I am a Monkey and a Killer

Hello friends and family. I have a few tidbits, a few morsals to chew on as you belly up to the dinner table for the Feast or lounge in the chair to catch the games. This week has been full of surprises from my first grade students. On Monday, they huddled around me after class, pointing, laughing, and saying the few words I can understand and a lot of words that I don't understand. The conversation turned to point out the amount of hair on my face (No shave November). What has a lot of hair and moves around like a human? It's a monkey of course. Laughing at the foreign teacher, now dubbed the monkey, I quickly exited the classroom. I wasn't gonna take any more insults from 6 year-olds.

Yesterday I walked back toward the offfices after class, but not before playing with the boys a bit. We exchanged rounds from our fake guns a few times after class. Today, one of the boys comes up to me immediately after class and says, "Play." I agreed and soon it was 15 vs. 1. There was no end in sight. I played fake dead, they played fake dead, I hope you don't think less of me for letting boys be boys. What first grade boy doesn't love playing guns with his foreign english teacher? So this is how they show their love and appreciation for me, by shooting me in the head? I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've also been called a Killer while here in China. The first time was in Beijing after Peter and I scored a deal on some sweaters in a market. We talked down the price to the point that when we walked away the vendors said, "You are killers." The second time was tonight at a study. We were talking about drowning the Old Adam daily. We kill him. Edward, one of our friends said, "So we are Sin Killers. We kill him everyday?" I gave him a yes. He replied, "So stubborn." That nasty old sinful nature. He has no place in my life. Thanks be to Him, who gives us the victory through our L0rd, J.C!Now we stop and give thanks for all of the many and various blessings our Father has poured out on us. May He bless you this Thanksgiving Day. Praise Him from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Happy Thanksgiving!

Aloha Music

This past weekend, some of the teachers here took a much needed trip to Aloha. Aloha is a restaurant that serves western food the real American way. The owner and manager is from Hawaii and makes everything in-house to keep it "just like home." The portions are enormous and the milkshakes, ooooo, the milkshakes; I will miss them when I go back to America - they are that good. I somehow plowed through the Aloha burger which consisted of 2 patties, a slice of ham, a grilled pineapple, cheese, lettuce, a slice of tomato, and some sauce to top it off. I shared the fries and felt stuffed afterwards. The milkshake choice was harder than the entree. I ended up getting the double cookie frenzy - oreos and chocholate cookie dough crunched together with ice cream in a rich, creamy wonderland. I must return for, if nothing else, another milkshake. Here's the burger I dominated and the delicious milkshake.

After the food, we rolled on over to the Qintai (chin-tai) Concert Hall for an evening of piano music. The star performer was a man from Maldova. He played the first half of the program and came back after intermission to play sonatas in duet form with another accomplished pianist from Taiwan. The music was pure and flawless. It's not everyday that I hear live music this good. I enjoyed the concert and took a couple discreet pictures hoping the ushers wouldn't see me before the concert began. The hall was beautiful inside and out. Just after Christmas we are hoping to go and see Zorro in the theater across the street. Stay posted to see if this comes to fruition.

Floral Fiesta

For a couple weeks I've passed a huge display of flowers on my way to school. It is right across from the new museum commemorating the 100 year anniversary of the 1911 revolution which set China's current form of government into motion - no more dynasties. Apparently, this flower display is up every year with a different theme. This year's theme focused on the revolution and some displays captured images of rifles, soldiers, or other violent things beautifully laced with flowers. I stopped by one day and snapped some photos. It smelled good for a change around here and I saw some new flowers. Today, as quickly as possible, it all came down. Just as fast as it went up, it came down in a matter of hours. The pictures are of an arm that has a rifle at the end. The second is a dragon with a random lady. The third is just what most of the area looked like. It was good to stop and notice just how beautiful is the work of His hands.

Revelation

This past Wednesday our usual number of friends did not show up for study. It was just John Wayne and Edward plus the three foreigners. We didn't want to go farther with our study and finish up the topic without the other "regulars" present. This happened once before and instead of an organized study, we just open it up to them and see what questions they have. We ended up spending most of the time in the book of Revelation. We picked out some parts at the beginning, the middle and the end to give them a feel for the book. These visions of John brought awe and wonder from our friends. He is called the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega. Edward remarked, "That is so cool! He has some cool names." These two young men have not fully confessed trust in the promises and blessings of the Book, but the struggle between the old man and the Dove was seen first hand that night. When we read numerous times that the time is soon, the day is quickly coming, they realized the urgency, but didn't know whether to be frightened or to be happy. This seemed like a sign that the Ghost was doing his work, the inward struggle between the nature and the Lamb. The old evil foe continues to lie, deceive, and trick us so that he will eventually have us, but He is more powerful. He can do the seemingly impossible. What gr*ce! Oh, how wide and long and high and deep is his love for us! As we continue to focus on the End of time for the next few weeks, continue to long for the coming of our King and rejoice for the blessing of those who are already singing His praises around the throne. Come quickly L*rd!

