the asian market and deeper changes

Kim took the kids to the local Asian market today.  Annabelle got to pick out some foods that she thought she might enjoy, some things that seem more familiar to her taste buds.  Apparently chicken noodle soup and spaghetti aren’t getting it done.  They rolled into the kitchen with bags filled with bean sprouts, rice noodles, dumplings, Chinese crackers/cookies, and some thick fruit juice things that taste, um, interesting!  An hour or so later, the smell of soy sauce permeated the house.  I wonder if it smelled anything like what Annabelle is familiar with.

I’ve spent some time in other countries, other cultures that were full of unfamiliar smells and tastes, immersed myself in other places where I was surrounded by people who looked and sounded different from me.  But I’ve never been alone in those situations.  I’ve always been part of a team, had other white/American people to talk to, to share the experience with me.

I hope Annabelle isn’t feeling isolated.  She’s been removed from all the things that marked her life up to this point.  Fortunately, God has placed us in a great community for ethnic diversity, and He keeps sending us people who can speak Annabelle’s language as she learns ours.

Tonight, for example, and young lady dropped by the house to pick up some Mary Kay from my lovely beauty-consultant wife.  It turns out that Elizabeth is living in Vienna, teaching Austrian kids to speak English.  She studied German and Chinese at Penn State, and hopes to move to the western part of China some day to teach English–and teach kids about Jesus!  She and Annabelle were able to chat for a few minutes.

Annabelle continues to learn and open up with us.  She’s still laughing at our feeble attempts to repeat her Mandarin words and phrases.  She’s laughing a lot, and regularly doling out hugs–just like a Sublett kid does!

I believe that our kids are being affected by this whole adoption thing, too.  They’re getting a real-life experience with what it means to sacrifice so that someone else can be blessed, to make room in our life/home in order to provide love, security, and family for someone who needed those things.

Kim said that while walking through the Asian market, Levi mentioned that he could see himself living in a place where he was the minority, surrounded by sights and sounds and smells that were unfamiliar, learning a language that was new to him.  He ‘s starting to think that he might want to be a missionary some day.

I think that would be fabulous.