Return

My dear friends,

Grace and peace are yours beyond measure from G-d the Father and our L0rd Jes-s Chr+st.

I traditionally begin my posts with apologies, and in this (perhaps last) post, I shall do no different. I am very sorry that I have not posted since February (yikes), but I ask you, dear reader, to please understand that I've been rather busy over the past few months. I have made some life-altering decisions, and any big decision requires serious contemplation. This is on top of my already busy work-schedule and evolving relationships with various people (although one girl in particular).

Much has happened since my last post, and so I will have to summarize. I can think of no better place to start than with my engagement. On March 30, 2014, I proposed marriage to Ivy. We went for a Sunday-morning walk through Wuhan University's campus to look at the beautiful cherry blossom trees. She figured out something was up (she told me I seemed rather emotional, which, to all of you who know me so well, is an obvious giveaway that something out of the ordinary is happening), especially when we were pushing being late for ch-rch. I told her that we would want to remember the day, all the while looking for some place where we might have a little privacy. (In China, that's like asking for a ride to the moon.) When I finally found a patch of grass with relatively few people around, I went down to one knee and asked, “你愿意嫁给我吗," the Chinese equivalent of "will you marry me." She talked a little while, but to be honest, three months after the fact (or even three hours after, for that matter), I can't recall what she said. All I know was that I was still waiting for a "yes" or "no" answer. She finally did say yes, and we scrambled off to ch-rch from there.

This semester in school, I started to understand better what it means to teach in Chinese culture. Being an American with no real understanding of teaching in another culture (much less one so drastically different from my own), I was doing everything I could to try to keep my students happy--and with only modest results. Although I can't say I fared much better this semester, I think I learned a lot. This is an experience that will always stay close to my heart--along with my students. Many of them were extremely accepting throughout these two years. Some of my students admitted that, after the initial excitement of having a foreign teacher, they were a little disappointed to discover that I am rather introverted until they got to know me better. I was also pleased to learn that some of my students consider me more Chinese than American, as I want to seem Chinese to Chinese people (but perhaps there is more truth in what they are saying than even I realize). At the end of the year, some students prepared a surprise for me. One class made a scrapbook for Ivy and me (as she also taught them another class), while perhaps the most unexpected came on my last day of class. My last class of freshmen stopped the movie I was showing them for our party and asked to sing a song. Then some students from another section came in and brought out a guitar. They translated one of their favorite Chinese farewell songs for me. It very nearly made me cry. I kind of wish that had been my last class period, because the last class of the day (and my career) was not as good. It seemed rather anti-climactic. I played a movie for my sophomores at their own choosing (although the decision was admittedly divided), but I noticed that few if any of them payed the movie much mind at all. Half-way through class, I asked if they wanted to listen to music instead, and many of them responded "yes," so I played music for them. They listened for less than a minute or so before they went on to talking as loudly as before. At the end of the class, I started singing "American Pie" to them, but they didn't even listen to me singing, so I stopped the music and let them sit in silence for the last few minutes. Needless to say, after the lack of concern they showed for my final class (which they knew was my last class in China), I felt a little better about returning to the States.

I had some trouble working out flight details for coming home this year, too. With everything else that was going on (trying to get a visa for Ivy, wanting to say goodbye to friends, wanting to spend time with Ivy before I left), I wasn't entirely sure when I could return to the States. When I finally picked a date, I found that FoC didn't really have any money left on their credit card, so I had to wait while prices got higher. Then it was decided that, because my salary is above the expected pay grade, I had to pay for my tickets myself. For a while, it was looking like I wasn't going to return until just a couple weeks before school started--just in time to readjust before classes start at WLS. I debated that option, but decided that I need to get a leg on the ground States-side (find a job, figure out living arrangements, etc.), so I looked for flights that could get me home at a relatively reasonable price. I was encouraged to appeal to FoC, and I did, but have received no response and expect nothing from them. As it is, I am writing this message to you from Tokyo, on my trip home. I took a flight here from Shanghai, and I will catch a connecting flight to Chicago, L-rd-willing, in a little under an hour. In case you manage to catch this before then, I am on flight NH 1012, set to arrive on July 1 (before I depart, a quirk that happens when you travel the globe in this direction).

That leaves only a couple other big decisions before I wrap this up. First, I decided to return to my studies after this year. I am enrolled at WLS for the fall of 2014. This was a difficult decision, and I didn't make it lightly. I haven't always been sure it was the right decision, either, but I trust that G-d will use it according to his good purpose. I pr@y that He can equip me better for His work there, so I may continue in my mission wherever He sends me. I trust He has been preparing me with all my experiences thus far.

Easily the hardest thing to leave behind, though, was Ivy. As I write to you know, she is no longer my fiancee, but my wife. We received our wedding certificate from the city of Wuhan on April 25, meaning we were legally married. That started a new stage in my life, in which I have adopted a more Chinese culture and way of life. I have enjoyed the last few months of marriage, but that also makes it all the harder to leave. I miss my wife already, and I saw her only a few short hours ago. We have been going through the necessary paperwork to file a CR-1 (Conditional Relative, or "spouse visa," for those who have been married 2 years or less) so that she can join me as soon as possible. We have finished the paperwork for, as far as I can tell, step two out of four, but each additional step will take more time for processing, meaning it will easily be a few months, if not the better part of a year, before she can join me. We held a Chinese ceremony, entirely in the Chinese language, on June 8, with her father attending. It was a whirlwind wedding, considering we began planning on Tuesday and held the ceremony on Sunday. Although attendance wasn't particularly high in quantity, the quality was good, and I believe more people left with the impression that our unorthodox (at least, by Chinese and American standards) wedding was special, but I also hope all who were there heard the good message, as it was pre@ched by our shepherd.

