Cook- out part two

Benjamin called these " water trees"  I don't know what they are called, but they were really green and growing in this swampy area. 

We did not go fishing this time, but there were several ponds.

There were many rose bushes planted on the hills.

The kids played hide and seek among the terraces.  This is Eryn running.

Jon LOVED being here.  He is not a city boy.  Spending time out here was good for him.

It was beautiful, and so peaceful.

The drive back to the city.  The highway and mountains almost looked like the smoky mountains, except for the huge buildings in the middle of it all. 

This Saturday was great.  Li Wen and Li Hong are so sweet.  Their family is welcoming and relaxing to be around.  We are thankful to the beauty of God's creation.  We are thankful for Li Wen and her family.  Please pray for her as we continue to minister to her and she to her family.

Cook- out

This post is going to have a bunch of pictures.  As a matter of fact, I had so many pictures that I felt like I needed to break them into two separate posts.  About the time, I finished uploading them all to Blogger, I thought that I could have made a video out of them.  Oh well, maybe next time. 

A couple of weeks ago, we were invited to go with Li Wen and Li Hong's family to a barbecue.  We drove for about an hour.  We were outside of Hangzhou, but not very far.  They called it the country side.  It was really a great day.

Right away, we found a HUGE snakeskin.  Thankfully we did not see the snake that shed this!

 

Honeysuckle!  Jon taught Grace, Ching Ching, and Benjamin (an American) how to eat honeysuckle.  My kids already knew how to do this.

Setting up for the cook- out.

Grace (Li Wen's daughter) and Ching Ching (Li Hong's) watch as Jon prepares to build a fire.  This is where we cooked the potatoes.

This guy is studying art.  He drew Benjamin's picture.  He also drew one of Liam, but I did not take a picture.

Barbecue!

Don't worry, we had veggies too!  See the beans?

I think Hallie and Ching Ching are playing "Mother may I"

They called these wild strawberries.  They were good.  They were  like raspberries.

They spotted some more berries up this ravine...

 The berries on the plant. Li Wen and Li Hong said they used to pick these when they were kids.

Some of the scenery.  It was beautiful and very peaceful!

God's Timing by Clarks

There are so many people we have worked with over the last three years. People that we have spent time with and tried to instill some love for God within. Ones we have tried to be a good example to. People that we have taught and shared the scriptures with and prayed with. We are still in contact with them, and will still be working with them. Really, though, we don't know when they will decide to make a real commitment to Him and give their lives to Him. So we just keep checking on them, studying with them, or just being their friend or aquaintence, and praying with and/or for them. Please join us in prayer for these. Don't forget them, please. We never know what God might have in store for them.
Ashley
Jane
Cecelia
Sophie
Easter
Eric
Jerry
Liz
Wei Cong
Zhao Jing
Jun Mei and Leona
Lynn
Venus
Mei Hong
Oliver and Olivia
Helen
Rain
Zhou Li

These are just the ones we can remember right now! Just typing their names here brings back so many memories, and gives me a feeling that I sure hope it is God's will to let us see some of them come to faith in Him, or to a deeper commitment to Him.Help join us in prayer to be good stewards of our time, and to invest in those God is calling. We know that we must rely on Him in humble submission to work things out in His own timing.

Also, remember in special prayer our brother Abraham. He is really struggling with his priorities and how to budget his time. He focuses on academics at times to the exclusion of all else. He is aware it is a problem and would covet your prayers. Thank you.

Good Opportunities

Lately we have had lots of good opportunities to spend time with students and friends around campus. The weather has been nice and comfortable outside, and lots of students are taking a little time to take a break from studying and slow down and visit. That has been really nice. Some students have come over to visit us, or sometimes we will run into someone outside, and we will just sit around out in the shade of a tree, or walk around playing with Phoebe, talking to them. This is one of our favorite aspects of living in China. People often have time to just visit, even sometimes for a really long time. It doesn't have to be scheduled, it just happens. It is nice for Phoebe too we think, to live in a more impromptu, laid-back culture during this time in her life! So many people to make friends with. Lots of time to just play and chat and be. We are really thankful for the opportunity to live in China.

Rain In May

We were really delighted when a student, a guy named Rain whom Jason had gotten to know at English corner, showed some interest in coming to visit us this month. We were so glad he seemed to be comfortable just hanging out and spending time with us, and at first we figured that was all he wanted to do. Then, before he left our house that first day, he brought up some stuff about the Bible and asked some questions. He had some really good questions, and said he wanted to come back over again soon and ask more questions, and then he did, very soon! He and Jason then had a very good discussion about salvation and the process not only of becoming a Christian, but the continual process of being a Christian. We hope he will keep coming back and fill his mind and heart with as much knowledge of and love for God as he possibly can. Please pray that he will learn to go to the Bible for answers himself and approach God in prayer. We also want to pray that we sill be able to keep in contact with him. Soon he will graduate, but he says he will stay in this vicinity. So please remember, pray for Rain!

(The Clarks)

The anual egg hunt

Our first year in Hangzhou, I think that Josh and Gao Yan found this wonderful park.  It is not really that far from our house.  It is pretty, and usually very peaceful. Not many people know about this park.  In fact, when I ask for the ladies to tell me the name or address of the park, no one knows it.  This is the third year we have had an Easter egg hunt here.  It is the perfect place to have an egg hunt.  This year was the biggest hunt we have ever  had.

Some of the kids, while they were waiting for the eggs to be hidden.  They are crowding around a guinea pig.  You should have seen and heard the excitement, when they let the guinea pig out of the cage!

Hunting for eggs! (and Josh taking a picture)

After the eggs were all found, the guests sat around and enjoying the day and fellowship.  We also passed out cupcakes and had fruit and drinks. 

Some stood around and talked.  This is Bob talking to some of Jon's students.  Pray that Bob will find time to start coming again.

Margaret had the good idea to get a group shot.  I counted that seven people had already left and three guys were taking pictures.  If I counted right, that makes a total of 56 people!  It was a great success! We definitely plan to do this again next year.

Egg dying

When we started talking about having an egg hunt again this year, the ladies asked about when would we dye the eggs.  It was quickly decided that we would have an egg dying party the afternoon of the day before Easter.  We had several people to bring boiled eggs.  I think we boiled about 40 ourselves.  Elaine even looked up on the Internet how to boil them so that the do not crack.  (you start with COLD water, and use medium heat).

The kids and their helpers dying the eggs

The ladies and some of Jon's students thought the egg dye smelled strange.  I used vinegar int the dye.  I used regular white vinegar instead of Chinese vinegar.  To me the smell of boiled eggs and vinegar reminds me of dying eggs when I was a kid.

Elaine had the great idea to wrap the cracked eggs in foil and then to decorate them with stickers!  Then they made some interesting "creatures".

Li Wen (center) brought over 100 plastic eggs and some small toys to fill the eggs with.  Everyone helped fill the eggs with toys and candy.

The lady in the center of this picture is Li wen's cousin.  She has a daughter that is about Hallie's age.  Li wen also brought her to church the next day and to the egg hunt.  Pray that we can continue to build a relationship with her.

We shared some peeps with everyone.  Eryn and Carissa really enjoyed the peeps!

Jon said I should not have done it, but I did put all the (real) eggs in this basket. :)