"Choose to do God's Will" Jn 7:17

2008-12-16T14:30:00.001-08:00

China Pictures

After about 8 hours of downloading pictures (no joke!), i finally have some pictures from my trip to China that i can share with everyone! There are 3 different albums: Around China, Philip Hayden Foundation and Harmony Outreach. You can click on my picture website on the right side of my blog (click on the pic of Scorpions on a stick and it will take you there) or you can follow this link: http://kirstenspics1.shutterfly.com/

I hope you enjoy them!!

Just for fun... TOP 10 REASONS WHY IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME!

2008-11-17T13:03:00.001-08:00

1. I missed my family!!!!!
2. I can drink and brush my teeth with water from the Tap!
3. I won't be woken up at 5am from fireworks that are supposed to scare off evil spirits!
4. I can flush my TP!
5. No more black boogers!
6. I don't have to worry about using the "squatty potty"
7. I don't have to share the bathroom with 6 other women
8. I don't have to wear multiple layers (including my winter jacket) around the house to stay warm
9. I can go shopping with out people shouting at me "Hey Lady" and pushing me to buy thing that i don't want
10. When shopping, i don't have to figure out how much an item is worth in dollars!

Just thought that i'd share some fun things... Don't get me wrong here - I LOVED the trip and I LOVE China... I can't wait to go back:):)

Nov. 14

2008-11-14T06:57:00.001-08:00

We had an interesting day today - it didn't turn out exactly how i thought it would have...

We had a great time of wor..p, devotion and reflection - i hope to finish my reflection of the last 2 weeks on the plane tomorrow and i will post that later...

John from H.O. came around 10:30 and visited with the rest of the team and had lunch with us - it was really great for him to be able to share with everyone about his ministry - he doesn't only have Harmony House but he also works witht he Kaifang Deaf School, and several other inland projects - including a new one which will help an orphanage inland China to help them get back on their feet after a recent fire and to help them raise some steady monthly income by sponsoring thier children. So, please check back on their website soon for details on how you can help - He also showed us some precious "minority" dolls that will be given to anyone who sponsors a child around Christmas time - they are sososo cute! I really want one!!

After our visit - we went to the old Harmony House to find out that Lily had just recieved a call from the development land owner and he wasn't going to let H.H. relocate - we were very dissappointed - we had really hoped to be able to help them move and get set up. We said tons of P------s and were left with not much to do:( We went to the new location and finished cleaning it up - mopping etc... We also ventured to the location where the little girl "Faith" lives - she has bones of glass - we took her to McDonalds and she was thrilled to get a Happy Meal and ice cream! When we took her back we gave her a bag of suckers to hand out to the other kiddos. She lives in the same area/development as the new location of Harmony House called "The agape ??? house" (i forgot the name:() We also bought some delicious bread from the "Bread of Life" store with makes bread to support the Agape house -it was delicious!!!

We then went back to the old house to pick up Judy who had been ministering to the nannies all afternoon and to say good bye to the kids:( they were thrilled to have the suckers that i brought - it was amazing to watch Adam eat his sucker with his feet - he is amazing! I was so sad saying goodbye - those kids are so darn precious!! They are like 1 big happy family:) It was so sweet to see how much those nannies truly love those kids...

We headed back to PHF and visited with John a bit more until Mr. Zhou was available to meet - While the team went to dinner, Bonnie, Jeff, Judy and John went to meet Mr. Zhou - i just got a report that He gave his okay for Harmony House to move tomorrow - Praise the L. He is so faithful!! Then Mrs. Zhou opened her B. book and they started talking about hte word. What an amazing thing to happen - Mr. Zhou has had a reputation of not being too open and accommodating and kind of a harsh man so to hear how things went tonight it was so extremely awesome!!

We are leaving PHF around 12 tomorrow - our flight leaves here Sat. at 4pm and we get to Seattle around 11:30 am on Sat - very cool!! We gain a day!! We are supposed to arrive in Pasco around 7:25 but we are hoping to get on an earlier flight!!

Thanks again to everyone for thier Love and Prys...

Bless you All!

Christopher - a precious 4 yr old that is ready and waiting to be adopted!! If you are at all thinking about adopting a 4yr old boy - he is the one for you!

Harmony House kids...

Faith" - Girl with Bones of Glass...

New Harmony House locations

Bonnie with a mask on to tackle some mold:(

Damon and Whitney raking...

mopping...

Nov. 14

2008-11-14T06:57:00.000-08:00

Nov. 13

2008-11-13T07:50:00.001-08:00

Today was a very looooonnnng day! We left PHF at 7:30 am to pick up the rest of the team in Beijing - it was fantastic seeing the rest of our team... we missed each other:) We met at Starbucks - yummy! Our day was full of sightseeing: Hutong Tour (rickshaw rides around the Hutong area); Drum Tower (we happened to be at the top when it was time to beat the drums - very cool!); Forbidden City and Tianenmen Square (i still don't know how to spell it -LOL) The funnest part was sitting for an hour waiting for the team to get through the Forbidden City (those of us that had been there before cruised through it pretty quick) i guess we were quite the attraction - many people stopped to have thier pics taken with us :) LOL After dinner, we went to the Lau She Tea House - it was a good show - there was some face changing opera and kung fu demo... While we were there Lily from Harmony OUtreach called to make sure that we could help tomorrow - they apparently finished hanging the window treatments that we were attempting to install and cleaned it all out - so, they are ready to move the babies over tomorrow - We are so excited and praise the L. that we are here to help them - this week has been so cool to see how it was perfect for us to be here for them!!!

We are all ready to come home and are all looking forward to seeing our families - thanks to everyone who has P'd. for us and has helped out our family members back home - you have no idea what a blessing you are to us!!

Me and Brooke getting ready for our awesome Hutong Tour

Drum Tower

Tea House at the Forbidden City - they gave a great demonstration on tea and the types - very cool!

Us girls hanging out front of the Forbidden City and Tianenmen Square waiting for the team - this is what many of our "fans' took pics of us - it was quite funny!

The Lau She Tea House

Nov. 12

2008-11-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

We began our day with the addition of 2 team members -Judy and Tamara came back to PhF because they missed the kids. But after today we know that the L. had some special plans for them!

We were picked up by Lily at 9am and dropped off Tamara and Judy with some toys that i bought at IKEA yesterday at Harmony House to play and be "santa"... The others (including me) went to the new location to clean and attempt to hang some blinds and curtains and Damon and TAmara had to run to some stores to get a few things in order to install some fixtures etc... We all met back up for lunch at Harmony House - as soon as i walked in the door - Judy and tamara shared that they were just floored about how loving the nannies are and the children are jsut awesome kids!! And that the H.S is definately there! Judy even began to cry at how much she was moved there! WOW!!! We all sat down for a wonderful lunch the nannies had prepared and we insisted that they join us - they did. We P. for them and Judy continued to talk with them - well, about 15 minutes later 4 nannies decided to ask JC in thier heart! We all said the p. together with them - i got it on video:) - and yes - you can p. with your eyes open!!! it was a beautiful sight and we were all in tears!!! including the nannies! Soon after that we all needed to get back to work! So, the team MADE me stay at H.H. to play and help the nannies - darnit!! ::)LOL I had a fabulous time - i just LOVE all those kids so much - they all have such kind hearts and it truly feels like a family there. Half of the team went to finish clean and the others went to Walmart to buy some supplies for H.H. - it was so amazing watching them carry huge arm loads of diapers, formula, wipes, bibs and a few free keyboards - very cool - the even cooler thing is this: Before Steve left for Beijing, he gave Damon the $$ for Wini to go and buy a sewing machine for Pam Baker to bless her - which was a wonderful gift - Wini only used a small portion of it - soooo... we had in our head to spend about 3000 yuan at walmart for the supplies and that is exactly what the supplies equaled - isn't that amazing - it was definately G. plan for us to use the extra to bless H.H.! With the other half of the team gone - we werent' sure if it would be okay to dip into our "reserves" but we didn't have to!!!! so aweesome!!! The nannies were so extremely happy! Thank you G.

OUr evening ended with going to McD's (yeah!!) at the university district and now we are off to bed to get up for our day in Beijing tomorrw! We have a busy day planned - 7:30 am to see Tiannenmen square, Forbidden city, hutong tour and a show - we aren't supposed to get home until 11pm!! so you won't hear from me for awhile!

Thanks for your love and P's!!