The good Work this semester was mostly saying goodbye to people, although I did meet new people and introduce them to His Word. We studied Ps@lms, a book which has become very important to me in China, where it's sometimes hard for me to tell if G-d is near or far. I sowed the seed, and now I'm trusting Him to water it, and I keep my dear friends in my pr@yers. I miss them, too, but I know that goodbye isn't forever for us.

With that, I would like to apologize for the lack of pictures in this post. Perhaps I can add another post of pictures this semester, or, if you have time, you can consult me personally and hear the stories directly from me.

A special thanks to my family and any other readers who have followed me throughout these two years. I know I haven't been good at keeping things updated (which made for rather lengthy posts), so I feel I owe you a special debt of gratitude to all of you. I would also like to thank my dear wife for everything she has done for me over the last two years. I look forward to whatever the future holds for the two of us. I can't wait to see you in the U.S.!

Grace and peace be with you all.
IHS

The Roof of the World and Life Decisions

Grace, mercy and peace are yours from Gd our Father, and from our L0rd and S@vior Jes-s Christ.

I apologize again for my lack of pictures in my previous post; hopefully this one will make up for anything that was lacking in my last post. I admit I am a little pressed for time as second  semester starts next week and I've been busy trying to make major life decisions; more on that later. For now, I hope you all enjoyed your Chinese New Year, and I hope everyone was able to celebrate Valentine's Day. I had quite an adventure over the last month, as I'm sure many of you would already agree.

On the day that I was scheduled to leave Wuhan on my trip, I found out from my roommate David that he is not staying in Wuhan anymore. He has decided that it's in his best interest to go back to the States. In many ways I'm tempted to blame myself because I'm sure that I at least in some way contributed to that decision, but I know I wasn't the deciding factor. Even though David planned our entire vacation, he decided that, to save money, he was just going to go home and skip the trip. He left while I was traveling, and it's not the same anymore. He was a crucial part of our team, and he will be sorely missed. With him gone, those of us who are left are going to have to work that much harder to do the work. So it was with a heavy heart that I left Wuhan. I was leaving alone, but I was fortunate enough to discover that three other FoC teachers (two from Wuhan) were leaving for Hong Kong on the same train as me, so I was able to have a little cheer from them, at least.
I got to Hong Kong, and after checking in I had to go by myself. I was meeting up with Hannah Ricke and Amanda Woomer, who were my traveling companions for Nepal. They arrived shortly before the plane stopped boarding, so I was getting nervous, but we made it in time just fine. When we arrived in Nepal, we had to pay for a visa, but once we got that figured out we were very well taken care of. After we left the airport our trekking guide (named Kishwor) met us and showed us around Kathmandu a little. We changed our money into Nepalese rupees, and we met Ishwar, the owner of Vista Trek company. (If any of you are thinking of going to Nepal, I highly recommend traveling with them.) We sat down for tea and went through the details. Unfortunately, I seem to have had some sour milk in my tea, and my stomach was upset that night. That was when the trouble started.
The following morning, I woke up with the same stomach pain I had experienced the previous day, but we were scheduled to start our trek that day. I had a vested interest in viewing Mt. Everest (considering that I paid money to do that, and also considering that I don't know when--if ever--I'll return to Nepal), so I decided just to power through it. I haven't been that sick in a long time, anyway, and normally when I get sick I can just ignore it and it goes away. That turned out to be a singularly bad idea.
I lost the previous night's supper while I was in the airport, and after that I figured my sickness must have passed. I really wanted to brave the mountains and see the beautiful sights, especially since that was David's dream, and he didn't get to go. We took a small airplane into the mountains, and away we went.

I was fortunate in that we had a porter who carried my large bag (which I had intended to leave in Kathmandu) and our guide carried my small bag. Because I was still feeling ill, I decided it would be a good idea not to carry my bags. Our first stop was in the village we landed in, so we didn't have to do any real climbing, but I didn't have much of a stomach for lunch. We hiked for only about three hours or so that day, and it was mostly downhill or even, so it wasn't much of a problem. That night, though, I didn't fair quite as well. I slept hoping that I would feel better in the morning.

I felt marginally better in the morning, for a little while at least. The next day's hike was much more grueling (it wasn't hard; it was just difficult who was sick and had no energy from the previous two days), and it didn't go as well as I had anticipated. At about midday, before we had begun any of the serious climbing, I started feeling sicker, and we started noticing that some of my symptoms were similar to or even the same as Acute Mountain Sickness. At that point I decided that I should definitely go down. My guide was in a bit of a

predicament because that hadn't happened to him before. He convinced me to go up to a viewing point of Everest, in his words, "slowly, slowly, slowly." That night he called his boss to order a helicopter.
I am forever indebted to my guide Kishwor. After he started noticing just how sick I was, he started walking with me every step of the way. He could have been walking with the girls, who admittedly were much more upbeat than I, but because he knew I needed it, he stuck with me the whole way. I was also very fortunate to have him with me because I got to see Mt. Everest a day earlier than the girls did. That day also had a spectacularly clear sky. It was wonderful--except that it was hard for me to stand and look.

