One of our new friends, a Chinese woman who has been here for a few years asked Jan recently where she shops for groceries. They laughed together as they agreed that you could not just shop at one store. No grocery store has everything. So in Hanoi you go to Metro for somethings, to the Big C for some, to FiviMart for others; and then for specific "western hard to get" items you try the smaller specialized Dan's or L's Place. These are all adequate stores, but none are quite as well stocked with western goods as we enjoy in a large Canadian store.
It would be nice of course if these stores were all in one shopping center. Instead they are scattered around the city. It took Jan a couple of months to discover all of them. Now she can find almost everything if she looks hard enough. On the other hand, Jan has not yet been able to find cranberry sauce - but one of our friends has.
Finding groceries for western tastes in an Asian city depends on knowing where to look. Friends have been very kind in helping Jan on this search. Finding true living water; finding the bread of life - also depends on "knowing where to look"! In our city and numerous other world cities, that crucial information is much harder to find than in a Canadian city.
As we move toward Christmas, we hope people are intrigued enough by the Christmas decorations and Christmas music in stores to look for the meaning of Christmas. We hope local and expat friends use this season as a time to share with others where they can find water and bread that truly satisfies. There is great joy when someone finds us (or we find them) and through us finds Him!
Can you offer a warm invitation to a Christmas service this month that will help someone "know where to look"? Or maybe you will have the opportunity to personally tell them about living water and the bread of life.
It would be nice of course if these stores were all in one shopping center. Instead they are scattered around the city. It took Jan a couple of months to discover all of them. Now she can find almost everything if she looks hard enough. On the other hand, Jan has not yet been able to find cranberry sauce - but one of our friends has.
Finding groceries for western tastes in an Asian city depends on knowing where to look. Friends have been very kind in helping Jan on this search. Finding true living water; finding the bread of life - also depends on "knowing where to look"! In our city and numerous other world cities, that crucial information is much harder to find than in a Canadian city.
As we move toward Christmas, we hope people are intrigued enough by the Christmas decorations and Christmas music in stores to look for the meaning of Christmas. We hope local and expat friends use this season as a time to share with others where they can find water and bread that truly satisfies. There is great joy when someone finds us (or we find them) and through us finds Him!
Can you offer a warm invitation to a Christmas service this month that will help someone "know where to look"? Or maybe you will have the opportunity to personally tell them about living water and the bread of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment