I am reminded by my rose bush...

I was once again kneeling down to write a little one's name on our wall when I glanced up and saw that my rose bush has bloomed. I stood there for a few moments soaking it in and hearing the words of a song once again running across the cords of my mind-

I planted a little rose bush,

I tended it with care,

It’s buds began to blossom

Their fragrance filled the air

But when winter came it withered,

The petals drooped and fell to the ground,

My heart sank as it faded,

But I’d forgotten who had made it.

Roses will bloom again,

Just wait and see

Don’t mourn what might have been

Only God knows how and when that

Roses will bloom again.

The precious Rose of Sharon,

Broken and bruised in cruel shame,

Stained on the cross of Calvary,

So that men might be saved,

Oh, Satan cheered as He died,

While Mary and the others cried,

Then God raised Him up from that sleep

And kept a promise only He could keep.

Roses will bloom again,

Just wait and see

Don’t mourn what might have been

Only God knows how and when that

Roses will bloom again.

March 28, 2010- A Visit from Beaufort

Vince Smith and Jim Cato were in Beijing with various planning meetings and took one of their busy days to come and visit me here in Luoyang, it was a fantastic opportunity to share with them the work that is going on here and of course I loved hearing some news from home!

A glimpse of Crowns and Crayons...

Just wanted to give you a little taste of our weekend and the times we spent together...










You know you live in China when you can put together shelves with no pictures, no direction,s and just a big bag of screws- some of which you never knew where they went!




I was really excited to have both Iris Lowder and Katie Sorrell come on the trip.

March 24-26, 2011-Crowns and Crayons

March 31, 2011

Crowns and Crayons-

What an incredible weekend of refreshing it was for me. Surrounded by so many Daughters of the Most High, The King of Heaven- women who live and serve here in China in so many various ways and this weekend was aptly called a “service retreat” as that was exactly what we were able to do.

I will never forget back in October feeling the need to connect more closely with the Body in Beijing and more specifically to minister to the women there, women who I could learn from and share with. Yes, it was absolutely one of those Titus 2 moments when I wanted to stretch out my hands even further to fulfill the mandate of women so clearly marked out for me. I talked with and shared my idea with several women who are incredible mentors in my life and the wheels began to turn to invite the women’s group to our home here for the weekend.

I love to plan and organize and this was the perfect way for me to have the opportunity to share hospitality and just love others, it is such a vital piece in my puzzle of living here. And so they came…Nineteen women from Beijing arrived late Thursday night amidst peals of laughter and chatter I heard them coming down the airport stairs and I could hardly contain the excitement. The next Forty-Eight hours where spent, encouraging, talking, teaching sessions, eating great food, cooking together, swapping techniques and ideas for living here and making things more like home, assembling and organizing toy shelves, holding and loving on children, crying, laughing, hugging, journaling, Scripture, scrapbooking baby photos, and building friendships. Many of the women had never met one another; some found that they are neighbors in Beijing. There were women in the group who have lived in China for twenty years and others only four weeks. They were from every walk of life all brought together through the common bond of Faith in the Almighty and His Son and the incredible circumstance of living in China “For such a time as this.” They poured their love out on the nurses both here and at our outlying units and we all have lots of homes and loving arms to welcome us to Beijing whenever we need them…our family has once again grown and I am eternally grateful for it. I was personally able to spend time answering questions that helped me process many of the things that are often the most difficult for me to put into words and that I am often unable to share through letters or e-mail. These women helped me filter some things and to see those things through eyes that understand the culture that we live in all the time pointing me back to the face of my Heavenly Father and reminding me to SEE things through His eyes. At one point I was asked if the benefits really outweighed all the work of organizing and administrating this particular trip and my answer was a resounding absolutely! It was the busyness of work done in the center of my Father’s will even when there is much to be done that gives me a peaceful rest like no other…

With Love,

Mariah

Pretty Treats...