That night I made it back and just rested. I took it easy and went to bed early. The following morning we took a hike to a viewing point of Everest (whose name in Nepali is "the roof of the world") and visited a museum before taking a short hike to the helicopter landing platform. There Ishwar (the boss) and his wife met me. I got in the helicopter, and we actually went closer to the mountain, near Everest base camp, before we went back to Kathmandu.

From there I got in the ambulance to the hospital. At the hospital I was told I most likely had food poisoning and perhaps also altitude sickness. I was very dehydrated and my potassium was low, so they gave me bananas and juice. The people helping me there were generally nice, but I'm not always sure what was going on. At first they decided to give me an IV to get my fluids back up, but when they poked my veins they screwed up, so they decided  I could just take the pills. I had an ultrasound, an ECG, an X-ray, and so on. All the time I was worried about how I was going to pay, especially after I was informed that my insurance would only reimburse the cost of my treatment, which meant I would have to pay out of pocket. I had my Chinese ATM card, but I don't own a credit card, and I didn't foresee any of this happening. My ATM card didn't work in Nepal for some reason, so I was mostly just left to wondering how I was ever going to pay my bill. I was nervous, but at this time I also started to feel incredibly lonely. The hospital staff were nice, but they let me be. I don't think any of them spoke English as their first language; if I had to guess, I would say most of them were from India. Ishwar, the boss, came to visit me, and he even offered to pay my bill until such a time as I could repay him, but that didn't really help me any (although it was extremely generous on his part). Mostly though, no one I knew from before the trip was in the hospital with me, I had no way of paying, and I had nothing to do. I did a lot of reading over the course of about 24 hours.
The loneliness continued after I was released from the hospital. They let me go because they told me insurance would pay for it (which wasn't true at all), but they didn't give me back my passport, and neither did they tell me the exact amount I owed them. I don't know how they expected me to pay them back. I don't know when the girls got back, either. I was mostly recovered by then. I was mostly just trying to figure out how to get payments done. They wouldn't accept a credit card unless I had the physical card on me. In the end I am once again indebted to my father. Thank you so much, Dad. He wired me the money via Western Union, and then it was just a matter of finding a place that would let me pick it up the day before I left.

I did a little shopping during my time in Kathmandu. After our guide came back with the girls, he showed us some interesting places around the city, including a monkey temple. I bought a book and a dress for Ivy, and I did a little exploring of the area around our hotel. On the last day our guide picked us up and brought us to the boss's house for supper, where we met his family and reviewed our trip. I have to say that the service Vista Trek offered was excellent, even if my stay in Nepal didn't go that way. I was thoroughly impressed with the way they treated me, and the price was reasonable, I thought. We said our farewells, and then it was on to Malaysia.

We met up with Miss Ivy in the airport. It was her first time away China, and having spent the last several days feeling very lonely, I was very excited to see her. Our plane arrived at about 3 am, so I bought some coffee when I realized that I wasn't going to fall asleep again. In the morning we took the bus into Kuala Lumpur, and we spent the next few days exploring the Central Market, the Petronas Towers, and doing a lot of shopping. Ivy bought new shoes for the beach and sunglasses. I bought her Aladdin pants (which can function as either a dress or pants), a swimsuit, and a shirt, in addition to a flag for me. We walked through almost the whole city in one day. Ivy was not a huge fan of the food, so we splurged a little money a couple times to buy (expensive) Chinese food.
From Kuala Lumpur we went to Langkawi, a Malaysian island off the coast of Thailand. We planned to spend a nice relaxing time at the beach. When we arrived at our hotel, the clerk informed us that we would have to pay extra since David forgot to cancel his room, and the hotel has a very strict policy in that regard. When we tried to ask questions to clarify, she got very defensive. I honestly believe she was quite rude to Ivy in particular, because we were just asking questions for clarification and she acted like we were insulting her somehow. Anyhow, she managed to sell our room for all but two of the nights that we were there, so it ended up being not that big of a deal. Our first night also happened to be Chinese New Year (the biggest holiday in China), so we called Ivy's parents to talk to them for a couple minutes.

During our time on the island, we were essentially divided into two groups. Amanda and Hannah generally traveled together, and Ivy and I went everywhere together. I tried to teach Ivy how to swim; we explored together for fresh vegetables for sale so that she could (once again) cook. We read together, we went shopping, we watched TV/movies. We napped. We walked along the beach looking for seashells or examining the wildlife. We watched the sunset a couple times. During one of my attempts to teach Ivy swimming, I had her flapping her arms wildly to try to get her to push with them while she swam. After a few seconds of that she complained of a sharp pain in her wrist, but when I examined it, everything looked fine and we couldn't see any problems. About ten seconds later she was even greater pain, and a red mark started to show up around her wrist (almost like a bracelet). I decided then that we had to get out of the water and take a break. We walked back to our hotel, but Ivy washed it off in a sink on the way back. As it turns out, that was a bad idea. The locals at the hotel were able to tell us quickly that it was a jellyfish sting, and that she should definitely not wash it with fresh water. We were told to get vinegar to put on it; we wound up buying limes because it was just the acid that was essential. After about 5 minutes of soaking her wrist in lime juice, she started to feel a little better, and after about 20 minutes, it was better enough to stop. After about 24 hours or so, the sting went away.

