27 years old!

Thursday (June 28) was my 27th birthday and I must tell you that this is one of the best birthdays I've had in many years. A few weeks ago, my team up north gave me an early surprise party at which I was genuinely surprised. They brought really nice gifts and provided my favorite type of cake (who could have known?) :). That was an incredibly sweet gesture! I have an awesome team!

On my actual birthday I had no idea what would happen, so I just let the day...happen :). If you want to know the highlights, read on!
That morning my parents called me and after talking with them on the phone, I went to get waffles (yes, we found waffles in China!!) at a local coffeeshop. In the coffeeshop I ate my waffles and read from a book that was sent to me ("A New Kind of C" by Brian D. McLaren). Very nice quiet time!
Later I went to the college and met a group of my favorite students of all time and had lunch with them. It's funny because these girls weren't in the same class before, but now they are all in the same class together and know each other quite well. It was totally fun...and one of the girls brought a cake (the first of four cakes I would receive that day :) ). It was such a great time with them, as if I have never left.
Following lunch (lunches in China can last until 2:00 and this one was no different :)) I walked around a lot, read a little, visited the dormitories, etc. Then all of a sudden I started feeling really down. I really have no idea, but in the middle of the basketball court I just started crying. That lasted for about 2 minutes and then I was fine. I guess I was missing my team in Siping (the north), and really missing my family, and feeling these mixed emotions about a relationship that had been broken and not having control over that situation. Five minutes later I was okay. Guess I just needed a good cry. I really don't remember the last time I cried :).
I was in good spirits by the time dinner rolled around. The custom in China is to invite all your friends to dinner and then you (the birthday person) pay for the dinner. So, while my pocket was completely empty by the end of the day, I received so much joy! It was kind of an odd group of people at dinner. In Chinese culture people also have a hard time interacting outside of the in-group. People say that this is a collectivist culture, and it is, but perhaps especially so within your in-group. I'm not saying this like it's a bad thing, just different. So, when I put a bunch of people in the same room that don't know each other very well then they don't talk. It wasn't until one group left that people began talking excitedly. Very funny. I knew that was going to happen but I didn't want anybody to feel left out from my birthday, ya know? So, after a great dinner with all my favorite dishes, the second cake of the day arrived. As we were just finishing up, three other girls came an hour late and brought the third cake. Good times :) :)

My friend Michael then made me promise to be at his school at 8:30 because he had a surprise. So, I came, a little unsure as what the rest of the evening would entail. He had called a lot of friends (Chinese friends I've come to know over the years) and was having class at his English school that night anyway. I walked in and everyone shouted "Surprise!"- It was AWESOME to see various people from the past. There was the fourth cake and some dancing performances. When he wasn't looking I smashed cake (which was really whipped cream) into Michael's face. That got quite the response! :) By the end of the evening I was caked out :)
The day ended with me heading back to the university to say goodbye to foreign teachers who were leaving the next day to go back to the States. Good things have been happening on this campus because of the light shining from them and I'm grateful for this group that has carried on in Hengyang (and to think I was so very worried about that last year at this time as I was leaving!!!). Also, a real gift was given to me when, after a year or so a broken relationship was mended and reconciliation was allowed to happen. I consider that as a birthday gift from God himself!

These past 27 years have been good. Thanks for all of you who have celebrated with me! Thanks especially to the the Giver of REAL life! I hope my life has given Him glory and honor, and where it hasn't I seek after His awesome GRACE!

Summer in China Begins

I’ve never stayed in China for the summer, and I’m excited about the things that could happen as I take in and learn new things. What happens when cultures collide? It is easy to answer this question in an objective, sociological, scientific way, but being in the actual midst of it makes the experience that much more acute.

