and said, “Here. We need good pictures
for our next brochure.”
Discovering my interests in these areas
motivated my shy, reserved self to begin
asking questions, to get involved, and to
build skills for the future. During the first
week of the internship, I called my father
and said, “Now I know how you can have
so much fun and call it a job. I want to do
this for the rest of my life!” After several
months, I traded my internship for a full-time job as a graphic artist and continued
gathering the skills needed for successful
ministry.
Three years later found me on a plane
to Beijing, China, my brain telling my
stiff legs that the very long ride of more
than twelve hours would be worth it all.
Little did I know how well the past—
whether homeschooling or internships or
ministry—had prepared me for this
adventure!
One on a team of fifteen, our primary
mission was to meet with business and
nonprofit organizations and discuss the
vital need for character development. I
never knew what exactly would fill each
day, whether it was a twenty-course meal
with the vice president of a large corporation or helping with skits in front of 150
children or speaking to the mayor of a
city of two million.
PHOTOS BY MANDY NOVOTNY
I became the trip scribe with camera
and pen in hand. The only time to work on
this assignment, however, was well into
the night, between the hours of 10 and 6.
When responsibilities and expectations
were compressed into such a short space,
I discovered that I did not have time to
“get ready.” I could not go out and read a
book or conduct a study or practice more.
I had to “be ready”—there was no time
for anything else. Each picture and each
sentence was a not-so-silent tribute to
those who had taken part in my training
and education.
Of all the places I visited in China,
though, my favorites were the markets,
with people thronging the narrow alleyways to sell or to buy or to steal. Whether
in Chengdu or Urumqi or Beijing, the
noise of men hawking suit jackets, ladies
selling scarves, and children offering
dried nuts created a grand cacophony of
hustle and bustle.
So much humanity in one place, with
such a dichotomy between the rich and
the poor, moved me at times to tears and
at times to smile, but these scenes always
