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!