Nov. 11

2008-11-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

We had a great day! Melanie stayed here at PHF to help Dr. Moody with a few things and helped Leah with taking some pics. Melanie (Bonnie's daughter) is a great photographer... Wini (from Spokane) went shopping with Pam Baker to bless her with a new sewing machine... The rest of us went to Harmony House. I was expecting to help clean the new location but Lily pulled up to the old location and asked who wanted to stay and help the nannies - everyone nominated me!! I was thrilled!!! I felt kinda guilty having so much fun and know the others were slaving away! So, when I arrived at the Harmony House a few kids were kind of standoffish but they quickly warmed up - and the nannieswere soooo sooo welcoming and were eager for me to help - I loved it! We played in the family room for awhile and Savannah kept her eye on me but kind of kept some distance. We went outside for a little while - I took tons of pics and some video. I'm not sure when I can post them - maybe later... Savannah really opened up to me while we were outside - it was precious. She had her hood on and it kept falling off so i would keep putting it back on her - I noticed that she was purposely taking it off and then coming to me to have me put it back on - it was fun - on the way back into the house Savannah took my hand - just precious!! Then I got to help the nannies feed the kiddos - Savannah could feed herself but she wanted me to feed her - too cute!!! I was then able to help the nannies change diapers and put the kids to bed - the little sleeping bags were very cool but too hard to try to explain... We had a delicious lunch and then Lily took Brooke and I to IKEA in Beijing to get some blinds and some light fixtures for the new location. We came back to meet the others - they had been cleaning the new location and it is looking great! H.H. is hoping to move in after the government turns on the heat on Nov. 15 - right now it is very cold!! We picked up our team and then met the Baker's for dinner - it was great fun~!! The Baker's are really great people! Tim is leaving in the morning to go to CA to speak at a church... So, that's our day.... we just found out that 3 people are returning to PHF tomorrow beause they miss the kids - not surprised... they are precious!! I definitely am falling in love with Savannah, but I am pretty sure that she is already matched - I am asking for prayers for her file to be found and for us to lock it in... or for G. direction on where our daughter is... It's kinda crazy though - there are sooo many more kids here at PHF but none of them has caught my heart... not sure why... Well, I am off to bed soon and will try to send some pics - tomorrow we are planning on finishing up at the H.H.

Love and hugs to all!

Nov. 11 Pictures

2008-11-11T07:25:00.000-08:00

This is Savannah and Christopher. Christopher is a very precious little 6 year old boy who just had surgery on his club foot - he really is very precious - loves art, writing and is very smart!!! He is paperwork ready and has NOT been matched!!! If anyone is praying about adopting a 6 year old boy - He might be the one for you!!! We all have really enjoyed playing with him at the H.H. let me know if you want more info...

Savannah and Oliver (or William - I get them confused) running to see Phoebe - it is really wonderful to see how much the kids absolutely love each other and the nannies too~

A precious Harmony house girl - I can't remember her name (I think she has Cerebral palsy)

Kids outside playing with flowers

Savannah

Nov. 10 Pictures

2008-11-10T23:20:00.000-08:00

Mr. Zhou family, John & Wayne

Savannah looking out the window

Savannah

Jessica

Nov. 10

2008-11-10T07:51:00.000-08:00

It was great leisurely morning... many slept in which was much needed! There is another man staying here with us for the next few days - he is adopting a child that used to be here at PHF but was in a foster home. He is here by himself - his wife had to stay at home with their other children. I am so glad that we are here for him and were able to pray with him before he left - we got home late tonight so I am not sure how the union went...

John Bentley arrived around lunch time and we visited with him for a few hours before we went to Harmony House. He shared MANY things with us including his recent help with an orphanage in Inland China - he is "adopting" it to provide support for the orphanage which is ran by a man who has taken in 36 children - it has recently had a fire. His vision is to help it get back on its feet - and to get it functionable (cribs, and supplies) then to try to get sponsors for the children so it can has some sort of constant support. He also shared with us that they are moving the Harmony House into another location - the gov't is making him move:( So, our task here in the next few days is to clean up the new home and try to fix it up to get ready for the children. I am really excited about this but we are pr.ng about how we are going to provide the $ for this... with half of our team in Beijing, we are sure if they are in agreement - so please help us pr. to figure this out by the morning. After lunch, we visited the "new" location and the current location. I just LOVED seeing the children - they are soo sooo precious - i REALLY fell in love with them. Jessica was the first child i saw sitting in the high chair - (it was fun to be able to immediately recognize them by their picture) they are doing further testing but they are thinking that she may have leukemia - she is adorable!! The other little girl that i am really praying about is Savannah - she is almost 2 and has a repaired cleft lip - although it looks like she may still need some additional surgery - she is SOSO cute - i held her most of the time - she just tried to figure me out - she smelled soo good - like Johnson's baby shampoo - her cheeks were soo kissable and i did not want to put her down - I've asked Lily about her and she is telling me not to get my hopes up because she does not want what happend with Kay to happen with Savannah - but i will pray about it and if the L. closes doors then i will know:) Phoebe is also very precious! I could snatch her up in my suitase too - I played with her for awhile too:) We'll see where the L. leads us... We then went to Walmart and purchased some cleaning supplies for our job tomorrow. After that we went out to dinner with John, Wayne (a Board of Director who just recently moved out here), and the owner of the land where the new location of the Harmony House will be - we were building "Guanxi" (aka good relations) with them. We ate at a Szechuan-type restaurant and I think that I probably ate several foods that I have NO idea what they were! I think I ate chicken joints again - ugh:( I didn't know it until I took abite:( There was sooo much food and we had to be on our best behavior and have really good etiquette and "try" to use chopsticks (for some reason - this is extremely hard for me!!) The dinner seemed to go really well and I'm glad that we were able to help the Harmony House with this relationship building.

Tomorrow we have alot of work to do: some are staying at PHF to finish up some stuff here; some are going to clean Harmony house; and some may be going shopping to purchase some blinds, light fixtures, and bathroom fixtures...

Thanks for your P's!!!

Nov. 9

2008-11-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

We had an amazing weekend - I already told you about Sat.... So, here goes Sun.:) We woke up at the crack of dawn to leave PHF by 6am! We drove several hrs. to the Great Wall at Mutiyanu (sp?) The sights were fun to see:) We actually saw a wedding processional - about 5 black cars with red flowers all over them (it must have been a good day to marry b/c we saw 3 different processionals). Judy expained to us that the groom and his family/wedding party drive to the bride's home to pick her up and take her to the ceremony - very fun to learn and see about this Chinese Wedding tradition. We finally made it to the Wall and took a ski lift to the top - very fun but not if you're afraid of heights - i tried not to think about it and look down:) We took some group pics and then went walking - it was the "greatest work out" ever! Holy cow!!! And such amazing sights!! We had a few girls also want to take their pics with us - kinda fun being "celebrities" LOL The best part was the "bob sled" type of ride down - we flew! it was great until we ran into a VERY slow old man:( oh well:)

Then we had a 3hr. drive to the "Dirt Market" - I hadn't been here before... it is kind of like and organized garage sale of Chinese stuff! I think we got some good deals on stuff and I am thinking that I am done shopping! We have mastered the bartering for the best price!! Thanks to Steve's advice we us the "F.E.L.T" method - F=flirt with the person - E=examine the item - L=low ball - T=take a walk. It works every time! It is especially fun when you take a walk and they keep following you and then give you the price you want:) Although, it's fun -it can be exhausting and I'm glad that I am done shopping! I did get some cute pics of some little boys in split pants - so precious:):)

After our experience at the Dirt Market - we rode the Subway to the Nite Market! It was quite the experience - i never thought that i would ride a subway all over Beijing!! We got the the Nite Market safely and the first thing that we did was eat at McDonalds - it was WONDERFUL! Just like at home:) Never thought that I'd be excited to eat there! But it did give us a little bit of home:) The area that we went to is the Wangfujing area - we actually stayed very close by there the last time we were in Beijing -but 3 yrs. ago we never ventured out - and i think i am glad - i would have been nervous with the boys... This area had some neat/nice stores and also the "fun" area - where they had scorpions and starfish on a stick - as well as other meat "item" on a stick... A few team members were adventurous (Damon & Whitney) and tried the scorpions!! NO THANKS! They said that it tasted like crunchy cajun spice... We spent a few hours in this area and topped off the evening with an ice cream cone from McD's! - wonderfully yummy!!

Then it was back on the subway to drop off 8 members of our team (Steve, Andrew, Jessica, Judy, Whitney, Jeff, Joel & Tamara) with Evzn and Christy - E. and C are "student's" here from Steve's Valley forth mem Ch. - so they are going to be doing some E. in the University district - On the subway earlier in the evening - we actually met about 3 people that was just coming home from thier Home ch. - so we gave them a "book" and took their # - I think the team is hoping to meet up with them!

Then it was a 1 1/2 hr. drive home - and wouldn't you know it the bus ran out of gas 1 mile from PHF and it was 11pm!! Luckily we were able to call for help and quickly make it home:)

We are meeting John from Harmony today - please P. that the L. uses us and that we have our eyes and hearts open to what we are supposed todo for him - we havent gotten clear direction on our purpose for this week:)

Love and hugs to all - maybe pics later!!

Nov. 8 Pictures

2008-11-09T20:56:00.000-08:00

Lives scorpions on a stick!!! crazy!! their little tales were moving - it was crazy!

The dirt market in Beijing

The Great Wall bobsled ride down to the bottom of the hill

Shelby (PHF coordinator) and Dawn (Teacher at PHF) - very fun and great gals!!! It has been a pleasure getting to know them!

