Opportunities

Just met with a friend who has helped us set up meetings at times. He is a leader for this type of work. Rick is going to go do training next Friday afternoon on leading group meetings and some content material. Good opportunity. Just Rick will go. He is better at this teaching, and it is considerably easier for him to get places. We gave our friend one of the books we brought back. The friend said they are OK as long as they keep their meetings small. It is mainly students and younger people who are being targeted. They also harass party members and business people so that they do not attend. This is   partially in hopes that financial support will be cut off for the work. Remember us.

Cultural Distinctives

Two things emphasizing cultural differences have struck me in the few days that we have been back. One was yesterday.   We keep a phone with a Chinese SIM card in China and a different phone with a US SIM card in the States. Just keeps the frustration down. However, because I was biking so much this summer and needed to be able to call someone, so we purchased two phones (for the very first time in our lives that each of us had a phone). I wanted to download my Noom diet program onto the smaller US phone here in China and tried to put in a Chinese SIM card into the trac phone. It did not work. At one point the person helping me, laughed and said this phone, which was not compatible, said, “Made in China”.   The cultural jar was that before I could even talk to someone about purchasing a new SIM card I needed to review the huge board where 50+ numbers were listed. I tried to bypass this step, but they were very, very insistent. Numbers are important to Chinese. Like one does not want

Arrived

Arrived. Absolutely no problem in landing our bodies or our books. All the hassles of setting up internet, unpacking, buying food, jet lagging. Ugh, but we are happy to be back here.

Poem Written by My Mom When They Thought I Was Dying

By Helen Morrison The night we found out Ann was so ill (Sept. 17, 1981), this came to me in a dream and I had to write it. Thank God, He spared her for us all. To be shared only after I’m gone. God took our daughter today, Her spirit and soul are a rest. He holds her in the hollow of His hand. Her time on earth was blest. In memory her comforting ways Her cheery wit, tossing of her head. Her busy hands to all, she gave her best. God took our daughter today To His home above to rest. We bless His name and all He does, For His great way is best. Mary Beth Morrison  Our mother was truly a woman of God. She was humble and til the day she died, she did not know what a great woman she truly was. She has been gone 11.5 years now. She would have been 102 if she had lived. Our father died 4 months prior to her. I know that she could not wait to be in his arms again. Our father was truly a great man too. We are so blessed to have 2 parents such as these! They had been married 6

return

We are anticipating our flight out on Tuesday, August 13. However, we have a few prayer requests before that can happen. We have waited five days here in Massachusetts while the alternator on our car has been worked on. We bought the car in Florida the beginning of July, trading our beloved camper. I just had to have AC to make the summer (getting soft). The dealer who sold us the car wanted the camper very badly for his 4 kids and has told us the interesting changes he has made to it (Painted black and told his kids to go decorate it, etc.) It meant a great deal to us that someone who could appreciate our camper got it. The Dodge Caravan that he sold us had a rebuilt motor, which is one of the reasons we agreed. It has worked fine for traveling around Florida, then up to SC, PA, and finally to MA, a long trip. However 5 days ago the alternator went out. This would not be a problem except the mechanic said that whoever had been working on the car had "used a hammer rather than a w