We've Been Busy!

By Joann

It has been awhile since I've posted anything. I guess that means life is keeping us busy, which is good. The kids continue to do well. The transition continues to go smoothly and we are very grateful for that!

Jesse tells me he has 8 friends at Dongjiao (our compound). There are more at school, so he is alwalys flitting from house to house to keep up with all the boys. I hear from Grace that Rachel has a gang at school. Grace reports that they all come and stare at Grace and her friends, not speaking a word. I think they are "teenagers-in-training," but Grace does not appreciate that! Rachel is also getting friend-time at home. Amelia, age 7, lives next door and Kaitlyn, age 12, is a few houses down. I've always loved the fact that cross-cultural kids are willing to play with any one of any age.

Levi is playing co-ed touch rugby and comes home tired and happy. The word on the street is he is the new "hottie" at school. I've been meeting moms who say, "Oh, you're Levi's mom!" Levi is not enjoying all of the attention, however. One girl invited him to sing a duet in the school's talent show...he declined. ;-)

Grace. She has found her friends very easily and is caught up in the world of texting and instant-messaging. One of her closest friends lives right next door, which is good for developing those face-to-face skills! She is playing volleyball and seems to be keeping up with school. She has to complete a major project for the year, so we are brainstorming for ideas. There is a boy we keep hearing about. Ugh. Some things are the same all-over the world.

Jim is working away at Emerson. His boss from the US was here this week. We hosted him at our house (our first guest!) and then went out for dinner another night. I think the visit was good overall, but maybe Jim should report! Jim continues to drive to work in the morning and bike home at night, much to the amazement of his driver.

I am keeping our driver busy. This is high season for meeting people and getting involved. Most of the ex-pats leave for the summer and return just in time for school to start in August, so now is my chance to find connections and get introduced. I've had some nice lunches and attended a cultural program on marriage in China.

I've also been mildly involved in an organization called, "Hopeful Hearts." They seek out orphaned or poor children in need of heart surgery and help fund the cost. Part of their work is actually meeting the children and families and their doctors and nurses. Yesterday, I was able to go to the Children's hospital to visit with 2 little girls--one from an orphanage who has some major heart defects and another little girl who has had surgery to correct her heart but has a chronic infection that requires more treatment. It was very touching to be able to see the children and learn more about their situations. (See the photos.)

I have also had a HUGE opportunity fall into my lap. I learned last week that 2 German women--one a doctor and one a midwife--will be starting a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) course with a Chinese doctor and English translater. These two women plan to study for 2 years; I am unable to commit to 2 years of study, but they are willing to let me join them for as long as I want. Sooooooo, Monday morning I start school! I guess I'm kind of in that mode, so here we go again. The class will meet for 20 hours a week, all while the kids are in school. TCM is very intriguing to me, especially the herbal medicines. I'm eager to see how we progress; thankfully we all are starting from the beginning. Stay tuned!

We are planning our first "holiday" in China. The kids get 10 days off in late Sept/early Oct., so we are heading to Beijing. My hope is we will get to Beijing soon enough after the Olympics and the Paralympics that we will be able to take in the landscaping and floral displays that have been done all over the city. You'll hear more!

We will start meeting tonight with a small group of couples from the International Christian Fellowship to do a study of Galatians. It is such a blessing to be in this international community. We are seeing some exciting things happen around us.

No news to report on our shipment, unfortunately. We've heard it is in Shanghai, but the Olympics have slowed down all imports. We keep hoping that any day it will appear on our doorstep. In the meantime, we do all our cooking on the stove-top and get by with what we brought or bought. I hate spending money on things I know are sitting in our shipment. We are also waiting for our furniture order to come in. We are far from suffering, but we are looking forward to really settling-in to home.

We've heard the State Fair is in full swing! Go have some Tom Thumb donuts and a Pronto Pup for us! We'll be back.