Biscuit Night

Way back in May, Jon had his "English Corner group" over to the apartment. He had been promising them all year that he would show them how to cook biscuits.

Shirley really wanted to learn how to make biscuits.

Everyone enjoyed eating the biscuits. The double batch was gone in about three minutes.

Eve is looking at a Bible.

I just love, love, love this picture! This is what it is ALL ABOUT!

I am sitting in the Cafe at Clear Creek during Summer JAM typing this. We are enjoying being here, but are super excited about returning to China in just two weeks!

We love you guys so much! You always make us feel so welcome and comfortable! Thank you so much.

Happy Birthday Daddy Josh

GaoYan took me to the all you can eat Japanese restaurant for my birthday lunch. We enjoyed four different kinds of shrimp, scallops, oysters, beef, lamb, sushi, sashimi, fruit, 5 cups of soda and so on. I dipped too much wasabi with the sushi. My nose stung and eyes watered. It was a great time! For dessert the cook made bananas and fried ice cream. The cook grilled the bananas then set a ball of ice cream on top. GaoYan whispered, “Don’t tell the people next to us what is going to happen.” The cook took out his bottle of sauce and cigarette lighter, doused the ice cream, and set it on fire. Flames shot up almost to the ceiling. The couple next to us immediately ordered bananas and fried ice cream and got out their camera to take pictures.
Later that night Caleb helped me whip up our last box of brownies as a substitute birthday cake. Caleb loves to “help.” We all sang “Happy Birthday Daddy Josh” and ate brownies with cold milk.

Xuan Zang

Recently my Chinese tutor has been teaching me Chinese history. I am really learning a lot. I have never studied Chinese history because the numerous dynasties and names of emperors or four beauties just go in one ear and out the other.
In sharing the Bible with friends, we are, in a way, asking them to learn our history. I should appreciate more the “5,000 years of Chinese history.”
Perhaps the most popular story from Chinese history is that of Xuan Zang. Xuan Zang left his home at the young age of 13 to become a Buddhist monk. He endured years of studying Buddhist scriptures. In his study he discovered the texts had many mistakes. Xuan Zang decided he must journey to India and bring back the accurate Buddhist texts. Around 627 AD he set out through western China, turning south over the mountains of present day Afghanistan and Pakistan, and persevering through great hardship to finally arrive in India. He returned to China nearly 20 years later with more than 650 Sanskrit texts. Xuan Zang spent the rest of his life translating only a small portion of these texts. In addition, Xuan Zang introduced the Faxiang school of Buddhism to China, which became quite popular in China during Xuan Zang’s lifetime. Faxiang Buddhism quickly declined however after Xuan Zang died.
Xuan Zang’s story is so popular because it inspired the classic fiction novel “Journey to the West.” In the novel the Buddhist monk is accompanied by three disciples: the monkey king, a pig man, and the sand general in his trip to India. If you are flipping through the TV channels in China you are sure to see the monkey king.
Xuan Zang’s life can offer some helpful humble questions in talking with friends about Jesus: Do I need to travel back to Jerusalem to find accurate Bible texts? Why is the life of Jesus and his teaching so popular today?