We decided on one of our days on the island to rent a couple motor-scooters. The girls got one, and Ivy and I got one. We paid about $10 U.S. to rent one for a whole day, plus the cost of fuel. It ended up being a great deal because we were able to ride all around the island and see some less touristy places. We saw some beautiful views of the island, and I got to learn how to ride a scooter. It was a little difficult just because in Malaysia, they drive on the left side of the road, but after I got the hang of it, it was fine. We stopped and viewed the eagle statue (apparently Langkawi is so named because, according to legend, an eagle stopped to rest on the island). We visited a black sand beach, and we made it back to our own beach just in time for sunset.

After our time on the island, we took a flight back from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur before we returned to Hong Kong. During our entire trip our airline (AirAsia) gave us literally nothing; we got no checked bags, no in-flight movies, no changing seats on an almost empty plane, no in-flight meals, no free drinks, nothing. Because we didn't get checked bags for free, we were forced to carry on everything that we would ordinarily check on an international flight. That was a lot of things for me because I had to pack for both winter hiking in the Himalayas and summer beaches in Langkawi. Well, our flight from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur was domestic, so they aren't always as lenient as other flights, but I assumed we would have no problem since I hadn't had any problem on the way so far. I was wrong. In the airport I was told that I was going to have to check my bag after I had already cleared security. I was angry, and made it clear that I felt that way. I argued my case with the airport staff and explained the situation. They did everything they could to make me feel guilty, but I thought the least they could to was cut me a little slack considering I had fit my bag in four times prior to this flight, and I was flying a total of six flights, all with the same company. They didn't think that was reasonable, though, but they finally told me they would let the flight crew decide because I had flown with them so much in the space of a month. The flight crew made a bigger deal out of getting my bag in the overhead compartment than they needed to, but in the end it fit no problem. I'm still kind of annoyed by how I was treated.
Anyhow, from Kuala Lumpur Hannah, Amanda and I flew to Hong Kong while Ivy stayed an extra day in KL. Amanda went back to Hangzhou from the Hong Kong airport, so after she left, Hannah and I were alone. We weren't exactly sure where our plan had been to stay since David hadn't told me of anything, so we assumed that we could stay at the retreat center, Hong Kong YMCA. When we got there, we were told that wasn't true, however, and we had to call down to Asia Lutheran S*minary to figure out where we should go. We took the subway to ALS, and we figured out our plans from there. I was bl*ssed to stay with the West family. Aaron is a new Hebrew prof at ALS, and he and his wife have three young kids. It was fun, and they were very hospitable as hosts. The next day the retreat began, so after that everything went more or less according to plan.

The retreat was great, if not much needed. I got to spend time with other FoC teachers from around China and see what's happening in other cities. I got to see a lot of familiar faces and get better acquainted with some people I knew just a little. I believe Ivy now better understands the mission of FoC, as she joined us the day people started to arrive. It was a great time for sp*ritual growth and encouragement, and it helped me refocus my purpose in China.
During the retreat, I had a meeting with ALS about being one of their first two Anglo students to be accepted into the program in mainland China. The ALS faculty are still working out some of the details, but their idea is that I would start taking classes with the Chinese students in the fall of 2015. It would be a four year commitment after that, so I would graduate in 2018, and after that I would almost certainly be placed in China as m*ss*onary. This is a fine option, although if I went back to the States, I might be required to take remedial courses as my training would not be the same. I think this might be easier for Ivy, who wants us to end up back in China some day. The other option is to go to WLS in Mequon, possibly as early as this coming school year. Right now I am literally torn between the two decisions. I don't suppose I should list all the pros and cons of each school here; instead, I will simply ask you to pr@y that G0d leads me to the best decision according to His good will.
All too soon the retreat ended, and we had to leave our fellowship and return to Wuhan. Ivy and I took a train back, and somehow by sheer coincidence, we ended up being in the same car as three other FoC Wuhan teachers. That was great. We made our way back to Wuhan, and I've been busy since then. Ivy has had plans of people that we met, and I've been busy trying to come to a decision, as my decision of whether I want to come back with FoC is due at the beginning of March. Ivy and I celebrated Valentine's Day by going out for lunch, seeing the movie Frozen (Ivy absolutely loved it), meeting a friend of hers for supper,
shopping around a little, and coming back to my place to watch a movie. It was a busy day, but it was great.
I start school next week, and my schedule will be much busier then. I'm using my time off to try to plan for the upcoming semester, but in China, plans are often made at the last minute. I have an idea of what I'll do, and I've been asking other teachers for advice. My schedule will be busy again once I get into the swing of things, but I hope to update her at least when I make my final decision...and when I get engaged (NO, I am NOT engaged yet!). Please keep not only me but also all of China in your pr@yers. Pr@yers for all of you. I miss you all.

