Christmas in China

#1- Christmas is not even a holiday here...at all. No one is off work, kids are not out of school....nothing.
#2- Christmas is slowly infiltrating in. Decorations are more and more common. Christmas carols, even the ones with real meaning, are played in every store. People are more and more curious about what it is all about.
#3- Santa is not a g-d. We heard one national ask that question this year...if Santa was a g-d. That is how much they do not "get it", that is how much work is to be done, that is motivating and depressing all at the same time.
#4- The devil even celebrated- The people here like to wear costumes to celebrate Christmas. I guess it all stems from dressing in Bib-ical attire. But the costumes are really random...and weird. Devil horns, tails, and pitch forks are popular costumes. We saw several over the holiday, even one girl performing in the Christmas program at our apartment complex. All this relates back to #3- don't get it.
#5- Christmas here makes us realize what we are missing there. We really would have loved to have gone home for Christmas like many of our staff, but they are all single and have only one person to pay airfare for, while we have 6. Sitting in a cold hostel, eating random Chinese dishes for Christmas dinner, and being without family really made it tough. We were all fine until Christmas day and then it hit us all. Next Christmas we are going to head south to the beaches where it is warm and sunny and we can at least have that as a diversion.
All this to say, enjoy every Christmas at home with friends and family. It is truly a blessing to be able to, one that we really missed this year.

Hope you had a great Christmas, wherever you are!!!
More to come...

A good day for "Getting the WORD out"

In the past 24 hours, the WORD has really been spread here. Starting last night, at our school Christmas program, the story was told and Chinese Government officials were there for the program, local Chinese people, and families in our school that are not part of "the" family.
I wrote the script and brought the true meaning of the holiday.

Then today, we went to a Chinese wedding. The song, playing in the background, throughout the entire ceremony, was Amazing Grace. And then a choir sang it in English and Chinese. And our principal shared what guide book he uses for his marriage. It was wonderful too- to be with bro/sis from here and see their dedication in the midst of a room of others with no respect for their beliefs. They have to be strong here- non's make it really hard.

It was a good chance for us to see faith in action....glad I was here the past 24 hours...

Work with meaning...

I was so excited today. Got to share "the" story with my students- the one where a decision is necessary afterward. I just hope some seeds were planted.....please help me in remembering them in your thoughts in the coming days.
As relationships are slowly built, I hope more opportunities are presented for this to happen. It is such a high afterward- just knowing you are planting seeds, whether you are here to see the harvest or not......

Movin' onward and upward.....

We have now been here in China for 3 months. Seems like a long time when I think about missing family, seems short when I think of how busy we have been...and we are just getting started.
Now that we know day to day life and school is falling into place, we want to get on with the bigger picture, the reason we are here. the reason we gave up our comfortable lives to come here, where things are so different and quite uncomfortable to us. So we are asking Him everyday why? what? where?
One area I feel for me is the English corner here at out apartment complex. We meet once a week and they get to practice their English. We have different discussion starters and it can get very interesting. Although we are not allowed to "teach" or "mention", it always comes up by one of them. And it makes my heart happy.
As the relationships grow and become more personal, we will be able to have some over for dinner, go places with them, just hang out. Hey, I already have one guy wanting to cook for me!!! lol
Most are college age and that makes me very happy. I miss my college age students at home. I have even taken to naming, them in my mind,...like "wow, that guy sounds like Dillion" or "that girl's mannerisms really remind me of Kelsey"...lol

So that is where I am heading. Madeline is also interested in the English corner- there are a few high school age there so she is going with me in a few weeks.

Also we are all planning to get involved in a Chinese Christian private school.- can't give much in the way of info, but there is a lot to be done there with high school and college age so I am really excited about that.

There is a foriegn fellowship on the other side of the city we are planning to visit. They have a very very spirited service- lot of african expats attend- so I am excited to visit there in 2 weeks. Several "friends" attend there and we will go with them.

There is so much going on help...sharing just the tip of the iceberg. Please remember us daily as we seek to do what He would have us do here in a land of many, many people in need.

Being to communicate...a little...ting bu bong....

I have reached a milestone in China!! Finally, I can now get in a cab say hello, tell where I live, ask how much, understand the answer, and make it safely home!!! Halelujah!!!!

According to most expat families, now is the time for culture shock to set in- and of course it is right before the holidays. So we really need everyone to please "think" of us often in the coming weeks. When school is in, we do a lot better with homesickness- when we are around our friends and school "family". But being here at Christmas without our family will be extremely hard under ideal circumstances, much less with not many staff here for the holidays. We are going on a trip to Shanghai for Chistmas week so we are not sitting here, feeling sorry for ourselves. We are not doing anyone any good doing that.....

So, that is where we are right now- learning the language that is keeping us from being able to do what we feel called to do....but we are getting there.....

Touched by.....well you decide.....

