As is common among us all, today I had to do a few repairs in the apartment we live in. Plumbing was one of the tasks. So, off to the local hardware store to get a few parts. Well, I had to visit the store twice in my attempts to fix the sink, and on the second trip a very soft-spoken and friendly but elderly man, who was merely visiting the shopkeeper, offered to lend me the vital tools to do the job. Off we went, zipping down the road, both on our electric scooter bikes. I noticed his bike was well taken care of and clean. Mine in a bit of dirty disarray.
Long story short, after two trips to his house to get better tools, we both finished the task - a new drain pipe for the bathroom sink. Mind you, the old drain pipe had to be removed and with it the several years of built up muck and mire. In the best Chinese I could, I asked if he wanted to wash his hands. He refused and said he wanted to go out and smoke. Oh no! I wanted to scold him. Anyway, God provided for us today with needed assistance. God provided our assistant with homemade cookies and a gospel of John in Chinese. I think I was able to say something like, "this is a very famous book," in my fragmented, but slowly improving Chinese.