Fish

When I arrived in Wuhan, I didn't know what to expect when it came to housing and furnishings. I inherited a fully operational fish tank from previous residents in the apartment. Peter and I saw it and immediately agreed that we need to use it, it can't go to waste. This past weekend our plan to fill it and create a home for some fish happened. With the help of our friend, Linda, we browsed through one of the largest pet markets in Wuhan. So many fish and such a tank to fill, how would we ever choose? We ended up buying 25 fish, but the vendor threw in an extra 2 just in case. After a bus ride and getting acclamated to the new surrounding, the fish are liking their new crib compared to the cramped quarters of the pet shop. Some guppies, neon tetras, and a few other orange guys now call our tank home.

Unfortunately, there have already been some casualties. Peter and I expected this also. We are rookies in the world of fish care and I guess the vendor knew a thing or two and so he threw in the extra 2 for a reason. Since we came home with 27 we are now down to 24. It breaks our hearts to see these little guys start floating, lifeless, helpless. So short a life, so much ahead of them. I hope the rest will continue to thrive, they seem to enjoy the colorful plants we got for them. We also gave them a mug to hide in and a bust of Mao to appreciate as well. They are still feeling out the mug, but in time I think they will come to enjoy it as the cool hiding spot. When the fish came home I was reminded of what the son of David said to some chosen men - "Now you will be fishers of men." These fish remind me that I am fishing here, fishing for people. You, wherever you are in your various vocations, you are fishing also. You fish with the good news, sharing the Light with everyone around you. Your mission is the same as mine, go fishing. Our father will give us a miraculous catch. A catch we will see and praise Him for when time ends. What a day that will be! Keep fishing my friends and family, He will make miracles happen through you!

Shorts and Diapers

I have two short stories from this past week that made me scratch my head. The first has to do with the weather. Last year on my birthday (October 9) it was snowing in New Ulm, MN. I had never had snow on my birthday, at least as far back as I can remember. This year I wore shorts 3 times in the first week of November. The weather continues to be very mild here before the real autumn weather settles in. I will continue to enjoy it as long as it lasts. Sorry for all of you suffering through cooler temps back home. Sometimes it's all about location, location, location.

WARNING! Proceed with caution! The second story deals with diapers or should I say the lack there of here. Babies and young children usually don't wear diapers. They run around with slits in their pants as if someone forgot to sew up the crotch area of the pants. I've seen a lot of butts. Some may think it helps with air conditioning in the summertime. But, truth is they don't have potty training here. Parents will hold their kids in front of them near the ground spreading their legs and squating so the kids can do their business. What happens when they are on a public bus you may think? Well this is what happened yesterday. A lady and young son were sitting right next to me on a full bus. I had just got on and this fussy boy gave me a look like, "Hey man, I gotta go!" His mother tried taking him to the front of the bus to take care of his business, right next to the entrance, but he was gun shy. Thankfully, they got off at the next stop to let him answer nature's call. Everyday something small like this will surprise me. Just when I thought I had seen it all, things like this remind me - only in China.

Halloween

As quickly as October came and left, I didn't have time to tell you about the Halloween party on this side of the world. China doesn't celebrate Halloween so a couple of us foreigners decided to throw a Halloween bash and bring a little American culture to our friends here. We put on our best costumes and brought the candy. A big thing here is KTV. It is something like karaoke in the States only take it to the next level. We rented a large room which had a ton of couches, a projector and screen to show the music video and words from the songs we sang, and we ordered some snacks to add to the plentiful candy supply. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. Even though our friends here didn't go quite as all out on costumes as we did, they enjoyed the experience. My big ears were a hit!

John Wayne, Peter, and I sang "Superman" by Five for Fighting. Later, Peter and I joined in on the classic, "Larger than Life" by the one and only Backstreet Boys. We danced, we sang, we ate, we took pictures, and successfully introduced our friends to Holloween, American style with some Chinese flair. I don't think I will ever celebrate Holloween quite like this ever again.