We have an apartment for next year. We have signed a lease and paid for 6 months rent. We even have keys and everything. We are pretty excited about it. It is in a very nice apartment complex with lots of areas for the kids to play and lots of kids for the kids to play with. There is even a nice pond just feet from our building ( where we will set the turtle free). The apartment has enough rooms for Liam to have a separate room and the girls to have a girl bedroom and we will even have a school room. There is a couch too ( we only have chairs here). The only drawback to the apartment is that it is on the 4th floor and there is no elevator. We feel that it is not much of a problem for us ( we are used to it now), but visitors might have some problems. The apartment is in the same complex that Bobby and Bonnie lived in last year. We will try to get some pictures up soon.
We had thought that we were going to live in an apartment complex this year. When we landed we were told that we were going to live on campus. Last semester it was probably a good thing since we had students watch the kids while we were in class. However, there are not many other people that live on campus and there really are not any kids for ours to play with. We are very excited about the opportunities at the new place.
We are not sure exactly when we will move but probably in the next few weeks. We still are not 100% sure where Jon will teach next year. We should know something pretty soon though.
Jon's weekly meetings with Alex are going very well and even though he is graduating, we will see him lots next year. I think he is interested in continuing his study!
The last several days have been HOT! I think yesterday the high was 97! It may have been a little cooler here because of the mountains. Thankfully it is going to cool off some over the next few days. Teaching in that kind of heat is not fun at all.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
more about Easter
We echo the statements about Easter. We had a great time! I let others write about the day, I will just add pictures.
The couple that you don't know is the Beamons with their baby Joseph that was born in China.
Woah! She looks way too grown up!
Josh telling the story and Eric's dad translating.
The hunt is on!
Look at them go!
Caleb found an egg!
Hallie got along very well with Alicia, Margret's daughter. I will have more pictures of these too soon!
The couple that you don't know is the Beamons with their baby Joseph that was born in China.
Woah! She looks way too grown up!
Josh telling the story and Eric's dad translating.
The hunt is on!
Look at them go!
Caleb found an egg!
Hallie got along very well with Alicia, Margret's daughter. I will have more pictures of these too soon!Saturday, April 18, 2009
More Praise from Easter Sunday
We have really enjoyed spending time with Jun and his family. Jun is one of China’s top researchers in the area of liver, stem cells, and rats. Sounds complicated? Sometimes I try to help him proof read some of his English presentations and the medical words I can’t pronounce I just assume to be correct.
Our last spiritual conversation, a month ago, was about the differences between Catholic and Protestant beliefs and other random facts about the Bible. I always think of Jun as a person far too busy to study spiritual matters.
But God keeps surprising me with open doors.
Easter Sunday I had prepared a short summary of Jesus’ life, death on the cross, and resurrection. I had written it all down carefully on a piece of paper. Hoping to get some help from the audience, I was even going to try translating for myself because I knew the word for resurrection and crucifixion. I sat down on the bench in our newly discovered pagoda auditorium to review my story. Jun and his son Eric came and sat next to me. I said to him, “Today I am going to tell the story about Jesus.” And before I knew it Jun had the paper and he was reading and carefully teaching Eric the story sentence by sentence. When everyone had gathered for worship, I asked Jun if he would like to translate the story for me. He said, “Sure!” In half an hour Jun heard the story two times and taught the story two times, once to his son and once to the group gathered on Easter Sunday.
Matthew 13:31 “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”
Our last spiritual conversation, a month ago, was about the differences between Catholic and Protestant beliefs and other random facts about the Bible. I always think of Jun as a person far too busy to study spiritual matters.
But God keeps surprising me with open doors.
Easter Sunday I had prepared a short summary of Jesus’ life, death on the cross, and resurrection. I had written it all down carefully on a piece of paper. Hoping to get some help from the audience, I was even going to try translating for myself because I knew the word for resurrection and crucifixion. I sat down on the bench in our newly discovered pagoda auditorium to review my story. Jun and his son Eric came and sat next to me. I said to him, “Today I am going to tell the story about Jesus.” And before I knew it Jun had the paper and he was reading and carefully teaching Eric the story sentence by sentence. When everyone had gathered for worship, I asked Jun if he would like to translate the story for me. He said, “Sure!” In half an hour Jun heard the story two times and taught the story two times, once to his son and once to the group gathered on Easter Sunday.
Matthew 13:31 “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Easter Sunday
We had a great Easter! Instead of meeting indoors, we headed out to a secluded park very near the Clark residence and met under a pavillion and then hid and hunted eggs out in the grass and trees around us. Also, we decided to invite some additional people who don't usually meet with us -- a couple of sisters, Margaret and her daughter, and Shenli -- but mostly visitors with whom different ones of us have been working and hoping to share with. This informal setting, and the fact that we had something especially fun for the kids to do, made the perfect opportunity to invite them to meet with the larger family.
