Delayed One Day

Hello, So, we are not off to China today as planned. We were all packed up and ready to go. We went to the airport and stood in line to get checked in. While we were in line we were asked which city we were flying through and since we were flying through San Francisco we were asked to step out of the line and wait on the side. After waiting for awhile we were told that our flight was delayed until after 10, our original flight was 9:45. then not too long after that we were inform that they weren't sure when the flight would leave, if at all. The reason being heavy fog in San Francisco that wasn't expected to clear for quite some time. As a result of this first flight not leaving on time or at all we miss all connecting flights to Guangzhou. So, after some more waiting and the check in guy doing his thing on the computer, we were informed that we would have to come back tomorrow since he couldn't get us on other flights to China without us having to spend the night somewhere along the way. Saving us the trouble we are now booked on a flight tomorrow morning at 7:45am through Chicago instead of San Fran, purposefully booked by the checkin guy to avoid any more delays caused by fog in San Francisco. Apparently this is fog season and it wasn't wise to book through San Fran. Now we know for next time. So, we weren't meant to go today. Maybe the Lord was saving us for something. So, we are back home and I spent the past six hours napping. Patrick is napping now. So, we are thankful for some time catch up on sleep and start fresh and rested tomorrow. Thank-you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for our safety as we travel. For a smooth trip, that no one will get sick and that all of our luggage will arrive with us. God is good.

The visa is in the mail. It looks like we may be on the road for Thursday. 

Still in Terrace

So, it is Monday. Patrick took our tracking number for my visa and checked on Canada post to see if it had been sent in the mail yet. And it has not. I wonder what is taking so long. I was under the impression that once I sent my criminal record check to them I would receive my visa within a couple of days. I really don't understand. This is making our return to China not possible for the time we thought. Maybe God is saying something to us and we aren't exactly sure what it is. 

I just woke up from this beautiful nap where I was dreaming I was in a classy lounge, eating a salad, and listening to a caucasian sing Amazing Grace like Louis Armstrong. For some reason, I thought that I would accompany the singer on a the vaccant piano without being invited. I started off good playing along, but then all of a sudden I couldn't figure out the chords any more so I just sounded like I was banging away on the piano. After thouroughly making a fool of myself a grumpy grey haired woman told me to leave the stage. I went back to my salad that had toasted tofu on it that resembled marshmellows. I was enjoying those marshmellow like tofu when I woke up to my husband putting Amariah down for his nap. I also noticed that I had basketball stickers in my hair. Hmmmm....

Amariah is enjoying putting words together and making simple sentences. The other day he told me that, "Apple juice (is) Riah's happy juice." He didn't say is, but it was super cute. 

So, Last week Patrick and I were expecting my visa to arrive, but it didn't come. We even packed in faith, and started to pack the car as well. God knows, and we are keeping our trust in him. We are believing for this week. 

Going Vegan

Well, not entirely. After a long journey to find out what foods bother Amariah, the results are in. Ever since we put Amariah on solid foods we have been battleing rashes of different kinds, intense itchingness, swelling (mainly of the hands and face), and the countless nights of of great discomfort where he doesn't sleep all night long. After some experimenting on our own with eliminating different foods, and a blood test, we have now discovered what Amariah is allergic to; Dairy, eggs, and strawberries. Now that I am programmed to read all ingredients on everything, I am amazed how little I can buy for my son to eat. It seems that most things has either Dairy, eggs or both in them. After talking with the doctor about how to go about his allergy, it has come to that I will have to use vegan recipes and make almost everything for him myself. So, I have been looking at some vegan recipes on line and I think that this is going to be fun. We are still going to eat meat, but all baking and stuff like that is going to be vegan, no butter, no milk, and most margerines he cant have either. Fun fun fun. but I must say, we have already noticed a huge difference in him. all rashes have cleared up, no swelling in sight, and the nights have been so much better. 

The doctor said that out bodies reset after seven years, so, in seven years we can re-introduce these things and if he reacts, don't try again for another seven, if he doesn't, we can consider him grown out of the allergy. 

Interview Date

We have an interview date, Praise the Lord. We are very excited, but nervous as well. Please keep praying for us. Our interview date is June 29. Less than a week. Lots to do before then. 

Thank-you for your prayers. 

Guess What?!!! Amariah finally has the idea of how to use a sippy cup by himself. We have been buying him the cups with a straw because he just never got the idea of a sippy cup. He would bring the cup up to his mouth and suck and then get frustrated because he wasn't getting anything. And when Patrick and I tried to show him how to use it, he never wanted our help. WEll, his friend Jesse got him a Thomas the train sippy cup for his birthday and that has become his favourite cup. He wanted to use it so bad it only took him a couple of days to get the hang of it and now he is a sippy cup pro. I love it!!!

Today is the day for another move. We are packing up our things and moving down the hill for 3 weeks.  YAY!!!! WE are exciteed to have our own space for a bit, but we will visit here often because I know we will miss my aunt, uncle and cousin. It has been fun living with them. It felt like having roomates again. My cousin and I are the same size, so sharing clothes was fun. 

