Greetings!!!

Time has gotten away from me*I have not written in a while. The mom came through surgery fine and is doing really well. She will be back in MZ tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for thinking about her.

Things seemed to have calmed down over here*at least for the time being. Everyone is so thankful!!! Keep 'thinking'.

I'm waiting to hear from "The Farm", about whether or not I will be able to go. Hopefully I will know something soon. I miss going there! Please think about that!

School has been going*going fast. LOTS of papers to grade and it gets rather dull reading 200 of the same things over and over. It is taking me so much longer than I imagined to grade all of their work. I don't know if it is because of all the mistakes or what. I never seem to get a pile of paperwork out from under me. The pictures have not all been sent out yet because I'm still working on getting them together*they have taken A LOT longer to organize than I ever dreamed.

Last week was a tough one both spiritually and emotionally*just a down week. Lots of searching and talking with our Father. Things are much better now!

I've taken 8 of my students to McDonalds this week. It was 3 of the students first time to go*it was so funny watching them eat french fries and chicken nuggets. It is uncommon for them to have never been to McDonalds before, much less to never have eaten french fries. China has their own version of a McDonalds. It was great watching them eat*I wish I had a video. They took little bites of their fries while I stuffed mine in my mouth. Hopefully I'll be able to take some more to eat. We have been playing games in class and so the winners get a prize*the prize allows me to get to know them better. It works great both ways! I'm going to try to do a movie night at my house next week. I'm looking forward to that.

One of my classes got in trouble for cheating during a game. The Chinese are used to cheating and get away with it but not in my class*I've stated that over and over. So this weekend they are having a lot of fun writing a paper and preparing for a test on Monday. I'm making four different tests so that there will be no cheating. It makes me furious that they would cheat on a game!!! They got the idea that I was really disappointed in them. We couldn't even have fun together! Hopefully that won't happen again.

I've kept Janey several times in the last few weeks*we have so much fun together!!! Right now, she is sitting in my living room watching cartoons while I type my update. There's nothing like hearing the little pitter patter of her feet in the morning and getting a big kiss when I drop her off at school. She's such a good girl!

Surprise, Surprise!!!! I'm still clumsy and falling as much as ever!! It is NOT the shoes!!! I can guarantee that! I'm just a klutz*earlier this week I was walking back up to my apartment from the Ak families and lost my footing and took a fall on the concrete stamps*.I bruised every joint on my right side from my ankle to my shoulder.

Ani and I are leaving tonight on the midnight train to go to SZ, just across the border from HK. It will be nice to get away, rest and shop for a few days. I'm planning on getting some heaters there because they will be better quality and less expensive than the ones I can get here. It is beginning to get quite chilly and with no heat the nights can be cold. We are going to do some Christmas shopping and see what kind of western food we can find to bring back here. There is supposed to be a Starbucks there!!! Yummmy! We will travel all night, spend the night there Friday night and then travel back on Saturday night. I'm looking forward to the hotel and being able to take a bath!!! It will be so nice! We will get to experience some of the pleasures of home!!

All the Foreigners are planning to get together on Thursday for a Thanksgiving meal. I am really looking forward to it*it will definitely be different but it will be a lot of fun. I'm making my great-grandmothers dressing recipe!!! Some friends found corn meal for me in Hong Kong!!! I can't wait to eat it! It's not Thanksgiving without Mammaw's dressing!!! Yum!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving*we all have much to be thankful for!

Quick Update!

Today, the Ak family received an email that the Mom's surgery was going to be completely covered, total cost being $10,000. What a praise! He is so good and faithful! (Read the Oct. 31 update if you have no clue what I am talking about.)

This morning, while I was teaching my class, I got a phone call to see if I was free to go to The Colony this afternoon! You bet I was! I was thrilled to have the opportunity. As of last week, we were told we wouldn't be able to go for a while. My driver friend and his wife took us. What testimonies they have. They are some of my heroes of the faith. Just last week, their house was wiped clean of anything of any value. All their Books were taken, even the children's ones. They have no fear. They were armed with The Word today. She led our friends in singing and then spoke, giving a presentation. My driver friend is a changed man. You can see it in his face, in his eyes. He still has not recovered completely. His eyes are swollen from crying so much. He is more reserved and serious, not as fun and easy going as he was just two months ago. My heart hurts for him.

