Man of Science, Man of Faith

Yes we know it's been a month since our last post, and for that we are sorry. We are going to try and update this thing a little more frequently going forward. A lot has taken place since our last post, and we are not sure we can remember it all if we tried, so we'll just hit the high points.

November 4th began as any other day, but turned into a day that we had hoped wouldn't come for many years. Thomas' father passed away, and the 2-3 days that followed were a blur. Thankfully arrangements were made very quickly, and we were able to be back in the states within 36 hours. Reverse culture shock compounded with fatigue and the numerous emotions made coming home very difficult. Once we were able to get some rest, and finish up all of the funeral stuff, we were able to see some friends and spend some good quality time with our family, and of course partake in all of the foods that we had missed the past 3 months. November 18th we began our trip back to China. Two weeks was the perfect amount of time to get things together and regain the weight that we had lost during the first 3 months. While sad, we understand that our work in China is only beginning, and there is work yet to be done. Many thanks for the prayers and words of encouragement for our family during this difficult stretch.

It didn't take long for us to remember why we fell in love with China so quickly. The students and school administration welcomed us back, and made us feel right at home very quickly. With being gone for 2 weeks, there is a lot of catching up to do. Callie is in the process of making up classes and rescheduling various classroom activities. Thomas is spending the majority of the time reconnecting with students and other contacts that we had established.

A few short stories that we think you will enjoy from the past 2 weeks...

We get back into town on Thursday night or Friday morning, and not wanting to have to make up another class, Callie goes and has the students make me a sympathy card, then explains to them why we send these type of cards and so on. Well when the cards were presented to me, I laughed and cried at what the students had written. I loved them, and is something I will keep with me forever. A few lines from the cards...
* Your PaPa must be a Christian man. The Lord just summon him back to give him more love
* Come on Thomas - There is always a light at the bottom of the tunnel
* Keep Happy Everyday
* Your father will be happier in the heaven
* That's not bad news...God will give him new life.

Ok so you remember elementary school right...When at Thanksgiving, the teachers would have you draw a turkey using your hand, and then spend time coloring it and writing on it what you are thankful for!! Well Turkey Hands say hello to Hangzhou Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. That's right, this past week I had the students draw a turkey hand and write what they were thankful for while we discussed what Thanksgiving is and how Thomas & I celebrate it. I must say that they had no idea that this was something they should have done in 3rd grade, but had a blast doing it, and being very creative.

I know its a crazy request, but can you slow down time?? I mean its already December. Please keep us in your thoughts as we wrap up this first semester in China. More to come very soon.