The Calvary Chapel team! It has been a BLAST getting to know each other so much better! We are going to miss each other when it comes time to go home. Luckily, most of us can see each other a couple times a week!

The Great Wall - The entire team from the Northwest.

A very flexible lady!!

Acrobat show - these girls rode unicylces and caught these bowls on their heads - There was several other types of acrobats too...

Man selling meat on a stick - including squid which several people ate - NOT ME!!!

I'm at the center of the Universe!!

Brooke and I at the Temple of Heaven

Ribbon dancing at the temple of Heaven.

We had a great time - i will post more about the experience later!!!

We are off to The great wall - Dirt Market - and TEa House show!!

Nov. 7 Pictures

2008-11-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

the massage place

At the garden restaurant

The ladies at the workshop -you can see the banners...

Melanie and Bonnie painting the shed

Melanie and JEff (aka Big Panda - the kids named him that:)) in their painting attire

The girl's "messy" bunk room

Nov. 7 - continued...

2008-11-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

Well, i didn't think that i'd get a chance to write today but since i've been up since 5:30 - i have some time! There are 7 girls in our bunk room and 1 is sick - please P. for her... She was up coughing and so i decided to get up and tell you about our experiences last night.

Let's see... i think i left off around lunch time before VBS - after lunch and VBS stuff was set up, i walked around the campus taking pics - i don't think i'll have time to send them today?? I also visited the workshop - i can't remember if i've already posted about this??? oh well. There is a workshop in one of the back buildings that about 4 ladies work in everyday making banners. PHF has to have this workshop in order to be licensed as a business in this area. When Tim purchased these 5 acres for 1 yuan from a business man 10 years ago, this was a requirement in order to settle here - to be registered as a business. Anyway, the ladies were so delightful - they loved looking at the pics of my family:) of course, who wouldn't - they are beautiful:):):) Well, i need to buy a banner but just not sure which one...

- I am so thankful that we used the curriculum that we did - it went much deeper than any past groups that have been here - i am hoping that it will truly make a difference in their (kids and nannies) lives. The message yesterday was to be "followers of C." Everyone did such an awesome job at their task during VBS and we all truly enjoyed the children. Just to see their faces light up, to see them sing the songs, to see them enjoy the crafts, sensory stuff, games and snacks, to see them P. and to for us to spread G. love on them was a priviledge! We are hoping that we will be able to play with them next week too while we are here.

After VBS about 5 of us cleaned that mess up and the others had to carry several loads up 3 flights of stairs to carry stuff back up into the attack - ugh.. i'm so glad that i had other priorities:):) Then, we loaded a bus to go to dinner at the "Garden Restaurant" - When you walk in there are pictures of about 50 different dishes that you can order (they also had live fish, shark etc.. in tanks that i'm sure they used for thier dishes) Then we sat down in a "booth" area that was designated by plants - there were plants EVERYWHERE!! it was quite beautiful! i have a few pics that i hope to send... Damon, Brooke, Tamara and I sat together - Damon ordered pig tails -which they brought out first - NO THANK YOU!! He ate it and others tried it :( We also had a scallop cake, mushroom soup, dumplings, a spicy chicken plate and of course rice! We ended up with 7 huge dishes for 184 yuan - not bad:)

Then we were off to the massage place - i'm thinking that it is one where we are all in a room together and they just rub our back really hard or something - OH NO!! it was quite an interesting experience!!! They shuffled us upstairs - and wanted 3 in each room - Brooke and i luckily snagged Melanie (who speaks chinese) They first had us soak our feet in EXTREMELY HOT medicine water and then they rubbed our feet - it felt like they were rubbing the skin off! They (we each had a lady massager) came back with boxer shorts that they wanted us to take our jeans off and put on. We all look at each other and start to wonder what we got our selves into! They came back and had us lay down on our backs onto this huge foam bed. And lets just say that they rubbed, poked, slapped, cracked EVERY part of my body! It was actually quite hilarious! I found out that i am very ticklish in my groan area - yea - i'm sure what you are imagining is what happened!! :):)LOLOLOL! Brooke and i had the giggles so bad that we were crying and i still laugh thinking about it! They also pulled limbs in directions i didn't know that they could go! And at one point they had us flying in the air - i can't explain it - i'll have to show you! It ended with an awesome neck and head massage - i think that i fell asleep! It cost about 130 yuan each (so divided that by about $6.50 and that is the american price!) And that was our night!! Quite the experience!!! NOt sure if i'll do it again but it was something that was fun to experience!!

We then came home and off to beddy bie! and here i am now:):)

Today we are off to Beijing in about 1 hr (7:30 am) and will be home late - not sure if and when i'll be able to post...

Love and hugs to all!
Thanks for your P's.!!!

Nov.6 Pictures

2008-11-06T22:28:00.001-08:00

Dinner for the nannies

Shaving cream fun!

Precious little boy that needed to go potty and started to cry

Kids are coming

Nov. 7

2008-11-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

quick post... This morning I was so excited to talk and see my family on Skype - then I went to the first house to play with the kids-whenever I walk the boys tackle me. Soon I get to settle down and then I can play with the girls. They still need more time to warm up to me- hopefully next week! I was able to help the nannies feed them lunch and of course the girls didn't want anything to do with me:( We danced and I tried to talk with the nannies - LOL:) I was glad that I had my iPod Touch with to show pics of my family - they loved that! Then they whisked them off to bed!

Then I ventured to the workshop where 4 ladies were busy making banners - they are really beautiful - I am planning on getting one, but I'm not sure which one yet... I was able to share about my family there, too. They really seem to connect with me after they see Hayleigh.

Quick praise report! Thank you for your pr-yers. The gov't has shown favor on Phillip Hayden Foundation (or PHF - which is the facility we are at) and has extended their deadline for the money until March 15. Isn't that awesome!!!!!

This afternoon we are doing our last day of VBS and going out to dinner and to get massages! Sat and Sun we are seeing Beijing...

Gotta run. Love to you all!

Nov. 6

2008-11-06T05:32:00.000-08:00

No luck sleeping in this morning! Darn it!! I woke up again at around 5am - i was able to shrink some pics to send but i have since found out that they might be too small for the blog - so sorry:( I wil try it again tonight.

Our morning gathering time was really good - they all are really good and seem to be just what we need to hear! Today we talked about being obedient and taking a step to do G. will (not what we think that we "should do" or what everyone else thinks that we should do but to listen closely and to do G. will - which was also the same message that i read in my own personal b---le reading time this morning) - And we talked about what will we do with this experience once we get back home...hmmmm....

For our morning "work" time, i helped with painting the bike shed (i will take pics of it tomorrow - it should be done by then!) We started to paint it on Mon. but after a days work we found out that we used the wrong color! So, we have been having to repaint it -oh well. It has been some great team bonding:) It was kinda cool because at about 11am here - i instantly thought about CalvaryCTC and then i figured out that it was actually inservice at that time. Lance later emailed me that they had talked about the group here at CCTC and talked to the BIG DADDY about it too - i am thinking that it was at about the same time - very cool:):)

After lunch, we quickly got ready for VBS stuff - we talked about how J. grew up and how G. made us and loves us -so we did lots of heart stuff. I have some pics that i will try to send of the kids walking towards the Inn for VBS - it is so awesome! They just love it and always have huge smiles on their faces! We usually cheer for them as they are walking in - and they just light up!! I wish that you all could experience it... maybe someday:) We gathered to sing - which they LOVE! There was one song that Andrew (song leader) accidentally did the wrong verse and the kids caught it - it was hilarious! We ALL laughed and had a great time continueing singing. At one point - i noticed this precious little boy - and i'm not kidding he is PRECIOUS - if Hayleigh didn't need a sister, i'd put him in my suitcase:):) He had tears in his eyes - so, i swooped him up and he instantly started to burst out crying - his nanny figured out that he needed to go potty (now - this little boy is MAYBE 1yr.old) Their potty training practices are kinda crazy here! So, his nanny took him potty -which then set off another child and then another child - it was quite the chain reaction!! They settled down quickly though once they returned... They were then off to their first centers - they have really gotten the hang of the routine and are doing very well. About half of them really like the sensory table - today we had shaving cream in it - the nannies kinda got a kick out of it but as soon as a child got some on their clothes they instantly cleaned it off:) it was awesome playing with the kids that liked it - one little boy learned some english today he repeated after me when i said "uh oh" -it was too cute!

As soon as VBS was over - we emptied out the Inn hallway and set up seating for about 150 people. We treated the nannies (and children) to dinner. We had dinner brought in - thank goodness we didn't have to cook! They loved it - i wished that i had my camera with me at the bldg. where they dished up their food - it was great to see them all gathered together (Steve thanked them for all that they do and told them that we think they are wonderful). We made ourselves available to help them dish up bowls of food for them and the kids and then we had them all gathered at the Inn to eat. While they were eating we gave them a small gift bag of lotion, hair clips, a chinese note and i'm not sure what else... I think they were quite surprised but we just wanted to tell them thank you for taking such good care of the children and it gave us an opportunity to share G. love on them.

