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On the Road Again
We’re in America and are getting acclimated… slowly. It’s still sinking in that we aren’t heading back to China, though a couple of events have helped us realize this.
First, we bought a car. Filling the tank and paying the first payment on the loan is a stark reminder that we’re in a new place.
Second, we went to Houghton College. There we met the team heading to ISC schools this upcoming school year, including our replacements. The meeting and discussions were bittersweet: we were introducing them to a world we would not be returning to.
Third, we went to a baseball game. Rooting for the home team isn’t exactly a common pastime in China.
Finally, we have packed up our worldly belongings again, but this time we weren’t worried about airline restrictions - we were making sure all our junk would fit in our new car! We’re opting for the car rather than a moving van so we can use the money to pay off the car… hopefully we can fit the stuff in the car!
So we’re back in the states, and over the next few days, we’ll get to see a lot of it. We head tomorrow to Ohio. Then Indiana. Kansas. Finally, Texas. There’s a couple of other states in there we’ll be passing through. We’ll post again 1900 miles from now…
Earthquake Relief
We’re in the US, but Sarah and I were reminded this weekend again of the effects of the recent earthquake. While short-term needs are being met, there is a long way to go in the recovery efforts. One practical thing our company is doing is raising funds to buy coats for those in need during the winter months. Also, this website is helpful in organizing many of the collective efforts of people in Sichuan between individual groups.
Being in the US has reminded us of how much we have. Times are tight with gas and food prices, but anything would be appreciated to help those affected. Thanks!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAN!!!!
Dan turns 25 today - quarter-century and all that jazz…
If you have a chance, send him some birthday wishes!
3 years!
Today marks the third anniversary of Sarah and I committing to spend our lives together - to love and cherish, etc. Then we went to China and started to learn what that meant; I’m excited to learn and grow in this relationship in the future.
Our anniversary present coincides with all the purchases we have been doing since we arrived back in the US. I’m currently typing on a new computer we purchased so I can have something capable to use at seminary; I’m loving the fingerprint reader and happy it was less expensive than those fruity computers. Today we signed the papers for our new-to-us 2005 Buick Rendezvous! This is our first car bought together and is large enough to help us transport our stuff from New York to Texas. With buying a car includes other costs not necessary in China: registration, taxes, insurance, and way too much for filling the tank with gas…
Tomorrow we head to Houghton College for a few days to welcome the new teachers heading to China in June. Houghton is where we were for our own orientation 2 years and 51 weeks ago… yes, Sarah and I spent 2 of our first 3 weeks as a married couple living in a college dorm room. Good times!
Stateside
We are back in the US! The only issues with our flights ended up being to our benefit, and we arrived in New York with all of our luggage and a puppy who was no worse for wear.
Now for digging into the to-do list for settling into life in the States. Maybe tomorrow… 
Leaving on a jet plane…
This will be our last post written from China. For the foreseeable future, at least. We leave our apartment Thursday morning at 6am and don’t stop until we land in Binghamton 30 hours later, at midnight on Thursday. (Yes, that’s right. Sometime in the middle we plan on going back in time… or something like that.)
We will be sending out a newsletter saying this, but it’s important to us to let you know how thankful we are for your encouragement, prayers, and support over the past three years. It’s been a wild ride, and a heck of a way to start a marriage! We highly recommend it. Especially if you come teach with our school system. (How’s that for an ad!) We covet your thoughts as we transition this summer to our new stage of life in Dallas.
In case you were wondering, we still plan on chronicling our exploits - but for the next 4+ years, they will likely be American-based. And I (Dan) will be at seminary, but I’ll try to leave the intricacies of dispensational theology for the classroom. Maybe.
Good bye, Chengdu. We’ll miss you.
Almost done…
So that list that Dan gave you in the last post is all but done… We’re in the middle of the last “task” - saying difficult and not-so-difficult goodbyes. It was tough on Friday, saying goodbye to students that we likely will never see again. Others were not so hard, like those friends who are also returning to the States or who have friends and family in the Dallas area. We had a great last Sunday at the International Fellowship. I got to play the piano for one last time, and we enjoyed lunch at Peter’s Tex Mex with a fantastic family that we have come to love over the past three years - thanks Funkys!! :-D We even got to say goodbye to Peter himself!
We had dinner with our friends the Ye’s on Thursday night. It never fails to be an interesting experience, but they made home-made hot pot which was really yummy! Our conversation was probably the best understood that we’ve ever had, which was a blessing and humorous at the same time. They said when we have a “pang pang de” baby we have to return and visit them. Although it has the connotation of “healthy,” “pang” is the word we learned for “fat,” so you can understand why I laughed out loud. Mrs. Ye was quite serious though, and repeated the phrase several times.
Today is a packing day, but we have dinner lined up for tonight and the next two, so the goodbyes are being stretched out to the very last minute. I don’t think it will fully hit until we leave NY for this “Dallas” place, wherever that is! One exciting note - I’m in the running for an accompanist position with the Greater Dallas Childrens’ Chorus! The director has been in touch multiple times and wasn’t able to fill the position after the June 3rd audition, so she wants to meet me when we arrive! Yeah for networking!
Here we go!!
Long time no post…
It’s been a while… but this will be short. More commentary to come.
Even though the earthquake has changed plans, we have still been finishing up the school year and preparing to make the transition back to the States. So after our adjusted High School trip to areas affected by the earthquake, we have had:
- a music concert
- a student awards ceremony
- a staff banquet
- finals
- graduation
- movers come take much of our stuff
- sales to get rid of much of the rest
- and lots of goodbyes.
We have lots of pictues of many of the above mentioned activities; for now most of the pictures are in albums on Sarah’s facebook profile. We appreciate your thoughts as we prepare to leave China for the foreseeable future on Thursday. Thanks!