When sorrows like sea billows roll...

This is Andrea, Laura's sister, filing in for the moment. The blog is blocked in China so I will be her little assistant until things open up - if they open up. Right now Laura is very sick - feeling terribly and quite alone. As her sister, it is very difficult to be on the other side of the globe when I want to be right by her side.

We understand the power of lifting all things up to the Father and have faith that He will carry her through these next few days and weeks. Most often, it is in the very rough times in our lives when He is most glorified. No matter what goes on around us, He is still the same and worthy of all praise!

Thank you for your thoughts - we know our Father hears!

Back in the People's Republic

I'm officially "home!"

What a crazy past week it has been. I can't believe I've actually made it back to China. When I was in America, this place seemed like a dream. Had I really spent 10 months here? Surely such a wild place like that didn't and couldn't ever exist. But, alas, it does.

I'll give you a little tour of the long past week. Last Sunday my mom and I drove to Kansas City. I flew to LA on Monday and stayed with my teammate, Jodi, who has also returned to Blue Sky with me. On Tuesday we flew from LA to Vancouver to Beijing with a few other returnees. We had a short session of re-training, during which I didn't get any sleep. On Friday Jodi and I met the girls who are forming the new team at Blue Sky. They are fresh out of college. Jodi and I are the wise senior citizens of the bunch.

Friday afternoon we struggled to the Beijing train station. Of all the train stations in China I've been to, the Beijing one is the most exhausting. And since Jodi and I got to Beijing later than everyone else, we had to carry all of our suitcases. Everyone else's had been shipped ahead. So I was swept up in the massive crowds (thousands of people everywhere). There were only 10 million stairs to climb. I was shaking so much, plus I had a sore throat. People kept stepping on my feet, so my recently healed toe from ingrown toenail surgery was busted open again. I wasn't sure I'd make it. But He sustained me like usual.

Once we somehow got on the overnight train for 13 hours, there wasn't too much else that was eventful. I was just glad to be on the train. As I tried to fall asleep to the rythym of the grimy train swaying down the tracks and the cigarette smoke wafting about, I just pondered how on earth I made it back to China. The calm, hygiene, order, and pleasantness of America was just a distant memory by then. Honestly, only the Father's love and love for the Father could cause someone to return to this place again. You don't go to Nanchang for money, health, or comfort. (People in our organization joke that Nanchang is the armpit of China). You only go because of Him and His people who haven't heard of Him. And somehow it brings a whole lot of joy.

Anyway, once we arrived in Nanchang, Jodi and I made it back to our apartment and spent most of the day cleaning and unpacking. We also went out for lunch to our favorite noodle shop in the 109 heat index. It was wonderful seeing all our Chinese friends. People can change a lot in 2 months.

Thanks as always for your thoughts and support! It was like a marathon getting here, but He gave me unlimited stamina and peace.

China round 2

Well, faithful blog readers and friends, it's that time again! I begin my trek for many miles and many days across the globe to reach my "home" in China for year #2. I leave Kansas City very early on Monday morning, and I should reach Nanchang sometime on Friday or Saturday. It will be a long haul, but it's worth it!

Please keep us in your thoughts as we travel (by cars, planes, trains). Please remember us for safe travels, but also so we wouldn't get quarantined once we reach Beijing.

It's been a wonderful past six or seven weeks--with the right mix of rest, exercise, and being with people. A part of me really wants to stay here, especially to be with my family. Not seeing them for 10 months or more is pretty challenging! But I know that there is still a great purpose for returning to China. Hopefully I can always be mindful of that.

I would still love to stay in touch with you. I've heard that Facebook is blocked now, so the best way to communicate would probably still be through email, Skype, or old-fashioned letters.

Well, I'm off on another adventure. Love you all!!

Creating boundaries

I have had the immense pleasure of getting to read several wonderful books this summer. I've only read one novel, which is strange for me. The rest of the books I read have been more "educational." Here's a couple of the most memorable ones:

The best, most helpful book I've ever read is "Boundaries" by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. I don't even know what to say about it--I actually ended up taking several pages of notes on it, because it was so good and needed. It's basically how to set boundaries (not build walls or let people walk all over you) with people for much healthier relationships. Since I can't explain it very well, just take my word for it, and read it! It's only a couple of dollars on Amazon.

Another powerful, but heart wrenching book is "The Price of Honor," by Jan Goodwin. Goodwin compiled four years' worth of observations from living and traveling in 10 different Middle Eastern countries. She interviewed countless women (and men) about the resurgence of fundamentalist Islam in those countries, which is affecting women in really terrible, negative ways. I appreciated this book, because Goodwin was brutally honest in what she learned and observed. It was also really informative, as she explained each country's history and culture. The Middle East was never my focus when I was in college studying just about every other region in the world.

I don't know why I'm reading so many books about Muslims. (I think my sister has influenced me). I also read a book called, "Miniskirts, Mothers, and Muslims," about a Western believer who has lived in the Middle East for many decades and is married to an Arab. She talks about relating to the Middle Eastern culture in an honoring way. It seems a lot less depressing than the other book, "Price of Honor". But sometimes I did feel that she was sort of sugar-coating how women are viewed and treated in the Muslim cultures.

Overall, it's been a very educational summer. Now only 12 days until China!

Rusty

(Visiting Grandpa)
(Some of our family in Rochester)
(Andrea and my birthday cake)

I'm a little rusty at the blog business lately. After having written for my blog nearly every other day for the past 10 months or so, it is strange not having written for almost a month.