Well, I just gave Amariah a bath, and I let run around in the nude for a bit, because he loves it so much, and some how a green marker line has ended up on his stomach. Another bath? AYA!!!! I think I will just put a shirt over it and deal with it when we are all packed. 

Today was my last day at work, but it totally doesn't feel like it. I still think that I will go in tomorrow. It feels normal and besides, I really loved working there. I don't think I ever woke up in the morning and didn't want to go to work. I loved going and now I am not. I pray that where ever God takes me in my future travelling plans, that I will love what I do. 

Today Patrick and I got a tour of the place we are house sitting at tomorrow. A big house with a gorgeous yard and a friendly dog, we are going to have fun. I wish that I could share Amariah's excitement about the dog in a more realistic way, a way you could experience. Amariah was so excited about the dog he was giddy, bouncey and and kept saying "doggy." I had never seen him like this before, but I believe that Amariah is going to enjoy living with this bear of a dog for 3 weeks. 

We still have no date for an interview, so the immigration process hasn't had any visible movement. Just a note for all our curious supporter. This process is definately coming to its last hour, I am sure of it, because it is becoming increasing difficult emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Hanging on Hanging on. 

I am sitting here on the couch, with the 4foot blow up Larry Boy staring at me and I am feeling like I should write, but don't know where to start. 

Today was an emotionally tough day. I find myself retreating from life and allowing myself to sit, doing nothing and not caring. I know that is not like me at all, but I really don't care right now. 

So, school is almost over. As of Friday I will be saying goodbye to my students. I am really sad about that. I could teach this class for years and still love it. It was a really good teaching experience. I wish I coudl return next year, but I know that isn't what God has for me. What God does have for me, I am not too sure. Probably something to do with being a traveler. 

While I was at YC in Edmonton a few weeks back I went to Jason Upton concert, so refreshing. Anyway, he sang this song, The Traveler, and I remember thinking, that is so me. 

Moving on...  Patrick went climbing with some guys tonight. I was glad to see him getting out with some guys. 

Good night for now...

I am still alive.

Patrick and I are sitting down, for the third time, to continue watching The  Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Maybe this time we will finish it. Sadly, this DVD is a bit sticky and has alot of unwanted pauses, which isn't making this go by any quicker. 

This past Sunday we celebrated Amariah's 2nd birthday. We had a wonderful Veggie Tales themed birthday party at Ferry Island, with 8 of his friends, Grammie and Grandad, Uncle Matt (Mut), Bekah, Auntie Lorna, Uncle Mark, and Larry Boy. Yes, Larry Boy was also invited to the party. Unfortunately, the life size Larry Boy wasn't as big of a hit as I thought it would be. Amariah was frightened of him. As soon as he saw Larry Boy walk into his circle of friends his smiles left and were replaced with crying and he found a hiding place behind mom. Patrick took Larry Boy for a walk, Amariah calmed down, and we didn't see Larry again as Larry. I felt bad, I guess I have to wait a few more years to introduce things like that to a birthday. I also learned that 4feet blow up Larry boy's are also not a good idea for 2 year olds. 

Over all the games, the gifts, the company, the BBQ, and the Veggie Tales movie, I believe made this day a beautiful success, and full of memories we will have forever. 

Starting Friday Patrick and I will be house sitting for some friends from church and we are totally stoked. WE get to pretend to have our own place for a bit. It will be like playing house from when we were kids. I can't wait. 

Well, the popcorn is now finished, the movie is still going and I think I will go stuggle with my other half for the rest of the movie. 

Canada tomorrow

I am so tired today. I have now had about 3 nights in a row with no more than a couple hours of sleep.

Amariah's rash doesn't seem to be going away. We have been to the doctor here and used the medicaine he gave us. But Amariah is still so itchy and is up alot of the night crying becasue of it. I can't wait to take him to a doctor in Canada. Poor guy. So, we are leaving for Canada tomorrow. We don't feel ready, but we are trusting that this is what we are to do. We have both been working lots here. I have been developing some curriculum and Patrick has been teaching kindergarten. We are also involved in some ministry too. Patrick's dad is driving up our vehicle and is going to meet us in Mission. Then we are going to drive to Terrace. I am going to chaporone my high school students on a trip to a youth conference. And then I will be returning to my previous job as a high school teacher. In the meantime we are also applying for my interview with the US immigration and will be waiting to be told when I can have an interview. We also desire to share in some churches about the work here in China. Patrick would also like to volunteer in a Bible camp for a couple of weeks if the door is open. So, that is our present scoop. We can't wait to see alot of you and share more stories with youin person.

Movie Critique, Sort of...

So, The Passenger wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It was actually very intriging throughout the whole movie and I was anxious to see how it would pan out, but before we reached the end all three of us watching the movie called the ending. That was disappointing. I guess I was expecting to be surprised by a brilliant ending, like I was with The Illusionist, but it didn't happen. Oh well...that's my movie critique for awhile. 

So, I have so many stories to share, but never enough time to write them, I will have to share them verbally when I return to Canada, or maybe I will occasionally bust out a China story on here for fun. One I hope to bust out before I leave China is the time I was offered a drink of Maple Syrup. 

Well, my friend is coming over in a few, so I gotta jet. 

Luvs to all. 

