WaterTown--Zhujiajiao

Thousands of bulidings built in Ming and Qing dynasty. 36 ancient stone bridges. I like this typical picture--simple life.

Cool sights and pictures everywhere we turned.

Ancient post office. The Chinese postal system is very ancient too. I love it! Wouldn't you like to send mail from this mail box?

Lots of cool stores and shops along the way.

Boating in China, how cool?!

Lovely waterways and stones. Cold but lovely. I felt like we were the only tourists there, so we were really looking in to their lives.

I love seeing people biking around. In Cambodia I had pictures of ladies biking. In the Philippines women don't ride bikes (but I stand out a woman, foreign AND with a baby on the bike! They think I'm crazy, but look at all the women biking in the world--it is truly cultural).

I realize now that we don't have many pictures of all of us! We shared the picture-taking. Here is Kaylee but Ashley is not in the pic--it was her 5th birthday that day.

Does he look Chinese? What an adventurer. He was so curious about everything and everyone. He could hardly close his eyes for a nap fearing he would miss something--just like his mom!

This would be a cool place for wedding pictures (I guess if you are Buddhist). I love stones and this pretty peaceful Chinese garden. One of the few pictures of me alone in China. Elijah is climbing around eating stones.

Buddhism, Food and People

Sunday we went to a Buddhist temple. It was very sad to see the people actually worshiping these idols. I look serious because I saw no reason to smile.

Here's another statue (another god?). Different position of hands, standing...what does it all mean? I need to learn more. It would take so long for me to get inside the mind and beliefs of Chinese people.

My expression, "Can you believe all these idols? Look at the people bowing to them? Lord, I will not bow to an idol. I will worship only You. Will you show these people the truth?" There are tons of kneeling benches and the idols on the wall were all different. They looked scary to me too!

I'm smiling to meet some monks. Very interesting to attend during their "worship service".

On a different day we went to an ancient water town with bridges and pathways. There was the largest wooden Budda in the world (smiling).

Attached to the Buddha (is there an H?)...were these--prayers? I need to learn more! This is currently my desktop background. Very interesting.

Would you like to guess what this is? Try to imagine the smell. Would you like to buy some? The smells down the streets were very distinct. We ended up eating later at KFC! Yikes! Not very brave, I guess.

This is my all-time favorite picture from China. I turned the corner and saw this very Chinese-looking man. Elijah had his little Chinese outfit so I passed him to the man and he was proud. I love the weathered older face with the young soft face. Elijah is so social!

Here's a temple of some kind. It was the coldest on this day, so you see our noses getting progressively colder. Me in my jean jacket--I am more from the tropics definitely.

Friends in China--who knew we would meet up there someday with kids? Fun! What a blessing to be together and explore the world together with our babes. Cool bridges and walkways--it truly felt like the ancient Chinese town that it was.

Friends in China

Here is the apartment Allison lives in. She is on the 6th floor. Wow, what a high-rise! It seems like a house inside, though, because there are lots of windows on all sides.

Here are the buddies--Elijah (almost 9 months) and Nathan (4 months). Nathan buddy is hanging on to his new pal.

Elijah zonked out in the museum--perfect! We were able to see all kinds of interesting Chinese writing, art, pottery, jade and artifacts.

This would be a cool desktop background. I like the writing...very interesting but hard to read!

This was the nicest weather we had--sunny but still crisp. The Chinese are very concerned that Elijah is too cold. I think he's okay.

Elijah made TONS of friends. Here is one of his little marshmellow buddies. They overdress the kids so they stay warm. Man, this guy must be burning up. They thought Elijah was too cold. Elijah is wondering, "Why are all these people looking at me?" You stand out, son.

Yep, we stand out here. This is the busiest street, supposedly a million people pass by every day. We really felt like we were in China here!

Try reading these road signs. Allison was indeed a great navigator, though.

Micah, I took this picture for you. A Chinese pizza hut (we did not eat here, but it reminded me of you in Spain!).

Dragon fruit, appropriately named for China! Inside it is white with black dots and tastes like melon a bit. We don't have this in the Philippines, but I think they have it in Thailand too.

