Abba Father, My DefenderYou are Holy
And I surrender
For in my weakness
You protect me
lyrics by Shaun Groves
Homesick is the word of the day. We miss our kids, our bed and American food. We have eaten Chinese food for lunch and dinner almost everyday in Beijing. Chris joked that he was going to take our guide back to the U.S. and feed her spaghetti everyday, marinara one day and meat sauce for special occasions, if we ate steamed rice again.
Before we left Beijing, Chris found Outback Steakhouse located in one of the hotels along a main shopping street. Our guide told our group that we could go to Outback for dinner on our own and she would give us a special dinner the next night. I guess that means fried rice. When we finally made it to Outback, we ordered the wings. Chris and I savored every single bite and pretended we were back at home. We also found out that Ian loves their mash potatoes. I think he is tired of the rice, too.
After dinner, we tried to get a taxi, with another family in our group, back to the hotel. Normally, we would have walked but it was FREEZING so we had the hotel call us a taxi. When we got into the taxi, the driver was irate and spoke in broken English that he didn't want children in his taxi. It was normally ten yuan to take us back to the hotel so Chris offered him thirty yuan. The driver still refused and insisted on more money. He also kept yelling in Chinese at the hotel attendants and pointing aggressively at the children. Chris said, "Don't you care about cold babies." He said, "NO!" Chris said, "You are a bad man!" and slammed the door. The driver got out of his taxi, started yelling and coming toward Chris. At this point, we were walking away. When Chris realized the driver was getting out of the taxi, he turned around and stood his ground. I was starting to get nervous because I knew Chris was not playing around. I also knew "Bad Man" didn't stand a chance after messing with the kids. I think he realized it, too, because he got back in his taxi, drove by Chris with the windows rolled up and gave Chris a dirty look. I am sure the doors were locked.
Now looking back, it made me think of how God, our heavenly Father, is the Defender of the weak, the oppressed, the fatherless and afflicted. God, their Helper, sees their trouble and grief. He hears their cries, takes the matter into His hands and will defend them "in order that man, who is of this earth, may terrify them no more" (Psalm 10:14-18).
Before we left Beijing, Chris found Outback Steakhouse located in one of the hotels along a main shopping street. Our guide told our group that we could go to Outback for dinner on our own and she would give us a special dinner the next night. I guess that means fried rice. When we finally made it to Outback, we ordered the wings. Chris and I savored every single bite and pretended we were back at home. We also found out that Ian loves their mash potatoes. I think he is tired of the rice, too.
After dinner, we tried to get a taxi, with another family in our group, back to the hotel. Normally, we would have walked but it was FREEZING so we had the hotel call us a taxi. When we got into the taxi, the driver was irate and spoke in broken English that he didn't want children in his taxi. It was normally ten yuan to take us back to the hotel so Chris offered him thirty yuan. The driver still refused and insisted on more money. He also kept yelling in Chinese at the hotel attendants and pointing aggressively at the children. Chris said, "Don't you care about cold babies." He said, "NO!" Chris said, "You are a bad man!" and slammed the door. The driver got out of his taxi, started yelling and coming toward Chris. At this point, we were walking away. When Chris realized the driver was getting out of the taxi, he turned around and stood his ground. I was starting to get nervous because I knew Chris was not playing around. I also knew "Bad Man" didn't stand a chance after messing with the kids. I think he realized it, too, because he got back in his taxi, drove by Chris with the windows rolled up and gave Chris a dirty look. I am sure the doors were locked.
Now looking back, it made me think of how God, our heavenly Father, is the Defender of the weak, the oppressed, the fatherless and afflicted. God, their Helper, sees their trouble and grief. He hears their cries, takes the matter into His hands and will defend them "in order that man, who is of this earth, may terrify them no more" (Psalm 10:14-18).
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