The opportunity to live and work there came up very unexpectedly and despite it taking a few months to finalize, I was in disbelief that I should take it up, even up to the day the offer came.
I actually "pushed" away the offer 3 times, and each time they came back revising it to suit me. I'm not even all that qualified for this position!
They say if your interview stretches for a long time, it's good as the interviewer enjoyed chatting with you. In my final interview with the US boss, it only took 20 minutes and out of that I probably only spoke for less than 5 minutes. Probably my shortest interview ever. All I did was to ask one question and it was answered and the conversation came to an end soon after that. 10 minutes later my Shanghai boss called me back and said he didn't want to repeat exactly what his boss in US said, or I might get big-headed, but whatever I said to him, he absolutely loved me.
Now all this is what I call favour of the Lord!
There were 2 major reasons that cast doubts over this opportunity for me. First was language... I don't speak much Mandarin at all!! But He already spoke to me about this area since last October that He would be the one that helps in that. The second thing was... move? Again?? Each move gets a little more painful than the last as I accumulate more stuff in my life. I got too complacent in my flat in Singapore and I was honestly tempted to stay behind just to avoid all the moving.
Even now as my flat looks like it got robbed (movers are coming tomorrow), I am reminded every step of the way why it's so painful. But. I have to say, the Lord had already seen to every detail, especially to the ones He knew I would be most worried about.
As my packing started to look like it was under control, my mind fleeted to the next big worry and that was in finding an apartment in Shanghai quickly enough. I spoke today to my future colleague who I've not met, and he was very insistent about helping me all the way from when I arrive to settling down.
So the anxiety in my heart is settling bit by bit as I see how God has considered every single detail and saw to it even before my heart began to worry about it.
Annoyed with how much I've accumulated in the 2.5 years. As I foresee at least a few more migrations in my life, I'm going to try to learn to be a minimalist!