Pajama day!

Some times you just need a pajama day. (This was originally written 2 weeks ago)

 Every once and a while we plan a pajama day. This is a day where we stay in our pj,s all day long! Last Friday we had an unplanned pajama day. Thursday afternoon we got a package from Poppa and Granny. They sent the kids matching warm pj's. It is a Christmas tradition. Friday morning after the kids had dressed, they decided that they needed to try the pj's on "to make sure they fit". Once they got them on, they did not want to take them off!

In the package there were also some comics. The kids spent at least 5 quiet minutes looking at the comics. It was very peaceful!

I did make Hallie put on her regular clothes to go to Chinese class, but when she got home, she put her pj's back on. We had the kids put on long johns on ( some older matching pj's) under their pj's and we went out to eat. We had to walk to the restaurant.

The kids thought it was great fun. No one blinked an eye at what the kids were wearing. You see it is not uncommon to see people out in their pj's. We see it all times of the day. We once asked a Chinese friend about this. He never thought about it being weird at all. We see it most often on the weekend, but it can be at any time.

See?

When in Rome... The kids are looking forward to their next pajama day!

Abraham, Cecelia, Christmas

Even though, due to logistical concerns, the actual event is still probably a few days off, we thought we would tell everyone that Abraham desires to be baptized!
We really haven't said much (almost nothing) about the fact that our Sunday group was "asked" by the school and the public security bureau to stop meeting, but since that time we have followed their instructions and have not held any "open" meetings with our students. We have, however, continued to invite a very select group of seriously interested disciples-in-training to our house for reading, discussion, and prayer.
For Christmas Eve we invited those same students to come over, with any carefully chosen friend whom they thought might be interested, to hear the Christmas narrative, bake ginger bread cookies, and sing a few carols. Cecelia, with her usual enthusiasm, brought two guys from a neighboring college that, somehow, she and Abraham both knew. (I thought I might have heard them say those guys had attended the Sunday group, but I'm not sure. In its heyday that group was attracting a wide and ever-changing array of students, apparently more people than we, or the authorities, could really handle.) We only had a few carols prepared for us to sing, which were, in Cecelia's estimation, a few too few. She insisted that we sing more! "Let's sing the hallelujah songs!" she said, meaning that we should sing more or less all the hymns that she had fallen in love with during our group worship services. So, from memory and by finding karaoke versions online, we proceeded to basically have an impromptu church service.
Her and the others' enthusiasm encouraged us to go ahead and hold a small meeting in our home that next Sunday, which we did. We had just five of us (Phoebe, who would have made six, was already in bed) but it was a good little group. After nearly an hour of singing, followed by group prayers, we dismissed the group, but Abraham asked to stay behind for a minute to speak with us privately. He immediately announced his desire and intention to be baptized, and we then spent another half-hour or so discussing that and other spiritual topics.
He's a great guy, a good disciple, and an amazing example of someone whom God himself has set apart and called. Pray for him and us as we get closer to the actual baptism date.

Gan Mao le

Phoebe gan Mao le! She has got a cold, in other words. Actually, a throat infection. Yesterday she started crying a lot, not wanting to eat, in addition to the runny nose and watery eyes she had already had for a day or two.we decided to head into town for a trip to the pharmacy, but on the way there, she was so miserable, and crying, crying, crying. So we decided to go on to Greentown Hospital, where after much hustle, bustle, and fluster, we finally decided she should take a round of antibiotics by iv. they tried, for half an hour maybe, to put the needle into a vein in her forehead, but it was finally decided that she could have it in her foot, which immediately worked and was much easier for her to tolerate. After it was over for the night, Margaret graciously offered for her husband and she to drive us home. She is actually a shining example of the Spirit working in a person's life. On the way home, she wanted to hold Phoebe, and she sang some church songs to her. Thanks, God, for calling her, and for using Bonnie and Bobby to find her, and them and the rest of us to teach and train her.

I had to call off my girl's study for the evening, but they said they would pray for Phoebe. May they continue to search Him out, whether we are with them or not.

Thanks for praying

We appreciate your prayers for mei hong. Today we were able to spend the afternoon with her, and talk, relax and have fun. We were able to discuss her growing up days, school, college, and her current beliefs. She says she believes in God, but just isn't sure who He is. I think this winter, we will probably have more opportunities to spend time with her. I would love for us to be able to discuss scripture together. Could you please continue you prayers on our and her behalf? Pray we will have discernment and confidence. Pray she will have a hunger for righteousness, and curiosity about Him and the Book. Thanks so much.

Church Busted Blues Breakers

I have felt blue since our church was busted. Every Sunday we were sharing the Word together with people who had never heard before. Together we would raise our voices in praise and worship to our Creator. It was a good thing.

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. (Acts 8:4)

Because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (James 1:3)

Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season…(II Tim 4:2)

Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matt 5:16)

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)

I have heard these verses hundreds of times. When applied as blues breakers they become all the more real life.

Tea Museum

For GaoYan’s birthday we visited the Tea Museum. We were without our children so I was taking my time carefully reading each sign. Tea drinking originated in Yunnan province southwest China where people steeped the big leaves of tall wild trees. Later tea culture really developed in the Tang dynasty around 700 AD. Also some emperor visited Hangzhou to pick tea leaves from eighteen tea plants still growing today in the Dragon Well village.
GaoYan was pulling on my arm “Come on” when a nice museum lady walked up and offered for us to sample some tea. “Perfect, drinking tea in the tea museum, but how much is this going to cost?” We sat down to a well used tea set. There were ten or more canisters of different types of tea.
The museum lady asked, “What kind of tea do you want to try first?”
Hangzhou is Dragon Well green tea country, so we tried that first. I took a sip and remembered I drink green tea because people are forever setting it down in front of me. What else you got? “Do you have the big leaf tea from the tall wild Yunnan trees?” I doubted.
“This tea hits bitter at first with a sweet after taste,” said the museum lady.
“Oh wow! That is interesting.” GaoYan and I smiled at one another.
“Try this oolong with ginseng. It has a sweet taste deep in the throat when breathing through the mouth.”
The museum lady would also drink the tea with GaoYan and me. She didn’t pressure us to buy anything. Sip after sip and cup after cup she would look confidently in our eyes. The museum lady smiled a tiny smile that said, “You guys had no idea tea could taste this good.”
We felt refreshed after drinking tea and the sweet taste lingered deep in our throats.