It's really difficult to know what this is going to look like once it's laid-out online, so you may have to just figure out what captions go with what pictures!
We sang; Josh told a good story; family members shared the supper... all in a beautiful setting. And we were blessed by having the rain held off until later in the evening.
This last picture features (L-R) Jenn, Gao Yan, Cec, Margaret, and Shenli.
It's really difficult to know what this is going to look like once it's laid-out online, so you may have to just figure out what captions go with what pictures!
The kids all had lots of fun, of course. Liam had Caleb in stitches. [btw: The Clarks' cat nearly had Caleb in stitches, literally, earlier the same day when he suddenly lashed out and landed a pretty big scratch on Caleb's arm. Ouch!] 
The Chinese kids had never had an egg hunt before, so it all new for them.
Audriana is the Beamons' little girl. Always cute.
We sang; Josh told a good story; family members shared the supper... all in a beautiful setting. And we were blessed by having the rain held off until later in the evening.The lady in red on the right and the little girl in pink are Liona and her mom, friends of the Clarks, whom they met through the Egg Lady. Liona is the Egg Lady's neice; she's eleven.
The other lady in red is the "new and improved" Shenli.
The "other" American couple are the Beamons, Jay and Vikki and baby Joseph.
The other Chinese couple you can see clearly are friends of the Davises.
This last picture features (L-R) Jenn, Gao Yan, Cec, Margaret, and Shenli.
Clarks: Shenli's Sunday
We had a wonderful day last Sunday; Shenli took the big step we have been praying for, and it was a well-attended occasion: Margaret, Shenli and her family (her husband Tony and daughter Linda), Josh, GaoYan, and Caleb, and Bob,a brother of ours that we taught in Jingzhou 6 or so years ago who was passing through visiting, and of course the two of us were all here at our apartment to welcome the big event and cheer her on. It was really wonderful to know that she took her time and made the decision when she was ready. It was also nice to see Tony standing by smiling and taking photos and to see Linda clap and cheer. We were really joyous for her. Please keep her in your thoughts. We want her to have a strong start and grow in Him. Also pray for Tony and Linda, that they will continue to be supportive and that they will be influenced by her step to do some thinking about what they believe as well.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Clarks: long time no see
Hey. It's us.
We've been busy of course, and we've neglected to write anything in a couple of weeks, I guess. So let us catch you up on some stuff (in random order):
1. Went to the Davises' new home today near the school. Cecely was in class; I was on campus with her and decided to walk over that direction; Gao Yan and Caleb showed up -- I didn't know they were coming -- so I got to play with him, talk with her, and see the new place. It's really going to be beautiful when they get it finished. It's a nice, quiet neighborhood; there's a lovely mountain view; the place itself is very spacious.
2. Chuck Harle just left our house this morning. He'd stayed with us for the last four nights while working here in HZ. He's the guy who places new teachers in China, in case you're not familiar with the name. Anyway, we've known him since 1998, when he and his wife and us all lived together in Jingzhou. That was our first time in China, and we've all been deeply involved ever since. It was good to see him and help him out.
3. This past Sunday our group had our weekly gathering outdoors, in a somewhat isolated and under-used local park. It was nice to be out and seemed somehow appropriate for Palm Day. We're also planning an outdoor event for Easter. We're inviting other friends to that one -- people whom we have maybe wanted to have join us but for whom the regular meeting might not be the best thing just yet. So this is a fun and gentle introduction, I guess you could say.
4. That same day -- this upcoming Easter morning -- we plan to help ShenLi to "tie the knot," if you will, between her and Him. She's decided that she is ready. We'll be doing that at Margaret's house, using something we borrowed from W3, via Frank and the Buick.
5. If you haven't heard already -- and if you have any idea who Frank is, you'll certainly be able to appreciate this -- he has bought a second-hand Buick and is driving all over the place. He's taken all of us, by now I suppose, out to dinner in the new car; he runs errands; he makes deliveries; he drives people to the airport; he runs between XiaoHeShan (in the far west of town) and XiaSha (in the faaarrr east) -- and hits [sometimes literally!] all points in between.
6. We've finished the children's English classes. Six weeks. Gao Yan has done a great job of talking and teaching with the moms [see her previous post] and hopes to continue, which may mean Josh taking over the role of teacher to the kids. If need be, we and/or George may pitch in, too. George helped us the last half of our teaching term, which made things easier.
7. We are getting close to some particular students: Ashley (a.k.a., Ice), her best friend Sophie, their classmate Cecelia (Cloris), "Hurricane" Katrina [sorry, but it helps us remember her name!], and the class monitor and "official class skeptic" Jane. Out of these, we are by far closest to Ice so far. But in a close 2nd place is Cecelia. And besides them, there's also Eric & Easter [boy & girl] who are both bright and curious. And even William -- if you knew him, you'd get the "even" -- asked questions and borrowed the Book I was reading in class the other day. So there's a lot of potential there.
