Keeping Busy

A schedule is definitely the only way to keep up with the daily life here in Beijing. Just trying to keep the dust at bay and do daily cleaning tasks can keep me busy most days. I do a lot more cooking than I was, and I am enjoying it. We have been out a few different times in the last few weeks for meals with friends, and the food has been amazing! I had Peking Duck again this week as well as lamb and fish. I also made homemade dumplings with some friends. This was my favorite meal!

I cannot explain all that my schedule entails, but I have been able to observe a few English classes, and I will be doing more observing this week and next. I am learning a lot about the needs of the students here in China. The classes are door to making new Friends. Some of the people interested  in becoming Friends attend specialized English classes on Sundays. These classes are geared of course, to developing the whole person not just educating them.

Certain aspects of Friendship are becoming more difficult because of the national leadership. It is sometimes difficult to print the materials needed for the classes. There is still a strong fear of others, and many times friendships are tested before someone fully trusts another person to be their friend and not be seeking them out for personal gain or to expose them.

 Requests
Growth among the Friends
More Students
English Summer Camps
Wisdom for the Future

Fun times in China!

I have been in China at week and have climbed the Great Wall twice, had a lotus boat ride on Bei Hai lake, had Peking duck in Peking (Beijing), had an amazing hot pot meal, made new friends, and making plans to meet up with some friends I knew in college and Chicago.

One of my new friends is returning to the US tomorrow. We have been roommates and buddies the last week, so I will  miss her fun personality. She will be starting college this fall and hopes to return to China in the  future.

I spend my days, when not sight-seeing, cleaning house and being a blessing to my friends. I have been able to sit in on a few English classes, and on the weekends, I have been able to play piano for specialized classes.

I am beginning to learn my way around, and I am remembering some of my Chinese. I hope to learn more as time goes by. The people here love Americans, and it is nice to feel famous as the people are always asking to take pictures.

Requests
Wisdom  for my time here in China.
Wisdom about my future plans.
My family

China!

Wow! The last two weeks were very busy. I finished out my time in Nepal by visiting Pokhara in the Annapurna Mtains. It is a beautifull place. We stayed in a beautiful hotel, ate Korean bbq, fajitas, Dahl bat (rice, soup, meat) crepes, and so many other delicious things. We visited the Gurkha soldiers museum which if you do not know who the Gurkha are, do some reading. They were and are amazing, brave, soldiers. We also visited the international Mountain museum. It is a beautiful place with a mini Mt. Everest to climb, so I climbed Everest. We also drove up into the mountains and watched the sunrise. Because of the clouds, we only saw the tiptoes of the tallest peaks. It was not until the last day that we actually saw the Annapurnas in their glory of beautiful, snow capped peaks. It was an answer to prayer. I did not get to see Everest due to clouds, but someday if I visit again, I plan to trek to see the mountain.

The end of my last week in Nepal was busy with packing, cleaning, and completing a few crochet projects for the kids. I left Nepal at 11:30 pm and arrived in Malaysia at 6am. What a beautiful airport! They have a small atrium with a jungle and waterfalls. It was a very relaxing place to walk through. I ate breakfast and did a little shopping, then went to have lunch. I only had a little bit of Malaysian money left, so I was trying to figure out how much my meal would  cost... the waiter had a little trouble understanding my questions, and a man from Singapore asked what the trouble was. I explained my lack of Malaysian money... He told the waiter to give me whatever I wanted and paid for it. I did not get to ask him if he was a Chr....., but it wouldn't surprise me.

I left Malaysia at 5:30 pm and arrived in China at midnite. Customs was quick with no problems. I headed for my hotel only to find out that they consider 2am to be part of the night before. My room was not ready, and there were not  available. I went to my friend's for a few hours then returned to the hotel to rest and freshen up.

The next day, I went to the Great Wall. The area was beautifully landscaped and did not seem to be a main tourist area.  We spent a couple of hours climbing, chatting... We then had an amazing fish soup lunch. Mine was very spicy, and one of the peppers , Szechuan peppers, had a strange numbing effect.

Yesterday, I spent the day at the English Center working on personal projects and learning about how the center works. Today, I am sitting in  on classes and learning how English is taught. Tonight we will have a time with friends to learn about the best Friend.

Please wait to comment about my adventures until you see how I write about things due to the regulations here. You will notice certain words are not used and are replaced with other words. If you do not understand something, please feel free to ask my family.

Requests
Trouble that my parents had with the moving company they hired.
Future plans

He is Risen!!! and that's no joke!

I hope everyone has a lovely day as they remember Jesus resurrection. Knowing that friends have lost loved ones including a little baby this week, makes the resurrection so much more amazing. One day we will all rise again.  We began the day with a sunrise service and breakfast as a church family. It was very enjoyable to sit together as a family even though I cannot speak the language.

This week was busy as I began packing some of the things I will not need in order to be ready to leave in a week. I was able to visit Crown College Nepal on Tuesday. What a blessing to see the truth being taught here through the first college I attended.

