A Confession

I was not excited to come back to China. In fact, I had a really bad attitude about it. It's cold. It has rained nearly every day since we got back. The people here stare at me everywhere I go. And then I got to thinking. And then I couldn't stop thinking. And then it was 2:00 in the morning and I still couldn't stop thinking. So, I got out of bed, went and sat on the couch in the dark and had a long talk with God.

He reminded me that just 8 short months ago, I was begging Him to let us come to China. I was praying constantly that He would work it out and find us a job here. And then He said "yes," and I was so excited.

The reminders did not stop there. He also reminded me that I spent the whole first half of our year here missing home and wishing I was not in China. And then He showed me that I have started off the second half of our year here worried about what we will do when we get back home (where we will live, where I will work, etc.).

Then I feel like He very gently grabbed me by the shoulders, shook me and said, "HELLO!!!"

I wanted so badly to come here and do something for Him. He gave me this incredible opportunity to be one of a few lights in a country of over 1 billion. He put me in a place where I am surrounded by the lost constantly and have no lack of opportunity. And yet, I have spent my time here wishing I were somewhere else.

We start our new semester in March. So, I have a few more weeks before all my students are back in town. I have a few more weeks to refocus and recharge.

It's time to get busy. God brought me here for a reason, and I want to spend every ounce of energy that I have during this upcoming semester seeking out that purpose and accomplishing it through Him. Please pray for me - for all of us here in China - as we get ready for this new semester.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Trip

We just got back from the most amazing vacation I've ever been on (Sorry Kyle, getting head-butted at Disney World has been knocked from its perch). We an 9 other friends went backpacking through Vietnam. What an place. The country and the people are arguably the most beautiful in the world. I loved every minute of it (Well, almost - for a not-so-loved minute, check out Michael's blog). As promised, I have returned with pictures. There are far to many to put all of them, but I'll try to give you a nice timeline of our adventures.

We started with a 30 hour train ride.

This is how much room we had. I was on the top of 3 bunks.

Finally in Vietnam. Michael loved that we were millionaires. Exchange rate is awful.

Hanoi. Capitol city. I love it there.

One of many sleeper buses we had to take as we went stop to stop through Vietnam.

Finally to the beach. Mui Ne=most amazing beach ever. This is how life should be.

Our resort. Pretty incredible for $20/room/night.

Mui Ne is a big kite surfing beach. It was really cool watching them all.

Me & my sweet husband - sunset on the beach.

Never thought I'd try surfing in my life, but I did and I loved it!

All of us at our favorite restaurant. We ate here at least 7 times.

Here it is. Good Morning Vietnam. They serve Italian. Amazing brick oven pizzas.

The only picture I got of Saigon. Notre Dam of the East or something like that. Our last day in Vietnam :(

Be Back Soon!

Hello all! Michael and I (and 9 other friends) are enjoying a much-needed vacation in Mui Ne, Vietnam for the next couple of weeks. Keep checking in - I'll be back soon and will post some pictures. Love you all! K

Winter Break is Here!

The first semester is over. I gave my last finals on Thursday. I feel like I've been in China my whole life and just a couple of weeks all at the same time. But in actuality, we have now been in China for almost 4 and a half months. We are now entering our winter break. Unlike in the U.S., we do not get a break through the (American) Holiday season. We taught classes and gave finals during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now it's time for all of you back home to go back to work/school and we get our turn!! Our break will last about 6 weeks. The Chinese Holiday season is focused around the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). This year it lands on February 14 - our Valentine's Day. Although we were out of school and heard some fireworks, Chinese New Year is when the Chinese people consider that we have started a new year. This is also when everyone grows a year older - not on your birthday. So the feeling in the air that we usually experience around Christmas is finally making its way to China.

