Meeting Wu Yi Feng (吴衣丰)

I'm not quite sure how to describe this past week.  God has been good to me, that's for sure.  If you are praying for me, thank you!  If you're not praying for me, I forgive you.  God has been blessing me anyway.  That much is abundantly clear.

How to describe God's blessings is somewhat less clear.  But, I will give it a shot.  On Sunday I went to church, and sat in the front pew, as usual.  Unusually, Amelie was not at that service.  Also unusually, Wu Yi Feng (吴衣丰, a.k.a. Vivian) was.  (She was given the English name Vivian, but she prefers to be called by her Chinese name, Yi Feng.)  Yi Feng usually goes to church on Saturdays, but this week she came on Sunday as well.  I presume it was to meet me, which she did after the service, for she had prepared a Chinese lesson for me.

(Yi Feng insists that I should learn Chinese if I am to live in China.  While I can't argue with that, I am reluctant to pay for lessons.  I am, however, perfectly willing to let her teach me, which she seems happy to do.)

We sat in the church and talked about the Chinese lesson she had prepared, and then we walked outside, and down a side alley to a cultural square & park area.  We saw statues,

Hero of Wuxi

and we listened to traditional Chinese music being performed.  I had my shoes shined for 5 RMB, which is half the price of a mocha coffee.  But mostly, we talked about various things.  She told me the significance of some of the sights in the park.  We talked about fun stuff, and serious stuff, and I got to know her better.

I wanted to take her to dinner, but I had told her that I was going to a birthday party at 7 p.m.  She told me that I should not eat; rather, I should go to the party hungry and ready to eat there.  So, when it approached 6:30, she needed to head home, and I walked with her and held my umbrella when it rained.  We walked for several blocks down a side alley, and then a larger street, not taking any sharp turns.  Finally, we saw her aunt on an e-bike, and, after appropriate greetings, we said goodbye.

Now Yi Feng, as you may remember, takes classes at Hy-Lite, which was how we met.  So, it was only normal that I should see her at school this week.  What was not normal was when I would see her, and choose to spend my entire break with her, which I did at every opportunity.  Sometimes we had lunch together.  After school, we would meet again, and have dinner together.  On Wednesday I texted her, and she didn't have classes, but she came to meet me anyways.  On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (if I recall correctly), we had dinner together, and walked, and talked.

Tuesday was particularly memorable.  Here is what dinner looked like:

Hot and sour soup, with sprinklings of beef and green onions

That's the only photo I have of Tuesday, because it was raining pretty hard.  I spent most of the evening walking with her, in the rain, with one arm around her and the other arm holding my umbrella over us both.  She took me to the Wuxi public library, which seemed to be her favorite place in the world, from the way her eyes lit up at the sight of books.  She took me to a park, and showed me the museum (which was closed in the evening), and then took me to a bus stop where I could catch a bus home.  Yes, it was raining pretty hard.  But then again, it wasn't cold, and I had my arm around a beautiful girl.  Can't complain.

On Wednesday, after dinner, Yi Feng came with me to the evening Bible study.  Again, Amelie was not there.  On Thursday, I was quite busy, so I was not able to connect with Yi Feng.  But after school, I was able to text her, and we made plans to go back to the park on Friday, when the weather would be fine.  Unfortunately, it turned out that her mother had plans for a visit with her grandmother in the evening, and an earlier commitment to me was not considered binding, since it conflicted with these plans.  (This I learned from a text late Thursday night.)  So, she promised me one thing that I liked as compensation.  And, she said she could meet me earlier.

Of course, I took her up on her offer.  We had lunch together, where I requested a favor.  And, during my break from classes at 2 p.m., I collected on the promised favor.  Accordingly, I am pleased to present to you the new woman in my life, Wu Yi Feng:

Wu Yi Feng (吴衣丰), a.k.a. Vivian

When she looked at the preview on the camera, she said she looked fat.  I said she looked beautiful, and I meant it.  She may not be as slim as many young Chinese women, but I think she's beautiful.

If you're inclined to judge her based on her choice of dress, have a little compassion instead.  Understand that the heat index (with humidity) was over 100° F today, or over 40° C, and, like many in Wuxi, she has no car.  She has to walk from her home to the school.  Her clothing was appropriate for the weather.

Here we are together:

Me and Wu Yi Feng

I used the timer feature on my camera.  I think it worked well, once I allowed for my extra height in framing the picture.

So, that's how my week went in the personal area.  Of course, I'm leaving out a lot of details.  Some I can't remember, and much of what I can remember is none of your business.  :-)

On the job front, there was a very positive development.  I overheard some of my colleagues discussing a new full-time position.  When I inquired if I might be able to fill that position, I was given a ten-minute interview slot later in the day.  At that time, I was basically told that the two people who counted were quite happy with how I was turning out.  Compensation was discussed, which compares quite favorably with what I was getting at WIS.  Some of the work could be more interesting than what I'm currently doing, and more rewarding as well.

I was basically offered the job, and given time to consider it.  I asked for a week, which was granted, on the understanding that if I decide to turn it down, they will need some time if they bring someone from overseas.  They do not provide housing, but they do provide a tax-free housing allowance, which should allow me to get a place as least as good as where I am now.  (Furnishing will probably come out of my summer wages, which are generous.)

The only problem I foresee is, I would have to find my own apartment.  I spoke with Yi Feng about this, and after initially protesting that she didn't know how, she agreed to help.  Later, right after my last class, I got a call from her.  Apparently she thought my situation was urgent.  She had already spoken with her mother about it, and her mother, desiring to help, had already found a place that I could look at, with a very reasonable rent.  After I made it clear that my housing need was not immediate, she asked if I still wanted to look at it, and we agreed to go on Sunday, after church, which is really the only time I would have.

So clearly, with this kind of help from the Wu family, finding housing shouldn't be a problem.  :-)  I just need to decide what to do about my position at WIS, and clear up the details of the contract with Mark (the colleague who interviewed me today), and I'm prepared to accept.

Prayer Requests
So many great things happened this week, I don't know where to begin.  I was given some more clarity about the two Chinese women that I'm closest to, which one to keep as a friend, and which one to pursue romantically.  I was also offered a new job, with better pay and improved prospects.  In other words, after realizing that my cheese was running out, I found a new, bigger, better cheese.  Praise God for his marvelous goodness to me!

Of course, all is not peaches and cream in China.  I need wisdom about this new job offer.  And I need wisdom about this new relationship that I'm pursuing.  Please pray that God would grant me wisdom in both these areas.  Thank you.