Happy 50th

Today is Jack's 50th birthday!! Where has all the time gone? In honor of this auspicious day, Esther (with Elizabeth's help) prepared some photos to help us remember how this incredible journey first got started! Do any of you remember these folks?
And, of course, the day would not be complete without Jack having his favorite cake, German Chocolate. We were afraid 50 candles might set off some sort of smoke detectors!

Jack has just returned from a 7 day trip to Thailand. While there, he purchased two nativity sets for us. The wooden one below is handmade by folks in a Leper Colony.

Each set is uniquely crafted by an individual, so no two sets are identical. I really like the view of the first Christmas through Asian eyes and hands.

He purchased three of the smaller Celadon sets, one for Jessie, Elizabeth, and Esther. These nativity sets are good mementos from visits to Thailand, and they will be useful in our telling HIStory here.

We've really had lots of celebrating recently with Christmas, New Year's, our 25th Anniversary, Lunar New Year, Valentine's, and Jack's birthday. And, we still have more to come with Jessie's 47th and Esther's 18th.

25th, but Who's Counting?

Jack and Jessie just celebrated their 25th anniversary, but who's counting? What did they give each other for an anniversay present....a trip to Paris, diamonds, furs....NOPE!
Here's to a healthy next 25 and beyond!! They hope to be together sharing HIStory for many more years to come.

Christmas 24/7 for 30 Days

Our family of four has just celebrated Christmas, 24/7 for 30 days. And it was a blast! We were all four back together again as a team, sharing HIStory and enjoying each other.

Presenting the true story of Christmas in the public schools.

Making Christmas cookies with the Saturday night youth group.

Singing lots of familiar Christmas songs in a new language.

Making snow at the orphanage.

Watching the youth at Da Cun BC present the Christmas story.

Listening to the children at Da Cun BC sing Christmas songs.

Hosting lots of Christmas parties in our home.

Helping GBC hand out thousands of candy canes.

Eating traditional Christmas foods.

Playing with Christmas toys from Granny and Papa.

Enjoying games with friends and family.

Eating snack foods in between games of Horse.

Eating non-traditional foods for New Year's Eve.

Watching one of the greatest fireworks displays on earth.

Now, we're back to just the three of us. Elizabeth has headed back to college for a new semester. And, we three are all back to a regular routine of work and school. Please remember the hundreds that heard the True Meaning of HIStory this season.

A Living Legacy

Every Saturday afternoon, we teach children at our little national clubhouse. Today was a "holy" moment. Today's story was about HIM making us "fishers of men". I had chosen to teach the children the song: "I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, fishers of men. I will make you fishers of men, if you follow me." I learned this song as a little girl at Mt. Zion BC in Mississippi, and I have taught it to children in MS, KY, MI, FL, TN, WV, and MT.

Little did I know that today, Grandma Wang (age 80) was also going to teach the children the same song in our national language. She had learned it as a little girl, growing up in Gansu Province in the BIG country. Grandma Wang came with her husband to our little island in 1949 when she was 19 years old. She had become a believer in the BIG country. When she arrived on our little island (60 years ago), she began teaching children. She has been teaching this song to children on our little island ever since.

So, she taught the children "Fishers of Men" in Chinese, and I taught it to them in English. It was a "holy" moment. Grandma Wang is a living legacy, politically and spiritually. I am honored to serve beside her.

Flowers from Around the World

Our city is currently hosting an International Flora Expo (November 2010-April 2011). The city is full of tourists, beautiful flowers exhibitions from around the world, lots of performances, and yummy food.

Front Entrance

Tribal Dancers

Flowers at the Holland Exhibition

Snacks galore!!

Anytime is a GREAT time to visit our little island. We're gearing up for lots of Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday Presentations in universities, high schools, junior highs, elementary schools, and our home. We can always use your help.

Plagues

The story of Mosese continues with the 10 plagues. Can you guess which is which?

Boils

Gnats

Death of Livestock

Hail

Death of Firstborn

We're having lots of fun with these chronological stories. You should have seen us singing and dancing to "Pharoah, Pharoah"! On to the Golden Calf and the Building of the Tabernacle.

Life on an Island

Yesterday was one of those rare days over here. Jack and I were FREE in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening. It was beautiful outside--soft breeze, blue skies, sweatshirt weather, so we went for a drive along our NE coast. (In one hour, we can be at oceanside.) We drove slowly along the coastal highway, stopping for photos, cultural markers, cold drinks, snacks, climbing on rocks, anything we wanted. (Jack recently bought me my own "easy to use" camera, so hopefully, I'll blog more often. Esther and her camera are in India.) Enjoy the photos and HIS beautiful creation. Please remember those on our island on a daily basis.