September 19th, 2009
Well the day started off kinda rough. We had hard a pretty hard week and just wanted to get out and go somewhere fun. The plan was to go to New World Center and eat fried rice and shop at the really good international store there. But when we left the apartment, things went bad pretty quickly.
All we wanted was to get a bread loaf cab (really small van the shape of, well, a bread loaf). We went across the highway to where we knew there would be several to choose from. As we tried to decide, we felt that we were kinda being made fun of by a group of drivers- kinda taken advantage of our ignorance of how much a cab should be to that area of town. So we walked away from the first set of drivers. Walked on down a bit and found another driver who had a sweet face, so we asked him. He gave a better rate and didn’t laugh. But when we got to where we were going, it was not where we were going…in other words, we were lost. He took us to the New World Tower, not New World Center.
Now it is very hard to get a cab for six in the busier city area- you pretty much have to take 2 car cabs once we get to the Hanku district. So we were really worried about getting into 2 cabs and be taken to two different places. So we wandered down the road to a large hotel, hoping for help there. Walking across the highway, I reminded G-D we were going to need some help. So glad my boys heard me saying that. As we walked into the hotel, the stares began. It is a constant thing, but more noticeable in some places. So we went up to the desk and asked for someone who spoke English. They must not have had one, so I call my teacher assistant, Julia, to translate. She talked to them about getting us to where we were trying to go. After an 8 minute conversation between Julia and the desk clerk, I was back on the phone with Julia. She assured me the desk lady was going to help us get a cab. Once again, I had an outloud conversation with the L-D. We stood there for another 10 minutes while different bell hops came up, listened to the desk clerks story, kinda chuckled, and looked like they had never heard of the place we were trying to go.
Well right then I remember thinking, why is it they all laugh at us? Chinese people are not very compassionate. This is so frustrating. Then all of a sudden, this young girl, maybe 20 years old, and a guy about her age appear. They look at the directions in our cab book and talk to the clerk for a minute. They didn’t work for the hotel, looked to be college kids, and seemed to really want to help. Then she turned to me and said in English, “This is where you are wanting to go?” We were so excited. She continued, “I will help you get a cab.” So we all paraded outside- weird white people with too many kids, and the young Chinese couple.
We crossed the highway again and stood at the corner to flag down 2 cabs. When the first one stopped, Bob and the boys piled in. And then, surprise, she got in too. Ok, that was kinda strange, but this is China. Then we get a cab and the guy gets in with us. He speaks no English, so very limited conversation.
I called Bob on the cell to see if he found this strange that they were going with us. He was like yeah, but couldn’t say too much with her right there in the seat behind him.
We get to the plaza and walked to the store to find Bob, the boys, and the girl. As we walk along through the plaza, I see her up ahead waving for us. We follow her into the store to the very back where there is a small café. Bob is sitting at a table with the boys, having been served nice glasses of cold water. I thought “UhOh what is going on”. But the couple made sure we all had water, took none for themselves, and started kinda backing away. Bob turned to offer the girl money for their time, trouble, and cab ride back. She refused it, looked at the guy, and they practically ran to the front door. Now the door was a good 25 feet from where we were, but in a wink, they were out it and gone. It was like I looked at Bob and said, “ Did you invite them to dinner?” He said, “ I didn’t get a chance”. We turned to see if we could catch them, and they were completely gone. We went outside then to see if we saw them. No sight of them in either direction. And we could see in both directions about 200 feet at least.
As we were standing out there, my phone rang. It was Julia again. She was checking on us and when I told her what happened, she told me, “As soon as we hung up, I began to pray for you. I asked G-d to send someone to help you.”
Yeah. Pretty amazing huh. Much better ending to our day than beginning. Angels? In one way or another yes, for us they were. In the Chinese culture, people do not help strangers like they may in the states. It is all about saving face. If you need help it is an embarrassment to you. So people generally do not offer. So either way, humans or angels, we thank G-d for them. And the way He can turn a bad day around into something truly special.


**** Please pray for my TA. She is a sister and her family gives her much grief about it….strength for her and the HS to work on their hearts.

Touched by.....well you decide.....