It took us some time to clean up but what happened during that time was great. Wendy is a girl who is much older than the other children - maybe about 15yrs.??? and is in a wheelchair - she is beautiful but very shy. PHF is trying to train her with a skill - that is their desire for all of their children that may "age out" of the system here - to train them with a vocational skill to be able to do something - For Wendy - she has a desire toplay the piano. so, they are hoping that she will one day be able to teach pianno lessons. She came to the dinner and stayed a little while after during our clean up time. Steve was really trying to get her to play but she is super shy after ALOT of prodding she finally began to play and it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. it was really cool too because the team all knows her story and as soon as we heard the music we stopped what we were doing and just listened - she didn't know that we had stopped - she was so into her music:) Then she noticed a camera flash and quickly glanced around and stopped:( She was embarrassed but we showed her our appreciation of her music and wanted her to do more but didn't:( We are hoping that she comes out to dinner with us tomorrow - she is such a beautiful girl.

Our day's work was over by 6:30 - so about half of us are relaxing and will go to bed early (like me) and the others are off to the university area - they took a taxi - i hope they make it back okay:)

Tomorrow we are doing more work around here - i am planning on ditching the work and am going to go play with the kids instead:) then we have our last day of VBS - we are then going out to dinner and massages. i'm not sure when we'll get back and may not be able to post for a few days. Sat & Sun we will be going back and forth to Beijing and it looks like they might be early mornings and late nights... i will do my best to post though:)

PS. please p__y for G. provision here with the $ that PHF needs to raise - There was a few people here today that we are hoping will find it in their heart to help.

Thanks so much for your p___yers - love and hugs to all!

Even More Pictures

2008-11-05T22:24:00.001-08:00

Judy telling the story

Carly - she is precious!!! If she wasnt already being adopted - i'd love to snatch her up and take her home! She is VERY attached to her nannies - it is precious:)

The children coming in to hear the story for VBS

Kids enjoying washing the babies in the water tub

The man at the fruit stand peeling the sugar cane that we bought -it was yummy!

The turtle at Walmart

Lots of Pictures

2008-11-05T22:19:00.001-08:00

Melonie giving Brooke a ride.

Our kitchen - the walls have writings from people all over the US that have been here - very fun:) The last group was a group from Calvary in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Our "family room" where we gather for relaxing and wor....

These are the BEAUTIFUL paintings that are all over the walls that are available for sale - very tempting to buy one - i am thinking about it!

This is our "hallway" of the Inn where we are staying and we were sorting out our suitcases with supplies.

Nov. 5

2008-11-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

Nov. 5
Okay - each day is becoming a blur - i have to check to see what day it is - it gets so confusing!!

What a day it was! For some crazy reason i woke up at 4:30 am!! CRAZY! the even crazier thing is that i am still up and it is 10pm here! But i really want to share what happened today:)

I was so thankful that the L. woke me up so early so that i could finish what i wanted to blog this morning. I was able to blog, get dressed and then go on a walk in the village! I was so excited! I took my camera too:) I am trying to get better about taking pics but i am having a hard time emailing them an uploading them because my laptop is super slow and it takes forever - when i get home i will have to upload all of them then:)

So, we ventured out of the PHF compound (i say this b/c it is 6 acres and totally fenced in) the first sight that we saw i actually couldn't believe my eyes - i just wanted to prayed for the man - he was actually fishing through the garbage and eating it - it was a sight that i will never forget. We continued on down the dirt village roads - we saw many homes drying out corn (i imagine that they are drying it out to use for fuel to burn) All of the homes have a courtyard with a gate entrance - many were cracked open and i was able to peek inside - a few had animals which surprised me and of course the corn to dry out. We made our way to the village bakery - which doesn't look like a "store" but just a room with a long table and a lady making a deep fried bread - we bought several and gobbled them up. We also bought some candied mini apple type thing - not sure exactly what it was but it was interesting - the man was riding his bike/cart with quite a display of these candied fruits on a stick - he was excited for us to buy:) We made our way back to pHF in time for our morning devo. and time of wor. - during this time we pra.... specifically for PHF and for a miracle to happen here in the next 10 days - they need to raise about 350,000 dollars to continue this minis... here. Teh gov't is requireing a down payment for the last phase of the development. They had the money this last summer but many kids that came here needed very serious surgeries and PHF had to use $ from this fund to pay for it - now they are needing that $ in a huge way - so Please!!! pray for a miracle to work here.

This morning we went to the clinic to play with the kids. They were so happy to see us:) We arrived at snack time but they soon finished and it was a wonderful time. It is so amazing to see their faces light up!! I played with a little boy named Kennedy - he is so precious he has hydocephalus (sp?) I just found out that his family took him to the orphanage this summer:( He is about 4 or 5 years old... I also enjoyed playing with another little boy (i'm not sure of his name) he has a cleft lip and palate and a malformed arm - he was delighted when i took him out of the bouncer chair and played ball and xylophone with him.

Then we were off to get ready for VBS - it went really well. The kids loved the gack (cornstarch and water) the nannies didn't though - they were VERY worried about them getting dirty - it was great! Because they got messy anyway!!! LOL! There was a few kids that we had to pry away! They had never seen that mixture before and was very curious about it...

Soon, after VBS was over we prepared our Inn for fellowship with the Baker family, the Moody famiy (the Dr.s at the clinic) and Dawn (the sped teacher). But before they came - we did a pra.... walk around the site of the area where the new building is supposed to be - we are really hoping for a miracle.

After everyone arrived, we ate and visited and soon began an wonderful night of wor.... We layed hands on each family and pra.... for them - it was a very moving experience and we are truly trusting that G. will do something mighty hear. They too shared at how much they appreciated us being here at this time. The Dr.s are VERY grateful for the supplies that we brought - they said that it brought tears to their eyes - they are very valuable things for them. Especially with the upcoming months which is usually full of sickness - they are happy to have the meds to treat the children! Thank you to those that helped with the supplies - it is awesome to see how meaningful it is to them here. Please lift these families that are working here up in pr.....r -it is hard for them to be here along with out family and friends to support them physically - they are doing an awesome work!

Well... i am now officially the first one up and the last one to bed - i am hoping to sleep in tomorrow but we'll see what the L. has for me:):):) I will probably be awakened by the construction workers setting off fireworks in order to scare off the evil spirits before they can work... that's China for you:)

Thank you to those that are pr...ing for us here - please pr.. for Harmony house too - we will see them on Monday:) And thank you for pr... ing for my family at home and helping them too!

Blessings,
Kirsten

Nov. 4 pics

2008-11-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

These are some boys -LOVING washing the babies - they undressed them, washed them and dressed them again - it was great!

They also loved the playdough ice cream maker!

Nov. 4 - cont.

2008-11-04T21:50:00.000-08:00

Last night we took off to the University district. The vans dropped us off in front of McD's but it was just being built so no Qtr. Pounder for me:( Instead, we (Steve, Damon, Brooke & Jan) ventured off to KFC. From past experience i knew that hte chicken sandwich is NOT like ours at home so i opted for some fried chicken, french fries and pepsi (with no ice:)). It was great fun trying to order!! At one point i was trying to ask the cashier "how many pieces?" so i asked Steve for some help - BIG MISTAKE!!! He told me to say something in Chinese (and i trusted hime and said it) only to find out quickly later that i had just said that "I am not cute"!!! it was hilarious!!!! We then went to the upstairs dining room and at with a mother and her 7yr. old son. We quickly started a conversation with her (the best that we could with our dictionaries). The converstation started with asking her about her family, if she was married, what was their job (she is a piano teacher and her husband a gov't guard). We explained about our families (steve and i showed pics of our kids and spouses) We told her that we are working with orphans and then the converstaion started about J. and we gave her a chinese/eng. b. - she was VERY excited and we told her to read John. She said that she promised she would - we told her that we would pr.. for her family and she was VERY HAPPY! We then left to the DVD store - we took a little "shuttle car thing" i didn't have my camera but we will probably go back there next week and i will take a picture. I got about 10 DVDs for 122 yuan! Great deals and i think my family will be happy:) We then walked trhough a little indoor mall area - didn't buy anything though - almost bought lance some tennis shoes but they didn't have any big enough!! :O LOL! Plus - after i looked at them more - they looked pretty cheap looking - they had a nike swoosh but it wasn't nike! Then we headed to the Chr.....tian book store - can you believe it!! it was cool! I bought a cr..s with chinese writing on it - it is similar to 2 that i have in my kitchen window so i am excited to add it to the collection to remember this trip:) i also bought a bracelet with some common symbols :) We then visited with some students hanging out - it was fun talking to them and theylike topractice their english:) I haven't heard of others stories yet on how their night went but i'm sure it was great!

Please pr.. for direction of helping the preschool here. When we arrived we were surprised to find that Carrie (the gal that called me and asked me to help with the preschool) was gone to Hawaii until the 16th... I am not sure if i am still going to be able to help them. I did visit the school yesterday to get supplies and was happy to see lots of toys and educational things - but i haven't visited it with kids yet to know how it is being used.