A Movie Night

Well, another days work is done and we are sitting down to watch a movie, the Passenger. hopefully it is good, it has been awhile since we have watched a movie. usually the only weekly thing that we watch weekly is American Idol. 

Writing just because...

Good Morning, 

I am up and getting ready for another full day of work. We have been so busy lately there is absolutely no food in this house. I guess I will pick up something on the way to work, and PAtrick will have to take Amariah out. 

I just finished doing the dishes. I will not miss doing the dishes here when we return to Canada. Because of the unsafe water issue we have been boiling water and putting the cleaned dishes in it. When we return we want to buy a sanitizer, which alot of Chinese people have to ensure clean dishes. 

Anyway, Gotta run. 

Two Trips to the Hospital.

Hi All,
So sorry that I haven't been keeping you up with our adventure. I am at work now, so I must be brief, but I just wanted to share about Amariah. I just got a call from Patrick. He had to rush Amariah to the hospital. Amariah had a collision with our coffee table, which opened up his forehead. Patrick said that Amariah got 5 stitches in the forehead. The doctor said that the cut was pretty deep, therefore all 5 stitches on inside the wound and Patrick says you can't even see them. Patrick said that getting the stitches was worse than the collision with the coffee table. Amariah made quite the fuss and it took two nurses and Patrick to hold him down for the stitches. Poor guy. I just feel sick in my stomach that I wasn't there. but anyway. Amariah and Patrick are on their way home now and Patrick says Amariah is doing well.

That was the second hospital visit this week for Amariah. Last sunday we took Amariah in because his whole body broke out in eczema and was oozing liguid. And his eyes were swollen as well. He looked like a scaley tomato. And he cried all night long the night before because he wanted to scratch and we wouldn't let him. first thing Sunday morning we rushed him into the hospital and the doctor said that he had an allergic reaction to something. His first suggestion was seafood. But I don't recall feeding Amariah any seafood since being in China. Later we learned that Amariah had some shrimp at school, which he has never had before, that I can recall. So, we are guessing that he could be allergic to shell fish. He also earlier that week had an allergic reaction to insect repellant. It was a mild reaction, but he wasn't fully healed from that when he broke out in eczema all over his body about 5 days later. So, the list of things that we suspect he is allergic to is growing: Cows milk, goat milk body wash, insect repellant, and shell fish. So, it has been an eventful week with lots of medication. He also has 4 new teeth coming in. The poor guy needs a brake from all this physical pain and discomfort.

So, we are flying back to Vancouver in 6 days. I so don't feel ready to go back. But we feel that we must. So, much to do here before we take off. Hopefully I will be able to write on here a couple more times before we leave.

Thanks for your prayers, we love you all.

The Present Jones Scoop

We have the certificate of no criminal record in our hands. Monday afternoon we met with the lawyer and she gave what we have been working towards since October. I can not express how excited I am to have this.after the initial excitement wore off, I had a few moments of asking the question "Now what?" But God is a God who answers prayer. both Patrick and I felt that we were to stay in China for now, so we got our tickets changed to May 14th. May 14th we will take off and head for Vancouver. Once arriving in Vancouver we plan on applying for my interview to complete my immigration process. Until May 14th both Patrick and I will be working. Patrick is working at a kindergarten, the same one I was substituting at. He will meet with the current teacher tomorrow and then he will take over her class on Monday. The teacher that he is taking over for has completed her contract with the school and has decided to head back to Canada instead of renewing it. Amariah and Daddy will be at the same school, so that is encouraging. I will continue to teacher evening and weekend English classes as well as aid in written Homework books that will accompany the students current texts. This is a huge challenge for me. They want 3 books in less than a month, so please keep me in your prayers. I have also been a part of a drime group at the church we are attending. We get to do a drime this Sunday at church which is exciting and hopefully this group will expand into the community as well. As we are here we also plan to further develop our mission focus here so that when we return to Canada we can more specifically share what our mission focus is and what we are doing to meet that focus. Lots to do and so little time, but Our God is good and our trust is in Him. 

Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord!!! We got a call fromt he lawyer yesterday with good news. She said that she had just received my certificate of no criminal record from the notary office. I don't know if there are any other things we have to do, either way this is a huge praise item. We are meeting with our lawyer today at 2:30, so we will have more info at the  end of the day. 

So, the next big question here is, if this is all the paper work I need, do we head back to Canada this week to continue to immigration process or do we potentially forfeit our tickets and stay here to work? Please pray for this decision. Of course we want to stay, we like working and living together in our own place, but we also want to finish this immigration process and not have to buy new tickets later on. If only money grew on trees or fell from the sky with the rain. Whatever the decision we are trusting in our God to provide. 

Another praise the Lord story: One night I was waiting for the bus to go into town. It was warm, but I knew the night would get cooler so I brought my coat. As I sat on the bench at the bus stop waiting for the bus I had set the coat down beside me and read my book. When the bus came I got on and left my jacket behind. I relized I was without a jacket about half way to town. I immediately sent up a prayer that God' would protect my coat and that I would return to it later. I was in town for about 2 hours before heading home. This is the only coat I have here in China, so I was praying the whole way home that God would protect my coat. I was, however, prepared to not find it. Big city in China, lots of people, who knows how many past through that bus stop in the 2 hours, and a really nice brand name fleece wool jacket just lining around. But no matter the doubts Satan was planting in my mind, when I got off the bus there was my coat exactly where I left it. I am so thankful to my Lord. Praise the Lord. 

