新年快乐 Xīnnián Kuàilè Happy New Year

A psalm for 2014

Life is like a vapor. One year is gone, another comes. Lord, teach us to number our days that we might get a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90

English Standard Version (ESV)

90 

90 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You return man to dust
    and say, “Return, O children of man!”
4 For a thousand years in your sight
    are but as yesterday when it is past,
    or as a watch in the night.

5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
    like grass that is renewed in the morning:
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
    in the evening it fades and withers.

7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
    by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
    we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
    or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span[c] is but toil and trouble;
    they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
    and your wrath according to the fear of you?

12 So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord! How long?
    Have pity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
    and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor[d] of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish the work of our hands upon us;
    yes, establish the work of our hands!

Christmas in China - Dec. 13-25

December 13 - BBC Christmas Party 

Joel & Mark decorating for the Christmas Party

Jen & the kids decorating Christmas cookies

The kids' creation - cookie tree

December 22 - picking up the kids from the Beijing Airport

Monday lunch December 23 - Eating Beijing Duck with the Lees

first Chinese meal for the kids

Visiting the 798 Art District after lunch

Tuesday, December 23 - Walking Wangfujing Street & Tiananmen 

Kids in a candy store - always an attraction

Christmas Day lunch in the Pettit's Apartment

 Christmas afternoon playing Ticket to Ride

 Christmas Day Supper at a local Chinese restaurant

Chilling after a full day

Photos of Friends

How many people does it take to fix the gas water heater? One American man who speaks some Chinese. One Chinese lady who speaks some English. One worker who only speaks Chinese.

Our first Guys'  Dinner & Discipleship

Our language school classmates minus our German friend. L to R: Mark, Landon, Brigt (husband to classmate Birgit in front), Allison, Lance, and Gary.  A fun bunch.

Learning numbers and 4 colors: Hóng, Huáng, Lǜ, Lán

Ahhhh...

A clean house. Sparkling floors. Hot water. Heat. Drippy pipe solved. Listening to Christmas music. Ahhh...... almost heaven. :)

After a week of fixing water issues, our home is back in order. Amazing what getting a home back in order does for our spirits. Now to get ready for our guys' night tomorrow, Christmas party Friday, kids coming, and final exams on the 23rd.

Psalm 34:1-3, 8-10
I will bless the Lord at all times;
    his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
    let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
    and let us exalt his name together!

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Water - making progress

Today the repairman came to fix the pipes under the sink so we have a working kitchen sink again.  Yeah! And we have intermittent hot water. Tomorrow another repairman (or two) plus a bilingual Chinese are supposed to come fix the gas water heater so we can have heat in the apt and consistent hot water, and hopefully fix the pipe that is unattached.

Water Part 3

The saga continues.  Today as I washed dishes about 1:15, the water pipe burst under the sink so we ended up with a flooded kitchen. After trying two valves in the hallway closet, we were finally able to shut off the water. Rodney, XiaoLi, Mark, and three maintenance guys have worked to get the parts and pipes back in order, with no success. Now we have no hot water, a leak in the laundry area, and a broken pipe under the sink. The maintenance guy is supposed to come back tomorrow to finish the job.

The sanctification process continues.

Water Part 2

The maintenance man came yesterday to look at the water leak. When he left, we discovered that we had no hot water again. Now we have a leak AND cold water. He comes again late this morning. Hopefully, we can get this issue solved soon.

Water, Water

We got our hot water fixed yesterday after three days. Boy, it sure was nice to take a hot shower again.  However, upon entering the laundry area, where the water pipes are, we discovered water all over the floor. It turns out that the fix-it man unhooked a water pipe but didn't hook it back up.  We were suspicious when we saw the turn valve sitting on the washer, wondering where that came from. Now the fix-it people want to charge us again to fix the pipe, saying that there is no way to prove that it wasn't leaking before the guy came the first time. Well, the floor was dry before he came and wet after he 'fixed' it. How do you prove it without pictures? Who would have thought to take pictures? Please remember us, that we won't have to pay twice.

Thank you to all who remember us. We know you care and remember. It is obvious to us that G hears and answers.

The Proverbial Wall

So what do you do when you hit the proverbial wall? 

Three months. That’s often when people overseas hit a wall. The language is hard. We miss the kids, our home, and our friends. Getting the hot water fixed takes days. HBI business is not booming. The culture seems backwards. The streets are dirty. But people are friendly and helpful. And God is good.

Here are some things we remember:

·        God is on His throne.
·        Our worth as a person and our salvation do not depend on what we do or how we perform on a test.
·        I am thankful Mark and I don’t hit the wall on the same day.
·        Life is about God’s glory, His faithfulness, His steadfast love – not our feelings or work.

Psalm 36:7-9

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
    The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
    and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light do we see light.

A Psalm for Giving Thanks

Psalm_100 

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2     Serve the Lord with gladness!
    Come into his presence with singing!

3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

5 For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.

Windsday

Windsday - as sung by Winnie the Pooh

Hum dum dum ditty dum...
Hum dum dum...

Oh the wind is lashing rustly,
And the trees are thrashing thrustly,
And the leaves are rustling gustly,
So it's rather safe to say,
That is seems that it may turn out to be,
It feels that it will undoubtedly,
It looks, like a rather blustery day, today...
It seems that it may turn out to be,
It feels that it will undoubtedly,
Looks, like a rather blustery day, today!

