Marching right along...

School started this past week, and though it has been a bit crazy, we are still convinced that this is all a dream. It's so good to be back with the students and with our old coworkers. Granted, we're quite stressed with all of the responsibilities that a new school year brings, but we are excited.  We know that we're not always going to feel like this, so we want to cherish these moments. 

I (Marta) get to teach 7 twelfth graders whom I taught when they were in tenth grade. It is neat to see how much they've matured. My relationship with these students seems to have picked up right where we left off, which is helpful for when we start tackling biology. I also teach 8 eleventh graders three different subjects: literature, integrated science, and SAT math (in the spring, I will get to teach them another subject to prepare them for the Test Of English as a Foreign Language). And to round out the schedule, I teach 18 tenth graders just a basic English course. I have enjoyed getting to know these new students, though it's a bit challenging to gauge where each one is at... and to temper my word choice.

Daniel has the opportunity to teach English to 56 fifth graders, the same students he taught two years ago. He also gets to teach them PE, along with 61 sixth graders. His birthday just so happened to be the first day of school, and I'm pretty sure the best gift he got that day was to see those 56 smiling faces as they reunited for the first time in over a year.  

There is no other profession quite like teaching. While it may be very stress-inducing, I would argue that it is one of the most rewarding jobs out there. (Now hopefully we just remember that in the times we feel burned out!)

A Reprieve

When we arrived in China three weeks ago, stifling heat surrounded us and the humidity was out of control. It reached up to 99°F during the day (though it would feel like 105°-115°, depending on the humidity) and dropped to 80° at night—not much relief.  They sold out of air conditioners in our city, since this was the hottest summer on record for the past 50 years! To top it all off, smog blanketed the entire city, so much so that we couldn't even see the mountains that are less than a mile away. 

[Good thing we're practicing gratefulness in all situations. We're so very thankful that our sweat glands are working properly, along with our olfactory systems!]

Believe it or not, there are supposed to be mountains in the backdrop.

This past week has been so beautiful, such a drastic change from the first two weeks. It's been in the 80s during the day, without too much humidity, and then low 70s at night.  And it's been clear! I had forgotten how beautiful the mountains are.

And this is just the view from our bus stop!

So yes, we've had a break from the heat, and we've had a break this weekend to relax before we start teacher days this next week. We had new teacher orientation last week, which was very helpful; we learned more about the school, Chinese culture, and our new coworkers. Now we just have five work days left before the madness begins September 2.

Changes

Since coming back, we've noticed a lot of change here in the city. They're fixing the road so that traffic will flow smoother (meanwhile, making it all the more congested) and so that we have more frogger territory. The city is also in the midst of constructing a subway system, though that's not going to be done for quite some time. Downtown, they revamped the Starbucks and made a sweet underground mall with an excellent Thai restaurant nearby.

This was the traffic jam we ran into today. After not moving for 20 minutes,
 we decided to get off the bus and just walk home.

They also repainted and re-roofed our school, preparing it for the wear and tear of a new school year. And they've changed more than just the appearance of our school; there have been multiple shifts in staffing, too. Some teachers have left, and new teachers have been hired. Many of the administrative positions are different now, with people being shuffled around and given new titles with new secretaries. This is probably why we're participating in new teacher orientation this week, even though we really aren't new to this school. With all the policies and guidelines that went into effect after we left, it will be somewhat like we're teaching at a new school.

This is our school with scaffolding all over the place.

Though I suppose all of this could be slightly frustrating, we are excited that things are different. If we came back and everything was the same, we would be more likely to fall into our old pattern of living with the same ruts. Now we have the opportunity to form new friendships, new habits, and new understandings of the culture. This is good! We just hope that other people realize that we're not the same as we were before, either. God has done a lot of work in our lives over the past year, and although we may look the same on the outside, our hearts have changed for the better.

We've Arrived!

Thank you Fort Wayne Airport!

Thanks for all of your prayers! We have arrived safely as of 11PM on Monday night (that would be 11AM on Monday morning, EST). All of our luggage arrived safely and intact. Actually, more safely and more intact than we had ever expected...

新疆面！

On Tuesday morning (from here on out, I will be talking in Chinese time), we had to head out early for a health check. Thankfully we had all our paperwork from our American health check, so we only had to get our blood drawn. (That means that we didn't have any traumatic experiences peeing in a cup like the first year....) Then we went out to our favorite noodle place at 10:30 in the morning to eat brunch, since we weren't allowed to eat before the health check. Though I assure you, this meal was worth the wait!

Hot Pot

The past few days have been filled with waking up early (gotta love those 3AM mornings), unpacking, situating ourselves in our new apartment, and visiting old friends.  And let's not forget eating good food and baking bread.

We have heard a lot of 欢迎你回来/huān yíng nǐ huí lái / welcome backs, and people have told us they are happy we have returned to China. Though it was hard to bid farewell to our family and friends back home, we are so glad to be back with our family and friends here. We trust that this is not just the jittery excitement of a honeymoon stage, but rather a joy that springs from following the Father's will. 