The grace of our L0rd Jes-s Chr*st be with you all.

新年库尔勒！(Korla New Year)

Grace and peace to you from G-d our Father, and from our L0rd and S@vior J-sus Chr+st.

I know my blog post is long overdue, but with the hustle and bustle of school, a relationship, learning a new language, and adapting to Chinese culture (I suppose I could try to add more excuses), it seems I simply haven't had time to post on my blog. Still, I want to wish you all a happy new year. (The title of this post sounds like the Chinese for "happy new year.")

This semester went by quickly. I taught 22 hours a week, both freshmen and sophomores. By the end of the semester, the sophomores loved me, but the freshmen think I'm boring. There is now a rumor going around at school that I am leaving China after this semester and won't be teaching them. I don't know who started it, but I have my suspicions. (Ivy told some of my students that I was debating going back to the U.S. after this school year; it seems maybe they misinterpreted it.) I've told everyone who tells/asks me that it isn't true, but still even some of the teachers think that I am returning home next semester. Oops.

B-ble studies went well enough this semester. We've added a few new friends, but I've found that my role has largely been watering here in China. David, Jess, and Dan (my teammates in this part of Wuhan) have done more of the work of meeting new people, and for that I am very thankful. My role, it seems, is to be the guy with most of the answers about the good book, and to keep a level head about things for the team. Hopefully they will go just as smoothly next semester.

Many other things happened this semester, and I'd love to fill you in on every detail, but I'm afraid then my blog post would be several pages longer. Instead, please permit me to inform you about my trip to Xinjiang (a province in northwestern China).

I went with Ivy back to Xinjiang to meet her parents. Our journey started on New Year's Day, when we took a plane from Wuhan to Urumqi, the leading city of Xinjiang. (To give you an idea, there are only a couple million people there, so that province is more sparsely populated than most of China, probably because it is mostly desert.) When we arrived, we still had not come to our destination. We had to get to another city called Korla (see the title of this post), so we had to arrange for a way to get there. We had a friend buy us train tickets online, so we went to the train station after having some famous Xinjiang noodles. We took the overnight train for 13 hours, but it stopped several times during the night to make sure we wouldn't arrive ahead of schedule. When we got in, we found a little place to get breakfast and waited for Ivy's father to pick us up.

It took him a while to come get us, which kind of surprised both of us, and as soon as we arrived, he wanted us to go to a wedding right away. We still had all our bags and were tired and dirty from traveling, so we wanted to go home first. In retrospect, I can see why he didn't want to go home right away; it was about an hour drive home from the city, and then we had to drive back into town for the wedding.

Spending time with Ivy's family made me appreciate my family even more. It is amazing to see what kind of peace and harmony the g0spel brings to a home. In China, where the whole country seems to be very family-oriented, it is kind of surprising for me to learn that many families often don't get along very well. To be sure, the family still loves each other, but not without some major issues. Allow me to use Ivy's family to illustrate.

Ivy's parents are convinced he has some problems with his character. I suppose that's true enough. He is 21, did not attend high school (but in China, you are only required to go to school through junior high school; Ivy tells me he didn't go to senior high school because he didn't work hard enough in school), and he has no job. He lives with his parents and whiles away much of his time, it seems, in front of the computer or in front of the TV. He seems to keep bad company as well, and he confessed to having three girlfriends at the same time last year while we were there. Ivy's parents are convinced that the way to fix him is to get him married, because somehow that will give him purpose and direction in life. At 21 in China, he is, however, too young to legally marry. (Men may marry at 22, and women at 20.) While I was there, they used a matchmaker to set up a potential girlfriend for him. They invited the girl's whole family and spent lavishly on the feast they prepared. They wanted the girl and her family to think that they are very well off and can provide a good life for her. Unfortunately, I think they pressed the issue to much. Ivy's father even said something to the effect of that they should wait as little as possible to get married for such and such a reason. I think he said some things to that effect that would have made me quite uncomfortable. Ivy told me after our meal that there was maybe a 20 percent chance that the girl would date her brother. It doesn't look very promising.

Similarly, Ivy's mother seems to be overly critical. When she gets into the wrong mood, she says some downright mean things to her children. While we were preparing the meal for her son's potential match, she was very rude to Ivy. She essentially said that it's Ivy's fault that her brother isn't married already (which, as I said before, isn't even legal) and that she should have brought one of her students home to date her brother. She essentially blamed Ivy for her brother's every shortcoming, claiming she didn't do a good job of raising her younger brother, as though it were Ivy's responsibility. She said many such things, some of which I don't remember, others I don't want to remember, and still others that Ivy never translated. She also told he son that, if a man isn't married, he has nothing to live for and can't save up his money. It became very obvious during my stay that Ivy's parents are both uneducated and have lived in the country their whole lives.

Her father is famous for being stubborn. He is full-fledged devoted to communism, taught by the propaganda of television. He told us one night that he believes in science. We didn't really follow him up with that.

