Happy Teacher's Day!

Yesterday was a fun day to be a teacher in China, because it was Teacher's Day! All day long I saw students walking around both campuses, carrying carnations or gigantic fruit baskets or other odd gifts for their teachers. The Japanese foreign teacher, Takao, who shares the office with us, was given the craziest stuff. Someone gave him four knock-off Eddie Bauer shirts. He also received a huge wooden ship, gigantic origami flowers sprayed with perfume that he promptly tied in a plastic bag, because the smell was so strong, and a beautifully framed cross-stitch of cherry blossoms. I was given a bobble head cow and a very blue and feathery wind chime by my students.

I also received several emails from students, such as:

"Tomorrow is Teacher's Day . A day for you , a day for all the teachers . It's the time we give our thanks to the teachers who have worked so hard . We chinese regard the teachers as candles . Because they always care so much about the students but pay little attention to themselves just like candle burning himself and giving lights to othe people . Teachers are very great and hard . You did a lot of help to us and you will still help us in the future even though you don't teach us ,because we are friends . Please accept my benediction and regard!"

"Miss Laura Freeze
Today is Teachers' Day in China. i stand for 08BE2.Send you our everlasting feeling of gratefulness and thankfulness on this special day.We all like having you as our teacher. You have our respect and gratefulness. and i think It is the most appropriate time to show you our thanks."

Teaching is going a lot better, not just because it was Teacher's Day recently. I still see my old students, but I don't compare them with my new students. It's sort of fun and challenging to see how well I can love my new students, even or especially when they are being extra difficult. During nearly every class I have to lift my thoughts up, but that's probably how I should live all the time.

On Friday I also officially started language learning again. I'm meeting with my Chinese friend, Amy, in my office in the afternoon. So I'm still trying my best to engage the culture and people. It's just taken a week or two for me to get my feet wet again.

Now I'm off to dinner and then a game night with some students and friends! Have a marvelous, blessed weekend!

(The pictures are from teacher day, a couple of my students, and the military training at our school).

I feel that after writing in my blog all last year about China, a lot of the newness and unique little stories I'd write about aren't really new or unique anymore. I certainly haven't experienced everything, and am nowhere near a "China expert," but it seems to me that there isn't that much to write about anymore. Maybe I'm getting immune to things that would only happen in China: propaganda posters; preparations for the upcoming celebration of 60 years of communist China; being able to lift up thoughts to Him only behind closed doors... Even quirky scenes like one of the front gate guards grabbing my hand and kissing it don't seem out of the ordinary.

Anyways, I think I have my work cut out for me this year. Last year, as a whole, I had the sweetest, most loveable students. This year I have the edgier, rowdier, lower level kids. There is no way I can do this on my own.

Thankfully I'm feeling a lot better! So Jodi and I had our three Chinese friends over to eat some little pizzas we made. It was quite refreshing being with our good friends again. (See the picture).

At the same time, a boy (he looked about 16), came to look at the air-conditioning unit in my room. I haven't used it for the past several days, despite it being over 100 degrees, because it leaks bucketfuls of water. Of course when he was looking at it, it wasn't dripping any water. So he said there was nothing to fix.

Then I had moved my big bed that takes up most of my room, so he could look at the air conditioning. When I was trying to move the wooden bed back, I managed to break it. One side that holds the mattress collapsed, so now it is propped up with old books and magazines. Also during that same time, we had a couple more power outages, because there were rolling blackouts all day. So quite a bit of the evening was spent just sitting in the dark.

Today after class, I went out to eat lunch with a couple of my old students. It was wonderful seeing them again, although I've forgotten how these two girls like to talk about a lot of things I don't like to talk about it. It only took them about four minutes to inquire about my boyfriend status. Then they also commented how my "skin looks much whiter and more beautiful than last year." They also said that my clothes were "much more beautiful than last year." So, on the outside, they thought I had improved greatly over the summer.