After saying goodbye to the last of my teammates (all weekend, we would all gather to say goodbye as people left for the airport in shifts- starting with 14 and then there were 11, and then there were 8, and then there were 3—we kept saying this with each group that left—we pride ourselves on being a large team), I boarded the train. A 30-hour journey would take me back to my old stomping grounds of Hengyang. I was surprised- nobody bothered me at all on the train. Traveling is wearing on anybody, but when hounds of people want to practice their English or laugh at your Chinese, or tell you you’re writing the characters wrong, or sit on the bunk next to you and simply stare at you, it can be rather stressful. However, not a single person did this! Not one! I was somewhat relieved. I got a lower bunk, which, if you’ve ever been on a sleeper train in China you know that this is nice. The train was air-conditioned and I was able to sleep for a good part, reading and studying Chinese for the rest of it. The train was supposed to roll in at 4 AM according to the schedule and I was all ready at that time, like an eager little girl ready to go to kindergarten for the first time. Then the attendant told me that we were behind and would actually not reach Hengyang until 6. My friend was already at the train station to pick me up and I had to tell the poor guy to turn around and go home.
When I stepped off the train, WHOOSH, a blast of hot humid air hit me and I struggled to take deep breaths. Whew! I had forgotten just how humid the south of China can be. And this is mild, they say! At 6 AM I was sweating like a billy goat within twenty steps. I couldn’t understand a word the taxi driver was saying to me because of his southern accent (and the fact that they don’t speak standard Mandarin because they prefer the local dialect, which I don’t speak). It is soooo good to be back! :) :) I got to the house of my Chinese friend, said my hello’s, after which my friend proceeded to tell me that he had stayed up all night to pick me up because he felt that would be easier than going to sleep and having to wake up at 3:30. Bless his heart.
I stayed with the family of this same friend for the first few days, but have since moved back into my old apartment for July, which the school has so graciously offered to me. My friend is Michael, the first person I befriended when I came to China four and a half years ago. He has since become one of my best friends. He owns an English school and I have agreed to help him out a little bit this summer. His mom is the very definition of Chinese hospitality. I can never eat enough or be cared for enough, so she thinks. Although she doesn’t speak more than a few words of English, we are able to communicate relatively well. She is my Chinese mother. :)
Funny thing was that when I got to their house, after 30 hours on a train, all I wanted to do was take a shower. However, that day they just happened to have someone do some kind of work in the kitchen which meant they had to turn off all the running water in the house. The family has a nice little invention- they use the coal stove to heat up the water in the bathroom that allows for running hot water. So, what happens when there is no running water? Just use a bucket. And that’s exactly what I did. She had some water she had been storing and with a cup and bucket I took a bath. The cold water felt really niiiiice. :)
I later went to the university where I used to teach because it was just around lunch time and students were just getting out of class. I wanted to see who I would run into. I have not seen most of these students for a year because when I was here during Chinese New Year they were home with their families. The first people I ran into, surprisingly, were the group of girls I have come to love the most (outside of our family group)! We had lunch together and I was so excited to catch up a bit with them. I taught them for two years and they always gave (still give) me such great joy.
Later that afternoon I found my old teammate Chris and helped him pack up all his belongings since he is moving to language school in the fall. So, I went on a mission. He went to class and I just went to work putting things in piles, having liberty to throw things away and trying to salvage items in the kitchen that can be passed on to the new teammates. I tell you, I’ve been doing this the last few weeks for my current teammates, and it is so much more fun when you’re doing someone else’s apartment and not your own.
I'm not going to chronicle every single thing that happens during my day because I don't want to bore you, but check back every once in awhile and I'll give you the highlights. This summer will give me a chance to relax, read books just for the fun of it, maybe study Chinese a time or two, and meet with old friends. Good times, indeed.

Ending Another Semester in China

I am currently grading the last of my freshmen speeches and with that another semester in China has come to a close. Three of my teammates began the journey back to the States last night and the rest of them will venture out sometime in the next day or so. It's a little weird watching them go while I'll be staying in China for the summer. I could go on with "it's hard to believe the semester is over already," but I won't. :) It's been interesting getting used to a new area of the country at a new school, but I can now proudly say that it's not new anymore. I'm home.

For their final exam, my sophomore writing students had to create a metaphor that talked about how they see themselves as a writer. There were some interesting ones, this one in particular. I am amazed by her ability to write like this in a language that is not her own.

As a writer I am like a camera. Everything is in the lens of the camera (just like my eyes). After looking around, I will decide what to shoot, that is, choose the material I would like to talk about. The next step is to press the shutter- using my pen to describe it.
As for the same object, shooting with a camera in different positions, you can have the distinct pictures due to angle. It is the same with me. As every coin has two sides, I can point to some characteristics, maybe its excellence or defects, to reveal the thing in my point of view.
When taking a photo, the scenery nearby is rather clear whereas the sight far away looks a little vague, that depends on the lens of the camera. This point also applies to me. Take a cursory glance to the minor things, just describe them roughly while to the primary ones, I’ll portray them in detail, showing every aspect of them.
Someone has said, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” But as a good writer, I am a high-performance camera. I am able to reveal certain people, certain events vividly and intelligibly, just like a colorful picture. (Helen)

And so it ends.

A Plethora of Weekend Activities

WOW! This was a weekend FULL of activities. Pictures are taken by my teammates Katherine and Sarah, enjoy!