Thanksgiving blessings

We had planned to have our big Thanksgiving celebration the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not a Chinese holiday and most people had to work.

It was a BIG celebration.  There were 15 people here!

 

We got a turkey.

 

We had so much food! Heather brought black-eyed peas! BLACK-EYED PEAS!!! We were very excited. They were so yummy. Everything was so good.

We all ate as much as we could. Some of us were miserable. It was a nice time to be with Americans and eat some good Western food. After everyone left and took some food away, we packed the rest up and put it away. Our refrigerator was stuffed.

For supper that night, Jon made some sandwiches with left-over turkey and rolls. I had a little taste but was really still too full to eat.

We ate left-overs for at least 3 full meals. There are a few things still lurking in the fridge, but finally our fridge is back to normal.

(I meant to take more pictures.  I think I saw some other camera flashes through the day.  Maybe they will want to post some pictures of people.)

We are truly blessed!

prayers work!!

I received an e-mail from some guy that I don't know. He was friends with a Chinese guy that was at Ole Miss. That guy was from Hangzhou and returned home last week. While in the US, the Chinese guy (Bob) studied THE Book. He said that he wanted to continue studying. So we got hooked up.

Bob and his family were going to come over to our house last Monday evening. However, they had a friend that was getting married, or at least having their wedding dinner that night. So Bob invited us to go with his family to the wedding. It was really a nice night. I will have to tell you about the wedding another time.

Bob has a 10 year old son. His son went to school in the US for a year, so he can speak and understand English. His name is Michael. Liam and he get along very well. They had a good time just being little boys.

Bob and his family came to our meeting on Sunday. We are really excited about this family! Bob brought his Bible and shared it with his wife. Her English is good, but not quite as good as his. He helped her find the places in the readings. They even made their son sit with them during part of the Bible study. I think I heard Bob repeating some important points in the story to his family.

Before they left, Bob confirmed what we would be studying next week so he could read before hand.

It is very encouraging to see this family come to worship and study together!

I think that the family also reached out and welcomed this family. I heard them talking to several people.

Liam is going to go to their house next week to play with Michael. This is an answer to a very specific prayer! We have asked that Liam can find a friend that is a boy. Thanks for praying!

Bob is a member of the Party. We think that he already believes but has not yet taken the plunge. I am not sure what the wife believes, but she is open and does seem to be searching.

We ask that you pray for this family. Pray that they will continue to seek out His will in their life. Pray that they will feel a part of the family here.

It is not all roses.

First of all, let me say that I am happy living in China. I feel this is where I am supposed to be right now. I feel very strongly that we were called here and God worked things out to us get here. I feel a sense of purpose and I do love it here. But it is not always easy living in China. Some days are harder than others. but then again, I could say the same of living in the US. When I have a bad day here, I can always blame it on living in China. But really it could just be a bad day.


When we moved to China, someone told us that there seems to be a bigger culture shock that happens the third year. Many people go home after their third year. Guess what, this is our third year. We went into this year aware of this theory. But we felt energized by our visit home. We were ready to get back to work and get our routine going. We were really excited about the year.
We are not as excited anymore. Sometimes I feel a little guilty about that. Good things are happening with the WORK. We are engaging new people, we have started some new studies, and old friends are branching out. Things are happening the way they are supposed to. But I am still having a hard time shaking the blahs.

This semester has been really hard on Jon. His work load has increased and work stress is bad. That always spills over a little into to home. So we all feel his stress.

I have had a hard time with dental work this semester too. It has been painful and frustrating.

Jon's grandmother passed away a few weeks ago. That was really hard. It was hard because we know we are going to miss her. Grieving is weird when you are away. You grieve for the deceased but also that you can't be with the rest of the family. You feel a little left out. My grandmother died in January. I grieved some then, but had another period of grieving when I went home and visited family.
This time of the year is hard on us too. I sometimes think that Halloween and Thanksgiving are as hard or harder than Christmas.

So the question is, is this that terrible "culture shock period" that we have heard about? Or is this just life?

Teachers have bad semesters, and bad years. I could have dental problems in the USA. Maw Maw would have died if were were living in Henderson or in Hangzhou.
So what do I do? I just have to keep looking at the positives, and our blessings. And there are a lot of those!

I also enjoy baking and being domestic. If things start getting to me, I can straighten up the living room, or bake some cookies. That makes me feel a little better and maybe slightly more peaceful. If that doesn't work, chocolate usually helps.

So keep us in your prayers, and send us some chocolate!


**I actually wrote this back at the beginning of November. I didn't post it because I did not want to post things that are not positive.  But I also want to keep everyone informed.  You can pray for us better , if you know what is really going on in our lives. 
We are still somewhat stressed. This is just a bad semester. With the holidays coming up, we have fresh bouts of homesickness. I also feel a little guilty that my mood is so terrible. But, the semester is almost over. Hopefully we can have a good break and have a better semester next year. In the mean time, please keep those prayers coming!