Fun With Friends

Elijah and his buddy Silas are making memories together.

Big boy driver!

Colorful balls....content boy.

Fun little friends.

I love my boy!

Learning to Speak

Fun Laugh

Growing Up

Elijah seems to have grown up overnight! He started scootching and moving all around. I'm gonna have to reorganize the house! He loves the cards and games with all the little pieces, of course. He's even trying to pull himself up to standing. Watch out world!

Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa! We love the presents (to both sets!).

Elijah is crawling around the bed trying to escape. He is a fun little guy!

Standing on his own in his crib...Elijah is a happy little boy.

Before and After--Adopt-A-Sister

I asked the women in the Bible study to write three wishes that I could choose from to give them a big "reward" at the end of the 12 weeks if they could quote all their verses. I was overwhelmed when I read what they wrote. The basic needs they wanted to see God provide for were beyond any money I could come up with. Then as I prayed, God gave me the idea for "Adopt-a-sister". I wrote to 12 of my friends in the U.S. and Canada, and they adopted the 12 sisters (and recruited their friends to help too!).

Here is Ruen's house before she was adopted. A picture is worth a thousand words!

When it rained everything would get wet through the holes in the "roof". The kids would sometimes fall down these "stairs".

A ladies' Bible study group in Canada adopted Ruen. Now she has a whole new house thanks to God's provisions through these generous sisters. There are no leaks, and there was even money to put cement in the foundation and to make a sink for the kitchen. What a testimony this was to the neighbors. They thought Ruen was moving because someone must have funded the new house. She was able to testify about God's Word and His answer to her prayers of 3 years!

Here is Ruen's neighbor and sister, Weng-Weng. She also prayed for house repairs. She holds Bible studies for neighbor ladies out on this little bamboo bench. If it rains they go "inside".

Weng-Weng was also adopted and her house is being repaired as I type. Praise the Lord for His provisions for His people through His people!

Transformation--Grace's Gulay

Here is Sister Grace posing "before" she was adopted by some sisters from the U.S. As you can see from the picture, she sells vegetables (gulay) outside her front door. The roof was simply a tarp with holes, and the vegetables were laying on a make-shift table. Often the vegetables would go bad if no one bought them because she had no ref (refridgerator).

Even though she was making do with what she had, Grace was still happy serving the Lord for her family.

However, God answered her prayers and more when she was adopted by generous sisters in the U.S. Now this is the front of her house and the store, where she sells gulay. You can see the transformation! The neighbors wondered how she got the money for this and she was able to testify about God's provision and the scripture she had memorized.

Business is great! God also provided a brand new ref for her to keep the vegetables fresh. It came with a freezer, so she is also able to sell ice candy.

Grace has not stopped praising God and shouting from the rooftops how thankful she is. The day she received the certificate that she was adopted, her in-laws were staying at her house. They were doubtful, "I don't think you'll really get the money for that." But the very next day when they saw a new ref come through her door they believed. Then they started telling others too, "Walay imposible sa Ginoo" (Nothing is impossible with God!).

Adopt-A-Sister

Here are some of our ladies from Bible Study. After they spent 12 weeks memorizing scripture they "performed" all of the verses aloud in a recital for their husbands. God provided for some of their prayer requests through sisters from the U.S. and Canada. The neighbors saw and heard about the blessings and many started telling others too, "Nothing is impossible with God!"

Here is Emi's kitchen and floor before she was adopted. She was several months pregnant when she fell through this hole in her floor.

God provided for this wonderful sister so she could not only repair her floor but repair the entire house. Here is the place in progress. (You don't even know where she used to live a year ago! God even miraculously provided this lot for her too through a generous believer in the U.S.)

Now here is Emi's house! She made use of space by raising the house up. I love the balcony with the breeze. Now everyone doesn't have to sleep in the same room. They also have a kitchen below and a place for her mom to have her own room. (This picture still shows the lower level in progress). Praise God for His provisions through the generosity of His people!

God also provided for Ate Inday so she could begin a little store outside her house, called a "sari-sari" (Small store). Now she has a way to bring more income to her family without having to leave the home. She prayed for this many years, and now here it is!