September 19th, 2009
Well the day started off kinda rough. We had hard a pretty hard week and just wanted to get out and go somewhere fun. The plan was to go to New World Center and eat fried rice and shop at the really good international store there. But when we left the apartment, things went bad pretty quickly.
All we wanted was to get a bread loaf cab (really small van the shape of, well, a bread loaf). We went across the highway to where we knew there would be several to choose from. As we tried to decide, we felt that we were kinda being made fun of by a group of drivers- kinda taken advantage of our ignorance of how much a cab should be to that area of town. So we walked away from the first set of drivers. Walked on down a bit and found another driver who had a sweet face, so we asked him. He gave a better rate and didn’t laugh. But when we got to where we were going, it was not where we were going…in other words, we were lost. He took us to the New World Tower, not New World Center.
Now it is very hard to get a cab for six in the busier city area- you pretty much have to take 2 car cabs once we get to the Hanku district. So we were really worried about getting into 2 cabs and be taken to two different places. So we wandered down the road to a large hotel, hoping for help there. Walking across the highway, I reminded G-D we were going to need some help. So glad my boys heard me saying that. As we walked into the hotel, the stares began. It is a constant thing, but more noticeable in some places. So we went up to the desk and asked for someone who spoke English. They must not have had one, so I call my teacher assistant, Julia, to translate. She talked to them about getting us to where we were trying to go. After an 8 minute conversation between Julia and the desk clerk, I was back on the phone with Julia. She assured me the desk lady was going to help us get a cab. Once again, I had an outloud conversation with the L-D. We stood there for another 10 minutes while different bell hops came up, listened to the desk clerks story, kinda chuckled, and looked like they had never heard of the place we were trying to go.
Well right then I remember thinking, why is it they all laugh at us? Chinese people are not very compassionate. This is so frustrating. Then all of a sudden, this young girl, maybe 20 years old, and a guy about her age appear. They look at the directions in our cab book and talk to the clerk for a minute. They didn’t work for the hotel, looked to be college kids, and seemed to really want to help. Then she turned to me and said in English, “This is where you are wanting to go?” We were so excited. She continued, “I will help you get a cab.” So we all paraded outside- weird white people with too many kids, and the young Chinese couple.
We crossed the highway again and stood at the corner to flag down 2 cabs. When the first one stopped, Bob and the boys piled in. And then, surprise, she got in too. Ok, that was kinda strange, but this is China. Then we get a cab and the guy gets in with us. He speaks no English, so very limited conversation.
I called Bob on the cell to see if he found this strange that they were going with us. He was like yeah, but couldn’t say too much with her right there in the seat behind him.
We get to the plaza and walked to the store to find Bob, the boys, and the girl. As we walk along through the plaza, I see her up ahead waving for us. We follow her into the store to the very back where there is a small café. Bob is sitting at a table with the boys, having been served nice glasses of cold water. I thought “UhOh what is going on”. But the couple made sure we all had water, took none for themselves, and started kinda backing away. Bob turned to offer the girl money for their time, trouble, and cab ride back. She refused it, looked at the guy, and they practically ran to the front door. Now the door was a good 25 feet from where we were, but in a wink, they were out it and gone. It was like I looked at Bob and said, “ Did you invite them to dinner?” He said, “ I didn’t get a chance”. We turned to see if we could catch them, and they were completely gone. We went outside then to see if we saw them. No sight of them in either direction. And we could see in both directions about 200 feet at least.
As we were standing out there, my phone rang. It was Julia again. She was checking on us and when I told her what happened, she told me, “As soon as we hung up, I began to pray for you. I asked G-d to send someone to help you.”
Yeah. Pretty amazing huh. Much better ending to our day than beginning. Angels? In one way or another yes, for us they were. In the Chinese culture, people do not help strangers like they may in the states. It is all about saving face. If you need help it is an embarrassment to you. So people generally do not offer. So either way, humans or angels, we thank G-d for them. And the way He can turn a bad day around into something truly special.


**** Please pray for my TA. She is a sister and her family gives her much grief about it….strength for her and the HS to work on their hearts.

Grocery shopping is always an adventure. Gonna attempt to post some interesting pictures from our trips to the Zhong Bai....

More randoms...

Split pants.....all little ones wear them, even babies....just squat where you are and have at it...in parks, in stores, wherever!!!

And even babies where them- they train them to go on command...or rather on whistle....

There was a little one, maybe 8 months old, peeing in the trash can in the grocery store the other day when Madeline and I were checking out...his dad was just holding him over the can.

OK, here is classic "chinglish"...Chinese-English.

We see it everywhere we go.

I see a career here for us when we become fluent in Chinese...someone has got to help them translate signs....

10 Things About China

1. People drive like nothing I have ever seen before. And even worse- people walk out into the middle of it to cross the street!! Traffic lights mean nothing. We were almost in 3 wrecks today on the way to the other side of the city in a cab.

2. People who do not drive ride bikes and mopeds, up to 4 per bike. They can pile whole families on one moped. And they really do not even hold on.

3. There is no rush on anything here, but if they are waiting on you, you will hear about it. Confusing to me.

4. Split pants are alive and well, even in a major city of 8 million people where we live. If you do not know, babies and toddlers do not wear diapers but pants with a slit where the babies crack is, front to back. If they have to go, they squat down where they are and have at it....yes, a little disgusting, but not as bad as the poor mom/grandmom picking junior up afterward.....beyond gross.

5. There are buildings in terrible shape, but a crew of 10 was out cleaning the guardrail between the two lanes of traffic in front of our complex. Again, I ask my favorite question.....why?