Anyway, life in America has been incredibly blessed these past four or five weeks. I've been spending lots of time with my family and friends, just resting, breathing fresh air, and exercising. I was able to visit Rochester, NY to see a lot of family, and then I also went down to Virginia to visit old friends and my college fellowship there.

I know my life is more fulfilling in China, but that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying life here for the moment. On the contrary. It's like I can't get enough of the world on this side of the globe. Kansas seems indescribably beautiful; the people seem indescribably friendly; my family and friends seem indescribably dear and priceless; the sky seems indescribably blue; the country seems indescribably free. (Do you realize how many different fellowships people in America can choose from?) I just want to talk to everybody, look at everything, go everywhere, and eat everything.

Over the past few weeks I've also been able to talk to literally hundreds of people about China and the Father's plans for the nations to know Him. I've shared at several fellowships in Kansas, New York, and Virginia, as well as talking with countless individuals. And I'm just in awe at how other people are also so excited about what He's doing in China and all over the world.

Anyway, He has been good to me, especially as I look at the world through my new lenses of being the ripe old age of 23. I turned 23 just a couple of weeks ago, and I can hardly believe it. Shouldn't I feel wiser and more intelligent? Shouldn't I have a hefty paycheck? Shouldn't I have a serious boyfriend? Shouldn't I have a couple gray hairs sprouting?

Well, maybe not. He has different plans for all of us. And I'm just thankful that I can return to China in a couple of weeks, although it's not exactly the easiest or most glamorous road. But it's all for Him!

Can't get enough of this place

I wasn't going to update my blog for a while, since I'm on a little "furlough" from China for several weeks. However, I just want to write and say how thankful I am to be home. It's like I've been looking at everything through fresh eyes.

Usually I like to poke fun at my hometown, Topeka, for being slow and boring. Whenever I come home to visit, nothing has changed. The people and buildings look the same, and the stories in the tiny city newspaper are the same. Yet this time around I can't help but notice how blessed this place is.

The grass is green. The sky is blue. The air is fresh. The ground is clean. People are extremely friendly. Strangers wave or smile at me nearly all day long. There's hardly any traffic to speak of. Everyone's very supportive of what I'm doing in China...

So, is this place for real? I'm just appreciative that I can rest here for a few weeks. America's not any better than any other country, but having been in several other countries I think I can safely say that America is indeed a very special and blessed nation.

Return from the Far East

(Fruit vendor in Beijing).
(The airport people gave us face-masks at the Beijing airport. I only wore mine for 2 seconds).
(We had to capture this moment. Jodi received mail in LA from the U.S. postman).
(My first American meal in many months. It was also a momentous occasion).
(Saying goodbye to my team in LA at a Chinese restaurant).

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Did anyone ever notice that America is amazing? After having been gone for 10 months, I'm overwhelmed by the order, the cleanliness, the lack of pollution, the extremely well-fed (perhaps over-fed) people, the plenty, and the beauty of the land and the people. It's like having woken up from a coma for a year, and finding things really different, but still rather the same. And for now I'm unable to see signs of an economic crisis. I'm pretty sure America's terms of "poor" are vastly different than the most of the world's. If someone has a roof over their head and something to eat, then they are pretty well-off.

I won't go into explaining all the differences between China and America. They are like two completely different planets that you can't even begin to describe. I'll just say that I still love China, but I'm so thankful I can rest in this country for several weeks before going back. My head is just spinning with everything I see and experience and eat here. It's like China never happened or existed, except I know that somehow I've become a very changed person.

It was indeed a long journey to get home to Kansas. We spent several days in Beijing, which gets more Western and well-mannered by the day, it seems. I've been there four different times now.

Beijing and much of China is scared to death about swine flu, even though there have been probably less than 100 cases. The hotel we were going to stay at kicked us out, because they said the "government needed it." When I walked by there a few days ago, it was being used as a quarantine hotel. China is forcibly quarantining whole planes of people coming from the Western countries if even one person has a little cough or fever. They think it must be swine flu, and they immediately quarantine 300 people in a hotel for one week. This is happening all over the big Chinese cities. No wonder the tourist spots were empty.

This particular hotel I walked by had guards in face masks surrounding the hotel. Nobody went in or out of the hotel. The doors were barricaded, then taped, then barricaded. The entire perimeter of the hotel had off-limits tape. It was like people with the plague were in there or something. It seemed a bit... extreme. But China is China, and it can do whatever it wants, I suppose.

After we finally flew back to America, I stayed in LA for a couple of days with a few of my teammates who live there. Then when I flew to Kansas City yesterday I sat by a guy who actually is going to visit China next week for a vacation. He asked a lot of questions about China, so I got to tell him some good stories. He thought everything was either really amazing or funny. He was only a couple of years older than I am, and he works long hours as an accountant in LA making good money. But he flat out told me, "I envy you. I wouldn't have the guts."

That made me realize that I'm really blessed to be able to live in China, even though it's extremely difficult at the same time. Lots of people think I'm brave. But I'm not. The Father's the one who has given me the courage and the love for those people. One of the biggest things I've come to realize this year is how completely inadequate I'm on my own. But with Him (and your tireless support), I can accomplish some crazy things!

Well, that's about all the reflections I have for the moment. I'm just relishing being here. I may have more to report later.

THANK YOU FOR AN AMAZING 10 MONTHS, my faithful friends, family and supporters!!