Yesterday we went to the Karma cafe in old town for coffee. Our waiter was a young guy who was very friendly. I told him we just wanted some thing to drink and ordered espresso for myself. I asked if he could make Ida some ginger tea as it was not on the menu. "We have ginger cake" he said and "I thought that is a strange kind of cake". I told him we just wanted ginger tea and he said just tell him how to make it. So, I told him to slice some ginger into hot water and add lemon and honey. I kept repeating the word ginger (sheng jiang) as he was saying it with a funny accent and I wanted to make sure that he understood me, it seemed like he did and off he went to make the tea and espresso.
After letting Alianna chase after one of the mangiest looking cats for a while, our drinks finally arrived. Mine was a dark brown looking espresso that I am sure was made with already used coffee grounds. As I was getting over the shock of my bad espresso I looked over at Ida's drink and said "is that banana in your tea" she smiled trying not to laugh while Alianna was busily tried to suck the banana out of the water with a straw. He had brought Ida, hot water with slices of banana and lemon. I guess he had misunderstood after all. Well, Alianna ate the banana pieces and we tried to be good customers who didn't complain about every detail by saying that we enjoyed our drinks. A while later the young man brought out some free slices of banana bread for us, by the way he was beaming I could tell that he made it himself. I asked him and and he said that someone taught him but he didn't listen very well and when he made it the first time it was really bad so his teacher yelled at him and got very angry, so he studied again. Now he is able to make it himself. He is from the Bai minority in an area that is south of here about 4 hours. The Bai accent easily makes for some misunderstandings when speaking Chinese but this was one of the funnier ones we have had in a while. Although the proper Chinese pronunciations are very different for the two words with his accent they are similar. this is probably the farthest away from home that he has been and I am sure that all this western style food is new and very strange to him, even more serving foreigners who speak Chinese.
What a privilege it is for us to be here in this place as well. Our hope is that people like this young man will find the hope that doesn't come with a good job in the city but comes through a relationship with our Heavenly King. The challenge for us and you is how to live in the security of what we know is there, the promises and our call even when the economy is bad, money is tight and the political systems of the world are working against us.

How do you find the strength to trust God when your earthly situation abandons you?
Drop me a line and let me know, either by commenting below or writing me at karls@gati.info

Blessings,
Karl

Life in Shangrila

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