I spoke with John at Harmony yesterday and told him that about 7 of us will be available to help him - we plan on firming up those plans to work there next Mon. & Tues - probably organizing stuff and helping them move - not sure of the whole story here - will have to update it later:)

Since i am up early this morning (4:30am) i am going to try to upload some pics to my pic website - so stay tuned for more details!!

Thanks for the P.....s.!!!

Nov. 4

2008-11-04T11:34:00.001-08:00

Nov. 4 - This morning we painted the bike shed - although we used the wrong color of paint and may need to be repainted it soon:( Some of us went to play with the kids - it was great to see them again. I went to a different house and there were only about 2 boys available to play. We finally found some toys for them to play with. We are somewhat saddened by the lack of toys for the 1-2.5 year olds. I ventured to the preschool today to find some supplies (water table) and found the preschool packed with tons of fun things to do. When they took the boys away to go to therapy, we heard some other kids upstairs so we followed the noise and found them all sitting on the potty - it was quite a cute site. They sat there for quite some time before the nannies diapered them and put them down for a nap. So, we took that as our que to leave:) And we were off to get ready for VBS. VBS went great! Judy spoke in Chinese and told them the story. Andrew sang some fun songs. We then rotated throught the centers - it went great! The kids had a blast!! And so did we!!! We are now getting ready to go to the univeristy to shop and share;) Here are some China quirks: You have to drink bottled water & brush your teeth with bottled water. When you use the toilet, you cannot flush the TP. The bathroom always stinks. You can never figure which way the doors will open. And you always have to step over a raised threshold in the doors so you don't trip. They do this so the "evil spirits" don't enter the house. When driving they use their horn instead of braking! ...I'm sure I'll think of more later Gotto go!
PS - Thanks for the VBS pr...ers! IT was great!!

Nov. 3

2008-11-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

Nov. 3

Today we all woke up with lots of anticipated excitement to actually see our surroundings! We arrived here last night at about 9pm... Some people went out for a walk in the nearby village and really enjoyed that - i stayed back to try to figure out how to email and get my darn computer runnin! Anyway, we started our morning with wor....p and p....yer. It was a good time to refocus on what our work is here. I learned that since Steve's plane had arrived early in Seattle he was able to share with a lady - who happened to be the ONLY one waiting for hte same flight that we were - when Judy (Chinese) on our team arrived she finished talking with her and by the time our flight was ready to leave she had accepted L... ! Very cool:)

After our morning time (which is every morning at 8am) we toured the grounds - i hope to send pics soon.. Leah explained alot of how PHF got started and where they are going - the grounds are beautiful and ALL donated - very cool to see what the L has done. Although they are needing Him to do great things these next 2 weeks as they need alot of $ for their next phase and requirement of the gov't. All 15 of us visited a few of the houses where the children live and got to play with a few little ones - the kids 2 1/2 and older were in school (we will see them today at VBS) Some kids were overwhelmed but a few were very excited and wanted up and hugs and climed all over us. It was precious:)

We then had lunch which the nannies prepared for us - shredded potatoes, rice and chicken. I had the rice and a little potatoes:) Soon after that we were put to work- we emptied out some attic rooms in the building we are staying in. They were extremely hard to manuever around in and many hit thier heads:( Around 2pm a few of us journied to Walmart - i needed to get some last minute supplies for VBS. It is always so interesting going there! While i was able to recognize some brand names there was ALOT that was definitely native to China. i was very thankful having Judy with us she was able to ask questions on where things were located. We mostly got snacks. They had their live fish section - i was able to take 1 picture of the live turtles to eat before that lady said no pictures. We are definitely foreigners here - i haven't seen any other americans inthis area - i'm sure in Beijing we will. On the way back to PHF we stopped at a local fruit stand and got some fruit for our team.

When we returned to PHF, our team was gone taking a walk in the village (darn i missed it again!!) so, i went to the House of Love and played with the kids. It was wonderful! about 5 kids RAN to me and basically tackled me! There are twin boys that especially wanted up in my lap -as soon as i sat down i seriously had about 4 kids in mylap (the twin boys and 2 other very cute girsl) - it was hard to play with them but after a while i was able to move a few off. It was hard tofind toys for them to play with -which i found suprising - next time i amd going to snoop around some more for toys. SO i did patty cakes with them and "Riding on a Pony" bounsing on my knees game - soon DAmon came and got me to go to dinner - he too was tackled with kiddos;) We finally said our goodbyes and off to dinner.

For dinner we met with the Bakers (very cool to meet them and hear their stories) for Hot Pot! Yes! I ate it! So, far i am doing good andnot sick:) I will try to send pics of it. basically we all sat at a very big round table and each had our own little hot pot (fondue pot) and in the center of the table was a big "lazy susan" that they put the food on and we could spin it around to get the food to put in our pot. And we had to use chopsticks -i am having a hard time with this but i'm sure i will be a pro soon!

After dinner - i was extremely tired and so i was off to bed!

Today - we plan on doing more work here and then to do VBS...

Fun with Skype

2008-11-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

The kids and I talked to Kirsten yesterday using Skype. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the video to work -- only the audio. Maybe we'll have better luck next time. And Kirsten has an old laptop she is using -- which is very slow. But at least we all got to hear her voice. She was getting ready to go to Wal Mart after our call.

After Some Turbulence, We Are in Beijing!

2008-11-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

Wow! what a great sendoff that we had at the airport! Come to find out my hubby was the reason behind this! it really was overwhelming to have such good friends and family to pray with us and send us onour way! Thank you!

We had a good flight here - there was alot of turbulance and about 5 people inour group got sick:( I did not!:) Thank goodness! We made it through customs very quickly and no problems! We drove here for about 1 hr and then went strait to bed! All 8 "single" girls are in 1 bunk bed room - i will try to send a pic later.

I've go to go - i will email more later to post!!!

love you guys!

More preparations...

2008-10-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it's getting closer - i can't believe it! and wouldn't you know it - i haven't been sick in a LONG time and i have just come down with a cold or something:( I am praying very hard that i start to feel better - i have alot to do this week so i am hoping that i am able to get good rest when i can...

When we were in China to adopt Hayleigh, i never was too crazy about the inland China flights on the China airlines. Well, i was a bit uneasy learning that we were flying on a China airline from Seattle to Beijing - i am really praying that it is an enjoyable trip and that i will be able to relax:) It is an airline that has just started service from Seattle to Beijing in June 2008 - here is the plane that i will be going on: http://global.hnair.com/Content.php?page=about_Airbus_en.html
it looks really nice:):) And with no kids to worry about this time - it may be enjoyable -but then again how enjoyable is a 12 hr.+ flight??? I guess i will soon find out:):)

Here is an encouraging word from Steve (our fearless leader!) that i wanted to share - it really hit home to me:) I have been so busy with preparing, packing and organizing stuff at home that i had (momentarily) lost sight of the purpose of this trip - to serve!

His questions reminded me that and YES - i am READY to RUN the RACE!

"As we head into China, this is also time to check your servant's heart:
A. Are you willing to do anything, at anytime?
B. Are you willing to be completely flexible?
C. Are you willing to wait for someone who has "Just one more thing to get...again"?
D. Are you willing to clean up after others on our team?
E. Are you willing to give up your bus seat because someone is not feeling well?
F. Are you willing to get dirty and have no one notice the hard work you've put in?
G. Are you willing to not receive a thank you for something you've done?
H. Are you willing to be pushed aside by someone trying to get your place in line?
I. Are you willing to become uncomfortable for the sake of the Gospel?
J. Are you willing to live Luke 5:5 and say "Because you said so..." and do any of those things that Christ is asking you to do?

If so, then you are ready. Go run your race.
Steve"

Yikes! What to do with 3 kids for 2 weeks!!!

2008-10-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

It takes great organization to figure out what to do with your kids for 2 weeks! Ever since I decided to go on this trip - i never worried about my kiddos - i knew that God would work out all of the details - and He did! This is what He did:

Check out the awesome schedule my hubby put together...
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p_YCHYn-6gAUWe8NlRS2-Fg

Thanks to everyone's help - i couldn't do it without you!!!

Preparing to leave...

2008-10-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some things that we are busy doing trying to get ready:

Steve is awesome at emailing us with some great reminders:

11 Days before

Register at the US Embassy
Find two large suitcases
Double check the packing list
Tell your credit card company you are leaving for China
PRAY PRAY PRAY

I've pretty much done everything on Day 11... Whew!

10 Days before

10 days before you go to China, you call your people in China to confirm details. I called Leah at PHF and got some details. Here's what she knows and what she suggests:

1. she is expecting us on that date. She said no other teams will be there but there is one adoptive parent scheduled to be there. (Don't know if she is picking up or just visiting)
2. she recommended staying in Beijing for those couple of night with E. and K. rather than commuting as the fog has been very bad lately which makes travel slow. I'll let you know the cost of this.
3. It is fine to work with Harmony House. She asked that Kirsten set this up with John.
4. she said doing something for the nannies would be great. A massage would be $8 each and feeding them would be $5-6 each. She said a few had a massage recently and loved it. We can decide when we get there.
5. she is anticipating that we will be moving stuff from the Inn building to the kids building when we get there. It will require a lot of sorting, some cleaning, and a lot of carrying.
6. AND she said that the heat this year is not coming on until Nov. 15th. Please dress warm. Layers are good. I would bring some thin gloves and work gloves in case it gets really cold. The airport will at least be warm when we return!!! YIKES!! It's gonna be cold - i really don't like being cold - i'm trusting that the Lord will get me through this minor "challenge" for me:)

She wanted me to tell you that she is really excited to see you all and they are looking forward to getting to know each of you.