6. People here are really friendly. They are very curious about us, but very nervous about talking to us. The language barrier is a big issue. If they think you know Chinese, they will talk and talk to you.

7. The grocery store is a very foriegn place for me and it takes me twice as long to shop. Many labels are in English, but some are not and you kinda have to guess. What we thought was salt was MSG. But we are trying our best to find things we like to cook so we do not have to eat out every meal.

8. Eating out can be very very cheap if you do not really care what you are eating. We ate Korean last night and ate lamb, goat ish meat, pork of some kind, some slimey verggies, etc.....but the bill was only 50 RMB for me and Bob.....comes to about $7.50.

9. Squat pots need to be outlawed.

10. Chinese like very firm, hard beds. When they delivered our new bed, I thought they had forgotten the mattress and just brought the boxsprings. Yes, I am serious, that hard. But I got a big piece fo foam today to put on the bed so tonight I may actually get sleep and be able to walk in the am.....TG!!!!!

Thanks for thoughts!!! We can feel it and we sure have needed it. This is definately a foriegn land we are living in!!!!!!

In a "nut" shell....

August 1st 2009

Sorry it has taken so long for me to blog, but we really do not have internet and are “freeloading” off a neighbors we think. I have not had a lot of free time to sit and blog anyway so I have a lot to catch you all up on.

We finally made it to Wuhan on Monday morning around 11:00 am. And the biggest miracle is that all 24 of our bags made it too!!! (Airport trick- put “markers” on all your bags to find them quickly and easily at baggage claim- we had orange ribbon on all of ours).
We were greeting by our principal, Doug, and Becky, a teacher at the school. It was so good to see friendly, familiar faces!!
We loaded all the bags on the bus, in the rain, and headed to our apartment. We checked it out and then immediately headed to the school. We were tired, but ready to see what we would be doing and where we were to be working. Bob’s office is actually two doors down from me…..joy. My room was a wreck, but I saw potential there. We ate lunch- real Chinese food, not American version- and then I went back to my room to start setting it up. We were tired, but still just excited to finally have arrived.
Later we went to the apartment, unpacked some, and went to the principal’s house for dinner. By then, the kids were wiped out and the younger 3 crashed on the sofa and never even saw dinner…lol.

We all slept great that night, but since our times were all messed up we were up by 5. But that has slowly moved later and later. Today (Saturday) we all got up between 8 and 9, so we are back to normal and it only took a week!!!

So….as far as going out in the real Chinese world, we have been to various stores to get food and things for our apartment. And let me tell you, we have experienced the real China and how different things are over here.
First of all, there is chocolate in China!!! They have a lot of our brands- Cadbury, a little bit of Hersheys, and Dove. But they also have ice cream!!! And it is good!!! TG!!! A teacher from the school went shopping with us and suggested these ice cream bars called Magnums and they are the best ice cream treats ever!!! So I am very happy with the chocolate situation!!!!

Second, we are a little freak show to the Chinese people. Not only are we white, but we have 4 children. When we go in the stores, all the people stare at us. Not only that, but store workers come and stand on the aisle with us- as many as 3 or 4 of them. It is so funny. We have not been approached very much, only stared at. Oh, and one guy on the street near the school counted our kids (in English) three times looking at me each time like “could it possibly be?”

Third, the meat department in the grocery stores would be a DHEC nightmare in the states. Not only is fresh meat laying out everywhere, unwrapped and ready for purchase, but so are live fish, snake, toads, turtles, and other scary creatures. The area with cooked meats has chickens, feet and heads still attached. And the smell is pretty bad. But we have been able to find western meats too- Hormel ham in packs and steaks. Chicken is really cheap; Chinese do not eat it often and actually think it unhealthy.

Fourth, trying read labels and figure things out is tricky. Madeline and I tried to find salt last night and we never knew for sure if what we were buying was salt until we got home. It was, but not like our salt- not as “salty”. We have been buying a lot of Chinese treats to try- cookies, candies, sweets. Some are great and some not so great. But we have to try and see. And treats are really cheap- like 30 cents for a large pack of cookies.

Fifth, money is really easy to use here. All prices are in RMB. To kinda see in your head how much something is in our prices, divide by 7. So a pillow for 19 RMB is really about $2.70. And yes, that is what I paid for a bed pillow. Prices for things are pretty cheap- 1.70 RMB for a pack of candy ($.28), loaf of fresh bread 5.8 RMB ($.80), 2 liter Sprite 5.8 RMB ($.80)….more to come.