5 Reasons why I Love being a Mom

Five things that I love about being a mom: 1) well, first I must say the day I saw my son follow his teacher's instructions and run with the other students, with all his might, I had never felt such pride in my life. I love being prouder than I have ever been before or have ever known to exist, with each new development and discovery I see my son achieve. 2) I absolutely love the kisses, hugs and cuddles. 3) I love the great anticipation to see who all God made this boy to be. 4) I love the simplicity of the moment, mopping the floor, rolling in the grass, sliding down the slide or whatever it may be, as long as its together. 5) I love being a mom because i love being a mom, really I have yet to discover anything as honouring and rewarding.  

Amariah in Kindergarten

So, this week is just flying by, and for good reason, we are very busy. We started the week off just relaxing since Monday was a Chinese National Holiday, I am not sure what holiday that would be. Then come Tuesday, I started subtitute teaching for a kindergarten teacher who went back home for 10 days for her brothers wedding. Patrick continued to teaching kindergarten at the homeschooling program in town. And Amariah went to kindergarten for the first time. They usually start at age 2 but since I was teaching the 4 year old class at the school they allowed Amariah to join the 2 year old class. 

I wasn't sure how he would react being with a class full of people he doesn't know, but he has loved it. His first day I handed Amariah to the teacher and Amariah didn't make a peep, no tears, or crying, or any sign of discomfort. He acted like he had done this many times before. It is a really good kindergarten, they have an art program, PE program,

 music program, as well as Chinese and English classes. He has absolutely loved it. 

Today I snuck out of my class to take a peek at him in PE class. They had the children running on a mini sprinting track, I am not sure what it is called, and the teacher said that the first time Amariah c

ame in second out of his group of 4. The second time he had fun prancing like a horse. It was so cute to watch him running with the other kids. Everyday I have asked the teacher how he was and the teacher has just praised about Amariah's cheerful attitude, how he co-operates with the other kids, and his joyful spirit. The teacher said that he wishes more of his kids were like him. I am so proud of Amariah. 

And here is Amariah playing on the playground at the kindergarten. 

Mama's Big Helper

I think that I will have to get him his own  broom and mop because everytime I try to do either he insists on doing it instead. Do you think he will still be insisting on doing the sweeping and mopping in 10-15 years? Hmmmm...

Unintentional Barganing and a White Boy Show

I thought that I would share a bit of what it is like to go shopping in town. Not all shopping places are as crowded, but we do draw alot of attention where ever we go. Here is a shopping street just north of the Peaceful Market. We have visited this particular shopping street twice, but for this story I will just combined the experience so that it will read like it is one day. 

On this street you will not see any cars, just lots of people, and lots of shops lining both sides of the street. Walking out of the Peaceful Market was an experience in itself. The Market was more relaxed, out doors, dirty, poor and was built within a series of back street allies. People in the Market loved to watch us and many would comment on how beautiful Amariah was, but no body pulled out their cameras to take pictures, no one insisted on picking him up and no one tried to stroke our bare arms. 

Leaving the Market we entered what we will describe as chaos. The slow relaxed pace was left behind and we found ourselves fighting the crowds just to keep moving forward. This street defines the word 'busy.' It is also richer and is full of brand name shops. Amariah fought to be put down, and fortunately we had a harness that we could put on him so that we wouldn't lose him in the crowd. 

At first it felt as though all eyes were on us, which isn't anything new, almost everywhere we go is like that. As we past once shop that had loud music playing Amariah stopped and started to dance to the music. Next thing we knew we were completely surrounded by people who were taking pictures of our dancing son. When Amariah was done dancing we continued to fight the crowds to make our way forward. The crowd followed, cameras too. One brave girl stepped out of the crowd and knelt next to Amariah for a pic. I scooped Amariah up and became more aggressive in getting through the crowd. This was getting really annoying. Soon the crowd got the idea that the show was over and people started going off in their own directions. 

We finally came to the centre square of the Shopping Street. The first time on this street we became a bit thirsty and decided to get some drinks. While Patrick was paying for some drinks a girl came up to Amariah and started moving her drink toward Amariah's mouth offering him some. I immediately intervened and said no thank-you. 

