My Year in Shanghai Post 1

My feet are now firmly planted in Shanghai.  I have been here for two weeks and I'd like to take a moment to document my thoughts and observations so far.  First, my job is amazing.  I felt some definite apprehension about potentially teaching younger children and fittingly enough I teach two sections of phonics for 8-9 year-olds as well as one section of pre-school aged children (2-3 years old).  It's definitely different from what I'm used to, but I've re-calibrated and really genuinely enjoy it.  The kids are so cute and loving.  Each day with the kids is rewarding and full of laughs.
As far as the culture, despite the enormous size of the city and a vastness of population unlike anything I've experienced there is a tangible feeling of peace.  Staring and shoving are huge parts of the culture and yet neither insight violence; they are simply daily norms, whether it be on the metro or walking down the street.  There is an amazing variety of options for socializing and discovery from night clubs, to bars, to jazz clubs, to malls, to karaoke, museums, parks, nature, landmarks... I can't imagine putting a dent in all of it with merely one year, but I'll do my best.
The food is great, as I imagined it would be.  There are so many options and all of them that I've found are great.  The other very nice part of that equation is the price of things: much lower than I'm used to at home.  You really have to push hard on ordering to spend more than 15 dollars on a meal, everything included.  Most meals cost between 2-5 dollars.  Sharing is also a big part of dining here.  The tables have spinning centers where each plate is moved around the table in a circular motion (great perk!).  Essentially, you can't go wrong on ordering because someone inevitably will have gone right.  I'm a big fan of this concept.  Eating with chopsticks was also a transition for me, but now I feel completely comfortable doing so.
As far as the people I work with and have met, I've definitely found comradery and friendship to be something easily acquired.  Specifically with the people I work with, I've found that we all have a very similar story and reason for being here in Shanghai: simply to experience something completely different than anything we've experienced so far in our lives.  This immediately creates a bond and a desire to help one another with adapting and learning to live in this completely new world.  Each individual discovery becomes a discovery to be shared with all.  Each struggle, is a burden to be shared by all; in that we all came here alone and desire to help one another through in the place of the no longer nearby families and close friends we've left behind for this time.  The other cool thing about this is that I am making friends from all over the world.  I work with people from Russia, the UK, China, Canada, America etc.  I can't imagine in my life ever having the opportunity to come to one place and establish so many international friendships.  
There is so much I could say, but it can generally be summed up in this:  coming to Shanghai was one of the best decisions that I've made in my life.  I enjoy each day and I experience something new each day.  The people here are great, the culture here is great, and I wake up with the same feeling each day of "am I really here on the other side of the world doing this?    yes?    yes!!"

All we (still) need is love

"Either you think, or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you."
-F. Scott Fitzgerald

I felt the insatiable desire today to write down some thoughts that I have in regards to current events and other various topics.  It is more clear to me than it has ever been that people today are in search of something to cling to and someone to speak for them, and yet say nothing for themselves.  People speak of acceptance and in the same breath hurl a slur alienating a religious group that they do not agree with.  People refer to issues and say that "God didn't say anything about that" but simply don't take the time to seek out what He said.  The various movements that have swept the U.S. nation over the last couple of years speak to this:  whether it be the tea party, the occupy movement, and now some controversial "civil rights" issues most recently.  Along with that, I have seen great divides come between political parties, friendships, and sadly even families.  Although the various factors that play into this may cover too large a scope to narrow down to one issue, I do believe that one element is missing in our world in the midst of all this, and that is love.  One quote that I came to mind as I considered this was from a writer that I hold in very high regard, Maya Angelou:   "If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers."  This was so relevant as I considered divides that I have seen amongst families lately and as we approach mother's day tomorrow.  Our family and friends deserve more than our leftovers, they deserve our first-fruits.  They deserve our love and our care.  Recently, someone asked me about how I approach teaching teenagers, and I believe that my response and my convictions regarding this are just as relevant in approaching our relationships with friends and family.  I said to him that nobody cares what you have to say to them until they know that you care about them.  When somebody knows that you love them and that you genuinely care about their views and their well-being, a door is opened that can never be closed.  On the other hand, when you approach a relationship simply to spew out your views and what you have to say, a door is closed that can never more than partially be opened.  All of this is to simply inspire within others what I have been inspired with, and that is to fulfill our most basic human instinct: to love and be loved.  To do this, we must simply love one another.  Do you have something to say to someone?  Love them.  Are you hurt by what someone has said or believes in?  Love them.  Do you feel as if someone has treated you unjustly? Love them.  I personally believe that nothing that anyone wants to accomplish today can happen without first building the bridge that is love.  Although scattered and random, these are my thought and these are my views- LOVE, Phil.  

Intracacies and Inadequacies of Life and Love

"I fear that we have become so enamored with the idea of 'love' that love itself will be forever inadequate."

