Living the Dream 2012 -Yuangshou/Nanning

Let the the blog marathon begin!! Its been a month since Spring Festival and its about time I updated on all of our adventures. There will be lots of photo's and stories to walk you through the amazing trip I was blessed to go on last month. All of the photo's are thanks to the amazing Melodie Chandler, seeing as my camera was stolen (dont worry we'll get there eventually).

And we're off....

We left from Wuhan and traveled first to Yuangshou, China. We were so excited and ready to leave when we caught the bus to the train station...

Little did we know that traffic was going to be so awful and it was going to take us forever to get to the train station giving us only 10-15 minutes to find and get on our train. So, with everything on our backs and in our hands the only foreigners in the station took off running in all directions trying to figure out where we were supposed to be. Needless to say it wasn't the way we saw the trip starting off but it was hilarious once we actually made it on the train. I cant even imagine what the Chinese people were thinking as they watched us sprint through the station with all of our things, not really having any clue where we needed to go. This picture is us on the train in our hard sleeper beds.
The train ride was pretty smooth although it did feel like we were taking forever and stopping at every city imaginable. ha. Not to mention the Chinese people who are up at 4:30am playing their music and having a great time rising WAY too early. But we made it to Yuangshou!!

It was colder than expected and cloudy but SO beautiful.
We found a place to stay for a great price as soon as we walked into town.
The mountains that surrounded the city were beautiful! It's difficult to put into words how unique this city is. It felt almost as if we were in a little mountain get away. We spent most of our time walking around checking out the city and of coarse shopping.



On our last day in Yuangshou we took a bike tour, we treated our guide who's english name was Peter to McDonald's before we set out for a 16 mile ride through the country side and villages.
The bike tour was one of my favorite things we did the entire trip, it was incredibly beautiful and Peter was an awesome guide!



Family photo..

Oh these three... there was never a dull moment with these guys around! :)

Along the way we stopped at the Gold water cave. Here we had a chance to explore the caves, roll around in some mud (which was FREEZING) and then enjoy the hot springs.
Our guide through the caves was really kind but if we would have had money for every time she said "Be careful" we would have been rich in a matter of minutes. She was apparently very concerned for our safety.
We came across Buddha in the cave.... naturally formed... or man made... hmmm... Oh and please notice the technicolored lights. The Chinese really know how to spruce up a dull cave... haha.


MUD!! This is all of us freezing and trying to collect our things so we could rinse off and go get in the hot springs. And although it was cold, it was a really fun experience. The Chinese people had a great time laughing at us too.
After the caves we biked to Moon Mountain. Here we got off and hiked up the stairs to the top. Once again, it was so beautiful. There is just no other way to describe it. The whole day was incredible being surrounded by His creation. It was a blessing away from all of the pollution and noise we're used to.



This was a restaurant we found and kept going back to... how awesome to have such a light in this little town!

Now we come to Nanning.... I am going to put out a disclaimer now, we were only here to get our visa's into Vietnam and were only able to see/be in a very outside part of the city.... with that being said... Nanning was well, definitely not the highlight of the trip. There is honestly not much to say because we were pretty much bored out of our minds.

We arrived in Nanning after the WORST train ride imaginable.. it was an overnight train and we had to get seats instead of beds, which meant lights on, loud people, funny smells, and no sleep. Once we arrived at 7am we then had to walk around the city in the cold rain to try and find a place to stay.. haha. Looking back it really does make me laugh at how tired, frustrated, sleep deprived and irritated we all were. BUT we did finally find a place to stay. I think the hardest part about Nanning was that we had nothing to do... it was cold and rainy without any type of entertainment.. so we hung out in the rooms...

Jac, Paul and Beau played their never ending battle of Temple Run...

This is how Mel and I felt about the game......

But there was one wonderful day where Melodie and I decided to venture out, eat Pizza Hut and go see a movie! It was the saving day for Nanning...
Finally we were on our way to Vietnam riding in style in the very front on the bus. (we had such incredible favor on this trip, even in the small things. I have really bad motion sickness and we were some of the last to get tickets yet still landed the front seats.!! :))
Just some more random "favor facts" from the first part of the trip that I think are more than note worthy...

