I got up at about 4:00am on thanksgiving day, started to make copies of my paintings that will be exhibited or be donated or sent out.
Usually, the time on drafting a new painting is several times of painting it. Therefore, I wished to keep the drafts as many as possible before my Baby Painting leave from me. :-)
Then I wanted to go out to paint a beautiful tree from the nature in the warm sunshine -- I do feel the trees 10 or 15 days ago were so beautiful for their colors and now, they are so beautiful for their feature in the wind under the sunshine. The pretty of their lines on the tree trunks and branches often makes me think of some beautiful dances. Therefore, I could not help buying a little chair in Wal-mart and wanted to paint in the cool sunshine...
But a cell phone from Dr. Huang Qi stopped my steps. She told me the second day of Thanksgiving Day was the Black Friday, most of the American stores were selling with a quite big discount and many of the shops started from 5:00am in the morning... :-)
Since I just wanted to buy a big board, a sheet iron and some magnets, plus my own painting felt, to make a professional Chinese painting board, I called my former classmate Zhu Bin and we went to shopping in 3 different shops and found and bought all of these and the scissors that can cut iron and some nails that can put into the iron. However, we cannot carry the so big things back my apartment from the shops by car, therefore, I called Mr. Chen Xu and I was lucky enough that he was just near us, then he came to us to carry the big board for me by his truck.
Then, I went to the church in the campus at about 7:30pm by walk, to say Thanks to Dr. Wenping Qiu and his wife Lisa, the other teachers and students there, to thank them for their good help, lead and direction on my road to go to the Jesus with so much sincerity since I came to Springfield since Oct 5.
You cannot imagine, on the road for about 25 minutes from my home to their church, there was no any person, whole of the campus was so quiet in the golden lights.
Instead of feeling any scar, in my heart is full of the appreciations to the Jesus and his messengers, to the university and the teachers and students in the church. With a grateful heart, I took some photos for the peaceful and beautiful campus.
I was working alone, there is no any alone emotion in my heart. Because there is God and Jesus with me together. There is so much friendship of the local Christians, kind people with me together.
Then, in the little but warm church, I shared so many thanks in my heart to the little church, their organizers, Dr. Wenping Qiu, Mrs. Lisa and all of the other teachers and friends there. I told them and I will be baptized on Sunday by their good lead and help.
I will leave from the group of the gospel, to enter the group of Christians, but I will remember all of things they did for me and I will also do my best to help more people one hand via my cross-culture and comprehensive art project, to share Chinese culture to the people in the other culture, the other hand, to share something I have learned from Western culture and Christian spirit with Chinese people...
This photo is the school Libary that includes one of my paintings that I specially painted for it before the event of Missouri State University in Beijing, May, 2012.
I took the photo on the road I went to the church in the campus in the night of Thanksgiving, I do hope you enjoy it and bring you a big smile.
If you have any questions, comments and suggestions, please write to
shirley@ebridge.cn . You are welcome to publish your opinions in
Message Board as well.
Shirley Yiping Zhang
Nov 30, 2013