Please pray for the last monies to come in. We still have a few that need some help.
Steve

VBS Plans

2008-10-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

I've attached the plans that we are using for our VBS - if you are interested~click on this link: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p_YCHYn-6gAVIMPzwhz2vYQ

It doesn't have details but has the overall concepts...

PHF Video

2008-10-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

Okay - i've been busy online today getting travel insurance and registering my trip with the US Embassy (so i did accomplish something!) but then i got a little side tracked...

Check out this video of the children and facilities at Philip Hayden Foundation. I am just getting so excited! I can't beleive that i've been praying about this trip for 3 years and it's finally happening. I have a feeling that i'm going to want to take all of those precious kids home with me! This video was made 6 months ago so, i am thinking that most of the children in the video are still there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q27teR2hsA

and this one too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=250HavnJM2Q

October 19th - Last Team meeting

2008-10-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

WOW! what a night! We all gathered at Bonnie and Jeff's house tonight for dinner and packing. It worked out great - everyone brought food over and while it was cooking - the rest of packed suitcases. Their living room was full of supplies and i am amazed at what we packed. Each person can bring 2 suitcases at 50# each (in addition to a personal item & carry on) - so, everyone's 2nd suitcase is full of supplies. Each suitcase was packed, weighed and inventoried. We inventoried them so we knew if we had the correct supplies needed from the list and if a suitcase got lost - then we can report what is in it with a value. Brooke and I quickly checked over the list that CCTC was trying to gather and it looks like we got pretty much all the necessities and all that will fit! See - why worry!!! God will take care of everything - He does provide!!!

Our families were all invited to the dinner tonight, which was nice for them to be able to meet the rest of the team from Spokane. Since, my VBS planning is pretty much done - i'm sure my emotions will start getting the best of me as i now start to pack my own personal suitcase and realize that i will be leaving my precious family for 2 weeks. Please pray for them (and me) while i am gone - i am so thankful that i am married to my bestfriend who is willing to allow me to go on this trip. We pretty much have a schedule figured out for help - and i am so thankful for that.

During the rest of the meeting, we double checked our passports, visas and airline tickets. I was thrilled to learn that i was issued a "multiple" entry visa - which means when I return in the next 6 months for our daughter, that i won't have to pay for another visa!

Our Airline flights are:
Leave PSC at 9:30am on Nov.1 to Seattle - where we meet up with the rest of the team.
Leave Seattle at 2:00pm to Beijing (nonstop)- arrive in Beijing at 4:35pm on Nov.2

Return at 4:50pm on Nov.15 to Seattle (nonstop)at 11:20am on Nov. 15
Return to PSC at 7:25pm

We also went over all of the plans for VBS - i will post those in the next few days...

Preschool Help

2008-10-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

I am really excited! PHF called me last night (after exchanging a few emails...) to talk about how i could possibly help them with training their preschool teachers while i am there!! I just am really excited to be able to help. They said that last summer a special ed teacher came to help train the teachers there on behavior management, assessment, lesson plans, curriculum, sensory learning and center time. So, i guess that they have tons of stuff but they are having a hard time implementing it. I am hoping that in the short time that i am there that i will be able to show them what "circle time" should look like with songs, music, stories etc... Right now they have circle time for 1 hr.!! Can you even imagine 2 1/2 - 4yr. olds sitting for that long doing teacher directed learning (such as: holding a picture or letter and having them repeat after you.) I can't wait to get there and have some fun!! I guess they do "the calendar" but all teacher directed - and not child interactive at all. Playtime for the last hr. sounds like it might be interesting - the teachers do not know how to play or facilitate learning play with the kids so from what i understand - not too much productive learning through play is taking place.

I can't wait to go and try to help - please pray for clear direction on specifically what i should focus on in the short amount of time that i will have there.

CAR WASH!!

2008-10-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

Update: Well... i'm thinking that it wasn't totally God's will for us to have a car wash yesterday but we were still blessed!!! It started out that Albertson's had mistakenly double booked us with another fundraiser but theirs was a little different than ours... So, we decided to stay because we had told so many people that we'd be there and if anyone came to help we wanted to be there like we said that we would:) But, no one really showed up to help - but, if anyone that we knew stopped by they ended up being roped in to help us -hehehe:) (Thanks to the Damrell's and Lance's parents whom we roped in - they were great sports!:)) So, after 3 hrs. of Taylor and myself washing cars (Lance was on the street holding signs with Hayleigh)- my back just couldn't do it anymore - i must be getting old and out of shape! But we did raise $$ for VBS supplies, which was an awesome blessing! Thank you to all that stopped by for a car washing!!! Just know that your $ will be blessing a child in China with VBS supplies.

We are having a Car Wash on Saturday, October 18th from 10-3:00 at the Albertson’s Express on Clearwater by donations. All proceeds will benefit the China Mission Trip team.

If you’d like to help – come on over!
If you’d like your car washed – stop on by!

Or spread the word and let others know:)

Humbled...

2008-10-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

WOW! I am truly humbled and amazed at the wonderful serving hearts of the people at our church. They are awesome!

Last night was the "opening night" of the Uncle Phil's Diner dinner theatre and it was fantastic! The amount of people involved for this production is amazing! They have rehearsed and planned sooo much this past 6 weeks that it just fills my heart up to think of what they are doing for our team. The cast and kitchen crew are just wonderful giving and hard working people it is sooo awesome! We served at least 140 people last night and are planning on more for tonight! I am hoping to take some pictures tonight to post - so check back for an update:)

The Cast...

Brooke (she's going to China with me)...

Bonnie (is going to China with me:))...

Damon (is going to China too!)

We also have a China Mission Trip information table there with "wishing stars" for items that are on our supply list - i noticed that a few of them are gone:) we will have it out tonight and at church on Sunday too. We are hoping to get all of our supplies by next Sunday as we will be meeting to pack next weekend - YIKES - we are getting closer!!! I can't believe it!

ps. We all have our Visa's now and should be set to go!

Questions & Answers...

2008-10-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

I really got a "kick" out of this email from Steve yesterday - i thought that i'd share it ...

OK--really this is just answers to most of the questions that I have heard from our team and previous teams--
1. You get two suitcases, 1 carry on, and a personal item.
2. The max weight of a suitcase is 50 pounds
3. yes it's a long flight
4. yes you should exchange your money at the Beijing airport for a better rate.
5. it's up to you but I would bring a minimum of $250 for personal spending
6. The $2174 does cover all costs except souvenirs
7. I haven't heard from Leah about commuting or Kaifeng
8. Try to get supplies donated and not spend your own money.
9. the flight is nonstop from Seattle to Beijing
10. It's an airbus 330 so it has tvs in the facing seat
11. get to the airport 2 1/2 hours early since it's an international flight
12. yes you will get your tickets and passports when the PPs are sent back to me
13. I still have no news about mine and Judy's
14. yes we will all ride the same bus from Beijing airport to Phf
15. it's about 1 hour to PHF
16. yes you will be tired
17. yes the rooms are clean and nice
18. yes they have western toilets at PHF
19. No, you can't flush your toilet paper
20. yes it's awkward for all of us
21. no, I don't know the best technique for disposal, but you'll figure it out
22. yes you get water bottles each day
23. no, you can't drink from the tap or the sewage canal. You can but shouldn't
24. yes your heart will be changed
25. yes, I get scared too meeting people that I don't speak their language
26. yes, there will be food you like
27. no you won't go hungry
28. no I don't know what projects we will be assinged to do yet
29. no, KFC is not just like ours in the states
30. yes Andrew is leading music
31. No I haven't heard him sing
32. I don't know, his wife says he's good.
33. It's up to you what time you get up in the morning.
34. yes, we start morning devotion at 8:00 AM
35. no, lunch is not always good.
36. yes, dinner is always good.
37. I don't know. Last time they had chocolate and strawberry pop tarts.
38. yes, they have a phone and calling cards there.
39. yes they have internet and wi-fi
40. yes, you have to be careful about what you write.
41. no, I don't know any swear words in Chinese but I do know that "missionary" is one for our team
42. yes, I really do think it will be one of the greatest things you will ever do in your lifetime!

FAITH...

