Back in the USA

I'm full of thanks to God for blessing the past 10 months that our family lived in China. I love China and I love living there, so this year was special to be able to live there again after 4 years being away. It was such a blessing how well our daughters adapted to life in China as well. The last few weeks were very sweet, full of so much fun and laughter with dear friends - Chinese and American.

Saying goodbye to my one class was sad. I love that class of junior students. They were very well-behaved and kind students, but I appreciated the most the handful of them who would come to our home for weekly visits so we could develop a strong friendship. I especially will miss Cheng Meng and Huang Si Yuan, but thankfully, I know I'll be seeing them again soon. Next year they will be seniors and they will be terribly busy. They will go to school from 6:50 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. 7 days a week, with only a break on Sunday afternoon from 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Seriously, can you even imagine if we asked American high school students to be in school that much? And yet they all do it. I really applaud them for their determination to do well on their college entrance exams - the reason for this crazy schedule.

A very sad goodbye was with our Fellowship that we met with every Wednesday night. We were truly a mixed bunch coming from different countries and backgrounds, but Jesus united us together so beautifully. I loved our times of prayer - which turned into long times of praise, after praise, after praise report! It's true - our little Fellowship witnessed God working in many mighty ways this year, and we loved bringing Him all our praise!

The week before coming home, we were given the chance to go on vacation to Sanya which is a city on the island at the very south tip of China. We went with Jessica - our boss - and her husband Franklin and daughter Ruirui who is also Sophia's best Chinese friend. Another Chinese family went as well, they have a young son too and they're both teachers at the school. Our family relished the time to relax after a busy finish. The ocean, waves, beach, and pools were a big highlight for all of us, but especially the girls. It was also special to spend this time together as a family because sadly...

The girls and I flew back to America on June 25, but Adam stayed in China for the summer. Adam needs to really put every moment of his attention toward studying Chinese, so we decided that would happen best if he stayed in Huangshi. We miss him a ton, but we believe this is the right thing for our family. We'll be apart 8 weeks, so you can pray for us to all do well.

What a joy to be back in Wenatchee with my mom and dad! Every time I return from China I'm always surprised again at how fresh and clear the air is and how blue the sky is!!! I feel blessed to be reconnecting with dear friends again here in Wenatchee. Of course my parents are loving every moment with the girls, and they take great care of us. Over the summer we'll travel to Oregon to my brother's home, to Greenville, IL to visit extended family, to Michigan to visit my grandma, stay with Adam's parents, and to hold training for our new group of teachers. We'll then fly back to WA for a few days to pack before returning to Adam and China Aug. 25.

I'll write the next blogs about our new plans for this coming school year and the exciting growth going on in Zhong Relations!