8. There's more I could say, I'm sure, if I took the time to think. But we'll leave it at this for now.
9. The weather is nice, by the way, and the flowers have been blooming [again, read Yan's post if you haven't already]. We're really happy in HZ.
10. Thanks to everyone who's sent packages, written an email, prayed for us, etc. We appreciate it so much and are thankful every day for your care and support. Keep praying. You are helping to open doors and lift our hands.
We've been busy of course, and we've neglected to write anything in a couple of weeks, I guess. So let us catch you up on some stuff (in random order):
1. Went to the Davises' new home today near the school. Cecely was in class; I was on campus with her and decided to walk over that direction; Gao Yan and Caleb showed up -- I didn't know they were coming -- so I got to play with him, talk with her, and see the new place. It's really going to be beautiful when they get it finished. It's a nice, quiet neighborhood; there's a lovely mountain view; the place itself is very spacious.
2. Chuck Harle just left our house this morning. He'd stayed with us for the last four nights while working here in HZ. He's the guy who places new teachers in China, in case you're not familiar with the name. Anyway, we've known him since 1998, when he and his wife and us all lived together in Jingzhou. That was our first time in China, and we've all been deeply involved ever since. It was good to see him and help him out.
3. This past Sunday our group had our weekly gathering outdoors, in a somewhat isolated and under-used local park. It was nice to be out and seemed somehow appropriate for Palm Day. We're also planning an outdoor event for Easter. We're inviting other friends to that one -- people whom we have maybe wanted to have join us but for whom the regular meeting might not be the best thing just yet. So this is a fun and gentle introduction, I guess you could say.
4. That same day -- this upcoming Easter morning -- we plan to help ShenLi to "tie the knot," if you will, between her and Him. She's decided that she is ready. We'll be doing that at Margaret's house, using something we borrowed from W3, via Frank and the Buick.
5. If you haven't heard already -- and if you have any idea who Frank is, you'll certainly be able to appreciate this -- he has bought a second-hand Buick and is driving all over the place. He's taken all of us, by now I suppose, out to dinner in the new car; he runs errands; he makes deliveries; he drives people to the airport; he runs between XiaoHeShan (in the far west of town) and XiaSha (in the faaarrr east) -- and hits [sometimes literally!] all points in between.
6. We've finished the children's English classes. Six weeks. Gao Yan has done a great job of talking and teaching with the moms [see her previous post] and hopes to continue, which may mean Josh taking over the role of teacher to the kids. If need be, we and/or George may pitch in, too. George helped us the last half of our teaching term, which made things easier.
7. We are getting close to some particular students: Ashley (a.k.a., Ice), her best friend Sophie, their classmate Cecelia (Cloris), "Hurricane" Katrina [sorry, but it helps us remember her name!], and the class monitor and "official class skeptic" Jane. Out of these, we are by far closest to Ice so far. But in a close 2nd place is Cecelia. And besides them, there's also Eric & Easter [boy & girl] who are both bright and curious. And even William -- if you knew him, you'd get the "even" -- asked questions and borrowed the Book I was reading in class the other day. So there's a lot of potential there.
8. There's more I could say, I'm sure, if I took the time to think. But we'll leave it at this for now.
9. The weather is nice, by the way, and the flowers have been blooming [again, read Yan's post if you haven't already]. We're really happy in HZ.
10. Thanks to everyone who's sent packages, written an email, prayed for us, etc. We appreciate it so much and are thankful every day for your care and support. Keep praying. You are helping to open doors and lift our hands.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Finger Lickin' good!
One of the best things about living in China is the food. Chinese food in America is nothing like the real stuff. The food here can be so delicious. It is usually very fresh. The green vegetables we ate at lunch could have still been in the field the day before. The roasted chicken might still have been clucking this morning.Real Chinese food is also very diverse. There is a huge variety. Since actually living here, American Chinese food tends to taste all the same and be somewhat bland.I like the fact that the kids are being exposed to new and interesting things. I try not to let my food prejudices rub off on them. Usually if they want to try something, we let them and even encourage it.The Chinese people will eat things that we wouldn’t dream of eating. They eat all kinds of creatures and all parts of those creatures.Last Sunday after our meeting, we went to a place that serves food from the North west part of china. The specialty of this restaurant is barbecued lamb and Chicken. It is delicious. This time the chicken came with not only the head (it is typical), but its feet too!. Chicken feet are a much enjoyed snack here in China. I have heard that Tyson sends all the chicken feet from its birds to China. I was really just joking when I asked Liam if he wanted to eat a chicken foot, but when he readily agreed, who was I to discourage it? I got Jon to take pictures!
I helped hin a little
Then he did it himeself!
Not to be out done, Hallie tried one too.
I helped hin a little 
Then he did it himeself! 
Not to be out done, Hallie tried one too. 
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