The second time we visited we decided to get some ice cream, it had such an interesting presentation we wanted to try some. After finishing our ice cream we visited some of the shops. I found 2 shirts that I liked but since we weren't planning on spending we didn't bring alot of money. Chinese people are very determined salesmen. The saleswoman saw that I showed interest in these shirts and the fight for a sale was on. I tried on the shirts, and she flattered me up down saying how beautiful I looked in them. Maybe I should have just bought her to tell me I am beautiful every morning after I get dress, but I didn't think of that then. I took the shirts off, and even though I was interested in them without her salespitch, I simply didn't have the money. Together those shirts would have cost me RMB 135, we had only RMB 100. I thanked her for her help, but said that I didn't have enough money for them. She wasn't going to let that be an excuse for not making a sale, "RMB 120," she offered. I wasn't planning on bartering, I really wasn't there to spend money, so I decided that I didn't even want to play the bartering game. I said thank-you but no, and turned to leave. "RMB 110!!" She offered determined to make this sale. I said, "No thank-you." She asked why and I told her I didn't have the money. She asked how much I had. "All I have is RMB 100." She looked disappointed. I again turned to leave and she said, "Ok, Ok, RMB 100." I was surprised that she was so determined. I wasn't even trying to get a good deal. I really didn't care. I once again replied, "Thank-you but I can't. Your shirts are beautiful and I will come back to shop when I have more money. If I give you all I have now I won't have enough for the bus to get home. I will come back another day." I meant what I said. The shirts in that store were beautiful, they were imported from Thailand, and they looked very Hippish, which I love, and I had full intentions of coming back.  Either she didn't believe me or she just really needed a sale, but she lowered her head and then offered in a quieter voice, I don't know if it was because she was desparate or reluctant, but she offered "RMB 90, then you have RMB 10 for the bus." I looked up at Patrick and he said, "If you want them that's fine, it's a good deal." So, I bought the 2 shirts. She was happy for the sale and I was very happy about my 2 shirts. I think that would be about $15 Canadian, but don't quote me, I am not good at the conversion thing. 

After purchasing the shirts we headed home. 

Peaceful Market

This Market, known as the peaceful market is a vast display of medicine herbs and spices, semi-toxic mushrooms, dried plant and animal parts, live birds, dogs, cats, fish, and tubs of squirming scorpians, snakes, eels and turtles. This market used to be used for animal trafficing of live monkeys, owls, dogs, cats, anteaters, and other exotic creatures, often for some form of human comsumption. A few years back, however, the police cracked down on these smugglers and now dogs and cats are only sold for adoption. Walking through this market is a genuine Chinese cultural experience for  foreigners. Patrick and I have enjoyed walking through this market twice, taking pictures of the sites and handing food out to beggars. Amariah absolutely loved watching the live animals. 

Heading Home from the Hotsprings

Since Patrick's Chinese is better than mine, he is often the one who asks for directions. Here Pat asked this man to confirm that we were at the right bus stop. This kind gentleman was sooooo enthusiatic to be of assistance. 

Here Patrick is getting money out for the bus. We actually didn't have the exact change, however, a generous Chinese lady spotted us for the difference. 

Shortly after getting on the bus Amariah fell asleep. Patrick and I were feeling so relaxed ourselves, it took everything we had to stay awake. 

Riding on the bus in China is another cultural experience. The rules of the road appear to be more like suggestions. For example, I am not sure if the lines on the road mean anything. What would appear to be, to the average Canadian, a 2 lane road, marked by the painted lines, often turns into three or four lanes. Also, it is not uncommon for a vehicle to swurve into oncoming traffic, and the oncoming traffice to just swurve out of the way, sometimes driving up onto the sidewalks. Drive where ever there is room. If the car fits, I guess it is fair driving turff. With the laxed driving rules now being said the rest of the story may not seem so bizarre. 

As I am riding on the bus and enjoying the scenary, I notice that the bus slows down and the bus driver begins to honk vigorously. "No big deal" I thought to myself, we will just swurve to the left or right to pass whoever is holding up the show. The driver continues to honk. After more than a few moments the driver had the whole buses' attention focused on the motorcycle driving slowly in front of the bus on the highway. "Strange, motorcyles are usually the fastest vehicles on the road." The driver kept honking for this moto to get out of the way. It was strange that the moto wouldn't show any signs of noticing the bus behind him. After much frustration, the bus driver finally swurverd to the left to pass the slow moto. As we passed I took a look at the moto driver and was surprised at the reason he was holding up traffic, he was talking on his cell phone. Talking on the cell phone, while driving a motorcycle on the highway, I am still trying to wrap my mind around that one. 

Farther down the road we come to our first bus stop and a flood of Chinese memories return to me as a herd of taxi motos surround the door of the bus eagerly trying to gain customers from the passengers getting off. Out of this particular herd of motos only one was successful in gaining a customer from the passengers that left us. Before this visit to my memories I hadnt realized how thankful I was that motos had been band from the downtown Guangzhou area. When we were here 4 years ago everytime you got off the city bus you had weave your way through the maze of motos with their drivers grabbing at you in their attempt to get a customer. It was frustrating, and also a little scary as we had heard stories of people getting their bags stolen by the moto drivers who would just grab the bag and then drive off. Yes, so thankful they past the law in our absence, that band motos from the city. 

Here is a bus with a herd of motos flooding the door. There are so many, not all of them even make it near the bus. There are also the taxis that line up and wait for customers. 

Hot Springs #2

Here is Patrick with Amariah doing the "Surprise" look, sitting in front of one 

our favourite pools. We actually spent the 

most time here since this was Amariah's favourite. He loved to take our plastic bracelets, with our locker keys on them, throw them into the water and laugh as 

mommy or daddy chased after it. We would then throw the k

ey bracelet back to him and would play the game over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. 

This is an example of what the enterance of most of the pools looked like. Isn't it gorgeous?

