Sweet Friendship!

Mariah, McKensey, and April

I was so very excited to have these sweet friends visit with one of the September Show Hope teams.  We were able to have some precious times of encouragement with one another and lots of laughter squished into a very short time. What a blessing for me!

Mooncake Festival- September 8, 2014

 We usually do not do a whole lot at the Big House for Mooncake Festival however there are usually some exchanges of various flavors of mooncakes which to be honest are not on the top of my favorite Chinese food list.  So this year just for the fun of it and for something special while I was passing through Beijing I bought a special assortment of Starbucks Mooncakes to share with the office staff.  They were excited to try new flavors as they had never seen mocha or coffee flavored ones and we all had a fun time sampling the various new flavors.

Journey to Japan

Packed and Ready to Travel!

Overnight Stop in Beijing with Friend Nancy

 August 26- 31, 2014...

 In order to share favorites of returning, first I must go on a journey...
This time my travels took me to visit a friend in Shimonoseki, Japan. My friend Marcia has been asking me to come visit her for a few years now and so I was delighted when our schedules worked and I was finally able to make the trip.

Marcia shows me around her home...

Welcoming Coffee

 Marcia and her husband Tony have been living in Japan for about 28 years church planting and growing in the Shimonoseki area.  I had to smile as I considered the various friends through the years who have lived in Japan and y'all for the record you were right Japan was a wonderful, beautiful, experience!

A local specialty called Karasoba is noodles cooked on a roof tile.

 One of my favorite days was spent seeing more of the countryside with this beautiful group of women from the church...I had the privilege of hearing each of their testimonies and loved the opportunity to see their country from their perspective, the shops they love, the places they enjoy visiting-

 Sitting on the cliffs watching the crashing waves, sushi on tatami mats over looking the ocean, and coffee at the hotel...

 Orange ice cream in the "Badlands"  I could have stayed there and sat breathing in the fresh air for hours

A visit to a traditional Japanese garden... I thought of my mother when I saw the beautiful red of the Japanese maples just like the ones we had outside our front door growing up in Napa. 

There was a bride and groom having wedding photos done in the garden and she invited us to stay and watch and take a few photos of our own!

This area is famous for the fugu fish (Blowfish) that can be taken from the waters and they are very proud of the fish...it is a trademark everywhere you look.

 I was able to join them as their church hosted an English Bible Camp in the mountains at a beautiful lodge...of course I HAD to find myself a Japanese baby to hold!

 Our days ended with a last look of the Pacific Ocean and Japanese Sea from the vista point and then what better way to finish it off than to walk on the beach squishing my toes into the sand and letting the water lap at my feet as we watched the sunset...

Bags packed and at the station for the train trip back to Osaka and the flight back to China.

Things I love Coming Home to...

   I love the "happy dance" especially when it is done by little children who can't contain their excitement when they see me coming down the hallway. There are little ones who do it frequently but when it has been awhile since they have seen me, like this week when I returned from being away the shrill squeals as I come closer and watching their struggle as they try to free themselves from ayis holding hands is almost uncontainable.  It just does my heart good to kneel down or scoop them up in all their exuberance for some hugging, squeezing, and snuggle time even if they are in the hallway on their way for diaper changes...like this morning when the Ayi warned me as I scooped one up, “Ma Li Ya he stinks!”  I will take the stinky any day if it means the giggles too, if it means that I am recognized and that a little body cannot wait to be in my arms!

 I love when babies bring their babies for check-ups when I come into the room, some days I listen to more doll baby and teddy bear lungs than I do real ones and I love those moments as little animals are pushed into my arms and into my face as I kneel listening to jabber and all the ailments through baby talk and around pacifiers…

   I love having strawberry flavored lip gloss applied to my lips by one of my little princesses at bedtime so that "goodnight kisses stay longer"

Something Summer-

 Home decorating is very different in China but it is never dull and through the years I have learned that you should always take a fun shopping buddy because there will be lots of time to sit, and wait, and bargain, and eat meat pies from the street vendor on "MY DREAM WAY" (that's what the sign says!) While you wait for curtain rods to hang the new curtains you made-

Yes, it was worth it and made my summer room look so pretty and blue!

And what better way to add reminders all around than to paint them big and bold where you can see them often...

 Summer brought with it more time to spend working on various tasks with Polly and Bei Bei what laughter we enjoy and you should hear our conversations the mix of Chinese and English and way more Chenglish than should ever be allowed- with lots of corrections and stops in topics to ask what new words mean or for explanation when either of us just plain do not understand!  Luv it!

 Summer brought a lot a Lattes and a few Beautiful sunsets...

 An afternoon of KVT with some of the staff as we said goodbye to Xiao Pei who was returning to University.

And fresh blue berry muffins made with precious blueberries from a friend- what a treat!

 Finding a new coffee shop in town and sharing some afternoon moments there with sweet friends- Nancy, Laura, and Vickie.

 Summer Goodbyes though frequent for us are always hard...

We will all miss Erma so very much- 

our nursing star will be missing some twinkles.

And it is always so much fun to spend time with the various volunteers who stay with us- 

I so loved getting to know these sweet girls from Australia and England- you will be missed, thank you both for jumping right in with both feet and your whole heart!

Rosey, Mariah, and Rochelle

Sunny Summer...

The first part of July between changes in my work location I was blessed with a couple of days off to just rest, read, soak up some sunshine by sparkling blue water, and spend some sweet time with this precious friend!  We had the most wonderful "outside Beijing" experience finding a hidden Lavender farm with just acres of flowers to wander through and since we had tons to talk about it was the perfect setting for away from traffic, blue sky talk time! 

Mariah and Kelsi