There are so many things to be excited about over the next couple of months. Although I love teaching, my students, and doing my best to Work, I feel like a break will do me some good. First of all, we are going to spend some time traveling. As some of you know, Michael and I are on a long-term team (the rest of whom are back in the States). Our team is currently trying to find where we are being led to Work, and as of right now, we are looking seriously into SouthEast Asia. So for the first few weeks of our winter holiday, we will be going through SE Asia and giving it a look. We will take a survey trip with our team at the end of our year in China, but this first look is just a way for us to see the sights and see what life is like there. And we do plan to "have a rest" (as they say in China) and spend some time relaxing on the beautiful beaches of Vietnam. We will head to Vietnam first, then on to Cambodia and Thailand. We hope to meet up with some other Workers along the way, get to know them, and see what they think needs to be done in the area. We will be in SE Asia for about 3 weeks. After our time there, we will fly north to Beijing. Our entire group of Workers in China is meeting there for a conference of sorts - to get reoriented to our work and encourage each other. But to be honest, I am mostly excited about this because my Daddy is going to be there! I have been missing my parents very much and am looking forward to seeing him in Beijing. He will be one of the speakers at our conference. After spending about a week in Beijing (and hopefully getting to see the Great Wall), we will come back home to Hangzhou, where we will soon be picking up my mom! She couldn't come with my dad because of her work schedule, so she is coming on her own. I am so excited that she will get to spend about a week with us here in HZ. My only regret is that she can't bring Annie with her :) We will begin our second (and final) term in China on March 1.

Hopefully I will be able to update my blog along our travel route (and post some pictures, too).

And, I just need to say a QUICK word about my boys - the Texas Longhorns (You didn't think I could make it through this without saying something, now did you?). Although we didn't win the National Championship, I am so proud of the way we played and especially the way we lost. That poor freshman quarterback fought as hard as he could. And there are not enough words that I can say about Colt. He is just an amazing testament to our Father. I will end with his post-game quote. "I never question why. God is in control of my life. And I'm still standing on the Rock."

Oh Christmas.

Well, Christmas has come and gone. It was quite an experience here in China. Michael and I were invited to Christmas parties that our students were throwing. We thought it was all one big party but turns out we were invited to 8 parties, all at 6PM Thursday and we had already promised to attend them all. Thankfully, they were all on the same floor of the same building - so we got to make an appearance at all of them. Many of my sweet students gave me gifts. I must say that my favorite was a set (his&hers) of cell phone holders. They are plush heads (one male one female) with a slit in the top of the head for your cell phone. Genius. We use them every night.

Also, our school administration invited us to a "party." When we arrived we found that it was a large student production in an auditorium. I was a little peeved at having to sit and wait for 2 hours for the thing to start but found it to be well worth it. I can only compare it to a bad high school talent show. I have included a video of my favorite act below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgdzdqfij10

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year!!

A Changed Perspective

Several things have happened over the past couple of days that have changed my perspective on life. I thought about blogging about them. Telling you how I feel my life has changed by what I have seen and heard. But that's not really what I want to do. I don't want you to see how my life has changed; I want YOUR life to change. So instead of reading my blog today, I want you to read something else. At first glance, you may think it is a little long. But keep reading. I promise you won't regret it. Let the Father speak to you today. Are you listening to Him? Are you fulfilling His purpose for you?

kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com

PS - this will also explain the new button (Amazima) that I have added to the page.

Finally Settling In

After being in China for over 3 months, I finally feel like I'm starting to settle in. I have been getting to know my students better and really enjoy being with them. And now that I'm not as homesick as before, I have been able to start having some fun. Here's a glimpse of the last couple of weeks:

I thought I would be excited when No-Shave November ended, but little did I know...

These Boys are crazy.

I was getting down about not being home for Christmas, so Michael and I went on a hunt for Christmas decorations. They are few and far between here in Hangzhou, but we did manage to find a few things. Just imagine buying all of your decorations from the Dollar store and you'll get a pretty good picture of our selection. However, we had a good time and have added a little Christmas cheer to our apartment.

It's about a foot tall and took all of about 5 minutes to decorate. Hey, I'm just excited we have a tree! It'll be our very own Charlie Brown Christmas.

Last weekend we went on a short overnight trip to Shanghai. We're only about an hour and a half away. We thought it was neat to be able to say that we were going to Shanghai for the weekend! We've got some friends that live there. So, we visited with them some. We also got to go to a real mall and got to eat at a hamburger & milkshake joint. On Sunday, we met with some Chinese family there and had a wonderful time! It was a great weekend!

The Pearl Tower

The one in the middle is the building Tom Cruise jumps on in Mission Impossible 3.

Our dinner in Shanghai. Curly fries and sweet tea!!!

One of the attendees at our Sunday morning meeting. I hope to have a baby girl that looks just like this one day!!