Here is Amariah. He was

 actually dancing, but I was failing to catch him with the camera while he was in full "swing."

In case you ever wanted to know what a woman's locker sign looked like in Chinese. Now speaking of the women's locker, I have a little story. I had just bought a bathing suit at a local store in this cute little town. And just like any girl, I was a little excited to try out the new suit. In the locker room, I pulled out the suit from the bag, I was just about the slip my foot into the bottom when I noticed this huge cockroach on the suit. I immediately threw the suit to the ground, completely disgusted, grabbed my shoe and started wacking at the roach with all my might. Even after I knew it was dead, I kept wacking just to be sure. Now the roach and his guts were smeared on the floor. My first thought was, "I want to return the suit." But this is China, you can't return anything. Everysale is a final sale. So, I bravely checked the rest of the suit for any more unwanted guests. After concluding that there were no more, I ventured to put the suit on.  After that I concentrated on completely enjoying myself with my family. 

This was the Enterance to the Hotsprings. I took this pic as we were heading out, back to Guangzhou after an amazing day of relaxation and quality family time.

Patrick and Amariah enjoying the last little bit of Cong Hua before we get on the bus to go home. 

While we wait for the bus, a moto taxi driver is taking a rest across the street. 

This taxi driver across the street often motioned toward us hoping for some busines. "Sorry Dude, not today."

Hot Springs

So, our Hot Spring Adventure started off taking the bus. Amariah didn't like the seats that Patrick and chose to sit in, so he got up and walked himself to the back of the bus 

and sat there.

The Hot Spring was in a small town called Cong Hua about an hour and a half outside of Guangzhou. The small town was a refreshing experience away from the busy city life. There were fewer people and life seemed simpler and more relaxed.

The Hot Spring had many different kinds 

of pools for us to enjoy. Some were were too hot to put more than our toes in, some were so cold it took our breath away and others were like the perfect bath water. These were the kind that we spent most of our time in. Patrick and I did understand that you were first supposed to imerse yourself in the hot water, then quickly plunge into the cold, then relax in the warm. A cycle, that we understood, was to be repeated several times since it was some sort of cleansing process. The few times that we did do the cycle it did feel really good. It felt as thou

gh it energized us. Many of the pools had names such as Papaya, Tea, and rice wine. The pool that Amariah and I are enjoying in the picture is the milk pool. The water was actually milky like. 

Here Patrick and Amariah are in the Coffee pool. IT very much smelled and looked like coffee. Unfortunately we didn't venture to taste it to see if it really was coffee. 

Here was a cool looking sculpture that very hot water came out of. We wondered if this was where one of the springs came out. 

This is one of the many gorgeous flowers that surrounded the pools. 

Stylin in China

Here is my stunning little man in his totally stylin Chinese outfit. There is even a little hat that goes with it, but he doesn't like wearing it. I couldn't even get him to keep it on long enough for a picture. Oh Well, he is still just as hansome with it off. 

Chips AHOY!!!

Checking out the snack food aisle has been a highlight during our grocery shopping trips, mainly because there are so many different kinds of snack foods foreign to us. We have enjoyed picking out some and discussing what they might taste like. One snack item that has been of curiosity is the potato chips and their foreign flavours. We see familiar labels, but unfamiliar flavours. One particular Saturday when we both had the minchies, we splurged and bought every foreign flavour of the familiar Lays label, plus one bag of doritos and one bag of a foreign label and flavour. So, that is 12 bags of chips, all for under $10 Canadian. We ended up with sausage flavour, Italian Meat, Sichuan, Mexican Tomato Chicken, Texas BBQ, Blueberry, Lichee, Cucumber, Lime, Mango, D3, and Wasabi. We opened up all of the chip bags and poured half of each bag into a big bowl. We then ate the chips from the bowl and tried to guess what chip was what flavour. So much fun. The fun part was when we were surprised by a flavour. Expecting something salty and getting something sweet surprised us everytime. Or, then expecting something fruity and getting the spicy wasabi. I wish that I could have recorded our reactions. After playing our little guessing game we ate the chips left in the bag to see which ones we got right. And I must say we did pretty good. We then voted on which we the best and worst chips. The winner of the meat flavours was the Italian Meat. 

The winner of the fruity 

flavours was 

the Lime. 

The Absolute Favourite Flavour was the Wasabi.

And the Absolute Worst Flavour, we actually deemed it disgusting and threw almost the whole bag out, was the Blueberry.

Open Door

So, yesterday we had a meeting with our old bosses to explore the idea of us staying in China and teaming to work toward a common missions vision. Patrick and I left the meeting really excited. We have had such a heart to serve in China, and we have also had a more specific way in which we wanted to serve and this opportunity seems like a huge open door to live out our heart's desire. I wil keep you posted. 

