In Which Company Comes

Finally, after 7 weeks in our apartment, we've officially had company come. First it took time to even be able to safely know we'd have enough food for just us for a meal, then I wanted to wait until our boxes came and we had real silverware and homey decor. But, after waiting and waiting and waiting for our boxes to get clearance (the fiasco continues... but the latest is that they should go through customs on Tuesday, a commercial inspection, and then be delivered by the end of the week!) - we decided we just needed to do it. So, with plastic forks and mis-matched cups and a nice set of dishes from the secondhand store, this week was the week.

On Tuesday we were going to have our neighbors over, but this time their son got sick and they had to cancel. Since I'd already planned food, I let Ryan know he could invite some co-workers over, and 3 of them ended up being able to come! It was nice meeting them and seeing what kind and generous people he works with. He really has been blessed with his team at work.

They each came bearing fruit as a gift - and LARGE fruit at that! Did you know bananas grew in such big bunches? :)

 On Friday both children were finally well, so we enjoyed having our neighbors over for a meal. Hadassah really enjoyed having a high-chair mate, and they stayed for a few hours, with some great conversation time. We continue to be blessed by their friendship.

On Sunday after church we headed to the airport to pick up my cousin Hope and her friend. On the way, we had to get lunch, so we stopped by the Bund. Because we had limited time, it was very much a "grab lunch from Subway, eat it while walking, snap a picture, and hurry back to the metro!" but know I've seen the iconic site, so I've officially "seen Shanghai" now. 

Hope and I share a birthday, though she was born in Korea and I in the US. Crazy thing is, we're both in Asia now (she's currently teaching in South Korea) and she and her friend decided to visit China over their break. She let me know and we got to host them for a night. They had a crazy introduction to Shanghai: a huge rainstorm and a taxi driver that took them WAY out of their way as they tried to get back to our place after seeing a water town, but I was able to make good home cooking that I hope made them coming way out of town to see us worth it.

It feels good to have opened up our home. Though cooking for others and the clean-up afterwards always leaves me tired, it's a good kind of tired. It's good to give back as we've been given so much by people here. So, praise God for guests! May there be many more to come...