Hard Shadows

Today was the first sunny day since we've been here in Beijing. It was also the first day that I noticed hard shadows accentuating the architecture of the building that houses our rented office.

Our hotel is chock-full of English speakers, and it's clear that most of them are not here primarily as spectators. To keep it purposefully vague (for now), they're here for reasons similar to ours-- at least, our end goal is similar. The providential connections made even in our housing within the body are astounding.

For instance (and as a necessary aside), I met a man traveling with an intellectual group who also happens to be personally associated with a prominent clinic in the States. I mentioned briefly my (poor) experiences with chiropractors and orthopedists, and after hearing my story he gave me a real diagnosis (with prognosis) on the spot for my injury which occurred nearly four years ago. This diagnosis was far and away the best news I have received since getting notice that I was in the first place being scouted for football, for now I can begin to break what has become a veritable cage for all areas of my life. And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street!

At lunch, we dined with the manager of the business that has so generously and hospitably played host for us. This entity is primarily focused upon business, and while they must naturally remain mindful of their fiscal standing, their endeavor is to bring (quality) Christian materials to this land. For instance, during these Games they are responsible for the translation and printing of a great many informational pieces distributed by international groups in the Village and throughout the city; another massive project they've undertaken is to translate the Awana program for this society.

One can speak of missionaries who devote themselves to those things we pragmatically deem as 'ministry,' and I can judge that group neither individually nor as a whole. At the same time, one can look at organizations similar to our humble host and see that this business, which operates entirely within the law, within the secular and convoluted framework established by the hand of man, has been placed here so that when the sun blazes it will cast a hard shadow and not fade away like the mist of man.