Progress Report

So, here is the progress. Last week we heard from our lawyer who told us some good news. To recap, one of the documents that is essential in obtaining a certificate of no criminal record from China, and that I don't have is a temporary residence registration form. However, the lawyer informed us that we can apply to the police station for a form for this time that we are in China and that the PSB we accept that. Also, the other issue that we were having was that the PSB wanted to see my expired passport with the working visa in it from 2004-2005, which I don't have. Yet, Praise the Lord, the school that I used to work for found a photo copy of my old passport and the PSB will accept that. Praise the Lord. So, tomorrow I need to take my passport in to get this temporary residence registration form. And then on Tuesday we will apply for the certificate of no criminal record, again. Our lawyer seems to be very hopeful this time and believes that I will have this check in a month. Thank-you for your prayers. 

Entertaining Angels

After visiting Shamian Dao, a small Island that serves as a retreat for foreigners from the cities busy streets, and walking back to the Metro station to head home we stopped to give money to a young lady who was begging on the streets with he baby. My heart completely went out to her. I was trying to think what more I could do for them than give them money. I can’t speak the language so I couldn’t even ask what she really needed. I walked away disappointed that I didn’t do more. I prayed silently and asked God to send someone that could help them.

 

The whole next week I couldn’t stop thinking about this mother and child. Maybe I should have taken them to a store and bought them stuff. But there really was no stores around that would serve their needs. I would have to take them on the public transit, but because I couldn’t speak the language they probably wouldn’t come because they would have no idea what my intensions were. God what do I do. I talked with Patrick and we agreed that we would buy food and walk around giving it out to the beggars on the street.

 

In Guangzhou there are a lot of beggars on the street. So many that we don’t give to all of them. Sometimes we give and some times we don’t but we never really intentionally walked the streets to help the beggars. That Sunday after church we bought food and walked the streets. As we handed out food I was humbled by the gratefulness of most beggars. We gave food to children all the way up to grey haired seniors. My most memorable moment giving out food was one little girl. She looked so sad and almost emotionless. When I brought out the food, she was at first hesitant, but after I told her that it was for her, her eyes lit up. She gratefully accepted the orange juice, steamed bun and some small candies. She sat on the side of the sidewalk and ate with a smile. She was the last beggar that we gave food to that day. As we headed home, I thought about the scripture that talks about Entertaining Angels, I know that we didn’t really entertain any beggars, but could it be that we may have given food to an angel? It is an interesting thought.

 

After that day Patrick and I decided that we would do this again the following week after church, and we did. To our supporters, I wanted you to know that some of the monies that you generously gave us went directly to feeding the poor. We fasted a meal and fed the hungry. 

Hello Moto

Saturday morning Patrick and Amariah had hair cut. Amariah cried the whole time. I felt bad for him so we went and bought him an ice cream cone afterward. We walked along the sidewalk as Amariah ate his ice cream.  We came to a place where there were steps and a wheel chair access ramp leading up from the sidewalk to a second sidewalk lined with shops. Amariah found it entertaining to walk up and down the wheel chair ramp. As he paused at the top of the ramp to get a good lick of his ice cream, a motorcycle had rode up on to the sidewalk and started up the wheelchair ramp, well, at least I thought that it was a wheel chair ramp. For all I know, it could actually be made for motorcycles, but really it looks like the same thing that we would call a wheelchair ramp in Canada.  The motorcyclist saw Amariah and as a result had lowered both his feet to the ground on either side of the bike and began walking his bike up the ramp. Amariah had yet to notice this machine inching its way toward him. But who can blame him for not noticing, sometimes ice cream can be so delicious that the world around us seems to fade away and all we are aware of is our self and the ice cream. Amariah was in one of these ice cream consumed moments.

 

I was shouting at him the whole time to move out of the way, but due to his ice cream moment he failed to hear me.  I couldn’t rush up there and grab Amariah because there wasn’t enough room on the ramp for both the motorcycle and me, yet I wasn’t overly worried because I could see that the motorcyclist saw Amariah and was taking caution. Even still I kept yelling, “Amariah, move out of the way!”

 

Amariah finally came out of his ice cream moment but it wasn’t my voice that brought him back to reality, it was the revving of the moto’s engine. Part way up the ramp the moto driver revved the engine to keep the bike from stalling. The loud unexpected revving sent Amariah running in the opposite direction of the ramp. When Amariah felt he was at a safe distance away he turned around so quickly that the ice cream cone held in his hand was launched from the paper wrapping and sent flying through the air and landed on the ground some distance away. Near by people who saw the whole thing shared their sympathy with the sound of “Ohhhhh…” The moto stopped at the top of the ramp and also shared his sympathies.

 

Amariah ran to the ice cream, picked it up and intended on continuing enjoying it when I intervened by grabbing it from him. I explained that the ice cream was now dirty and that it can’t be eaten. He looked up at me with his puppy dog eyes, completely disappointed and began to cry. My heart went out to him. I caved, and I went and bought him another ice cream. He was once again happy, and so were Patrick and I. Who would have thought that our son would have lost his ice cream because he was scared that he would get run over by a motorcycle on a wheelchair ramp. That’s China. 

RAT!