I wrote these words in my journal recently:  a simplified summary of all that has been going through my mind in the midst of dealing with current events in my life.  Today I revisited these thoughts with a friend sitting in a cafe having lunch.  My feeling is that movies, music, and culture itself have served us up a template of 'love' that is completely unrealistic, and yet I've subconsciously accepted it.  I faced this realization as we had the discussion.  I find myself looking for things all based around feelings and emotions, as I'm sure others do at times.  Where is the music? Where are the fireworks? Where is the light shining down on someone so that I know I've found my soul mate?  Another conversation I had recently, with a close friend, centered around this very topic.  This friend brought out the point of view that if such love truly existed that we would never be able to function in our work lives, our school lives, etc.  This burning desire to be with one's significant other would eclipse all other feelings, emotions, and responsibilities.  Thus, where does this leave us?  What should we/I be looking for out there?  We know from a biblical standpoint that Adam was given the whole world and the love of God unconditional and yet he still yearned for something more.  That something was a 'helpmate', a woman, someone to share the world with, because what good is everything if you have no one to share it with?  This is a feeling that all of us share: all of us being sons of Adam and daughters of Eve.  Although Adam had nothing else to go off of, what was it that he saw in Eve that made him know that she was what he was missing?  Genesis says that Adam saw Eve and knew immediately that she was the 'helper' he was looking for because she was of his flesh.  This makes the qualifications seem much simpler than the lists we have created for ourselves today.  She was simply human, and that was enough.   Outside of that, the reality that I spent some time thinking about was that Adam had an advantage none of the rest of us are given:  he knew with full assurance that she was the one created specifically with him in mind.  That is where I will leave this off because I am honestly not sure where to go from there.  Where does that leave me?  That's for me to ponder.  Another question I can ask of you, reading this right now, is where does that leave you?  Phil. 

Paradox

“When I let go of who I am, I become who I might be.
When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need.
Have you ever struggled for love or work, only to achieve it when you’ve given up.
This is the paradox of letting go. Let go in order to achieve.
Letting go is divine law.” - from the I'ching

For those who aren't familiar with the I'ching, it is essentially an ancient Chinese text that talks about the balance in life of good and bad and the balance of opposites, etc. I would never insert it in the place of the Bible, but it has some really nice things to say, such as this portion of the text. It truly speaks to where I am at in a lot of ways at this moment in my life. I would much rather be the one to let go than to be that person desperately grasping for the tattered hopes of lost dreams. Elusive as that statement might seem, it is not a cop out in any sense, I'm not ducking any type of obligation to spill out my personal life because I don't feel that such an obligation exists. There are some paths in my life that will be tread in the very near future and I look forward to doing so with much less weight in my 'backpack'. I am happy with/thankful for the support system that I have in my life in the form of a very tight-knit group of close friends and family. Don't be afraid to embrace the paradox of joy at the expense of loss. Sometimes losing is what leads us to our greatest victories. God bless, thanks for reading. -Phil

Love

It's been much too long since I've posted; so much going on. So. . . on January 30th my band, My Personal Dowry, was invited to play at a Valentines Dinner/Fundraiser for a couple of ministries. Couples bought tickets to be fed a dinner, come see the band, and see presentations for the ministries that the night's funds would support: Teen Challenge and Prodigal Sons and Daughters, respectively. This was one of the most emotional and touching nights of my life. There was a middle point of the program, where we got off stage and people who had gone through either program got up and shared their testimony. It was amazing to see what God had done in these people's lives through the work of the two ministries. There are so many broken and weary people in this world, but fortunately there are ministries like these that reach out to such people and offer them hope and new life, as Jesus did when he came to this world. I was humbled at the opportunity to help raise funds for these ministries and hope to get to work with them again in the future. Of course, it was also awesome to, 'blow the roof off the place', as it was explained to me, what we did that night. Always fun to crank up the volume and do work on stage, and I was blessed by those who came up and conversed with me afterwords. Stepping outside of my box of Southern California was a great experience. The Bay Area and it's surroundings were a breath of fresh (cold) air. To sum it up, in the words of the Goo Goo Dolls, 'if only we decided to let love in'.

The City

There are few places that I love to visit more than San Francisco. It is a beautiful place filled with lovely scenery and lovely personalities. It's like walking into the 1970's. . . people are actually nice and happy to see new faces. Each time I visit, I try to find someplace or something new to me that I haven't experienced in The City. This trip didn't disappoint. On the way to Golden Gate Park, which I always visit on the way to Amoeba Records, I discovered Lovers Lane, one of the oldest trails in SanFran. The path, a part of the Presidio, was used in the 1930's as a path Mission Dolores and then later as a trail soldiers used to come visit their family and lovers in San Francisco. One of the coolest one miles I've ever walked.

Outreach/ Ministry

Upon arriving in Northern California last Thursday, I was greeted with an immediate opportunity to serve the homeless of Turlock, CA. When we arrived at Good Shepherd Lutheran, where we would be leading Sunday Morning Worship, the church was preparing for a homeless feeding that night. I decided to jump in and share some music and then later help with serving the food. The response was tremendous. People were blessed by the music, the message, and the ministry. It doesn't take much to make a difference, we just have to be ready and willing in season and out of season.