The Beginning is in Sight

The joys of paperwork have come to an end, and we finally booked our plane tickets! The beginning of our time in China is in sight. Granted, there will be more paperwork once we arrive there, but it never seems as daunting when there are nationals helping us out with it.

Since I have neglected to blog for the past two weeks, I am going to update you on what our schedule has looked like. I tend to be a bit verbose, so instead of blabbing it all in dissertation-style, here is a calendar with a general outline of our days, starting July 7th and going through August 6th. Hopefully this will be a bit easier on the eyes. (No guarantees on formatting in the email. Here's our blog, just in case.)

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
7 Left for PA! Went to Chuck E. Cheese's!	8 Hung out with the famjam in PA.	9 Hung out with the famjam in PA.	10 On our way back to Ohio, found out there was major flooding; we were delayed.	11 Finished our trip to Ohio, then drove all the way back to Indiana.	12 Saw a friend, rested, and packed.	13 Went to the Peru Circus.
14 Sabbathed	15 Went to the local police office, only to find out we needed state-level clearance. Rushed to Marion to get fingerprints.	16 Called the Indiana State Police, and became besties with one of the secretaries. Went to Rookie Camp!	17 Rocked it at Rookie Camp!	18 Rocked it at Rookie Camp!	19 Got sunburned at Rookie Camp!	20 Tried to recover from Rookie Camp.
21 Sabbathed	22 Drove down to Indy to get background checks from Indiana State Police, and got them sealed by the Secretary of State. Everything went smoothly, thanks to our new best friend at ISP.	23 Finally got our letters of invitation from the Chinese government! Drove to Warsaw to pick up our letters and to split up our trip to Chicago.	24 Left at 6:30 AM to get to Chicago by 8:00. Handed over our letters & applications, only to  find out they don't do same-day service anymore. Spent the night in Chicago.	25 Left the hotel at 7:00 AM, and got our visas by 9:15. Headed back to Indiana. Our boss told us to expect to be in China  by mid-August at the earliest.	26 Got an email from our boss stating that the secretary at the school needs us to be in China before August 7th to handle paperwork. Booked our tickets.	27 Family hangout with the Scotts.
28 Family hangout with the Scotts.	29 Pack! Say goodbye to some friends in Marion.	30 Pack! Have our final small group get-together.	31 Hand in the keys to our apartments & head to Ohio.	1 See family in Ohio.	2 See family in Ohio.	3 Head back to Indiana & get ready for departure.
4 Depart at 6AM!	5 Arrive in China at 10:30 PM.	6 Start recovering from jet-lag. Start the paperwork process again.

As you can tell, we're taking off much sooner than we ever expected, but we're excited (and slightly overwhelmed). Thank you for all of the prayers and support.

And you're right, we will never escape from paperwork. Sing it with me: This is the paperwork that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on, my friends! Some people started filling it out, not knowing what it was, and they continue filling it out forever just because... Too bad it doesn't sound as great as the original, but it's a close second.

I Will Follow

Over the course of the next year, we will miss out on some life-altering events that will happen here in the States: babies will be born, friends will get married, and a few souls will meet their Maker. I am sad to think that we will be absent during such momentous occasions, yet Daniel and I believe that we need to be in China, and we believe that God's timing is perfect.

As I pondered this the other day, "I Will Follow" by Chris Tomlin was playing in the background. The lyrics serve as a good reminder that we have chosen to follow Him, no matter the cost. Below is a compilation I made in 2011 of pictures from our first year, put to that song. Who knew that the song I chose then would still challenge and encourage me even today.

(For those of you who receive this as an email, you will have to come to the website to view the video.)

Fireworks & Freedom

Fourth of July means fireworks & freedom for those of us who happen to be from the United States.

Though I know the holiday is over now, I've heard fireworks the past few nights, which just makes me think of China. It seems as if there is at least one holiday a month in China that calls for a celebration filled with fireworks and firecrackers. Fourth of July pyrotechnics pale in comparison to Chinese New Year's; I suppose that's only natural, considering China invented the smoking fires (烟火, yānhuǒ, is the term for fireworks, and it literally means "smoke fire").

At recent family gatherings, we've had numerous conversations about freedom in China. Most people bring up religious persecution, especially the persecution of Christians. Unfortunately, we can never give a straight, one-size-fits-all answer. What proves true in our province may be completely different in another. Joann Pittman, an American who has lived in China since the 1980s, confirms this in a talk titled "Misconceptions about the Chinese Church." (If you follow the link, you can listen to/download the audio. It's around 50 minutes long, but well worth the time!) She argues that persecution is not the biggest problem facing Chinese Christians, unlike what most Westerners think.  While the government still has strict regulations, they are a bit lax about enforcing them, producing a freedom of sorts.

Unlike fireworks, Christianity does not originate from China. However, Chinese history is not void of Christianity. The proof is in the way they write some of their characters, which date back to over 4,500 years ago. In some ways, China had fireworks & freedom long before the United States was even a twinkle in our forefathers' eyes.

Our First Chinese New Year