This picture looked more awesome in my head. But, it’s still cool. The red card in the first picture says thank you in Mandarin. Like I said, it was more awesome in my head. 

There’s a lot we do when we’re not in China. One of those things is think about our next trip to China. It’s true. It’s how we roll when we’re making a handful of China trips a year. As soon as we get home from one, it’s time to start planning the next one which in this case is in May and then October after that.

Sometimes that’s hard, the constant planning and team recruiting and training and ticket purchasing. Other times, it’s awesome as He keeps us forward thinking and dreaming about what could be next.

That’s where I was last week. I was dreaming. I was in the this-would-be-so-helpful and wouldn’t-they-just-love-if phase which resulted in me putting a number of things into an Amazon registry: (1) an instant camera that spits out the cutest little pictures that develop before your very eyes like magic (I know, I know, Polaroids aren’t new. I promise you I thought these were just as magical when my grandfather brought his fancy gadget over to our house 30 years ago), (2) a little portable printer to print 4×6 pictures wirelessly from a phone or camera or computer (instant gratification for kids and lots of gratification for me since it would save me about 5 hours of time I typically spend at a local copy shop struggling to get photos printed), and (3) lots of film and cases for both said magical devices. They would be so great in China, so so great.

With the hope that someone might enter into the this-would-be-so-helpful and wouldn’t-they-just-love-if… phase with me, I shared the link to the registry on Facebook.

They did.

That instant camera and that teeny little printer and paper for the printer and film for the camera and cases and other little goodies are all sitting beside my desk now ready to head to China in May, ready to be tools in our backpacks to make people gather close together and laugh, to build friendships and connections. I can already imagine a big crowd around one of those tiny little 2″ pictures watching it change from white to a color image all ooo-ing and ahhh-ing as they do.

The picture above—the one that looked a bit more awesome in my head—is a snapshot of provision, a snapshot of teamwork. My friend “P” can’t go in May, but she made sure the instant camera would. Our friends “B and J” have gone before and heard the stories of me spending my afternoon using my translator app to try to get pictures printed from my flash drive. They ordered the printer to help the kids and to help me. “J” made sure I’d have the cases I wanted to protect it all as we travel in planes, trains, automobiles, jump jumps, taxis, and e-bikes. “N” made sure I’d have paper and ink. “S” got other fun supplies as did “B and R.” In one day, every item on that “baby registry” had been ordered.

I’m in a different phase today. I’m still dreaming about how great these things will be in country and how that instant camera will make me some fast friends. But, maybe I’ve moved into a phase you could call the We-aren’t-working-alone phase. I look at all these things neatly stacked by my desk and am reminded that there are so many people standing with us to make all this happen and make it happen well. There are so many people who believe it’s important and worth an investment. There are so many people who He’s given us to listen to my crazy ramblings when I’m in those wouldn’t-they-just-love-if… phases and agree and urge us on.