Happy New Year!!

Here's the rest of the low down on my holiday season in China. Things have been super eventful and busy as celebrations and school have winded down and the adventures of Spring Festival Vacation begins! I will start where I left off with Christmas Eve. Christmas was different this year for obvious reasons and for not so obvious reasons, or reasons I was unaware of until in the middle of it all. Christmas eve we all went over to the Randall's for Dinner and fellowship. It was an awesome time to come together and once again have a little taste of home. We had lots of people with us this time as some of our friends from a city right outside of Huangshi had come with some young adults who were visiting! We ate lots of delicious food and tasty christmas treats, along with having a time to sing praise and share what He was doing in us this Christmas. The whole day was a battle for me and it seemed like everything that could go wrong did. I was ready to throw in the towel. I missed home a lot but being with my family here made me realize just how grateful I am for each of them. As soon as we were all together the mess of the day faded and I was able to relax and just enjoy Christmas in China. Here are some photo's of the evening..

It is absolutely no surprise to find that a majority of my pictures of Dawn were of her cooking or preparing food in some way! She is a master in the kitchen and I was so happy she was with us to celebrate.
Aaron and I.. standing by the food ready to eat!
Pre-meal food.. Chips (made from baked dumpling wrappers), homemade salsa, guacamole and hummus!
The desert spread...
Kev being kev! :)
The girls...
Mercy, Dawn, Hope, Maggie(Dawns sister), and Grace
After we left the Randall's our team headed back to Paul and Erin's to have a Christmas sleepover. We watched Home Alone and ate leftover snacks then crashed. Christmas morning we woke up and exchanged gifts and made a big breakfast while listening to Christmas music and hanging out!

This is how we found Kevin in the morning..
Bundled for warmth waiting to open gifts.. Camille, Aaron, and Lesley
For our gifts we each picked one person out of a hat.. Camille had me and she did an amazing job, I received fingerless mittens, really cute earrings and for my ever increasing obsession with owls, an awesome Chinese owl scarf!
Erin made each of us a stocking for Christmas!

Kevin and Aaron holding theirs up in front of the tree.
The Korson's first Christmas!!

Paul and Aaron are such an incredible blessing.

note: Erin's PJ's are traditional Chinese PJ's and they wear them everywhere! Erin has a tradition in her family to receive Christmas PJ's every year and so to carry on that tradition she rocked these quilted puffy super warm Chinese PJ's!
All of us girls rocking our lack of sleep morning look :)...
Celebrating Christmas away from all of the hype and all of the commercialism was a completely different experience this year. It's so funny how different things look when you take away what you're used to, such as the holiday commercials, decorations everywhere, and the sounds of Christmas buzzing about. Part of me missed the traditions that I've grown to love and had a hard time being without my family but another part of me was grateful for the stripping of Christmas and getting back to the basics. I realized just how much weight we give to individual holidays when it is really a lifestyle and season to be carried out. Recognizing the celebration and joy of coming together while understanding that one day is not enough. This is a lesson I can only hope to carry with me from here.

Dinner fun...

This past week has been crazy busy with dinners and excitement. Our good friend Dawn left to go visit her sister for a month then to head off to Thailand for a second month. She is someone we see on a regular basis and are pretty sure we can't function without, so it was sad to have to say goodbye even for a short time! Lesley, Cam, Dawn and I all went out to dinner then chatted over some milk tea this week to hang out one last time before she left.

Rocking the fingerless mittens!

Just so you are aware these are not without purpose here in China! The classrooms/schools are not heated so it can be really cold. These special mittens are awesome for being able to write and do what needs to be done while still providing some warmth to your hands! :)
Another dinner this week was with my Wiaban William and very sweet brave students who wanted to practice their english! I had an awesome time. He treated me to my favorite restaurant in town and I got to hang out with some fun, very smart, little ones!

This little guy has stolen my heart and is one of my favorite little boys in China. He is the son of Williams close friend who always comes with us to dinner! I love going out with them because they are so caring and treat me like family. This little friend is full of energy, extremely smart and will make you laugh the whole night long!
He also is a gymnast, and decided he wanted to practice his skills right here in the restaurant!
New Years!!

New years is a big deal here in China. People celebrate everywhere and the government gives the students three days off of school. For New Years eve I attended a party the school was throwing for all of the faculty. Here in China they do things a little differently. Not only is there food but there is entertainment, a talent show to be exact. You have your MC who talks you through each act and different awards that are handed out. Different teachers sign up to show off their skills and guess who was apart of that.. yep, this girl right here. I was asked earlier in the week to sing and play for them. It was a lot of fun! Although maybe only 6 people in the room could understand me they clapped and cheered and made me feel welcomed. The dinner was great and I got to spend time with and see a different side to many of the teachers I see every day!

This picture is one of my favorites. William had my camera the whole time but didnt know how to turn it on so this is the only picture of me on stage.. whats funny is, I had already walked off and the MC pulled me back on stage to interview/talk with me. He couldnt really speak english so we spent a lot of time laughing at each other. I kind of felt like I was on the Chinese Letterman show. ha!
This is my sweet friend Alice, who is an english teacher at my school.. she is the one you have all been prying for! She and I had a chance to have great conversations and just spend time together. I was so grateful for that.
This is another english teacher from my school that sat with us at dinner.

Now that the holidays are over and I am done teaching until February I am preparing to go on my adventure! I spent all day today cleaning and organizing what I need to pack and allowing the excitement to build. I leave Tuesday to head to Wuhan to meet up with the crew I'm heading out with then we leave Wednesday to begin the crazy travels...

One thing that has been screaming out to be this week more than anything is faithfulness. I still have moments where I'll be walking and see something new that I have never seen before but that I walk by everyday and just realize.. "oh yeah, I'm in China". I am awestruck when I think about how faithful He is in placing before us opportunities to grow, and to serve, satisfying our desires and fulfilling His purpose. I can only pry that as I set off, my intentions and focus would remain locked on Him. That I would see with His eyes and hear with His ears, being open to allowing Him to move. My heart fills with joy when I think about how wonderful He is and how far beyond my imagination He always goes. This trip in itself is something I could have only dreamed of and now is becoming a reality. But what holds truer and stronger than anything is that no matter where I am or what I'm doing He is always there and there is always opportunity to love and to share, in some way, shape or form. So right now I am rejoicing and dancing in the freedom that comes from being a daughter of the King. To carry with me something that is bigger than this world, a light that pierces darkness. Leaving one year and moving to the next I am struck with how incredible His plan is but more than that how despite the mysteries of what comes next or the fading of the past that He was, He is and He is to come. He never changes. So with this new year I long to discover more of His truth, and more of His ways. To move and be and represent a King who walks in power and carries a healing and grace that is far beyond comprehension. I've never been one to keep resolutions or really even to make them so this year I decided it wasn't just about the beginning of a new year but a step closer to the finish line. To aim at keeping my eyes set towards the goal and run by His grace and strength towards all that He has.

My pryer for each of you today is that you would be overwhelmed by his faithfulness in your own lives. Being able to sit back and see the hand of the Almighty and the way that He has moved, transformed and loved you! Carrying with you the joy that comes from his everlasting strength.

I cant wait to come back and share with you all that I know He is going to do and the incredible places and people we are going to meet!