I love pretty places to enjoy special treats and Comptoirs De France is one of those places, the tiny petite fours, the apothecary jars filled with fluffy meringues, and the rich steaming mugs of Hot Chocolate- what fun to enjoy such a delightful little spot with Melissa.

March 16, 2011

Beijing- Temple of Heaven and Shopping. It was a beautiful day although you can imagine how hard it was to put the coats and turtlenecks back on.

March 15, 2011

A flight delay gave us plenty of time to enjoy some Starbucks and work on sorting and labeling some of these photos to share with all of you!

Victoria Peak - Hong Kong

One evening we took the Peak Tram up to the highest point in Hong Kong to enjoy the view of Victoria Harbor at night. It was beautiful and we both enjoyed learning more of the history of both the peak and Hong Kong itself.




























We were also excited to find that one of the selections for dinner on the very top of the peak was...Bubba Gump Shrimp and I am sorry if you are laughing about us eating Bubba Gump in China but any time you see a map of Beaufort County posted on the wall and smell southern hush puppies and you are on the opposite side of the globe you don't think twice you just smile and enjoy! That Chocolate stuff wasn't bad either and we couldn't have found a better view than the glass wall overlooking the harbor as we ate and watched the evening light show.

For Janessa...

Little Janessa loves Elephants- or maybe she just loves to sign elephant. Anyway we just had to put this photo from Disney in for her...

Disneyland Hong Kong- March 14, 2011

Disneyland- a place familiar but new...it's a small world isn't it. We saw Sleeping Beauty's Castle, rode Space Mountain- talked about Mom and Dad as we visited the Tree House (yes, Mommy just for you!)















We stopped for photos in Mulan's garden and talked lots about little Chinese girls who are very special to us all the time fighting back some pretty big tears

March 13, 2011

Walks through the markets on the sea wall and walks on the beach made us feel just a little closer to home in Beaufort- and Melissa was thrilled with the warmer weather!

A thought...

This photo is actually for Seth and Zoe...We thought of you both the second we saw this boat in the harbor, it gave us a few minutes to talk about you, your family, pray for you all, and then smile and wonder...."Where is Seth's Boat?"

We love you all!!!!

March 12, 2011- Hong Kong

Today we flew to Shen Zhen and then crossed the border into Hong Kong. We spent the next few days enjoying the warm weather, the beach, the markets, and the incredible view from our wonderful room. Yes, it was a harbor view looking over the pool and gardens...

March 11- Village walks

"For the LORD is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
⁴In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
⁵The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land."
- Psalm 95:3-5















The village was so quiet and peaceful, we loved walking (Even if it was through lots of mud...) we were able to watch the men poling down the river on their rafts, the farmers in the rice fields, the bison with her calf and lots of chickens- and then return to the welcome warmth of our little village inn.

March 10- Cooking Class

We took the opportunity to do some cooking lessons as the weather was not really conducive to hiking or rafting...we went to market with our teacher to buy supplies and then to a little village farm to cook and of course eat what we made.














It was so much fun... and everything we made was very good. Our teacher was fantastic and we were thrilled at the fact that he spoke excellent English- it made the whole following directions so much easier!

March 9, 2011- Guilin & Yangshou

The morning of March 9th we flew to Guilin and were picked up and taken to the Yangshuo Village Inn. It was rainy and wet but even then the Karst peaks were beautiful. We were both excited about the little inn we stayed in, especially when they greeted us with hot Jasmine Tea by the fire on arrival.

Xian-

When we finished at the Terra Cotta Warriors we walked to the "farmers village" where the farmers who were previously living on the land covering the warriors had been relocated. Many of them have turned their living rooms into little restaurants and we stopped into one for some local noodles...


















We then went to the Old City Wall. Xian has one of the few walls remaining around the city center and it was fun to walk along the top and enjoy the setting sun before we continued our visit by going to the Muslim district for some really good street food- spicy hot but that made the fresh pineapple on a stick even better.