It’s a VERY blustery day in the Hundred Acre Wood today. Or at least in Beijing. Today is the coldest, windiest day that we have had since we have been here. And the air quality is the best since we have been here, too. AQI this morning was 25. From our 33^rd floor apartment, we have heard the wind howling since late last night. According to weather.com, the winds have come from the north-northwest at 12 mph. They sure seem a lot stronger than that, especially when walking directly into the wind. This morning the forecast said that the wind chill was about 10 degrees F when we left for school. Now it’s about 14 degrees F wind chill. We bundled up to brave the cold and wind. I wore my wool scarf around my face, pulled up my coat to my nose, pulled over the hood on top of my new Chinese wool hat, and wore 2 pairs of gloves tucked inside my coat sleeve. People here say it will get much colder than this although maybe without the wind. It’s the wind that makes it so cold. Some mornings after we have checked the temperatures, we head out for school and then don’t feel like it is as cold as the temps say.  The dry air never seems as cold as the moist SC air. SC at these temps would feel VERY cold, I’m sure.

Gone Camping

Some of our favorite family memories with our children revolve around family camping trips.  As the kids grew up, we enjoyed many different camping experiences. State parks, national parks, RV parks, KOA campgrounds, rural campgrounds. In the mountains, near lakes. In a tent, in a small motor home. Close to home, far away. With friends, by ourselves. So many fun memories – and not so fun memories. But all together they create a life of stories to tell and lessons in flexibility.

I have often related our experience in Beijing to that of camping.  In a sense it isn’t really because we live in a megacity. But washing dishes in a small sink reminds me of camping.  The day the hot water went out and we had to decide if we wanted our morning shower reminded me of camping.

Our trip to another city reminded me of camping. Camping with walls. No inside heat in late fall. Chilly nights, pleasant days. Wear flipflops in the bathroom. Don’t let anything fall to the floor in the bathroom. How good the hot shower feels on a cool morning. How to sleep on a hard surface (layer lots of comforters on top). Spending unstructured time with friends.

I thank God for His grace. When I first arrived, I dreaded the four nights.  We flew so we couldn’t just leave.  That in itself was God’s blessing. The lesson? Never give up.  Embrace flexibility. God has given grace to be with other brothers and blessed the time. We have talked with them, shared our hearts, listened to their hearts, laughed with them, played with them, eaten with them, and practiced Chinese with them. We are one in the body of Christ. Pray for Chinese Xns.

Foodie Fest

FOODIE FEST

One evening while having our friend Kyle over for dinner, our neighbor, Didi, surprised us with a plate full of beautiful orange, cooked crabs. Of course we graciously accepted them.  Although she showed us how to open them and get the meat out, we also researched the internet to give us guidance.

 
In return, I made homemade oatmeal raisin cookies to fill Didi's plate.  Someone had wisely told us to give homemade goodies in return for a gift lest a one-up price war result. Didi told me later that her family enjoyed the cookies. A classic American cookie.

We pass street vendors all over the city offering many different treats.  One evening Mark got brave and bought these doughnuts and also popcorn. The sweetened popcorn was a hit. The doughnuts, however, were a disappointment.  I had looked forward to a nice, soft dough in which to sink my teeth.  

The reality. Apparently the 'doughnuts' are soaked in a honey mixture and left to sit for who knows how long. We decided not to break our teeth on these 'tasty treats.'

Fresh fruit, on the other hand, is not only abundant but delicious.  We eat the tiniest Mandarins, dragon fruit, apples, oranges, and pomela. Dragon fruit resembles kiwi; pomela resembles grapefruit but drier.

The darkest brown sugar I have ever seen.

One of the many varieties of white sugar.  White sugar varies in the size of crystals.  I have seen sugar crystals as big as rock candy and sugar crystals finely ground, probably 10-15 different choices.  Not knowing exactly which type I bought the first time, the second time I purchased "soft white sugar" which had a higher moisture content.  It was like spooning damp sugar into coffee.

Who doesn't like a good package of M&Ms? I buy it to make trail mix, which isn't available here, so I look for the largest package of M&Ms. No matter what type of packaging (bag, tin, or round canister), they always come in these little triangular pouches.  The number 12 should have given me a clue as to how many were in this package.

We see bakeries all the time, but this one was special.  Two best friends, "sisters" (in the middle) had recently opened a franchise bakery.  Lois, the lady in gray, uses her family businesses as resources for the Kingdom community.  They celebrated their Grand Opening the next morning.

By Faith We See The Hand of God

The chorus of "By Faith We See The Hand of God" written by Keith & Kristyn Getty

We will stand as children of the promise 
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward 
Till the race is finished and the work is done 
We'll walk by faith and not by sight 

These words encourage us as we fix our eyes on the One in whom is our reward, on the One who keeps His promises, on the One who is worth our faith and trust.

Sanlitun photos - a fun evening

One day after sightseeing, we walked through Sanlitun on our way to The Bookworm, an English bookstore/bar/music room, where a friend of ours organizes an evening music event once a month.  Sanlitun, a high-end district in Beijing that caters to foreigners, is sleek, modern, and full of shops, cafes, restaurants, and entertainment. It's a fun place to go but doesn't represent the 'real' China.

Walking past an apartment complex, we came upon 

this gentlemen exercising in the complex park.

Recognize this store? It's the same in every country.

A street on the back side of the Sanlitun area.

Since we were early to meet friends for dinner, we hung out at Starbucks.
We had a very pleasant conversation with Chinese lady, in English while she helped us with Mandarin.

Our friends Mark & Diane Koslicki

Our friend James at the piano and another friend Mary on her bassoon.