Besides school and shopping, we have been meeting and getting to know the staff. There are a lot of great people here with our school and we have gotten to have dinner with several of them and really enjoyed that- spaghetti, Mexican, even real Chinese food cooked by the principal’s Ayi ( more Ayis later).
Last night was a really interesting evening with school friends. We went to Pizza Hut. It was really good and not any more expensive than in the states. We were eating and noticed a Chinese lady go up to the salad bar. Becky told us to watch her and that she would be up there another 20 minutes. I was like no way, but she said, in China you can share 1 salad with the whole family, but you can only make one trip. So they make it into a piece of art. I took a picture of it, but not sure it can out well enough to show how really hard she worked on this salad. It was huge!! She build stacked up walls of cucumbers all the way around and did giant piles of tomato, cheese,etc. And then added more lettuce. It was amazing!!!

After dinner we went to Carrefour, a French Wal-Mart. And we finally felt like we were really in China. The crowds and noise were amazing. We found lots we needed, checked out, walked out and remembered it was Friday night at 8:00 and it was a party- people everywhere. So we went to the bus stop (in the rain again- rainy season right now). We waited and waited and waited on a bus. Finally it came and it was packed!!! We all stood huddled together right at the door. It was insane. We learned not to take a bus on Friday night any more.

So now it is Saturday about lunch time. We just ate and are getting ready to go to “fellowship” at 4:00. We have it on Saturday, not Sunday. We all go to dinner together afterward, which we are really excited about. So, I need to wrap it up and go shower.
Continue to remember us. We can sense that you are.
Blessings,
Angie

We are here! We are Here!! WE ARE HERE!!!

July 26th, 2009 Beijing, China

We arrived in Beijing, China at 8:00 pm. It was really strange because we slept 5 hours on the plane, woke up, ate dinner, and were told we would be arriving soon and it was evening. It was like we had slept all night and most all of the day!
When we got all our bags (24 in all) a guy told us the airline would be putting us all (others too missed the flight) up in a hotel in Beijing. So we all boarded a very crowded bus and drove to the hotel. It was a very nice hotel, but since our days were nights and our nights were days, it was difficult to decide what we were to do. After they fed us a very traditional Chinese dinner, we all tried to sleep a little before leaving at 5:00 am for the airport to hopefully make it to our new home.

Water in China is un-drinkable and we all woke up this morning (I am sitting in the hotel lobby now as I type this) very very thirsty. I asked the hotel attendant where we could get water. No real answer. Asked in the restaurant- was told no. Asked again if we could just buy some water. We were all parched. Still was told no, or not understood.
This really made me think about how simple a thing water is and how we take it for granted. But while we lacked water to drink, the Chinese people lack the real water. That is the real need and it is hitting me now. Thirst is real and all people have it, whether they know it or not.

Here goes nothing...no here goes EVERYTHING!!!!

July 25th


Bright and early on Saturday, July 25th, the six of us stepped out on faith. We left Charlotte Douglas airport at 9:25 am and arrived at JFK International 80 minutes later with a uneventful flight. The kids were super excited and super nervous about, what was for 3 of them, their first flight. Jack was really anxious so we prayed together for travel mercies and his nerves. It thrilled my heart the way he automatically turned to pray in times of fear.
After a four hour layover and an hour delay, we were finally on our way out of the country. As we boarded the flight, I reminded the kids as they started down the walkway this was their last few steps on American soil for quite a while. It was a surreal feeling, as much of this has been.
After we were onboard the sweltering aircraft (had to have been 85 with dead air- sweltering), we sat for 2 hours never really understanding what the hold up was. We had a flight to catch from Beijing to Wuhan that we were not going to make, but we just had to trust it would all work out- even on the other side of the world.

Life on Fast-Forward

That is really how it feels. We got home from training, were in Gaffney 5 days, and left again for the beach!!! I am down here without B0b- he is at home getting things ready to leave. I am here, in Charleston with my whole family having a ball! When we get home, we get to leave exactly 1 week later!!!

I have so much to do, but I am putting off going home, it would seem. I have some shopping to do, cleaning out to do, a few more goodbyes, and then trying to pack 6 people for 2 years...how to do that?

We are excited and apprehensive about this. It seemed so far off, so remote, and now that it is almost here, it seems surreal. I do not know how to explain it. Kinda like when the dermo called me and said, " you have skin cancer- gotta have surgery"

I probably will not be on here any to post the next week so my next post will be from China.
Please, Please PLEASE think about my family the next few weeks- intently and by name- Bob, Madeline, Jack, Brady, Charlotte, and me, Angie. We need individual, specific thought as we go and travel- for our nerves, our attitudes, our patience, our discernment, and our stamina.

If you will commit to doing this, please post here and let me know.
I appreciate it so much. Expect to hear from us soon- from the other side of the world!!!