Since last year, all but three living at The Colony have become family members. They are awesome. There were a couple of new faces there today. It was a joy to see my old friends. We took noodles, cookies, and drinks to them and they, in turn, gave us bananas and two different kinds of citrus fruit in abundance. They are so loving and kind! I cannot wait to go next month.

Please be thinking of me as I put my papers in to go visit the Big O (where all the parentless children are). I am 'thinking' that everything clears, and that I will be allowed to begin going twice a month.

School Begins

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been extremely busy since classes have begun. Overall, they are really going well. I have 196 students. It is a bit overwhelming at times. Two of my classes each have 56 students and the other two each have 42 students. Needless to say, everything takes longer in the larger classes. Of all the classes in the English department, I teach the four classes who know the least English. There have been several days when I have left very frustrated! The students are embarrassed to tell me when they don't understand something. I ask them if they understand and they all shake their heads even when they don't. I have tried repeatedly to tell them that when they do not understand something that they need to let me know. Otherwise, they are just going to get further behind. Admitting that they don't understand something is a huge “loss of face” for the Chinese. I don't know how I am going to get through to them!

One of my classes really frustrates me. They just cannot seem to “get with it.” I think I might have finally gotten the point across to them. After they came to class three days in a row unprepared, without homework and books, I assigned them a paper to write on the importance of doing your homework, turning it in on time, and being prepared for class. After I assigned this paper, I then told them that because they were not prepared to learn that day that I couldn't teach them. Then, I walked out. I think they got the point. From the papers I have been reading, they seem to understand now. We will see if they have their homework this Tuesday. Who knows! Either this week or next I am hoping to begin having some students over to my house in the evenings to watch movies and to get to know them better.

The first two weeks after school began, I had major computer problems, over fifty viruses and ten worms. Luckily, one of the M&M's here is knowledgeable with computers, and he was able to figure out the problem. The viruses had eaten up my Norton Virus protection, so once e-virusing was fixed, I had to download another one. Everything seems to be working fine now! I am so thankful that I didn't have to spend much money to solve the problem. I was very worried for a while!

I finally broke down two weeks ago and bought a DVD player. It is necessary here because the students love to come to your home and watch movies. I think it will be a good “investment!” I'd had it a week and maybe watched three movies on it and it quit working, so we took it back and they gave me another one. Hopefully, this one will work, at least for the next 9 months.

I've kept Janey the last two weekends while Paul has been out of town. She is really good. She has the best temperament and is so much fun to be around. She brings a lot of laughter in my life! We have fun together and I love to spoil her! We go to McDonalds all the time. She eats so much though. I cannot believe it! She ate more than I did last night! She's a little pig!

The other day, Anika and I were trying to get a taxi, and he was about to stop, until he saw me. Then, he about ran over us as he tried to speed away! It was the man that stole my things! Once again, I forgot to get the number of his taxi. Oh well. He's lucky!

I had my first “Experiencing” study on Thursday. It went really well. Each time we meet, I buy lunch for all of the girls. They eat like horses! Chinese girls eat a lot. A LOT! They are so much fun! I really enjoy being around all of them and learning from them.

I have discovered the thorn in my side. Please think of me as I deal with a difficult situation with one of our co-workers here at the university. There were problems between him and other co-workers before I/we arrived and since all the teachers have come, there are major problems. It has been rough lately.

One of the M&M's is in HK awaiting surgery on her back on Tuesday. This is the third time that this particular disk has herniated. They are going to remove the disk, put screws in, and take bone from her hip so that it will all fuse together or something like that. I'm not good with this kind of stuff! She will be in HK away from her family, at least until Thanksgiving. Please think of the Ak family as they are separated from one another, think of the mom as she undergoes back surgery on Tuesday. Moreover, think of them as they come up with the finances to cover this surgery. They need almost $5000 more dollars to cover the cost.

Please continue to think about the ongoing situation here. Persecution is on the rise in a variety of ways. I will keep you updated.

I am still in the need of some people to adopt some of my students. All this requires is “thinking” of them each day. I plan to begin sending the pictures and names out this week.