Tomorrow!!!!

We leave tomorrow!!


"I got my ticket for the long way 'round

Two bottles of whisky for the way. 

And I sure would like some sweet company

And I'm leaving tomorrow, what do you say?"

I can't believe it's finally here! It's been a crazy several days. My documents arrived from China on Tuesday after a national holiday in China followed by a national holiday in America (Columbus Day) slowed down the mail :) The next day Katie and I traveled to Chicago and arrived at the Chinese Consulate just in time to get our visa applications in! We've spent a few awesome days in the city and picked our visas up yesterday. We officially fly out tomorrow, Sunday the 20th of October. It's a 14 hour night flight, followed by a 14 hour night layover in Beijing. (Yes, this is crazy!) Then we'll travel to Harbin, China on a 2 hour flight! Please, remember us during this time and ask Dad for safety during our travels. We may be seeing a friend in Beijing, so I'm really looking forward to that. I spent my last day in America wondering through Chicago with friends, so it was a good day. I even got to see some of my kids from SEI this past summer, so awesome! Such a good day! I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow, but I'm so ready!

Two Weeks!

Thanks everyone for all the encouragement via FaceBook, e-mail, and text! I was so blessed to hear back from many of you who read my last post.  

These past two weeks have gone so fast! I spent the last few days down in Florida with my parents and Katie for a quick vacation. Call it one last blast of summer before we move to Northern China where temperatures are now around 30-40 degrees. Katie and I are once again playing the waiting game as our work permits are being processed in Harbin- which, in case you were wondering, is pronounced like har- (as in the word hard) and bean (as in lima or refried).

I was sent a contract several days after my last post, and, after signing it, I emailed it back the next day. About a week ago I received confirmation that it had been received and that the process for the permit had been started. On the plus side, since Ameson now has a copy of every single important document that I possess, I didn’t have to send in any paperwork this time which should decrease the amount of time it takes to get the permit back.

The contract itself is not quite the same as what Katie and I had been offered in Henan- lower salary and less benefits from what I can make of it. However, according to our English teacher contact, Katie and I get to share a two bedroom apartment located close to our school, so that’s a mega plus! On another note, I was under the impression that we would only be teaching for the duration of a school year. However, since the Children’s Center isn’t an actual school, but more like a tutoring center, our contract period runs longer. If at all possible, the school would like us to arrive by 10/15/13. The contract period is then set to end 9/30/14. There is an option to renew the contract at that time. Essentially, what that means is I’ll be gone almost a full year, and I won’t be able to take another teaching position anywhere else because every school will already be in session by the time the contract expires. So, as I can see it now, it looks like I’ll be making a two year commitment. But that decision is farther down the road.

For a long time I’ve been telling people that I will hopefully leave within a few weeks. Now, the October 15^th start date is just two weeks away, so if things go according to plan this time, I should really be leaving in the next few weeks! Please lift us up for patience and prepared hearts and minds as we wait things out. Also, for our permits and visas to process and be accepted! That’s all I’ve got for now, but I’ll continue to give updates every few weeks, or sooner if I find out anything important. Peace and Rest.

 A few photos at the beach! 

The Heilo- What Province?

In what, to me, seemed like a bizarre string of events, that I realize now can only be the hand of my Maker, I have received a re-placement of the school where I will be teaching in China. Many of you have taken a concern in this process and have lifted me up to my Dad on numerous occasions. Some of you have been with me for those (not so rare) freak-out moments I have had as I receive news of a “kink” in the process. Others have faithfully waited for me to give long-promised details, of which I have not been very forthcoming.

Throughout this entire process it has been the unbreakable positive spirit of my friend Katie that has kept me going. Other than Dad, she’s been the one who’s been there for me. Katie is also planning to teach in China with the same organization I’m going through. In fact, it was Katie who told me about AYC in the first place. Through the Father’s doing, we were placed at the same school in the Henan province, but just last night we received an email from our school coordinator saying that our work permits had been denied. This means that we cannot teach in the Henan province. As I sat on my bed freaking out about whether I was going to China or not, Katie simply said something to the effect of, “Well, it’s time for us to get new placements.” We read in Heb. 11:1 that, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Faith. That’s what Katie has. And that’s what I want. Katie put it to me this way, “In seriousness, sometimes going to China does feel very far away... but I guess I’ve just developed a "never give up" philosophy. If Dad wants us there, He will make a way to exactly where we should be. The journey just may get a little crazy.”

This blog, me finally starting it months after I promised to, is me stepping out in faith. I hadn’t started it yet because I wanted to have all the details wrapped up into a nice little package before telling everyone. Where I’m staying, who I’m teaching, when I’m leaving, I know none of that. But what I do know is that Dad is faithful, and will work it all out. And through this process Katie and I could really use your support in being lifted up to Him.

We’re definitely going by Dad’s timetable these days. Today marks the 29^th day since we were originally supposed to leave the country. We won’t even be attending orientation in Shanghai like all the other AYC teachers. We may leave in early to mid October, who knows? Five hours ago Katie and I were both offered positions at Heilongjiang Children's Center in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. We now have 12 hours to email our acceptance of this placement, and I can’t even load their web site. For those of you unfamiliar with the geography of China, the Heilongjiang province is the northernmost province in China. It borders Russia on two sides and Harbin is something like 300 miles north of the tip of North Korea. The temperature there is colder than Narnia’s eternal winter. Oh, and “children’s center” probably means that we’re teaching kindergarten. =]

Anyways, I know my heart and mind still need to be prepared for this journey. There are many details that need to be ironed out, and I will post updates here as Dad puts them into place. Thank you for walking this road with me. I couldn’t ask for a better family.

If you want to know more about Katie, here's her author page on FaceBook. 

For more details on Ameson Year in China, click here.

The Heilongjiang province is in peach, Harbin is highlighted in red.