The epitome of their family's disunity came to me one night after we had been out. Ivy's father and brother were out studying to get their driver's license, and Ivy and I were visiting one of her former English teachers. Ivy's mom stayed at home because she has certain health issues, and someone needs to make sure no one steals from their family farm. Ivy's father and brother met up with the rest of us for dinner, and the men were drinking baijiu (a strong kind of alcohol similar to everclear). I had one cup, and Ivy's father told her brother to stop drinking after one as well, but he didn't. On the car ride home, Ivy's father was very angry at her brother for drinking so much. Mostly, I think he was just angry because he lost face in front of others. We gave her brother some advice, and afterwards he complained he couldn't do anything right. He ended up telling us that he went to a fortune teller who said he and his father have an incompatible spirit and are destined to argue forever (which I said is a self-fulfilling prophecy). When we arrived home, Ivy's father was still angry, and a fight erupted in her family. Her father kept blaming his wife and his son for him being such a bad son. Her brother blamed his father, and her mother blamed her husband as well. Everyone was pointing fingers at everyone else. I asked everyone to calm down, as no constructive talking can come while everyone is angry at each other. I don't know that my words had any effect, either, but I told everyone that they all needed to admit that they had done something wrong. The words I gave for everyone to say were, "I'm sorry; I was wrong." After all, everyone was just blaming everyone else and too proud to admit they could have done anything wrong. Ivy said the words, but no one else did. I was about ready to say them myself, at the rate things were going, just to give an example and make peace in the house. We did sit Ivy's brother down and talk to him one-on-one (on one, if you add that I was in there, but I didn't really say anything because, of course, all the talking was in Chinese). To me, this whole story really tells me what a difference growing up in a good, Chr*stian home has made in my life. Thanks, Mom and Dad.

Ivy's family is not entirely bad, though, and I don't write here so that I can simply make their names worse. Although they have their flaws, each one of them has admirable qualities, too. Ivy's mother loves little children (and after being forced to abort several of her children because of China's One Child Policy, it's easy to imagine that she might have some psychological damage). She is very funny at times, and does on occasion act just like a young girl. She almost never stops cleaning the house, which isn't really all that big. We had to beg her to take a break, sometimes. Ivy's father is a very hardworking man. He brought his family to Xinjiang because there were no real opportunities in their ancestral home in Sichuan (that's Szechuan at the American Chinese places), so he moved them for the chance at a better life. After visiting Sichuan last year, I very much admire how much he has improved his family's fortunes. He seems to have single-handedly moved his family from lower to middle class. He makes a little more money than I do in China, which is a modest salary, but living expenses seem generally a little lower in Xinjiang. Furthermore, I can tell that, although they aren't perfect, Ivy's parents are deeply concerned about their children. They maybe don't always know how to show their care, but they do care very much.

Ivy's brother has his own better qualities. He was more willing to listen to my advice about his family, it seems, simply because I provide a fresh, outsider's opinion. He is a very handsome young man, a gifted cook, a talented singer, and I'm sure many other things as well. He is only 21, and he still needs to finish growing up, though.

I also had the opportunity to meet many of Ivy's friends in Xinjiang, and most of them were very polite to me, but mostly I am impressed with the quality of friends she has. They are all very nice people, I think. The father of one of her classmates gave me my first Kung Fu lesson, and showed me his father's piloting cap, which his father used in the Korean War against the U.S. We found some of her friends are Chr*stian, and we ran into two different house ch-rches in Korla, which is impressive because it's already a small city. I personally instructed and washed two of her friends during my time there. Even the friends who kind of put me off did it, I believe, because they are worried about Ivy being in a relationship with a foreigner. Many of them were surprised to learn that I am actually quite conservative (because from Hollywood pretty much all of China thinks America is liberal). I know I'll have to go back to Xinjiang and see her friends again, even if it is rather costly. We spent over $2000 U.S. in less than two weeks!

Now the news everyone is waiting for: I asked Ivy's parents for their permission to let me marry Ivy. It was especially a big deal for me because I asked them in Chinese from a memorized script my Chinese teacher helped me write out. They told me that they have a good impression of me after my time together with them and believe me to be a hard worker (although her father thinks it's foolish that I spend so much money on travel). They consented, and told me that they will not interfere in our marriage as long as we build a better life together. That's my most exciting news probably this semester.

Later today I am heading off to travel. David and I are taking a train to Hong Kong, and from there we will fly to Kuala Lumpur and from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu. In Nepal, we will hike to an area where we can see Mount Everest. It will be cold and probably a difficult hike at that elevation, but hopefully I'll make it through okay. After our stay in Nepal we will return to Kuala Lumpur and meet up with Ivy for our travels in Malaysia. We'll have a chance to relax on the beach for a little while, and then we return to Hong Kong for the FoC retreat. After that, it will be just about time to start the second semester.

I apologize yet again for the length of my posts, and also for the lack of pictures. I'll have to post them on Facebook when I get around to it. Please pr@y for me during my travels not only that I would stay safe, but also that He would give me wisdom. When March 1 rolls around, I have to decide whether or not I will return for a third year, and this year it isn't so easy for me to decide. What's more, this time there may be another option. I have learned a little information about ALSS accepting two American students in the fall of 2015 (so not next year, but the year after), and there is a chance that I could be one of those students if the L0rd sees fit. That means if I return next year, it could ultimately be not a one-year, but a five-year commitment. Please pr@y that G0d would give me insight into which road is most pleasing to Him and best for me.