As I walked to catch the city bus today, there was a girl walking in front of me with an umbrella, which had a picture of Mickey Mouse on it and big English words, "The Lovely Rat." So apparently Mickey Mouse is really "The Lovely Rat" in China.

That's about all I can think of for now. I hope I didn't bore you. Life is good here, and I hope yours is also.

Having Zero Expectations

Things haven't turned out like I expected them to. And you would have thought I learned that lesson by now. Don't come to China with expectations. Plans are 98% guaranteed to be changed. For example, I expected to settle back into Nanchang life quite easily, and to pick up with my students right where we left off. Barriers and walls were finally starting to come down by the end of last year, so I imagined great things happening with those students this year.

So filled with lots of happy thoughts and expectations, I returned for another year... And then I got really sick. And then I found out I wouldn't be teaching my old students - my roommate would. And then I remembered that it is difficult to live in China, which I had already forgotten during an absence of just a few weeks. And I remembered what it felt like to teach in a classroom that is 108 degrees. And I remembered what it was like to literally fall on my knees, only being able to cry out to Him. In China, I usually feel at my worst and weakest. And somehow, He is glorified in the midst of all this.

I don't have much else to report. I've been reunited with some of my dearest friends, and I've managed to teach a couple of classes. And my health is a lot better than it was, although it still has a ways to go. I'm regaining my strength at the speed of molasses, but I'm thankful.

Thanks for all of your many thoughts!

Clinging to Him

You've probably heard that I've been pretty sick lately - just confined to my room and not trying to draw too much attention to myself in a country that can be a bit heavy-handed when it comes to things like this. But I've finally started to turn the corner on this illness, and I'm coping with the fact that I won't have my students again this coming year.

In the midst of all this "struggle," I've been reminded of His faithfulness through your support. I received tons of emails pointing me back to Him, and encouraging me to keep looking toward Him, while not being mired in my circumstances.

Before I got sick, Jodi and I started to adjust to our new lives as a mini team here at our school. Speaking of Jodi, she is also not feeling so great. Please remember her. And she was assigned my old students, so it is honestly difficult for me not to be bitter or envious.

I had also been wandering around our old "haunts" in the neighborhoods when we first arrived. It is so wonderful to see old Chinese friends. And between Jodi and I, we can communicate rather freely with our friends. My friend, "Kate," said the watermelon lady asked about me all summer, wondering when I'd return. The watermelon lady also said I had treated her like my grandmother. But I have yet to see her. Maybe she's on vacation for the week. One of my favorite guards also said he missed me. The picture people said they were so glad we're back. The Nanchang noodle family hugged us warmly. The little babies gave us high fives. The grandma of the building couldn't stop smiling. The rice and flour people gave Jodi free rice and flour. The foreign teachers never return for a second year, so it is very strange for them to see a couple of us again. And it feels like coming home.

Since I've been confined to my apartment, however, the only thing I know of the outside world is literally a small army training under our windows.

That is a sight to behold. From sun-up to sun-down, a few thousand freshmen march all over the campus in little squadrons for their mandatory military training. They don't even go to class for the next couple of weeks. They all wear army fatigues and green shoes, which make them look like communists from the 1950s. They are whipped into shape and molded into comrades as they drill, march, and chant revolutionary songs at the top of their lungs just about every waking moment. Our apartments reverberate with these sounds.

I guess ever since that infamous "incident" of the late 1980s, all university students are required to participate in military training. One of the big reasons is so that they will not take for granted their status as students, which is a privilege in a country where the majority of people are peasants, workers, and soldiers. As students, they are to learn and contribute to the country - not cause trouble through demonstrations, like the one in Beijing a long time ago.

Supposedly I'm to start teaching on Thursday, but that's not really possible. My fever's finally died down, but I still feel like I just got run over by a truck. I don't remember ever feeling so tired. So somehow I have to find someone willing and able to cover my classes...

Thanks again for your thoughts! I'm leaving you with some pictures from the neighborhood and the military training students.

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!!