Update!

Here's a couple of fun photos of Mom. One is Mom getting a massage on the streets of Konming where the government allows blind people to do massages in public (they don't have disability benefits in China - so everyone works). It was a 30 minute massage for 30 Yuan ($4.50). Mom said it was worth every penny. After it was over I thought I was going to have to mop her up off the floor of the plaza - she was SOOOOOO relaxed.

The second picture is Mom holding an eagle for a few minutes. Talk about a gorgeous bird. This particular eagle was blind in one eye and it was doing a pretty good business in the plaza in Lijiang.

The third photo is of the Li River cruise. Great scenery and a clear river (something we haven't seen up north. Needless to say, we had a good break from teaching and saw some gorgeous country. China is a wonderful place. Sure love all of you. 

 

 

Great Wall

Here are a couple of fun images of our recent trip to the Great Wall. We traveled two hours from here through the country side to a very remote section of "The Wall". There was NOT a soul there and we had the whole wall to ourselves. It was a gorgeous day and the wall was really impressive. WOW what a construction project - 3000 miles of wall...and in the end it didn't keep out the enemy after all. I'm sure there were a ton of Change Orders. Anyway, it was a wonderful outing with Michael and Mel. It's great to have them here.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS from China. Yes, believe it or not, there is Christmas in China. It’s interesting to see Christmas lights, Santa Clause posters, Christmas trees and even Christmas decoration stores around the city. So I guess that in this case it’s “putting the cart before the horse”. They’ve got the commercial side of Christmas without understanding the true meaning. Our hope is that will change in the future.

Today’s lesson in Priesthood was about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It was a very appropriate lesson for the Christmas season. The Savior has unselfishly given us the greatest of all gifts – His Atonement. It’s the most real, loving and everlasting gift one could receive. Our hope is that each of us will remember and appreciate Him more this coming year. We love Him and feel so blessed to be in China this Christmas season. 

 

 

Mom and I witnessed an historic moment here in China. Today two new expat districts were created here. So we've gone from two districts to four (plus seven Chinese national districts - none of these numbers include all that is going on in Hong Kong). The growth has been spectacular and the leadership is very impressive. I was interviewed by Elder Anthony Perkins of the Seventy last night as part of the process. It was so interesting visiting him and getting his perspective as to the future of China and the wonderful things that are occurring here. "The standard of trust has been erected..." You know the rest of the quote and it sure applies here. We feel so blessed to be here at this time and feel as close to the Lord here are anywhere we've ever been.

Daisy, Jenny, Eric’s girlfriend (don’t know her name), Eric, Mom, Me, & Jack Lee. All of these kids except Eric’s girlfriend are some of my PHD students. Notice how the girls interlock their arms. They are very charming that way to each other. In fact, I have never witnessed any of our students being cruel to each other. In fact, they are so kind to each other and seem to really enjoy each other’s company. In class they go out of their way to help each other succeed.

! Today was a really good teaching day with the PHDs. They have gotten really comfortable with our style of teaching and that makes it lots of fun. It took them about four weeks to get used to these CRAZY AMERICANS who are all over the classroom, demanding questions and participation and doing all kinds of WILD activities in class to get them all talking. What they are used to is totally different. Their typical education (from young to old) consist of sitting in one place for the entire two hours and being lectured to – no raising of hands and NO asking questions or clarification. We have seen tremendous improvement in their oral English, especially these past few weeks. It’s probably because they are not afraid to open their mouths and just try to talk or express their ideas. We have really grown to love these students.

Halloween

Thought you would enjoy this picture of dad with his Elders Quorum Presidency at the Hallowwen party.

Update

Yesterday we were scheduled to go toBeijing, originally so that Nelson could be set apart as the Elder’s Quorum President. I didn’t realize that the District President had to do it because he would be giving keys. I had assumed one of his counselors would be able to take care of that business. There’s always something new to learn. Anyway the District President wasn’t available but the counselor was available to set apart Wynn as a counselor in the Branch Presidency so Bakers (our Branch President and his wife) the Ferrell’s and the Boren’s along with Mister Wong the Baker’s driver set off early about 6:50 a.m. for Beijing, with a full day planned at the pearl market and other shopping. We hit the road but were stopped not far out of Tianjin and were turned around because all roads to Beijing had been closed because of fog. Another kind of adventure was in store. We decide to go to the Ancient Culture Street, and Da Wu Tong the place all the locals shop and ended up in the Italian Quarter for a late lunch at a lovely French restaurant. We had a delightful lunch with a great salad, real crusty bread, a great entrée and a yummy dessert, served with linen napkins and all kinds of fun silverware. The Italian Quarter was clean and had an air of Europe, not that I have been to Europe but it was really a very lovely experience. We bought a couple of great blankets and a pillow for napping on the couch, which has added another level of joy to my life. Ahh! This expedition opened our eyes to all kinds of nice adventures close to home.