2008-10-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

I just love how the Lord speaks. I have been praying about how I am going to finish paying for my trip. I still have a good amount to raise and have been wondering how i should do it. It seems that we haven't had too many tickets sales for our big fundraiser of the Dinner Theatre and that started to but some "thoughts" into my head - like "i hope we are able to raise enough to help cover costs of travel" and then to finish buying supplies. Lance and i did reserve the Albertson's Express on Clearwater to do a car wash on Oct. 18th if we feel that we need it. But, i'd like not to have to do that b/c across the street Taylor's hockeyteam will be selling popcorn stuff and i'd like to help with that too:) So, i have been praying and praying about $ and what verses did i wake up to this morning!! :)

In my devotion this is what I read:

"Cause by faith to continue to grow, O Lord" 2 Cor. 10:15

"Lord, please help me to be like Abraham who, by faith, when called to got o a place he would later recieve as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going" Heb. 11:8

In my Bible i happened to be at 2 Timothy 1:1 - the whole chapter is an encouragement to be faithful!!!

So, i am yet again reminded about having faith! I just love that!!!

September 29th Mission Trip Meeting

2008-10-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well... there was a meeting last Sunday but i didn't go - i was kind of amazed that i didn't go. Usually when i make a committment to do something, i make sure that i do everything that is asked of me and juggle everything else around to see to it that i do it (does that make sense?) Anyway, i had planned on going right up until 5 minutes before it was time to leave but things were just happening to where i felt that God was telling me to slllloooowwww down and stay home with your family. SO I DID!! And i was so glad that i did:) when i called to tell Steve that i wasn't going to make it, Taylor was in the car with me and after i hung up, he turned to me and said "so mom, does that mean that your not going to miss my hockey game? - oh -good" right then, i knew that i had made the right decision! it was worth it!!

It doesn't sound like i missed too much. Several others weren't able to make either... There are several people that are feeling a spiritual attack - i've been aware of this possibility, so i've been praying for that. Usually when Satan knows that you are doing something awesome for the Kindgom of God that he will try to bring you down! so please pray for the team against that. They talked about the dinner theatre fundraiser - it is going to be our main fundraiser and right now ticket sales are down so we are hoping that many are just waiting until the last miniute to get their tickets:) And, the price of our trip has gone up a bit - it was supposed to be $1900 and since we only have 15 people (not enough for the group airplane rate) it has gone up to $2174. So, it looks like we'll be needing to raise more money than expected... We are still unsure about going to Keifang orphanage - we need at least 5 people to go and it will cost an additional $250 per person. We are trying to get some specifics on the trip or to figure out where and what else we can do - i really want to work more at an orphanage while we are there - possibly we can help John at Harmony Outreach.

I am busy finalizing VBS plans. I purchased a great curriculum from CEF and it has some great ideas that we will be using. I will have to post more about that later...

But i also wanted to share some more praises:
1. Vista Family Health gave me more meds - penicillin!!!! and more albuterol (which will be great! the air quality is aweful over there - we may need it too!!)
2. I called Carol Bush at CEF and she has some extra curriculum that i can take with me to give to John at Hamony (he had asked if we could bring some over for him to use)
3. I emailed PHF yesterday to find out what kind of supplies they have there to use for my VBS - like a sensory table and butcher paper etc..and told her that i taught preschool here and that i am trying to do some of those types of things as activities for our VBS. She was really excited and said that sensory activities is what their kids are lacking the most -which must be why i have had that sooo much on my mind from the beginning! And she asked if i could help train their preschool teachers while i am there! I am thrilled that i will be able to help!!! so stay tuned for details:):) that's all that i know so far!

Updated Supply List

2008-09-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

Since we've had some wonderful and generous donations - i decided to update the supply list. And i finally heard back from John and Lily at Harmony Outreach - so, be sure to scan the whole list:)

Philip Hayden Foundation Supplies:

4 boxes Enfamil cleft lip/palate nurser bottles
12 medical tape
24 small stretch conforming gauze
24 packs 4” x 4” gauze sponges
Oral antibiotics (eye and ear)
Chewable vitamins-20
Albuterol unit doses nebulizer
Coticosteroid inhalers
Xopenex unit doses
Chewable Sudafed
Nature’s bounty diabetic vitamins (Costco) 1-2 boxes (***please note that this one is a HUGE blessing to Pam Baker)
4 bottles mens suave shampoo
4 XL boys Good Nights pull ups
Vogue Magazine (nov. and dec)
Women’s World magazine
1-2 Burts Bees chap stick
Sunshine Cheese-its crackers
10 packets enchilada and chili sauce mix
2 wheat free pasta
big colorful calendar with pockets (Hallmark?)
2 CDs Kids Bible Songs
4 bags chocolate Christmas candy
Christmas cookies
8 boxes cocoa
10 bags chocolate candy
Christmas CDs
2008 worship cds

Coats:
Girls Size 3 and 4 (10 of each)
Boys Size 3 and 4 (10 of each)
Boys Size 6 (4)
Girls Size 18 (1)
Girls Size 16 (1)

Blocks of Cheddar Cheese

Harmony Outreach supply list:

Thin NIV travel bible in genuine leather – any color but black
Diapers and wipes
Hydrocortisone crème
Tylenol cold, pepto bismo and laxative, Theraflu, Nyquil caplets, contact, allergy medication (all these are in adult strength)
Shelled walnuts
Light spam
Pace picante HOT
Big boxes breakfast cereal (corn bran and grape nuts)
Couple big bottles of windex
Rubber gloves, large size
Hot sauce, couple varieties but not Tabasco brand
Tide pens (those portable things that get stains out of shirt if you are traveling)
Running shoes, size 10 (walmart or target brand are ok – just for the treadmill) If you do get Nike (don’t, too expensive – need size 10 1/2)
Mach III blades for razor – the kind for the vibrating razor
Chicken bullion cubes

Big bibs
Diapers
Underwear
Winter clothes and pants, coat
Winter shoes and socks
Baby wash (head to toe)
Wipes
Formula milk
Sweater
Satchel, pencils etc. for one boy

Thanks so much - God Bless

Thank you Anji and Vista Family Health!

2008-09-23T18:12:00.001-07:00

All that i can say is WOW!!! What a day!!! At about 2:30 i spoke with Michelle who told me that she'd be by later with a box full of stuff from Lourdes and then at 3:00 Anji appeared in the parking lot at school with bags full of stuff! I hadn't met Anji before this encounter but she had read my blog through a friends blog and anyway... there's a long story there that i am just loving:)

So, Brayden and i just sorted medications out and would you believe it - there are NO Duplicates - amazing!!! Both ladies provided perfectly what we needed and did not overlap - i just love it!!!

We still need a few more things - i hope to post an updated list either tonight or tomorrow - and if we do get duplicates, we will be giving them to Harmony Outreach...

Thank you Lourdes Medical Center

2008-09-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE watching how God works in marvelous ways!!! I have been praying REALLY hard about the supply list - wondering how we are going to get all this stuff etc... Should we have a "giving tree" at church or whatever??? I never got clear direction that was what He wanted us to do - I felt that He wanted me to send an email and post the list to my website/yahoo group etc... So, i did that last week. I posted it to my yahoo group site of local families that have adopted from Asia (China & Taiwan, so far...) and a friend really felt called to help. She works at Lourdes Medical Center and asked if the pharmacy could help her get some good prices on the Medical Needs list.

She just phoned and said that they are planning on donating ALL of the Medical List Needs! (Expect for the antibiotics for "legal reasons - i'm sure:)) Isn't that just wonderful news!!! God is so good! I just wanted to share this praise - i'm in tears...

Private Blog

2008-09-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

I am praying about whether or not i should have this blog set up for friends and family by permission only.

If you would like to follow along - please comment and i will send you a permission email.

I'm not sure yet if i will do this, but i am thinking about it:)

Fundraiser!!!

2008-09-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

We are having a Dinner Theater Fundraiser at our church at our new property off of Clearwater. It is an interactive Dinner theater called "Uncle Phil's Diner" - it should be a fun night out and help a great cause - all proceeds will go to the China Mission Trip. Unfortunately, there is no childcare and the play is suitable for probably 10yrs and older... If you'd like tickets, they are $15.00 per person and they are sold at our church (736-2086) or you can make arrangements with me to get them for you. The dates are either Friday, October 10th or Saturday, October 11th at 6:30.

September 7th Mission Trip Meeting

2008-09-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

Yeah! We had a meeting in Kennewick!!! It was great to be able to host a meeting for our group. I always love getting together to meet - it really gives me a boost and i get more and more excited about the trip!

Our group is pretty much settled. We started out with several people that thought they might come and decide not to and others just joined us a few weeks ago. But, i think we have our team! There are about 8 of us from Calvary Chapel (or this area), about 5 from Spokane, 1 from Portland and 1 from Idaho. I think it is going to be wonderful group to experience this awesome opportunity that God has laid on our hearts. I can't wait to get to know them even more than I do now:) They all really have a wonderful heart full of Jesus' love.

At this meeting we mostly asked questions about the housing facility. The couples will each get their own room and all of the women will bunk up together in a room and then all of the men (2) will get their own room. I was very pleased to hear that there is an "american" toilet! YIPPEE:) There are also showers and an exercise room - wow! We were reminded of the electricity to bring converters etc. and that they are 16 hours ahead in time. I also should probably get a pocket chinese/american dictionary - when we adopted Hayleigh (3yrs ago) we didn't talk too much to the "locals" but that will be a different story this time... I also need to get a B. that i can give away while i am there.