We completed some more spring cleaning projects this week, and I attempted to make rock candy. Epic Fail! I now plan to freeze the sugary syrup in hopes the kids can have popsicles. I also visited Thamel which is a tourist market area. What a maze of back alleys and streets! We had fun eating KFC and milkshakes, but all of us were exhausted.

Tomorrow, I leave for Pokhara where I will see some of the Himalayas. (not Everest) I have been told it is beautiful, so I should have a lot of pictures when I get back.

As the time moves on towards my last day, things will be pretty busy, so it is possible my next post will be from China. Please be careful in what you say or post on my wall or missions page in regards to Christianity as it could cause problems for my friends in China.It may be necessary for me to have my sister post for me, so my posts may not be as frequent or lengthy.

Please pray for my parents as they move this month. Pray they can find a house quickly. Pray for my sister, Joy who is expecting. Pray for my flight to China which will take two days. Pray that I do not have any problems going through customs...

Busy Days

Forgive my lateness in posting. Also, please forgive my recent posts which had quite a few typos. I never will understand why someone created auto text... We finished school last week. Friday we had a fun day at the park, but  I came home with a lovely sunburn. Saturday we had fellowship, and Sunday was spent getting the last of my grades entered along with some cleaning and resting.

Monday, I hit the ground running as the kids and I began spring cleaning. I should have moved a little slower and checked the wet stairs more carefully because I fell down about 6 steps. Nothing is broken, but I did get a nice bruise.

I also found some fun things to do during this work week. Monday we had a scavenger hunt. Yesterday we went to the park, and today we made clay figures which we will paint tomorrow. Each day is spent cleaning for an hour or two, then free time, followed by a fun activity. Tonight I am sleeping  in the older girls room.

My time in Nepal is coming to a close. In a few days, I will be going to view Everest. Please pray that the skies are clear.

Please pray that I can have everything arranged for a smooth arrival in China. I land at midnight, so I will need transportation to my hotel... I am also in the process of arranging a place to stay when I land in Las Vegas and transportation from Las Vegas to Phoenix followed by a flight to Maine. Pray that I can find inexpensive flights and hotels.

Last regular week of school

Last week was busy, preparing my students for finals, field trip... We went to a fun park (carnival type rides) on Friday, and I spent the day with k5-2nd grade. We ate cotton candy, momos (dumplings), he kids rode bumper cars, and several other rides while I took pictures. I did ride the carousel and a small roller coaster. It was a fun but tiring day.

This week is finals week, so most if my time will be spent cleaning and helping with preparations for next year since my students will all complete their language tests tomorrow. The following week, some of he students will leave to vis it family, and I will help with spring cleaning and fun times.

We spent a couple of days with little to no power, which is why this post is late. Today we had a thunderstorm with lots of hail. The kids loved it because hail is the only "snow "they get.

I do want to praise the Lord for the safe and healthy arrival of my cousin's twins boys. They knew that one would have a cleft palate, and they thought he would need extensive surgery, but God healed him of all but a small cleft in his gum and a cleft in his lip. God is amazing!

Continue to pray for the church here, future plans the Tamangs are making, and my continued health and safety as I help.

One Month To Go

For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanishetth away. I am down to one month left in Nepal. The past two weeks were busy with school, three different days off due to holidays and a strike  followed by a field trip to a botanical garden. It was nice enough to be out on the country and able to breath without a lot of dust. There were a good number of flowers blooming, but it is still winter, so the roses and some other spring flowers had not yet bloomed.

Yesterday, there were some visitors in church along with a few ,embers who had not  one in awhile. I could tell the leaders here were encouraged. The children sang the song "Oh Be Careful Little Eyes What You See." I thought to myself, "It is sad that we adults teach our children to be careful what they see, hear, say,  do with their hands, and where they go with their feet, yet we adults watch, listen to, read, say, do, and go to all the things we teach the kids not to." We should live by example not just tell them what to do or not do. Jesus said hear  His sayings and do them. Hat doesn't just mean what He said on earth, but what His Word says as well. If ye love me, keep my commandments.

A couple says ago, we had our second rain of the year, and it included a thundrstorm with hail. Last night I took a picture of the blood moon. It was beautiful! This week, I will be getting fitted for my Nepali national dress called a kurtha. This is the last regular week of school. Next week the kids have finals and an activity day. I am supposed to make a trip to view Mt. Everst before I leave. It will be in the distance, and if there are clouds, I may not see it at all. Please pray that God gives me a very clear view. I am teaching most of he girls to crochet, and I making some things for the boys. I'm hoping I can finish all before I leave.

Please continue to pray for funding for trips. Even with several supporting churches now, the funds for future trips are still small. When I return to the states, I hope to meet a visit to Puerto Rico and my sending church which will require flight expenses. I am considering going to England for  year and doing some short term trips to Europe from there. Please pray that God gives me wisdom, direction, and funds.

Prayer requests
My mom fell and hurt her knee. Please pry she heals with no major damage. Pray for wisdom for my dad as he makes decisions for his future ministry and health. Pray for the spiritual warfare here in Nepal. Satanic influence is much more tangible here, and the kids, church members... are feeling the effects. Pray for the Tamangs as they travel for a conference in Malaysia.