plan - for next week or next June. We'd planned; we'd communicated; we'd visited in August; we'd planned some more; and then the inevitable change...
So, we'll get on our various planes on Monday and fly to Beijing. We know that there are others there who have significant need - some we've had previous discussions with but who didn't seem to fit "the (our) plan" as well as the orphanage in Fuyang did. There will undoubtedly be many emails flying back and forth between now and then as we reset our plan...remembering that it isn't "our plan" but "His plan"...
Good thing I'm getting to be so laid back and flexible...
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