We talked about our daily schedule on Mon - Thurs.:
8-9 = Devotion time
9-12 = Projects at PHF
12 = lunch
1-2:30 = prep for VBS
2:30-4:30 = VBS
5:30 = dinner

Sat & Sunday we will be touring: Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tianenenm (sp?-i can never get it right!) Square, Hutong Tour, Drum Tower, Acrobat Show, LaoShe Tea house, and the Temple of Heaven. I saw all of this stuff when we were there 3 years ago except for the Tea house. While we are attending these places we won't just be sight seeing we hope to also share with others...

If we get permission to go to Keifeng, Hunan. We will travel on Monday, Nov. 10 - work with the children on Tues & Wed. and then travel back on Thursday. Friday will be another tour day.

We are also hoping to visit Harmony Outreach while we are there. They are about 1 mile from each other and very closely related to each other:) Many of our group from Calvary Chapel sponsor children at H.O. http://www.harmonyoutreach.org/ The girl that we sponsor and had hoped to adopt will probably still be there when we are there - i can't wait to kiss those cheeks that i look at everyday! :)

At this meeting we also finished up or Visa paperwork and that should be on it's way to be processed.

We also divided up a supply list - These are things that we are hoping to bring to PHF. I have also requested a list for Harmony Outreach and will post that as soon as i get it. If you would like to support our trip with supplies, here they are:

Medical Needs List
Robitussin DM – (3-4 bottles)
Triaminic Day cold & cough (3-4 bottles)
Triaminic Night cold & cough(3-4 bottles)
Dimetapp cold & cough –(3-4 bottles)
Tylenol suspension 160mg/5ml (5-6 bottles)
Advil/Motrin 100mg/5ml – (5-6 bottles)
Desitin (zinc oxide diaper rash ointment) – 10 large tubes
Hydrocortisone Cream 1% - 10 large or small tubes
Topical antibiotic ointment like Neosporin, etc. – 10 tubes
Antifungal cream like clotrimazole – 10 tubes
Maalox/Mylanta or similar brand – 2-3 large bottles
Peptobismol liquid or tablets – 2-3 large bottles or boxes

Other supplies/equipment:
Enfamil cleft lip/palate nurser – box of 6-6oz bottles – 4 boxes
Medical tape – plastic, paper, etc. – dozen
Stretch conforming gauze – bring 2 dozen small size
4”X4” gauze sponges – single sterile packs or in pkg of 10 – 2 dozen each

Oral antibiotics/ eye & ear antibiotics
Asthma medications like albuterol inhalers, albuterol unit doses for nebulizer machines, corticosteroid inhalers, Xopenex unit doses, etc.
Allergy medication, etc.

Philip Hayden foundation family list
diabetic vitamins--natures bounty--found at costco-1-2 packs--.
mens sauve shampoo--4 bottles
pull ups--GOOD NIGHTS--boys--size XL--4
vogue magazine--november and dec. issue-2008
candy canes--regular red and white--2 boxes
burts bees chap stick--1
cheese its crackers--big family box-sun shine brand
enchilada and chili sauce mix --packets--10 of each
pasta-WHEAT FREE---2 boxes--or bags
calendar--for school--big colorful with pockets--i found one for her last year at hallmark cards
candy canes
bag of christmas candys--4 bgs of variety--chocolate
cheeses--2--2lb.--blocks cheddar cheese
christmas cookies
hot coco--8 boxes--
chocolate candys--in bags--variety--10 bags
christmas--cd's and 2008 worship cd.s--for the whole team

July Mission Trip meeting

2008-07-29T18:43:00.001-07:00

July 13th we had our 2nd meeting in Spokane. It was a nice trip - we had Bonnie's husband Jeff with us and Melody too - so we had great conversations the 2hrs there and back:)

At this meeting, there was a few new people and few people missing. So, we all shared and introduced each other again:) Steve just returned from the June mission trip and it was wonderful to watch a video of his trip and to hear about his experiences. He related that each trip to China is like peeling another layer off of an onion - i can't wait to see what the next layer reveals!

Steve shared with everyone about what we'd be doing while we were there. We will be staying at the Philip Hayden Foundation - they have a wonderful facility and the ability to house groups. We will even have an "american" toilet! yippee! I volunteered to coordinated the VBS with the children for 2hrs a day. From what i understand there are about 20 kids ages 2-5 and then a handful that are around 10yrs. So, we will be not only sharing the gospel with the children but also the nannies that care for them -sounds exciting! So, i've got to come up with some stuff to do! I'm excited though - Lance and i brainstormed some ideas about the life of Jesus - i'll share more about that in a later post... We will also be going to a university and doing what is called "English Corners" from what i understand Americans go there and just talk "american english" to the chinese. It sounds exciting! We will also be doing some maintenance projects at PHF. A few us might be able to take a 10 hr train ride to Keifeng - this is an area that doesn't get too many people to visit and help out! We are really looking forward to this - it sounds like it will be quite an adventure!!!

We talked about fundraisers - Steve suggested that we send out letters to our close family and friends. Even though it can be an awkward situation with asking people for money, he assured us that many people are delighted to be able to support you in a monetary fashion. So, after praying about it for quite some time - i did send out a few letters and have been very blessed! Thank you friends and family! We also discussed about doing other types of fundraisers - we will be needing to raise $ not only for our individual expenses but for supplies to take as well. The tri-cities group is praying about doing a dinner theatre - so watch for more details!

We also began to learn some Chinese - Steve gave us several word lists and a CD - i have to admit, i need to get a little bit better about studying this!

We also talked about fasting the 1st of each month. I really never fasted - i have "cleansed" with isagenix but not technically fasted for the Lord's will. So, i can use lots of prayers for my first fast on Aug. 1st - if there is anyone else that would like to join me, Bonnie and Melody - just let me know:) I am excited to do this and to "choose to do God's Will" :)....

First mission trip meeting

2008-07-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

Every month - from June to Nov - we will be meeting as a team to prepare for our trip. Most of the meetings are in Spokane...

Our first meeting in June had about 15 people there. Many were not sure if they were supposed to go on the trip but was there with open hearts and minds. As soon as i sat with the group - it really sunk in! I was beginning preparations for my mission trip to China! I couldn't believe it! Never would i have thought just 5 years ago that i would be preparing for this! God is so good! I also had a longing for Lance, i really wished that he was there with me - we have done everything together and i wished that we were doing this together too! I guess i just needed to pray about that. It was great to hear everyone's story on how they were led to the meeting and where their heart was. We chatted about what we'd be doing in the upcoming months...

My first post

2008-07-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

I just decided to start another blog to journal the events of my first mission trip. I feel that it is "God's will" and am excited to share about my experiences...

When i first came home from China after adopting our daughter almost 3.5 years ago, i just felt that i would be called back there to do God's will with working with orphans and the people of China.

I was amazed at the country - it would go from extreme poverty to great wealth: how can a country be so extreme. It boggles my mind that this country makes and produces such things as toys and electronics yet doesn't have clean water to drink and cook with - Amazing. The values (or better yet the lack of values) and regard to human life is just unfathomable to me. I guess it is because i am a Christian and thank my Heavenly Father for the life he has given me and strive to live it for Him. It is hard for me to understand how a country that values life because of their "social security" system of the elderly relies on males taking care of them - so they abandon the precious little girls or the children that need special surgeries.

I think that they just don't know how good life can be if they just believed in theri creator. So, i am thrilled to be able to have the opportunity to share that with the people of China. So, my upcoming trip (Nov. 1-15) isn't just about sharing God's love to the precious orphans - it is about sharing it with the people of China too. I feel that this will be somewhat of a challenge for me as i don't always feel confident in reciting scripture but i am sure of the gospel and what Jesus has done for us and i look forward to sharing that with them and just loving on them too.

So - what happened from 3.5 years ago until now... Well, in January 2008 i heard about Tim Baker from Philip Hayden Foundation coming to Spokane. I mentioned to Lance that i would like to hear what he has to say but that i'd also like to take a mission trip to China this summer. He said "Well, then you should go!" After not being able to sleep that whole night - wondering if my friend Steve had a group going and if there was room for me, morning finally came! I called Steve and sure enough he was going this summer but his group was full - bummer! But that was okay - i told him that i wanted to go next summer and that maybe Taylor could go with me. I told him that once he's 13 he could go on a mission trip with me to China. so, that was the plan... Although, in March or April, Steve called me to say that he was putting a group together for a trip in November. But this group was going to be mostly people/leaders that might get a vision for organizing additional trips for their home churches! That was perfect!!! Because since my conversation with Steve that day in Jan., i had come in contact with someone else with a heart for ophans and we had been praying about starting an orphan ministry at our church - and i am excited to say that she is coming with me and we have started a ministry too:) And part of our ministry is to organize mission trips to orphanages - GOD is SO GOOD!!

So - that is how it all got started...