June 17th Random Thoughts

Just some random thoughts as we travel, yet again, further north to New York. Bob and I were talking about how many things in our lives in the past few years that now we see where preparing us for this trip. It is just amazing to me…
1. We have lived in an old house that is impossible to heat without going bankrupt. We kept the temperature at around 63 degrees all winter. We will be living in a city that is very cold in the winter and the apartments are hard to heat. They warned us that is can be cold, even indoors. We were like, no problem.
2. As far as “luxuries” we had none in our old house- no dishwasher, no DVR or TiVo, only one bath with shower, and no master bath at all- only a hall bathroom. Again, they were warning us about the absence of these type things and we were like no problem.
3. We were warned about mud and dirt, how easy it is to track in and how you have to learn to take shoes off at the door always. We do this anyway and especially now that we live in the apartment at my mom and dad’s house. We have no choice- when you park, if it has rained in the last 3 days, you are in the mud. Got me and Madeline really cool rainboots; trying to get Charlotte some too.
4. Three years ago I was beginning to work with the youth again and I really wanted to help with high school age. But through Dad’s leading I ended up helping with the college age. I have never felt led to work with that age. I could definitely feel that I was being lead to serve in that area. So I have and have loved it – really, really loved it. Now, as we plan to go, I have spoken with several teachers and “others” in China who “work” with college age students. College coffee houses are a very big part of the work going on there. And I feel very excited to be a part of that area of “work”. Four years ago I would have not felt confident or able to serve in this area.
5. I fought Dad about homeschooling my boys the second half of this year. After Thanksgiving, before we even discussed moving, I felt they needed to be at home with me for a while, But I put it off until mid-January. When I did pull them out, I felt a big sense of peace in them and me. They were not stressed about school anymore and I was actually excited. It has not been a walk in the park, but I was not as worried about their school abilities as I was their hearts, attitudes, and obedience. So we have been working on school subjects 40% of the time and their “life skills” the other 60% of the time. We have made great strides in these areas- and we will continue with this aspect of homeschooling always.
6. Buying a car- I have been driving the same old van for 10 years. It is in the beginning stages of being on life-support. We started looking for a new car over a year ago. We found several we liked; we had many opportunities to buy what we wanted. But when I would sit back and “think” about it, it never felt “right”. So we kept waiting and waiting. And then, we realized this was what we were to do and we were thankful we didn’t “jump the gun” on buying a car when it definitely was not part of the plan.
The van is slowly falling apart- doors both are tearing apart, window on driver’s side will not roll down, handle on back hatch broke off, radio station nob is gone, controls on drivers door have decided to pop up, CD player quit working, DVD player we can hear but no picture, and best of all- all the seats are getting tears in the leather where it has worn thin- fixed of course with duck tape. Our car will make quite the first impression for us when we arrive at training in another hour or so. Just think “positive thoughts” that it will last til we leave for China.


We are just amazed at how things work together for our good, whether we see it or not. I am sure there are many instances like this at work in your life too. Stop and notice and you will be amazed. We are so wrapped up in our own little lives that we don’t see how it all fits together. It is a humbling experience to say Your way, not mine and mean it. But it is an amazing experience to say, Wow! That is why! I see now and thank Daddy.

June 16th 2009- Our Nation's Capital

Since we were so late getting our passports (the state messed up on that one), we had to come to Washington, DC to the Chinese Embassy to get our Visas. Trying to maneuver around an unfamiliar city is bad enough, but with times restrictions and four excited children, it is about impossible. So after a long talk with Dad, we tried to plan a major detour to our trip.
So the night before we had to leave, we had to find a place to stay. Trying to be the best stewards as possible with the money we had been entrusted with, I was on the computer at one in the morning looking for good last minute deals. I tried all the discount hotel deal companies and ended up on hotwire. After asking not to let me do something foolish, I accepted an offer on a 4 star hotel in Bethesda at $69 a night. And it ended up being The Hyatt Regency!!! So we got to stay at a wonderful, very nice hotel .
But the biggest hallelujah was that the hotel was on the same road as the embassy; that was "lined up" because there is no way that could happen by chance. Out of all of Washington, the two places we had to go were less than 4 miles apart on the same road!!!!
While in DC we rode the train in to see the mall monuments. The whole way in, on the very crowded rush hour train, I heard that song by Brandon Heath “Give Me Your Eyes” in my head. As you look around at people, you can see need in their eyes- pain, disappointment, loneliness, sadness. I tried to make eye contact with as many as possible and just offer an encouraging smile. We will be in a gigantic city with millions of millions of people, most with empty looks. It is hard to fathom the need there; hard to imagine right now how challenging a task.
We are now driving out of DC and headed to Harrisburg, PA. We have one more night before we register for training tomorrow afternoon. We are going to try to see Hershey and go to the chocolate factory before we leave out. Hey, it’s a free factory tour and I am kinda a fan of chocolate.

In a Whirlwind....