These are two pictures taken by teammate Katherine on our latest trip to the orphanage on Saturday afternoon. The one with us sitting on the floor needs some explanation. The babies were all screaming their heads off, except for this one little guy who looked so perplexed at the chaos around him, to which I had a "conversation" with him asking him what we should do about this situation. Precious :) :)


On Saturday night our team was asked to do a performance for the graduating seniors' party. The students usually love physical humor, so we tried doing that. I was a tree- Robb would pick my fruit, Jonny would tell him to eat it, Sonny would tell him not to eat it, Robb eats it and falls down, at which Doctor David and Nurse Sarah come and declares him dead and everyone's sad. Seth is the director and he yells "cut" at the end of each performance and tells us to do it as fast as we can, then as slow as we can, and then as sad as we can, and finally in Chinese (students LOVED this part). Don't know if the students actually liked it, but we certainly had a blast! Other performances included beautiful minority dancing, a fashion show, singing, break dancing, and a special dance number by the teachers of the department who apparently like to do the same thing every year :) (for which there really were no words)

Finally on Sunday afternoon was Josiah's 6th birthday party. We all dressed up as superheros (I was "Xiang Fei"- a Chinese princess that could turn into a dragon). I was asked to do the games, so for the first game I had Josiah follow a massive spiderweb set up in my apartment (following the red string under chairs and around pictures and in the refrigerator, etc.) to a prize at the end. Then I asked Seth "MetroMan" and Jason "Hawaiian Ninja" to be villains, at which Josiah and little Sarah threw water balloons at them and then spray them with silly string (the web, of course), and finally tie them up in a chair with TP. :) The last game was quieter with "pin Spiderman on the web." We had such a great time, and the "villains" were such great sports.

Monday was back to classes to give out part one of final exams.

This is my life. Pretty cool! :) :) :)

(note: China has blocked this blog website for now, so while I can post, I cannot see my actual blog. so, if pictures are out of order then I hope it makes some sense :) )

Never too old

I was taking a walk in the park the other day when I saw to my amazement an old Chinese grandpa and his friend (another grandpa) on rollerblades! Not rollerskates, but rollerblades! Quite fast, too! Every few minutes they would stop and chat together under the shaded tree trying to catch their breath. Proves you're never too old for anything :)

Unreached, But Not Forgotten

I am posting two pictures here taken by my teammate Sarah. These little guys live at the orphanage I have started visiting every Saturday. Orphans are often termed "forgotten ones." My belief is that these guys are loved and not forgotten. I believe that our Dad desires to call them His own! What a joy to spend time with them every week throwing the football, chasing them, and tickling them into oblivion!

Today I decided to join teammates Sarah and Robb for a homework grading party at the one local quasi-Western restaurant in town. When I came home I found a bouquet of flowers at my door! No note attached, so I don't know who sent them. How delightful! It was nice because it had some of my favorite flowers. It meant so much! I keep thinking that they were delivered to the wrong door :)


WOW, this week has taken quite a toll on me emotionally! Good things and not-so-good things, I feel like I'm on a bit of a rollercoaster. I've had AWESOME conversations this week with students and friends and I am amazed by being in community in this place. Hard things, too, have come that have caused me to search for answers about real Life. My world no longer exists in strictly black and white issues anymore. That's what happens when you collide with a new culture and you process things in a way you never have before. If you're interested in the details, just drop me a line, but just know for now that our Dad is still good!

Good news to all of you keeping up to date! Many know of my desire to be out in northWEST China and the difficulties of getting out there. Just recently a door has been open and that is reason for much rejoicing!!! I've been doing somersaults all weekend! I will still stay here in the northEAST for at least next year, but a team has now been placed in the northWEST! :) Before it becomes officially official, one more large red stamp needs to go down, so keep interceding! :) One note of concern, however, is that since a few doors have been open there's been a lot of darker issues from the other side, from someone who is clearly not happy with the turn of events. Specifically, there have been medical issues with two people (friends of mine) currently serving there or planning to go there in the fall (one was flown to Hong Kong for symptoms of rheumatic fever, and the other has had episodes of severe fatigue and weakness in a diabetic-type condition that is new for him). Also, there are long-term people (having had a presence of more than 20 years) being "invited" to leave, among other things. We have an Adversary who clearly wants claim over what he thinks should be his territory. But, we are claiming the region for our Dad! Ask that strongholds be dealt with and that His purposes reign supreme! :). As part of my final project for my masters work, I just finished a 60-page paper highlighting the story of the people in the northWEST, and pointing out ways to reach their hearts. Their story is long and complicated, but not so different from those from the acts of the first century. We go to tell them of the awesome Hope inside!
Unreached, but not forgotten. :)