Pr@y also for a Chr*stian China, and for the Ch*rch in China. My pr@yers go out for all of you. The peace of the L0rd Jes-s be with your sp*rit.

Japan Trip

Grace, mercy, and peace our yours in abundance from G0d our Father and our L0rd Jes-s Chr*s+.

After a week's vacation, I'm back on the job again, but I suppose that's the boring part. What I really want to write about in this post is how I spent my week in Japan. That is in my humble opinion, at least, far and away the most exciting thing that's happened to me since my last post. I'll try to show you what I can; I took over 700 pictures during my week-long vacation, and I plan to post only the best on this blog. Prepare to be amazed and astounded.

Brian Gephart, David and I all left from Wuhan, but before we got to Japan, we stopped in Hong Kong because a flight to Japan from Hong Kong is significantly cheaper than a flight from Wuhan. So we stopped and visited Andrea Steinbrenner, a former FoC Wuhan teacher, and her roommate Lyrica (one of our friends from Wuhan studying in Hong Kong). They were very accommodating to us; they let us stay at their place overnight, and they helped us see a fun time in Hong Kong. (As evidence, I submit to you the picture featured above on the right.) Unfortunately, our time in Hong Kong was very short; we were there one night on the way there and a night on our way back. We'll have to visit again sometime.

The following morning we had to get up early--very early, actually (before 5 am) to catch our bus to the train station. Our flight left at about 8:30, and we wanted to give ourselves time to go through security, not to mention that the bus took over an hour and a half to get there. Nevertheless, it seems that getting up at an unreasonable hour was a trend for us on this trip. Starry-eyed, we made our way to the airport, and shortly thereafter, we were on a plane to our own little adventure.

When we arrived at the airport in Tokyo, we were tired, and we had to get our railway passes. We purchased a week-long, unlimited railway pass to aid us in our travels. They did come in handy, because it allowed us to travel all around Tokyo and even take a fast train to and from Kyoto, our third city on the trip. Once we got on the train into Tokyo, however, we were shocked by how green the city was. There were trees everywhere, and even though it's the largest city in the world, we could see blue skies. It was literally a breath of fresh air compared to China. We saw roads out in the country and houses rather than just high-rise apartments (things that are absent in mainland China). We couldn't believe that Tokyo is the largest city in the world (by population). At first, we experienced nothing but awe and wonder at such an impressive city. In some ways, that never left, but fairly soon we figured out how expensive everything was...


Our first meal in Tokyo was ironically a Chinese-style Japanese restaurant. Everything was high-priced (my meal ended up costing me 900 Japanese Yen, which is equal to about $9 US), but we were hungry and wanted to try the food. I ordered a bowl of Kanto noodles, which is an authentic Japanese dish. I was amazed at the size of it; it was easily the size of my head. It had vegetables, noodles, and all sorts up little surprises hidden in the broth. Needless to say, we ate like kings for that meal.

Only later that night did we realize how huge Tokyo really is. We decided to go to Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest tower, to get a better view of the city. We consented to paying 2000 yen (again, about $20 US) to go up, but in the end we didn't regret it. We get a much better view of the city, and everything we could see in every direction (and all directions were open to our sight) was city. Miles and miles just covered in city. We knew that had to be huge, because we were already some 350 meters above the ground, so our line of sight was extended. The only thing that wasn't city was the Tokyo Bay, but even that was covered in buildings. Our eyes were then opened, and we suddenly had an idea of just how vast the Tokyo area is.

The next day we had once again agreed to wake up early to go canyoning, which apparently includes such things as cave-diving, climbing waterfalls, hiking, etc. We caught the trains to our destination, and we allowed a little leeway in our schedule so we could arrive early, but Google maps told us it would take us only two hours to get there; even though we left half an hour early, we still arrived half an hour late, and by then our guides had left, and we had no way to contact them. We tried to use a payphone, but not even the local Japanese people could make it work for us, so we decided to visit a nearby shrine in the mountains instead. That left more of our day open for exploring the world's greatest city.

When we returned to downtown Tokyo, we got to see some more of the famous sites. We saw what has been judged to be the world's busies intersection, filled with people pretty much all the time. It has been made even more famous by the film Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. We visited Tokyo Tower and Ginza as well. We even made a stop to look for gifts that our Chinese friends had asked us to buy (to no avail). In the afternoon, we tried to visit the Imperial Palace, but it was entirely closed off during the duration of our stay.

In the evening we visited Tokyo Dome, and we happened upon the great fortune of a baseball game. We paid for standing tickets between the Giants and the Swallows, two Japanese professional baseball clubs. We were surprised to see Japanese girls running all around selling beverages with beer kegs strapped to their backs throughout the game. I suppose that would be a way to make a living, too, though.

We were hungry and didn't have a lot of time to linger; not to mention that we were a little nervous after sitting down in seats (that we didn't pay for) and watching security. So after three innings of waiting to be kicked out of our seats, we left. On our way out, however, I decided to pick up the free flyer that Brian and David had gotten, thinking that I should have no problem taking one, too. Security stopped me when I reached for one, and after they started talking to me in Japanese, I explained to them that it was okay (in English) and that I just wouldn't take one. I put it back, and then they seemed to try to gesture to me that it would be okay if I took it, but I had already decided I wouldn't take it. Unfortunately, the only souvenir I have from that night is pictures (and memories).