The past few weeks have been a blur- a lot to be done in a very short time. It seemed so far off, but now we leave for training in a week!! We are learning so much through this process; it seems that Dad is working more on me than I could ever help others. He is showing me my flaws and selfish tendencies every day. And through it, helping me to humbly teach my children to live for more than self.
As gifts pour in to help us, we learn to humbly accept what we need. As the house empties out, we are learning faith and contentment with very few belongs. As I turn my business over to others to run, I am learning to trust. And as we try to sell our house in a very sluggish market, we are learning patience and to wait on God’s timing.
I have so many loose ends to tie up, but I have a sense of peace doing so that I never thought possible. I usually get very tense and impatient, but right now I am so chilled out and I just know He has it all lined up perfectly so I am good. Just trusting that we are dead center in the middle of His will for us makes all the things we have to get done an adventure in “What will Dad show us next?”

Movin out, movin on.....

We successfully moved out of our house and in with my parents. We are staying in the apartment in their basement, but spreading out to sleep at night. I guess the smallness of the apartment will get us ready for the crowded conditions when we arrive.
We still have some things here to move-our good china, yard equipment, stuff we will not use but want to keep. But we should be completely out of the house by the end of next week.
I am still tutoring at the house until the house sells.
Please please please "think about" our house selling in May. It is already going to be difficult scheduling a closing for it, with all the time in June and July we will be out of town. I trust that it will sell. But I am just impatient. I need less fear and anxiety and more trust and faith!!!

We are in a pile of forms to be completed and registered with the government and medical forms and school forms......so I need to get back to it. I will try to blog more as last details are wrapped up.
Continue to "think" about our family as we prepare for this journey.

Do any of you know Morse....?

Final word came earlier- we are hired.
I have to edit for content now.
Lots more to come about our new "life".
Will keep you updated.

Moving Right Along.....

We are still waiting for results from the testing and formal offer from the company. This is taking much longer than we expected or are use to. I am an immediate results kinda girl- good or bad, just give it to me. So this has been hard. My apprehension seems to be being met with telling me to rest . He says has it covered and it is all plan, way, timing. So I wait.

We have shown the house twice and have 2 more coming to see it this week. I am constantly picking things up, sweeping, vacuuming. This is not fun- living in a house with 4 kids and trying to keep it clean enough to show on a moments notice. Hopefully, it will sell soon and we can get to moving by the end of the month. Please continue to pray that it sells before we have to leave the first of August.


I still am unsure as to what to do with my tutoring students in the fall. The lady that was going to take it over needs free afternoons to take her middle school aged kids to sporting events,etc. I know someone else will come along who wants to work a few hours a week and make some extra money. If you know of any teachers that might be interested, let me know.

One thing I am struggling with through all of this is negative responses. We have people, some we barely know, saying very negative things about us going. Some do not mean to, but it is not helpful at all and we need building up and affirming, not doubt. But again, the L keeps telling me this is the Way, Plan. So I cling to that. Just pray that I keep my big mouth shut and have restraint not to say something sarcastic back. So far I have just smiled, nodded, and said, "yes, it is going to be very different for us."

Very different indeed- did you know they eat snake over there? More to come on that later....

Just one of those things.....

We are moving in many ways right now....and it is causing big change for me.

First way- moving through the process. We are on the final step- mental testing. We are not having to go to Michigan. We are being tested right here next week. One kinda short test and one test of 550 questions!!! If I wasn't mental before, I will be afterward!!!

Second way- moving out of the house. We are putting the house on the market Sunday. Please pray that is sells quickly. We are planning to move out in April regardless into the one bedroom apt at mom and dads. If that doesn't help get us ready, nothing will.

Third way- moving stuff out of here. Planning to have another sale next weekend and get rid of a lot of stuff. I never realized how much stuff we have accumulated. It is such a freeing sensation to get rid of all of this. I will be so much happier with less to worry about.

One thing I have noticed through all of this is how attached we are to having a home. I didn't realize how much a part of who I am is connected to my house and stuff. I have noticed that in getting rid this stuff and the feeling of security from things, I am relying more on . We, as Americans, have fooled ourselves into thinking we need all this stuff to be happy and secure. But the more I purge, the more secure I feel. I want my faith to be just that. Using things for security was robbing me of that blessing of relying on for safety, protection, belonging.

I do not want to be defined by what i drive, live in, wear. Without all of these distractions and idols, I feel free to find my meaning in who I am in . This concept is just settling over me and it is amazing.

More to come.....

I am amazed daily......

The further we get in the application process, the more convinced I am that clearing a perfect path for this is all fall into place. Daily sends things to me, reassurances that this is the path for us, the plan for our family. If you had told me a year ago this would be happening, I would not have believed it at all.

I am still hard a work, cleaning out closets, clothes, cabinets. It is a major deal- you do not realize how much "stuff" you have accumulated until you try to weed out 50-70% of it.
I am amazed at how is working through facebook though. The day I put my status as "cleaning out for sale" I had an old classmate message me wanting to buy any and all kitchen stuff. Also he wants teen type clothes for his daughter- two things I have a ton of to sell.
Then got a serious inquiry about the house...and we aren't even showing it for another 2 weeks!!!! Plus a friend had 2 people at work ask her if we were selling- they were interested too!!

