Persevering and Preparing for our new life in China

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Bethany

Dear friends,

Me being a tourist in Yangzhou

There has been a lot going on these past two weeks. I have been training from 8am-7pm everyday. The hardest part, apart from culture shock and long hours, has been learning to teach people in a language that they struggle to understand. I have never taught before. I have never managed a group of students either. So getting up in front of a bunch of college students, who were my peers only months ago, and behaving like a confident authority is hard for me. They tell me I am finding my teacher voice and teaching style. I just hope I don’t get lost looking for it. I get frustrated at times when I see more experienced teachers and how awesome their lesson plans are or how amazing their game ideas are. I stay up late or get up extra early to write lesson plans that still fall short of others excellence. My confidence wanes at times and I doubt wether or not I can even do what I have come to China to do. Still I will persevere and hope that God has called me to invest in teaching others, because he knows how good of a teacher I am going to be. I try to take confidence in this, that God will make me who he needs me to be and for now that is enough.

I guess you can say I am enjoying the architecture so much that I almost feel like I am part of it.

In addition to working on lesson plans until 12:30 some nights, I am also dealing with the culture shock. Not just Chinese culture shock, but German culture shock. A large part of our group are part of the young volunteers program, which are high school graduates from Germany who come for only a year to teach middle school. Some are Christians and some are not, but all of them are wonderful to be around, even if I have to adjust my cultural goggles a little bit when I am around them. As for the Chinese culture shock, it has been a mixture of learning the language (I only have bargaining down so far), getting use to the new and “interesting” smells, and dealing with the cultural expectations. A lot of our training has covered this. How to deal with it and how to overcome. So my perspectives for my time in China are pretty positive right now and I know that once I settle into my new home life will get better.

Here are some of my new friends in front of the Lotus Bridge. The young women in front is Tina, my Chinese tutor. ^_^

In the meantime I will deal with hard beds and smelly streets, because I know the people here are worth it. It will be hard to say goodbye to our new friends here in Yangzhou. Still, as we finish up training this Saturday, I can’t help but get excited about getting to JiNing. We have a few days in Nanjing, where Amity’s head office and printing company are located. Then I have another day in Hohhot where I will be getting a physical for my work visa. So I should be reaching my new home on Wednesday. I warn everyone, I might be out of communication for a couple of days while making this transition, but don’t worry because the lord is with me. I will be alright. If you want to know what I am doing during those days, just think of me shopping and preparing for my new life in JiNing. A beautiful and wonderful life, because its about me bringing glory to God by serving others.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who has been praying for me these past weeks and months. It is such a blessing to know I have the strength of my Christian brothers and sisters with me as I make this major life change. I don’t think I could do it without all of the encouragement and love you so willingly give.

I love you all!

Bethany

P.S. I hope you all enjoy the few pictures that I have included in this post. They are from my trip to West Slim Lake Park here in Yangzhou. I hope to put more on Facebook when I gain access to it again.

Moving Forward: This is really happening

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Bob

As time continues marching on, the idea of being apart from Bethany is, in some ways, becoming more and more… normal. Stateside, I’ve adapted my routine to accommodate the fact that she is in China. We’ve got set times that we try to be online to communicate with each other, and we still send emails back and forth. Part of it still feels surreal to me. As if to say, “Are we REALLY going to do this? Are we REALLY going to live in China for two years and serve the people there?”

That’s exactly what was going through my mind today as I purchased the plane ticket this morning. As I’ve been shopping around the last several days, I noticed the prices starting to increase every morning. So, eager to get a good deal, I made the decision. But right before I clicked to confirm the purchase, I stopped and thought, “Wow! Are we REALLY going to do this? Yes! Yes we are!” *Click!*

Now, granted, it’s a little late to be asking that question – Bethany’s been there for a week and a half, for crying out loud! But, up until this point, I’m not sure it was truly “real” to me.

Don’t get me wrong – we’ve been preparing for this. From filling out paperwork, to stressing over passports and visas, to packing things up and selling things off, to buying things specifically for the trip, to saying, “Goodbye” over and over, to putting in notices with the cellphone company, landlord, bank, and other important organizations…. We’ve been preparing! But it was something about making that $1100+ one-way purchase that moved this experience forward from “surreal” to a state of “real” for me. Apparently I couldn’t get that by putting my wife on a plane. I couldn’t get that by packing things up and selling them off. It took the commitment of a *click* for my brain to TRULY trigger “I am going!”

With a month and a half left Stateside, there is still much to do. We still need to move Bethany into a permanent Visa. I’m picking up her Official Transcript with her degree today to get that moving in the right direction. At that point, it’ll be my turn to get a Visa.

Until then, we’ll continue this weird “normalcy” of communicating on twelve hour increments while apart from each other. There is still much to be done, but we are moving forward. One day at a time, we’re moving forward.

And So The Journey Begins!

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Bob

Last Saturday, with myself, her parents, and a good friend who has already served several years in China, we saw Bethany off as she walked through the security line to board her plane. Thirty six hours, and two layovers later, Bethany arrived at her destination in China to jump into her training with Amity!

It’s took about half a week, but we finally got a communication schedule down between the two of us. Between poor Internet signals and hardware issues, it’s been a hard transition. But we are making it. One day at a time, but we are making it.

So now, when it comes to State-Side tasks, it’s up to me to get things taken care of. This includes selling stuff off, packing things up, and finding places to store the few things we will be keeping. Condensing my life down to nearly 100 pounds isn’t an easy task!

Thankfully, a local family has offered me usage of their spare bedroom for a few weeks so I can get out of the apartment sooner. Another family has graciously offered me usage of their spare car when I sell my own car. It’s these kind of caring, giving hearts that will make this transition much easier. Bethany and I are so grateful to be surrounded by such open and generous people!

I’m still working on raising the money for my plane ticket, and still looking for places to store our items while we are gone. But I haven’t given up, and know that – in due time – all of this will come together. The packing has begun, and the selling-off has started.

I’ll get over there and join Bethany in our service to the Chinese people soon enough. One step at a time. One day at a time. Either way, the Journey has begun!

Finishing Preparations

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Bob

After several delays, some mis-communication, loads of paperwork, a bunch of packing, and many “Goodbyes,” Bethany is nearly ready to begin this epic journey. Some shopping has been done, and much more will take place tonight and tomorrow. But we are close. She can take up to 100 lbs. of luggage, so we plan on maximizing that allotment.

One of the great things about these preparations, as hard as it may be, is the chance to spend some great time with our friends and family. Between meals, movies, walks, talks, and games, we’ve had some great, intimate moments with friends and family that we’ll cherish for years to come! What a great blessing these moments have been!

Bethany’s flight is scheduled to leave on Saturday. One neat aspect of this flight involves Bethany passing through Frankfurt, Germany. She’s toying with the idea of getting a one day tourist visa to see the city during the massive layover. I’m excited for her – getting to see a great piece of Europe on the way to China should be awesome!

All total, after layovers and timezone transitions take place, her clock will say that it’ll be nearly 48 hours from the time she left Louisville as she arrives in China. 12 of those hours will be lost to time zone changes. Another 14 hours will be lost in various layovers inbetween flights, leaving 22 hours of actually flight time – that’s a long time to travel!

As we begin this great adventure, pray that Bethany’s flight goes well. Pray that I am able to handle all the tasks associated w/ the getting us out of the apartment. And pray that I receive the funding needed to join Bethany in China.