Happy Dragon Boat Festival

 This year June 23rd marks The Dragon Boat Festival here in China.  In our city they do not have many functions for it however they still prepare the traditional special Zongzi to eat.  It is a sticky rice that is steamed along with peanuts and dried dates in a lotus leaf wrap.  This year several of us were invited to join the Children at the local orphanage to prepare this special treat with them and have our photographs taken by several reporters.

The children giving us special necklaces for the festival

Good Night Prayer's

    Each night we make rounds through the house, checking, looking, hugging, answering questions both from children and ayis, and peeking into each crib.  I love to bend down and kiss the forehead of each sleeping little one, whispering prayers and good-nights.  Tonight as I bent down I could not help but smile at the precious reminder of a promise so sweet.
                  "For I know the plans that I have for you,’
                   declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare 
     and not for calamity to give you a future and a Hope."                                     Jeremiah 29:11

Potter's Clay

June 20, 2012

 Dear Ones,

    Happy Summer!  The days are warm, the nights are warm, we are ever so grateful for air conditioning, and we are also delighted in the opportunity to spend some time outdoors. These are days and evenings for playing on swings and slides, bouncing on the trampoline and playing in the mud.   It was really supposed to be dirt for planting some flowers but well it is more like clay when it gets wet.  Slick, mushy, slimy reddish clay, is this the “dust” God formed man out of?  As both big and little hands and feet squished and squeezed the gushy substance through fingers and between toes a little flower garden began to take shape. 

    This evening as the big people slid about trying to find footing on the slimy surface all the while digging holes so that we could finish up the flower garden, the children got a little hot and overwhelmed by the project, I could not help but think of potter’s clay.  We weren’t trying to form anything out of it but it would have worked great for some sun dried bricks and I have seen many of the field homes around us coated with it for insulation.  As my little make shift trowel dug into the mush I smiled at the thought of seeds bursting forth into flowers as they push their way up through the mud, struggling toward the fresh air and sunlight.  Much like our sweet children, life is more often than not a struggle for their little bodies as they grow.  Each one has been fashioned by the Potter’s Hand.  They are each one uniquely made bearing the fingerprints of their Abba Father. (Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand”).  They may be muddy, a little squishy, and sometimes slippery but what joy it brings to embrace the challenge to welcome the opportunity to kick off the flip-flops, roll up the pant legs and get dirty.  Because God is growing some beautiful flowers in His garden and has called us to the muddy field to work.

Change My Heart Oh God

“Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You

Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You

You are the potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray

Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You”

.

 With Love for each of you,

Mariah

Paradise Wedding

Walkway into the cliff that led to the Spiderhouse

 June 16th, 2012-
One of our Nurses, Erma, got married in the Philippines and so a couple of us had the opportunity to join she and her family for the celebration.  My first visit to the Philippines!

So thankful this was the only piece of luggage I brought for the week- the beach, tricycles, boats, and cliff walk would have been treacherous with anything more!

My bedroom veranda in the tree house

It was beautiful!  However this is the rainy season and so there were very few Blue sky days- I did have an adventure of a stay at the Spiderhouse Resort on Boracay.  If you have ever had the urge to spend a few nights in the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House at Disney this is the place for you!  All open air, bamboo construction, no walls on the outside just bamboo mats to roll down to keep the rain out, ladders and narrow stairs up into rooms that had bamboo flooring right out over the water.  It was INCREDIBLE!

Storms in Paradise

Rainbow Promises at 5:00am

Banana boat out to a small island where there was a protected inlet where I could do some snorkeling in the coral reefs

Waves crashing along the Cliff Walkway

Puka Beach- so pretty even if it was raining
 

Quick brunch on the street with Jonalyn, Jefferson, and Ermaline

And of course who doesn't think the Bride looked Gorgeous?

Coming down the aisle with her Mother and Father

Victor, Claire, Erma, Rons, Jonalyn, and Mariah

The Vows- Erma and Rons

The beautiful reception hall- Erma's older brother owns a flower company and everything was decorated like a paradise Garden

Mariah and Erma

Something Blue

Ermaline, Jonalyn, Claire, and Mariah

Looking at the week...

June 5, 2012- Happy Birthday Heidi!  We all took a road trip on Tuesday to our Special Care Unit in Jiazuo, to take Heidi out for lunch on her birthday.  It was lots of fun and she was SOOOO surprised!

  And of course we were all excited to help her eat Her Chocolate Birthday cake

The Nurses (some of us)- Heidi, Jona, Claire, Lily, Jeanky and I

 

 Later this week Abby and I were talking and she was sharing how she wanted to learn to sew.  That sounded like a fun project in the works so we spent the next couple of days working on the basics and making pillowcase dresses for three little girls-

So much fun, so much learning...so many smiles!

Mariah with the Summer Interns- Dan and Abby

This of course makes us all very Happy- or maybe that was just the soda we were drinking!  If you ever come to our city we will try to let you try the local soda called "Hai Bie" and translated into "Happy"  It is a sprite type drink that has some sort of fruit flavor to it and is really sweet- the perfect drink to wash down a delicious meal of fried dumplings with!

六一国际儿童节

 Happy Children's Day

    According to the Local News sources:  

    "Children's Day is celebrated in many parts of the world. Every year in China we celebrate Children's Day on 1st June, it is a great day to us because children are the future custodians of the nation, and thus providing them with a good family, social, and educational environment is a goal ardently worked for by every nation. For this reason it is great time for celebration so enjoy this beautiful day with your friends and dear ones also wishes them a wonderful and happy Children's Day.  Children's Day is  a day to highlight the dignity of children and their need for love, care, and respect, and instill in the children a sense of independence and national pride, so we hope you will do something special with children on that day or organize a special event in your workplace or community. The most important gift an adult can give to a child is the gift of time."

    I found it an interesting perspective filled with many facets as I stood here in our Big House surrounded by so many sweet and precious faces.

Our day was filled with special treats of cake and toys and playtime outside (we do play outside everyday!)  But today somehow seemed different- I think maybe it was all the cake sugar...

Normal or maybe not.....

 How far would you go for a good cup of coffee?  What time would you get up to feel like life was a little more "normal" than you last remembered?  Well if those sound like funny questions, you need to just skip this post as what follows will seem very, very , strange...
  Mikey needed to go to the airport in Zhengzhou for an early morning flight- it's a 2 hour drive and he asked, "Would you like to drive it?"  My mind flashed with, Open road, music, and Starbucks at the other end!   Becca said she would join me and so at 4:15 the next morning we were pulling out for the 2 hour drive ahead of us.

Of course that early in the morning means we dropped him off and had to find something to do to kill some time until Starbucks opened at 8:00am-  The mall it is currently in is still being built so we wandered about  the empty store fronts and checked out the store fronts of some of the ones that were open, laughing at the signs that really are even funnier when you are waiting for morning coffee...

And then it happened the doors opened, the wafting aroma of fresh brewed coffee and of course some great breakfast sandwiches and pastries- we were happy girls when we got back on the road toward home.

Normal?  Maybe Not...Happy?  You better believe it!