Another concern I had was my tutoring students. I have done this for almost 13 years and some of them have been with me for 6-7 years. And at this time, I do not know of anyone else in Gaffney tutoring. I was really getting anxious about what would happen with them....and the kids and parents are too!!!
I have prd about it and poured my heart out. These kids I have grown very close to. I had one the other day making a book for school and he asked me if he could dedicate it to me and I teared up. It was weighing heavy on my heart. And I know hears my prs- He doesn't want me to have anything distracting me from the plan for us. He cares about even the smallest areas of our lives. He knew/knows my heart and concern for these kids, most with ADD and ADHD.
Yesterday, after my mini-cry about the dedication of the book by a precious second grader, I received another facebook message from a teacher who moved from Gaffney but is moving back home this summer. She is interested in "babysitting" my tutoring kids (her words, not mine) for a few years while we are gone. We are meeting up this weekend to talk. I am so excited and relieved!!!


Also, I had my formal interview this week. For 92 minutes I answered question after question over the phone with the HR director. And it was wonderful!!! By the end, we were both in tears and snubbing over what a wonderful thing this is and how is really in the middle of this. He said, "You know, I have been thinking the past few minutes. Your accent, I know you are Southern if not from South Carolina. And I am thinking how there is this girl from South Carolina and she and her husband are going to take their family to China to work in our schools and how can reach out all over the world and lead people places they never expect."
That was what got both of us. Just putting it to words... known all along this was the path for us.
It is truly amazing....exciting....humbling.

I can't wait to see what is going to happen next!!!

And so it begins........

All great things have humble beginnings. We weren't looking to go overseas, just something more, something different, something meaningful.

I was up late one night surfing the web and a site popped up for teaching in International Schools Overseas. So I clicked on it to read....and 4 hours later went to bed. . Then I saw it said they need a Financial Director and a Special Education- exactly what the two of us do. So I started praying, searching, and reading.
I talked to Bob about all of this. He was very open to the idea and committed to pray about it too.
We found 3 schools that seemed to "fit" us and looked over all the info. We contacted all three schools and all 3 were interested.
The first school seemed perfect. It is in Vienna, Austria, where Bob and I have been several times. I thought I love that area and my kids can go to Paris, and see Germany, and ......then God reminded me this is not a vacation.
The second school was in Istanbul, Turkey. Not top spot on my "to visit" list, but ok, we will see.
But we "sensed" that was not the place for us either.
The third school was in China. Of all places!!! Probably last on my "to visit" list. But everything seemed to be put in place for this to happen. May I present the
"Could we be going to China?" list....

1. As we started to pray about this, China seemed to be everywhere....every news cast, every web video, every person.

2. Bob said before we go he wanted to talk to someone who had worked for the school, but no longer did to get the "real story".
Within a week, a friend of mine from high school came over to dinner with others from high school and mentioned that she knew a girl who spent time in China and she would have her contact me through facebook. We got in touch and she taught for the SAME SCHOOLS (only 6 of them in all of China). We went to dinner last week and she was able to share a lot about the schools and the company- said it was the best 2 years of her life so far!!!


3. Madeline is very apprehensive about going. I so want her to see this as an opportunity to grow in her faith, trust the plan for her life.
In two different youth activities last week the college leaders spoke about seeking the will, doing the hard thing, trusting help you through it, and being a light to the NATIONS....yes, they used that word!!! And Brandon was looking RIGHT AT HER as he spoke. And he has no idea we were thinking of doing this.
She is now e-mailing a girl at the school and starting to feel better by the day about this complete change in her life. She even said last night, "We may get over there and I not want to come home after 2 years, but could we come home for the summer?"


4. Our possessions- I have told Bob for years, I would not care if our house burned as long as I got my pictures and family videos out. I do not care about "stuff"- makes me nervous as a matter of fact.
Yesterday an overwhelming sense of "get to it and clean out" came over me. So even though I am sick right now, I started cleaning out my closet and drawers, keeping about 1/3 of my stuff, selling the rest. And a feeling of peace came over me....it felt sooooo good.
(Side note: as I looked over my "professional clothes" to keep to teach in, they all have an oriental look to them- lol)
Then last night the superintendent of schools called us. We talked for almost an hour. At the end, he asked if we had listed our house yet and when we said no, he said Get to it!!! He said it another time and then as we closed the conversation again, but more adamantly...."Get it listed"....just re-enforcing my overwhelming urge yesterday.
So today we are working hard, cleaning out and throwing away. Plan to list the house on March 20th.
Please pray for us that it will sell asap!!!!


So I am off to work....much more to share later!!!