David and Karen's Blog

Another teammate and I are holding monthly "Teachers Tea" with about 8 teachers. This month's topic was about the supernatural. One woman talked about how in the countryside many people are afraid of ghosts and people have many experiences with ghosts or demons. Another woman said sometimes she dreams that she is being choked and she can't move to fight. It all sounded very scary. We of course also talked about Qing Ming Holiday (Grave Sweeping Day) which was just a few weeks ago. This holiday is celebrated by those who believe that there is another world that people go to after they die. They burn paper money and other items that they deceased loved ones may need in hopes of them taking care of them in this world. The night of this holiday we saw many small fires around the city as people were seeking to make them happy. Chinese beliefs are so complicated. Many believe the spiritual world is very powerful; while many believe there is no supernatural and that people just die. There is a huge range of beliefs all in between too. It is interesting to hear what people think about this subject.

Our first year here I taught a great group of girls. Two of the girls I hung out with a lot. Two years ago, we had a group of friends from the states come for a visit and they got to meet these two girls, among others. Now these girls are studying in the states and so our friends who came to China flew them to stay with them for Christmas last year. It was so amazing how they reached out to them and loved on them. One of these friends just came to visit us this week. We told these girls' parents that he was coming and so they went out of their way to thank you to him. They picked him up from the bus station, took us out to lunch and brought him many gifts. They were extremely grateful for him and his family's hospitality. It was a great time of sharing about our lives and learning more about Chinese culture. We love having guests come and love on our students. 

Wow, I haven't written anything for a long time. I'm so sorry. There has been so many great things happening, but have forgotten to take the time to share.

I (Karen) turned 30 in November. It has been a little hard for me to accept I'm not in my 20's anymore but I know that is how I've been treated for a while-which is a good thing. Being a mom of two kids makes younger people look at me differently than I view myself. I know that I have a special role here and I am getting more used to that. I know I can speak into people's lives even more.

In November we had several guests and David traveled a lot for his job. It was pretty busy but we really enjoyed everything we were given. I like teaching for David when he is gone and I always do some special things with students and teammates too.I was able to visit some of my Chinese friends who recently had babies and give them encouragement. It's so great to be able to help them with some of their questions and worries and help them to remember to always lean on their father's arms and his word.

Times with students are going great. We have 5 groups of students coming into our home every week for a variety of reasons. It's such a blessing to be here.

David gave a lecture about Fathers on Friday night. There were nearly 300 students who attended. For many, it could be life changing. David talked about qualities of a good father, a father's influence and importance, a father's responsibility and also what the word says about fathers. He also talked about how children need their father in their lives and want time with them. Time spent with children is more valuable than what you can buy them.

Many fathers here will work so much to provide more money for the family but there are rarely with their family. Many times the father will work in a different city, only seeing the family on the weekends or a few times a year. It is sad to see some family's priorities.

We are able to really be an example here with how important our family is.

We had a very fun Halloween this year. We had a costume party with
our team and some Chinese friends on Friday night. It was great to see
everyone's creativity, and of course Spencer and Mia were so cute. Then
on Sunday, we were invited to a Chinese family's home for a Halloween
Party.

Spencer, Mia and I got into our costumes at home and then walked
to their home-about 10 minute walk through campus. I dressed up as a
purple fairy-purple face, wings, headband. I was anticipating everyone
looking at me strange, since most Chinese don't know about Halloween.
However, I only got a few more reactions than normal, because I am
always stared at. It was very interesting that I could wear something so
crazy and get just about the same about of attention as usual. Maybe
that shows you just how much attention we get here.

The party was fun.
This family lived in England for a few years so their two daughters
really enjoy western holidays. It was really fun to hang out with more
Chinese families and the new family on our team came with us. We told
some stories; the kids played some games and did some crafts. Then our
host took us outside and set off some firecrackers. We also went to some
of the homes of the kids at the party so the kids could all 'trick or
treat'. It was really fun. Spencer had a blast.

David went up to Harbin for his first long trip of the semester. He was gone 9 days. It was a little difficult this time because both kids were sick, but thankfully I never got sick and I did have some help. I got to have a lot of students over and visited some friends. I even taught one of David's classes too. It went by pretty quickly. David was really busy while he there. He was spending time with teachers and officials at three universities. He got to speak truth into their lives and give them some encouragement.