I was hurrying outside to find a taxi. I had just worked for a couple of hours sorting through all the left over stuff from last year, all that stuff that just three short months ago was packed into boxes or bags and transported in a mad rush to the one apartment we were still going to rent throughout the summer. I had found what I was looking for: a foam mattress pad and bedding for two beds. Now I was hurrying outside to find a taxi because the sound of thunder threatened rain. My teammate, Firefly, and I needed to take the bedding over to the apartment of two guys who were just moving in, and we were trying to make it before the rain fell.
Trying to hail a taxi going by, the driver told me she needed to use the bathroom and wasn’t stopping to pick us up. Later we were told, “Dongxi tai duo le! You’ve got too much stuff!” The sheets, blankets and pillows didn’t look like too much, but it was the foam mattress that made it look like we had a huge load. Just as it was starting to rain, we got one. By the time we reached the guys’ apartment, it was pouring, and I called them to help carry their stuff up the 6 flights of stairs to their new home.
Upon arriving, we exclaimed at how wet everything was…the bedding and us! After laying it out to dry over chairs and beds in the apartment, the guys proudly showed Firefly and me around their first home in Asia. Both of them are spending their first full year in Asia and are most proud of their squatty. (This will be a life-changing year for them!) Their kitchen utensils included a cutting board and knife and a few chopsticks. They hope to get a wok soon. Everything in the place spoke “Bachelor.” There was no extra furniture for decoration’s sake; none needed. But I wish you could have seen how happy their faces were! The guys were already talking about having Asian friends over and what they plan on doing to build friendships.
It has been a really crazy couple of weeks since we’ve arrived in the country. I’ve been helping each apartment get set up and have yet to move into an apartment myself. I’m staying at a friend’s house, crashed on two couches pushed together. I look at the situation and laugh…God’s grace really has been sufficient!
Dove