Yes, the blog is still alive! I'll try to get you up to speed with what has happened since our last post (oops, three months ago!) and then make true effort to update more frequently.
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| Members of the welcoming committee at the airport! |
We finished up our first year of teaching and living in China! On July first we made it back to America after a long overnight train ride (12 hours and no sleep), a day in Beijing (the Summer Palace is cool!), a night in Beijing (4 hours of sleep), and a long flight to Seattle (12 hours and no sleep). Yes we were tired, but that was to our advantage when it was time to battle jetlag. Arriving in Seattle was a breath of fresh air, thanks to the clean, cool Northwest climate and the smiling faces of Steph's family. Hooray!
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| Luke and Rafe with their new sister in China! |
Our end of the year was quite a whirlwind, with many things going on. Perhaps one of the most meaningful was getting to host Luke's parents and brother at our apartment, show them around our city and school, and then send them on their way to meet the newest member of our family! Yes, Luke's parents welcomed a Chinese daughter into their family and she is a wonderful addition. We got to meet them and her in China a week after they went to meet her, and it was a special time of getting to know each other, explore the area around the hotel, and just spend time together as family. She is 14 years old, and we think it is meaningful to her that members of her family have connection with China. Right now we are staying with Luke's family and able to spend more time with her. Of course, everyone must adjust, have grace, and be patient, but we are confident that the whole situation is overseen by greater eyes than ours. Keep Luke's family in your thoughts and hearts.
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| Three brothers and two sisters! |
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| Parents' Day! Steph teaching how to make ice cream. |
Of course, life was pretty intense at the school as the year finished up but we all survived. I am extremely proud of Stephanie, who battled and excelled through a challenging year of teaching. Imagine a class of 18 two and a half year olds who don't speak your language! And that was just one of her four groups she taught every day. She finished the year with a stupendous parent day lesson on how to make ice cream (on parents day parents of her students come to class with their child and watch the lesson). It was very impressive. Also, Luke's class did well on their final exam and showed much growth in their English skills.
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| Exploring a park on our second anniversary! |
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| Students from Luke's class doing a Children's Day performance |
Lastly, relationships seemed to blossom towards the end of the year. We were thankful to spend some quality time with teachers and parents of students as well as our American teammates. Life is so busy and tiring, it is hard to have energy to invest in activities outside of the school, but lately Steph and I felt more grace in this area as we are being equipped where we are weak. This is perhaps one of our greatest encouragements as we look forward to next year. Yup, that's right! We are going back for YEAR NUMBER TWO. It will be sad to leave family, friends, and the Northwest a second time, but we are excited for the opportunity to continue the relationships and work happening in our host country, city, school, and apartment complex. Stay tuned For The Telling of Year Number Two!
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| At the Kindergarten graduation. Steph played piano while her student sang "It's a Small World." |
