Plowing New Ground

My co-workers and I had a great scouting trip with leaders from the local Red Cross about possibilities in 2015. We distributed 10 wheelchairs and 8 canes. They eagerly welcome any assistance we can bring. Emphatically, they said, “We need your help!” In addition, we were able to visit Kristi’s parents in her home village, which borders Inner Mongolia.

We met with leaders at the Red Cross Hospital.

Although the area is poor, we toured an impressive national museum.

Although not in the picture, our first wheelchair recipient had been injured in an accident.

This young man has crawled all of his life.

The grandmother was tearful the whole time we were present. The young man only wanted to keep trying out his new wheelchair.

Train rides offer great chances to have meaningful conversations.

I'm standing with Kristi's parents in their village home.

Dion is always a great help and encouragement on such trips.

We got to get close and personal with the donkeys.

We walked around the village, planting our own seeds.

The two stoves are fueled by corn husks and cobs.

The family stir-fries everything in two large woks.

The family presented us with a feast.

Kristi was happy to meet one of her youngest new cousins.

~ Kevin

Linda's Wedding

One Saturday in November, I received a phone call out of the blue from my friend Linda. We met Linda in 2001 while we were teaching at a college in Changchun. She also taught at the school and became one of our closest friends. We had seen Linda twice since moving back to China last March but hadn't been in touch recently, so I was surprised to hear her say she had traveled to our city that weekend. And then I was even more surprised when she announced that she had traveled that day with her boyfriend, as they were doing some shopping in preparation for their upcoming wedding!

Such exciting news! Linda became a believer while she was a college student and spent the next 20 years waiting for a man to marry who shared her faith. We loved getting to know Alan over lunch and seeing Linda so happy about their upcoming wedding. And we were thrilled to learn we'd be able to attend the ceremony in January since it was scheduled for one week before our trip to visit Oklahoma and Texas.

On Friday afternoon, we headed to the train station but as our taxi crept through the afternoon traffic, we knew it would be next to impossible to make it to the train by 2:20. Sure enough, we raced through security and up to the gate to find the train had departed four minutes earlier. A very nice security guard took us to the information desk where they did their best to get us on another train. The 4:15 train was sold out, but we could upgrade our tickets to first-class and get seats on the 6:00 train. We only needed to pay the difference in fares instead of repurchasing the tickets, which was a blessing. Molly and Hudson were thrilled to see a children's play area and spent two solid hours enjoying themselves.

We made it to the home of our friends Randy & Jessica by 8:30 that night. Molly absolutely loves spending time with their 9-year-old daughter, and even though our stay with them was shorter than expected, we made the most of our time together. I believe their wedding in 2002 was the last Chinese wedding Kevin and I had attended together.

A typical Chinese wedding doesn't include a marriage ceremony. Couples file paperwork to officially marry, so weddings are basically a reception for family and friends. A large meal will be served and the couple visits each table for a toast with the guests. Since Linda and Alan are believers, they asked their fellowship leader to perform a Christian ceremony, so he gave a message and they exchanged vows and rings.

The short clip above gives you an idea of the processional. The guests aren't asked to stand as the bride walks down the aisle, but many people were talking and trying to get pictures of Linda. Kevin and I loved reconnecting with friends we hadn't seen in years and introducing Molly and Hudson to them.

Chessie, Caleb and their nearly 2-year-old son

Wang Ying, the foreign affairs liaison at our former college. She has been promoted but still works in the foreign affair department, and she wasted no time trying to recruit us back to teaching! 

Abbie and Nikki from New Zealand. Abbie was 7 when we first met this sweet family, and now she is 20.

I couldn't get all the dishes in one shot, but I wanted to give you an idea of the wedding food. No cake! Lots of meat, shrimp, fish, vegetables and bread. So much food on every table!

Linda changed into a beautiful red dress for the reception.

We rode Changchun's light-rail system on the way back to Randy and Jessica's, which was fun since it was under construction when we moved away in 2003. We packed our bags, caught a bus to the train station and made it in plenty of time for the two-hour ride home. Such a happy weekend!

~Dayna

Medical Clinic

In October, we traveled to a small town near the Russian and Mongolian borders for our medical clinic. The area is very poor.

We weren't surprised by the dogs that would eat from the scattered trash, but we were taken aback by the numerous cows that would do the same thing.

 The doctors saw more than 400 patients.

It was so great to visit with several of the families that I met last month. I was able to give them photos that had been taken earlier. This woman was particularly overjoyed because her husband had never had a photo taken of him before. (You can see the two photos I gave her by looking in a previous September blog post.)

I was glad to be able to see this family as well. The man is the one who was so deeply moved by my handshake last month -- that I would be willing to respect him as an equal. It is very sad that there is such a social barrier between economic classes here, but I'm glad that we could begin forming a bridge.

The crowds kept growing as TV coverage increased. Wherever we went, people would mention seeing us on TV. The coverage continued after we left.

This is my good friend Dion who translated for me (the young man, not the donkey :)

Dion and I are standing in the town square.

I enjoyed being able to build a friendship with the hospital president.

 Here, Cathy is displaying her chopstick skills in front of Sam, Dorothy and John.

Dion and me again. Although I prefer using a fork, I'm so glad that I can use chopsticks. Before I was healed from MS, I never thought I'd be able to use chopsticks again.

Wherever we went, people were eager to befriend us. This is at an upscale market.

It was a joy to be able to distribute wheelchairs. For me, passing out wheelchairs is way more fun than a trip to Disneyland.

This woman recently had a stroke, paralyzing part of her body. She and her daughter were so happy for the wheelchair. Now she can get out of the apartment.

This family lost their home in the heavy rains last August. We were happy to help out with rent in their temporary home. It isn't much, but at least they can pay for rent through the winter.

This is not the whole group (some doctors were still with patients), but the photo gives a good idea of the team.

A few of our volunteers: James, Angela and Yvonne.

Yvonne and Sheen

Every day and each night, a group of us would pray and sing.

Here, we are prayer walking towards the temple, asking the Lord to awaken the dawn. Psalm 108.

~Kevin

February Fun

Thanks in part to the Chinese Spring Festival holidays, we loved the chance to be able to travel in February. Whether playing at a neighborhood park or swimming in a hotel pool or building a snowman or playing at the beach, we were able to make great memories! Thanks to the generosity of both of our parents, we were able to spend four days at the beach in Cancun with Dayna’s family.

Molly and Hudson were ready for the Cancun beach!

Of course, the kids weren't the only ones ready for the beach ... 

Dayna's family met us in Cancun. Our kids were thrilled to play at the beach with their cousins and grandparents.

Dayna had been dreaming of swimming with dolphins all of her life, and of course, Molly and Hudson wanted to swim with a dolphin too, so we all met Daniella the Dolphin and her baby with great expectation ... although Hudson got too scared to interact with the dolphins when we were all in the water. So sadly, we didn't get any pics with Hudson, but Molly sure had fun!

 And then, less than a week later, we were back in the snow in Tulsa ...