The next morning we left Tokyo to go visit Mount Fuji. We had to pay for train tickets to get there, but it was well worth it. We were around that area for parts of three days: we arrived in the afternoon on day 1, we stayed for all of day 2, and we left in the early afternoon of day 3. For the first two days, it was very cloudy, and on the second day it was rainy, so that added a dreary aspect to our stay, but we still managed to make the most of our time. We biked around the beautiful Lake Kawaguchiko on our first day. Unfortunately, the clouds obscured our view of Mount Fuji, so although we were only a few miles away from a massive mountain, we couldn't even see a trace of it. I took videos to record our search for Fuji, but unfortunately I don't think they'll fit here. We visited more shrines, caught the end of a B-ddhist service, and did a little nature hiking and caving. The first two days were less eventful, but we found the food was much cheaper there, and we had a good time still.

The third day was the magical day, however. We got up very early on our final day and ascended a small mountain that was a viewing platform for Fuji. We had seen the weather forecast predict anywhere from partly cloudy to mostly sunny, so we were anticipating our first view of the mountain. In the morning, Fuji was disappointingly covered in clouds; in fact, during our ascent, Brian was very nearly attacked by a monkey, and when we reached the top we were surrounded by them. After a few hours, the monkeys went away, but our mountain was still completely lost in the clouds. We had to check out from our hostel, so we were forced to descend. Discouraged, but not defeated, we hiked back down.

At the bottom we realized that we had been in the cloud. Fuji was still hidden in the clouds, but it was not nearly as enveloped as we had been led to believe. We decided to stay near the lake, and after checking out we started biking around the lake to try to find a good view. Just when I had begun to give up all hope of seeing the glory of that mountain, we noticed the clouds around it were moving rapidly, and the blue sky was heading straight for it. We stayed a little longer than we had planned, but we got our fair share of pictures of the mountain. It was perhaps the most beautiful mountain that I have ever laid eyes on.

In the afternoon we took a train to Kyoto, and we arrived too late to have any great adventures that night. We did, however, manage to eat a sushi dinner that night; I had some kind of fish that I don't remember the name of, and uncooked squid. It was pretty good, although once again, the price was a big factor for me. The next day we toured through the city, our only day there. We visited shrines and temples, a castle, and the old imperial palace. We had a guided tour of the palace (free of charge). We visited about as many places as we possibly could with the time we had. We visited a samurai training grounds, and watched some older men play baseball in the park around the old imperial palace. In any case, I think my pictures of Kyoto do the talking better than I can.

That evening we took another train back to Tokyo, and even though we arrived late we still visited Tokyo's Odaiba district to see the Rainbow Bridge. We didn't see as much "rainbow" in the bridge as we would have liked; it was lit up completely white while we were there (and last I checked, "white" doesn't fit anywhere in ROY G. BIV), but it was an impressive site nonetheless. It seemed like, at night, that area was better left for lovers, and the three of us guys were just there to see the bridge and explore. We did get to see part of the bay and the skyline, although Brian and David still find the Hong Kong skyline much more impressive. After we saw that, it was too late to do much else, so we retired to our hostel for the night.

Once again, we got up early the next morning, our final day in Japan, to see the world's largest fish market. A lot of it didn't open until 9, or we had arrived too late to see some of the more impressive things, but we just wanted a quick glance. It wasn't everything we dreamed it would be, but we had heard before that if we wanted to see the best things, we had to get there before 4 (and we definitely did not have enough energy to wake up that early). We saw what we could, and we moved on. We visited another big temple/shrine, and we walked along the Sumida River for a while. Then we visited a stable for sumo wrestlers. It was really more of a museum than anything else; apparently sumo wrestling was already out of season while we were in Japan. Still, we got to take some pictures and learn a little more about sumos before we moved on with our day.

We had our last lunch in peace and quiet. We had an amazing last meal for another 900 yen, but I got to enjoy some more Japanese noodles, dumplings, and soup, all with an added spice and teriyaki sauce. It was a great way to end our time in Japan, and a good note to end on.

 Unfortunately, it didn't quite end there. We had our plane to catch in the afternoon, and we waited for the right time to leave at our hostel (already exhausted from a week of non-stop action). When we left, however, I forgot my charger for my Amazon Kindle. I remembered when we made it to the nearby train station, though, and I ran back to get it. David and Brian tell me I was fast enough that we only missed one train (they come somewhere between every 5 and 10 minutes), so I got back in a flash. Then it was back to the airport, back to Hong Kong for a night, and back to Wuhan in the morning.

My blog posts tend to get rather long, but I have quit bothering to apologize. This is the full account of my adventure in Japan, and I think the details are what make it the most interesting. Since my time there, I've been back in the classroom and back to my daily life. Miss Ivy definitely has appreciated my return.

Pr@yers go out for all of you. Please pr@y for our work in Wuhan as well. The grace of our L0rd Jes-s Chr*s+ be with you all.