Somebody's Dream (End of November)

I never thought I would be told I was someone’s dream before, especially sitting in the back of a three wheeled taxi, in my puffy marshmallow-resembling light blue down coat and pink gloves. But that’s what happened two weeks ago. After one dinner together at a nearby shopping street, my student, Jody, put her arm in mine, leaned her head on my shoulder, sighed and said, “This is my dream.” She went on to tell me that when she was in middle school she always dreamed she could go out shopping together with foreigners when she got to college.

It also happened yesterday, this time sitting in a smoke filled ma-la-tong (spicy Chinese soup) restaurant with 4 people, two were my students and two were their friends. One of them was one of my students’ boyfriends and he was pretty excited to meet me. I had helped out with a birthday video for him. This had apparently made me famous with both him and his classmates. After our semi-awkward greeting, we were sitting at the table and one of my students looked at me laughing and said, “You fulfilled his dream.” I replied, “If I told my mom I was famous in China, she would think I was crazy.” They laughed, but it’s true.

This is an on-going joke among my teammates. It’s a bit shocking the first time you walk down the street and everyone looks at you or when your students clap the first time they meet you; now we just make light of it and ask each other what we’ll do when we go back to America and no one pays us any attention anymore. This amount of attention is fun to make light of when it’s just people doing double takes on the street but when it’s my student who leans her head on my shoulder and with complete sincerity says, “this is my dream,” it hits me at a different angle. I wonder, how in the world can I be somebody’s dream? How can this girl, from a small town in Kentucky, someone who is only known in my little sphere of friends, have that big of an impact on a girl I’ve never met before?

It makes me think about my responsibility. The Father said, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” (Luke 12:48). I’ve been given over 200 Chinese students. I’ve been given teammates to love and buildup. I’ve been given Chinese brothers and sisters to love and buildup and I’ve been given lost Chinese friends to share the love of the Father with. To me, that’s “much.”

Please, right now, before you close this e-mail, talk to the Father for me. Ask Him, to him to lead me in every step of this responsibility. Ask Him, to let me love my students with His complete and un-lacking love and ask Him, to let me fall even deeper in love with Him.

Thank you so much!

Love with all my heart!

Ashley

This is only picture I have of Jody, at our Halloween party. She's the girl in front of me.