Public Bathing

Man, it is HOT! It is strange though, no one really knows how hot it is. You see, in China when it gets above a certain temperature (I think it is 40 degrees C, or 104 F) then people don't have to work because of the heat. But it NEVER gets above 40 degrees. It is amazing how hot that 40 degrees can feel! We are VERY glad that we have air conditioners. However, to go anywhere you have to get out in the heat. It is not the same as in America. In the US, you have to walk in the heat to your overheated car and then blast the AC until you feel better, then when you get out, you have to walk a minute or two and enter an air conditioned building. Here, we have to walk to the bus stop or at least the gate of the apartment complex to get a taxi. Then the air on the bus or taxi may or may not work. Then we get out in the heat again and walk some more to the store or where ever you are going. The AC here is not as cold as in the US. Also it does not really cool down that much at night here. I think it is because we live in a big city. All the buildings and stuff just hang on to the heat.



Our apartment complex has two swimming pools. We heard that they did not open until 4 in the afternoon, but when Jon and I were out the other morning we saw that the gate was open and there were people swimming. So we decided that we would go swimming after lunch. The kids were really excited.



I smeared them all with sunscreen, we grabbed towels and floaties and were off. When we got the pool, the gate was closed and locked, but there were people swimming. So a little locked gated didn't slow us down much. (it was only two feet high)



The people swimming were really just three little boys, and when we got closer, we realized that the boys were naked as jaybirds!



Their clothes and house keys were strewn on the steps of the kiddie pool. They were also using the lifesaving rings as their personal floaties. They were having a great time.



After we were there for a little while a couple of guys showed up and then 3 teenage girls. Then this one boy about 9 or so yelled something at Jon and he answered. Jon thought he asked us if we paid and then when Jon told him, "no". The kid jumped the gate and started to strip out of his clothes. Jenn wondered if he really asked if Jon was wearing clothes or not.....



That kid jumped in naked and started having a conversation with us. He wasn't shy at all, on any level. We only stayed about an hour. The water was really very warm. Then we came home, took showers, and had a long nap! We will go swimming again soon, but probably in the morning when the pool is really open. Maybe everyone will have their clothes on then.

P.S. Just for the record, all of the Hardins were wearing bathing suits.

Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival is held in June. It is a strange holiday. It can be fun because there are usually boat races and they are fun to watch. Like most holidays, there is a special food. Zongzi is a sticky rice that is wrapped in bamboo leaves. The rice is often mixed with different things like meat or sometimes fruit or nuts. Zongzi has a triangular shape. Jon really likes this food, but it is not my favorite. You can find zongsi all year round, but it is even more popular near Dragon Boat Festival.

Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duan Wu remembers a great poet and scholar called Qu Yuan. When he was 37, he drowned himself in a river. The local people searched and searched for him in their boats (that's where the boats come in). Then (according to some legends) the people were afraid that the fish would eat Qu Yuan's body so they threw zongsi in the river to feed the fish so they would not eat his body. I told you it was a strange holiday.

There is a river that runs right in front of our apartment complex, so we went out to watch some of the boats.



See the dragon on the front of the boat?










After the "race" this guy was hot so he decided to take a dip to cool off. I don't think I would have jumped in that water!




They let this little guy have a try. Look at that grin!!

Jane and Eryn

This is Jane. She used to live very near us. We only met her a couple of weeks before we traveled to the US. While we were in the US, she continued to search and has really plugged into the downtown group. We are very happy with that. She worshiped with us the first Sunday we were back in China. We think she is super sweet.



While she was visiting our home in June, Eryn got out her Bible Story Book and started telling her the stories that go with the pictures. She was sharing the Bible with her! It was so cute, so I snapped a few pictures.


Please continue to pray for Jane as she continues to Search for the Truth.

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?

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day has never meant much to me. I've never even seen a picture of my biological father, and by the time I can remember anything, I was already on step-dad number two, from whom my mom would soon be divorced. Maybe the first time Father's Day really mattered at all was after I got married and could celebrate with Cecely the life and example of her dad. Still, most years we've been in China, not quite able to make it home before the holiday rolls around in late June.

Not so this year...
We're scheduled to arrive in Little Rock, Arkansas on the evening of June 19th, just in time for Father's Day on Sunday.
And of course, for the first time ever, I'll be on the receiving end of the celebration -- because now, I'M A FATHER! And I couldn't be happier! Really, it's been such an incredible blessing already. A lot of mornings, I'm the first to walk into her room to change her and get her ready to come drink milk with Mommy, and when I see her... and she sees me, and smiles... I almost can't believe my eyes: This is my baby girl! It makes me smile -- more deeply, more widely, and more joyfully than I ever have in my entire life. I love her.