We Have a House!

We have made arrangements for housing once we get to China. Initially, we were planning on having some friends find us an apartment, and we would just see it when we got there. But, we have been able to secure a place for a few months that we can use and then if we desire to live in a different place, we can move, or we can just stay there long term. It really takes some pressure off as we prepare to gt on that plane. A friend sent us a photo, and it looks okay, but maybe not enough room for our kids.

Well, our real house might be a litlle bit smaller than this, but we'll still love it. I really just put this one here because we need some pictures on this site. Once we get to China, there will be lots of photos, I am sure.

Earthquake Update

It has been a week and a half since the earthquake and the region is still in chaos. First, the school Jason taught at years ago was miraculously spared. No injuries at the school and no buildings damaged. That is pretty amazing since the town near the school lost 80% of its buildings. The death toll looks to go over 50,000 people and there are over 5 million now homeless. They are walking to the big city about an hour away that has a population of around 10,000,000. Some people are being sent down to our city.

A friend of ours has left his home off the Chinese coast and gone to the area to offer relief. Here is an excerpt of his email to describe the scene:

Madness! It was complete and utter chaos as we entered into Zi gong - about 100 miles south of the epicenter.

People running through the streets screaming, laying on the sidewalks, cars racing by, only to get stuck in the long traffic jams at the highways.

I have never witnessed such pandemonium, chaos and hysteria in my life. I don't have the words to describe what was going on. I was rattled and nervous.

As soon as our bus arrived, there were no mobile communications, our contact was no where to be found. The woman at the bus station had a bed out in the parking lot - all the buildings and skyscrapers were empty! No wonder! all the people were scurrying about in the streets like ants on an ant hill that had just been kicked over 10 times by a naughty boy.

"What's going on?" I asked people.

"an earthquake is coming, an earthquake is coming, we've got to get out of here!" screamed some people.

You could feel the tension and the fear. The "fear” itself was like a "living form", a type of parasite, it was demonic, and ugly, and this "worm" was entering the souls of men and women and trying to literally destroy people.

I was very rattled. I had to stay calm. It was only the strength of God that kept me calm on those streets as the world around us was basically falling apart - it was surreal.

Obviously, this area has been totally changed. it will never be the same. Please pray for China.

Earthquake in China

Western China was struck by a terrible earthquake on Monday. Thousands have been killed, with thousands still missing. People have lost everything as 80% of some towns have been leveled. People from the area will be streaming to bigger cities to start life over again. Lifes have been devastated. One school lost half of its enrollment.

Our city lies about 400 miles south of the epicenter. From our understanding, no damage occured there. However, when Jason first went to China in 1997, the school he taught at was only 20 miles from the epicenter.

Pr@y that people's hearts would be shaken and that they would begin to ponder eternity. Ask for boldness for our brothers and sisters there, as well as provision for all those affected.

Follow this link to an interactive map of the area with photos:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/05/12/world/05132008_CHINA_MAP.html#

Suggested Reading...

Just wanted to direct your attention to the suggesting reading section to the right. These are really good books! I just wanted to make an extra recommendation for Henri Nouwen's Compassion. I am actually only through the first third of the book, but I realize that I have never known what compassion truly was, and have never understood the compassion that was shown by our King. It is a moving book. I think I got my copy through Amazon. Happy reading!

More Info on Our Return

When we get back to China, we will be living in a city a couple of hours from where we lived before. Back then it was 6-7 hours away, but now they have built new roads and it is only about 4 hours away. The city has between 3-4 million people and is a wonderful place to live. The people are friendly and are a mix of cultures and people groups. Many don't know this, but there are officially 55 minority groups in China. Our province is home to many of these minority groups. Each group has a totally different language, culture and history from the Han Chinese. When we get back, we will be training some students to go into these minority villages as well as going into countries nearby. We are very excited about the opportunities in store.

Let us know if you have any questions about China in general. You can just post a comment or you can use the link to our email and send us something there. Sometimes we have to be sensitive with some of the things we put on the blog, so please use email if you have something to say of a more sensitive nature. Obviously, this blog can be seen by anyone. Thank you for your discretion.

Returning to China

We are so glad that you have found us! We are in the process of transforming this blog from pictures of our kids to life in China (with pictures of our kids!). As we are preparing to return to China, please check back as we will be updating where we are as well as some random thoughts. Please post comments and be sure to look for new features. Thanks!

Hannah Grace's Birthday

Some shots from HG's slumber party...