So, I was walking down the street during my break between 2 English classes that I teach. I just happened to look down right when I was about to step on a rat. Of course I squirmed and screeched like a person in disgust. When I was done I stood there looking at it waiting for it to move. It was just lying there on the sidewalk, breathing and looking like it was staring at me. So disgusting. I was afraid of being the first to move because all I could picture was when I moved he would move and head up running over my foot or something worse. After a few moments I braved it and ran past the rat. After I wondered if it was injured and that 's why it didn't move. YUCK!!! YUCK!!!! YUCK!!! I really didn't care, I was still grossed out by the thought thatI almost stepped on a rat. I am thankful that I looked down on the ground at the time that I did to catch myself, just inches away from doing something I really wouldn't want to do. God had my back, I am sure of it. 

MUP???

Well, it is 4am and I can't sleep. I have been up since 1am and I don't know why I can't sleep. I usually interpret my inability to not sleep as God telling me to pray. I have been praying and now I don't know what to pray for and I am longing to hear His voice. 

Patrick and I connected with a missionary couple here yesterday that we had met 5 years ago here in China. We didn't spend alot of time with them 5 years ago, but there was something there that made it feel like we have always known them. Even after a brief visit, spiritually we seem to have bonded. They are a part of a mission organization called MUP, Mission to Unreached Peoples. I just finished reading up on them and I was really impressed with what I read. I could see my self with an organization like this. Next to YWAM I have never really pictured myself with another organization. If I am to join a mission organization I need to be passionate about the vision, the focus and besides YWAM I never really had that before. But, I don't know. Maybe MUP is something Patrick and I could pray about. Our hearts our so passionate about spreading the Gospel, yet our efforts to join YWAM at this time have not worked out. We have been doing the work that we can do at this time, helping out with a homeschooling program, and fasting a meal to walk around the city handing our food to the beggars. It has been good, but we are still feeling a bit lost, unfocused. Lord I pray for your guidance. 

The Brief Update

Review:

March 12 Thursday- discovered that our phone was on silent, so we missed some important calls from the school. We returned them with the result of getting an appointment for this day with the principle of the agile kindergarten, San. She was nice and tried really hard to get us to sign a year contract, which we do not have peace about doing, so we had to turn her down. However, we did except a substitute position for 2 weeks in April. She also said that she would talk to some parents to see of they were interested in some private tutoring while we were here.  San said that she would work with us to help get the papers we need. She has some contacts with the police.

March 13 Friday- I got a tutoring job for Saturdays

March 14^th Saturday- In the morning I tutored a 15 year old boy, who is moving to New York, in conversational English. After Patrick, Amariah and I headed to town to see if we could find a travel agency. We did find one, only they weren’t open on the weekend, so we went to Shamian dao instead. We walked around the shops, and ate ice cream. Then when we went back to Agile we bought all the unfamiliar chip flavours and tried them all, ten in total.

March 15^th Sunday- Patrick went to church early to help set up. Amariah and I arrived later. The sermon was based on 1 Cor. 13, a good reminder of Love being the bases of our ministry. After church we talked with some people that we knew years ago. We also got introduced to 2 people that run a homeschooling program and were looking for help. We agreed to meet them at their ‘school’ and see what kind of help we could be for them.  Later Patrick and I decided that we would buy a couple of bunches of bananas and hand them out to the beggars. We ran out of bananas quickly and started to buy food from near by convenient stores to feed the hungry. Patrick and I decided that we would fast one meal a week, buy a bunch of food and hand it our to the hungry.

March16 Monday-We went to Cong hua Hot Springs.

March 17 Tuesday- Patrick went and got more pages put into his passport and Amariah and I went to the homeschooling school and agreed to help them on a daily bases with 4 of their students.

March 18^th Wednesday- Patrick, Amariah and I went to the School and helped out with the 4 kindergarten students. Amariah also loves to play with them. We also got very frustrated trying to a bus back to our apartment. It took us over 2 hours to get home.

March 19^th Thursday- Went to the homeschooling school again and had a blast. We then later met up with our old bosses who just returned from Canada. We went out for dinner with them and had a very encouraging time discussing our passions for missions in China. On the way home, Amariah threw-up in their vehicle. He seems to be feeling better now. We aren’t exactly sure what caused him to puke, but it could have been a combination of many things that happen this day. 

Yesterday we had the best time as a family. We went on a day trip to Cong Hua Hot Springs, about it took us about 4 hours to get there, and then 3 hours to return. While we were there we had the best time relaxing in the springs. I think the best part was playing with Amariah in the water. So cute. 

I got another job, Praise the Lord. This is teaching 2 hours a day at local school. 

A Job

I got a job. I am tutoring a teenaged boy in conversational English every Saturday morning at 10 for one hour. I am also goingt to be teaching Kindergarten for 2 weeks in April when the teacher has to return to Canada for that time. So, yay, I will be the substitute. It isn't much, but a job is a job and we are very grateful. 

Laundry Day

I brought my handy norwex cloths on this trip, however, due to my inability to read Chinese, I don't know what detergent I can use to clean them. 

I love how the washing machine is out on our second balcony off the kitchen. And check out the tube going into the drain in the floor. Even so, the whole floor still floods everytime the washer drains its water. 

I can only hope that I guessed right on all the settings and that our clothes our actually getting clean. 

Sadly, we have no dryer, so we have to hang dry our clothes in this humid environment. As a result, our clothes never actually fully dry. 

To answer the ever pressing question of our toilet situation, yes we do have an American style toilet this time. 

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