1.Peter our bike tour guide was not only super sweet, through conversation we found out he has good friends who live in his city that are believers. People who have spoken with him, invested in him and given him the Word. This was so encouraging for the simple fact that it was proof of Dad moving in His body. That there are others out there spreading and investing in His Kingdom!

2. The main reason for us being in Nanning was to get our Visa's into Vietnam, seeing as we didn't plan ahead for anything on this trip we just showed up trusting there would be a way...We had looked online at around how much it should cost and how many days it should take first then we spoke with the woman at the front desk of our hotel (she spoke some english) and asked if they could take care of it at the hotel. She ended up calling her friend "Joe". Joe (his english name) came and met us and told us he could get us our Visa's a day sooner and for less than the prices online.... we all realized this was going to be a risky decision seeing as we were about to hand this man our passports but we went with it. Joe was so helpful and arrived exactly when he said he would with our Passports in hand! :) (Also fun fact, Joe was originally from Huangshi, the city I live in!)

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!

Okay ladies and gentlemen, gear yourself up for this one. Because I am so slack when it comes to blogging I have lots of fun, crazy, interesting and praiseworthy things to update you on! Not to mention lots of fun photo’s to keep you entertained. We are actually going to start with the newest events and work towards the older ones from the past couple of weeks. Why, you ask? Well not because I want to try to be witty or cool but simply because there is a process to blogging here in China that out smarts me every time. So, when I uploaded my photos which is step 1 I forgot I had to upload the newest ones first to make them last on my blog. In other words, it’s backwards. After the hours it took just to get the photos up I decided to try something a little different. For those of you who enjoy particular order I apologize in advance! So lets begin shall we…

Christmas in the classroom...

What better place to begin then with some of my adorable students!? Since the beginning of December I have been teaching my students Christmas Carols/songs leading up to this week. This has been a great way to get them to loosen up and be a little silly. I have really enjoyed being able to laugh with them and show them a less strict side of myself and of the classroom. This week I brought my guitar with me and taught them all Joy to the world. Sharing with them the story of a King who was born in a lowly manger. What was crazy was when I finally got this chance it was like this secret that had been welling up inside me bursting to come out. It was great just to share His joy in His story. At the end of class I gave the students paper to make a Christmas card anyone they would like. Over all I would say it was a successful month of teaching!

How sweet is he! Working on their Christmas Cards.



Gingerbread extravaganza...

Last night the girls and I got together for some pre Christmas fun! With some fabulous goodies that arrived via some awesome Mom’s back in the states we made a gingerbread village, drank hot chocolate, ate some peppermint kisses and listened to some festive Christmas music.

Thanks Mom for the hot Chocolate which made this picture/smile possible! :)

My Peppermint creation...I have to say when I heard gingerbread houses I was extremely hesitant because my track record is a little rocky when attempting gingerbread architecture. However for people like myself this mini village version was awesome! They were the perfect size. Although its hard to believe from this picture, my house really was a MESS in the beginning and I'm pretty sure I finished with more icing on me than on the house but the peppermint covered it well and I was pretty proud of my finished product.


Our finished product!

This week has been more difficult than I expected being away from home. At random points it will just hit me and I’ll tear up but after doing some fun activities it started to feel more like Christmas. It was just what I needed to cure the homesick blues! I am missing home and the traditions of the holidays but I am so grateful for the opportunity I have here and the wonderful people He's placed in my life, near and far!

The best way to spread Christmas Cheer is to sing loud for all to hear...

