Nursing Home

One of the effects of the wheelchair distribution has been a plea for us to visit 200 residents in a nursing home in our city. We hope to send teams on a regular basis to offer peace and encouragement. Thank you for praying for these precious people.

~ Kevin

Wheelchair Distribution

We were privileged to work with Joni and Friends to distribute 150 wheelchairs across our province. We went to two cities and four villages, building friendships and offering hope wherever we could. What a joy!

~ Kevin

Autism Day Camps

Partnering with the Little Turtles Autism Training Center, we are offering day camps to kids with autism. On April 19, we had children 2 years to 5 years old. On April 26, we had teenagers 14 and older. On May 10, we will have children 6 years to 13 years old.

 The kids ate snacks.

 They made crafts.

 They had times to draw and/or color.

 This young man wrote a poem about thankfulness.

This was the art center table.

 Dion is instructing one of the teenagers in his group.

 Paper airplanes!

It was great to see this family again. We have been to their home several times.

 Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! The sandwiches were a hit.

 Shirley led the reading and singing center with the "You are Special" series by Max Lucado.

 Volunteer Dan is playing blocks with the kids.

These volunteers all come from the caregiving training school where Dayna works.

Kevin (translated by Kristi) led a discussion about the uncertainties of the future. The mothers expressed that there is nothing offered for the children in the future.

This is the group from April 26.

Kevin with Dion, Kristi and Rei Rei outside the Little Turtle Autism Training Center

Field trip

Hudson and Molly went strawberry picking yesterday as part of their first-ever Chinese kindergarten field trip.

They brought back two bowls full of organic strawberries and said they were surprised they picked them inside a greenhouse instead of outside on a farm.

After picking the strawberries, they ate lunch together on the  bus. (This was so exiting for them too!) It was my first time in two years to pack a school lunch to send with them that morning. The kindergarten provides breakfast, lunch, snacks and even dinner each day.

After lunch, the kids headed to a museum. I'm not exactly sure what they did there but Molly said there were toys and Hudson said there were bouncing balls. I got conflicting reports on whether they played with the toys and games or just watched them. Regardless, they thought it was neat. :)

Kevin and I were both working so our Chinese tutor went along with the kids on the field trip. We love working with her three days a week! She does an excellent job incorporating crafts and imaginative play as she's teaching Molly and Hudson to speak more Chinese. 

Molly has also gotten to go ice skating several times with a group of friends. Once a week several homeschooling moms get their kids together for PE-type activities. Hudson hasn't wanted to try it just yet, but he's thinking about it.

~Dayna

Around town

I think about blogging as I'm walking to work. I wish I could bring you all along on a typical 20 minute walk through our city. There are things I'd tell you about the traffic laws, which have been considerably more enforced in the two years we've lived here - especially stopping for red lights. (Although motorcycles and bicycles don't stop for them at all.)

I feel very safe living here, but hands down the most dangerous part of life is crossing the street. There's not a rule about stopping before making a right-turn on red, so even crossing with the Walk signal turns into a game of Frogger.

Construction is constantly underway. I can't count the number of new buildings, apartments and shops being built just between our home and my office. They do shut down during the winter months but now that it is April, they are back in full swing. There is often a night crew to keep up the work nearly around the clock.

My office building is on the right, with the orange billboard on top. The company is on the 13th floor. 

The company trains ladies to be live-in caregivers in Canada. I work with them 6 hours a week.

Our friends we get together with on Saturday nights invited us to a big dinner together this weekend.

I should've taken photos of the food! My favorite dish was sugared peanuts surrounded by sweet potatoes dipped in a honey-glaze and rolled with small krispies. It was warm and sweet, soft and crunchy all at once. Chinese meals don't end with dessert -- you eat the sweet dishes right along with everything else.

~Dayna