Last weekend we spent our Saturday evening out on the square with between 250-300 high school students singing Christmas carols! It was a blast. It was too complicated to try to explain to my students because their English is so limited but it was great to see the students that came from Leslie and Camille’s school (#1 high school) and Paul and Erin’s school (#3 high school). We honestly had no clue if any students would actually show up and weren’t really sure of a game plan until about five minutes before we arrived. It turned out to be a blast! It was so cool seeing so many students eager to hang out with the foreigners and sing some Christmas songs. Because this is not something that normally happens in the middle of downtown (singing in English/forefingers gathered for all to see) we drew quite a crowd around us. After we sang through the songs we knew the photo ops began and turned into a full on out photo shoot for most of us. Don’t worry we had prepared mentally for this ahead of time and were ready with our best smiles!

These last two pictures were of our favorite Waffle man in town! We went and ate dinner with him after caroling to warm up and eat something good! He is so funny and loves it whenever we come by, considering he sees us often because we love these things! My favorites are chocolate and banana.
Oh the weather outside is frightful..

Whats better when its cold outside then something warm to eat?! A couple weeks ago we had a chance to go out to eat with some of the English teachers at one of the top primary schools in town. Our friend John Randall and his family are here in Huangshi (they just so happen to be the way Dad got me here to begin with!) and he is a teacher at the school. We ate at a really good hot pot restaurant. It was so good to hang out with these sweet teachers and new friends!

The way hot pot works: You sit down at a big round table with a rotating top, they place all the food;ie. meat, veggies and carbs on the table and you choose what you want to cook in your own individual pot of boiling broth. I guess you could compare it to a dinner fondue, like at the melting pot. Its super delicious but takes some getting used to. Figuring out how long to cook what and when.. lets just say I got to wrong more than I got it right the first time but it was fun and yummy!

Making Mexican Happen in China...

Last but not least of the photos is of a girl night we had two weekends ago. We decided we were going to make Mexican food happen and it was delicious!! We made chicken nachos, with Velveeta salsa dip(from stateside), black beans, and fresh salsa it was amazing!

Hilarious story about the chicken for this meal... You see in China as in most other places outside of the West does meat a little differently. I volunteered to go with our sweet Chinese sister Dawn to get the meat, little did I know what I was in for. We waited until the night of, so I knew we couldnt get frozen chicken because it would take forever to thaw. So I tell Dawn we need to get fresh chicken, she politely says "okay, lets go, I'll help you!" like she always does and we take off. I knew we'd be heading towards the meat market because it is a common stop for the people in town on their way home to make dinner. I pass by it often cutting through the streets from my house to downtown and you can smell it a mile away. That was enough to keep me away until this point. I knew I needed to go and help but was not necessarily looking forward to the experience. Mainly because the market is known for selling dog meat. :( We arrive at our destination but I realized Dawn wasn't going in, so I thought, okay well she knows what shes doing I'll follow her. The next thing I know she stops in front of some cages with live chickens staring and clucking at me.. yep. Her exact words being TOTALLY serious were "you want fresh chicken right?" Oh goodness. I can not begin to tell you how I proceeded to explain to Dawn I did not want to know my dinner while it was still alive nor see them kill it and was determined there had to be another way. She laughed at me and I asked her if we could find it already off the bone. Thats when we walked into the actual meat market. Gross. The smell is enough to knock you off your feet if you're not ready for it and the meats literally just hanging out. But you know when in China... Dawn proceeded to go to every vendor making sure she got the best deal/chicken in the place while I was just wishing she would grab anything so I could get out! haha. The whole thing was hilarious and so true of the cultural differences!

Spring Festival..
Some more exciting news on the fore front is that I will be starting my break for China's spring festival on January 3! This is a month that the students and teachers have off to celebrate the coming season and spend time with all of their family. The reason this is so exciting for me is because this means I have a month to explore Asia! I will be gone for almost three weeks stopping in Southern China, Vietnam and Thailand. This is such an awesome opportunity to travel and see new places and new things along with staying focused on pouring out and proclaiming His love over this side of the world!
As you are getting all the preparations ready for Christmas I am prying that you would be filled with a peace and a joy in the understanding of just how faithful He is. This season has taken on a new meaning for me here and its something I will never forget.