April's on the horizon...

where does the time go? It's been two weeks since my last blog entry and it seems like four. Sorry to my faithful four or five that check in to see what life's like here in Asia. This is not an earth-shattering post, no really humorous stories to share, and since it's Monday morning and I'm in typical fashion chasing my tail, I'm not going to set up the camera and show the latest picture of my A8 Sunny. Although I'll have to do it later, 'cause last week she came in dressed like a model again and I couldn't resist taking a picture of her. She cracks me up!

So, hmmm, the last two weeks highlights...Easter weekend was a blast, with an evening picnic planned by Tinus and Marguerite (two of the S. African friends I hang with here) on the Saturday, which was the day in between both of their birthdays. It was cool to get together with people they love, some I know and love and some I didn't know at all. I especially loved talking to a new gal that all the S.A.'s talk about but whom I'd never met. She's the mother of 15 month old twins, so she's been really busy in the 7 months I've been here. But it was finally cool to get to put a face to all the stories about her. The twins were at home with Papa, giving her a rare moment to be an adult with other adults.

The Easter Sunday morning was a wet beginning, but that didn't put me off trying to find a sunrise beach scene. I live just 15 minutes from the water, albeit on the West coast, so it was a short scoot, but the rain was pouring so I was wet within one minute of leaving the apartment. My friend, Claudia had sent me some killer rainboots in the mail the day before and I took them on their inaugural run that morning. My friend, Ryno and I went to a place where we could stand under a shelter, staring at the ocean rockin' with the wind and rain, and prayed for the day, thankful that we both have a relationship with the risen One, and praying for people who would be in our company that don't yet know Jesus. It was a very cool moment even if we had to exercise faith to believe the sun had risen, in some ways not unlike the faith required to believe the Son has risen. We scooted to a nearby 7-11, sloshed into the store, picked out some "breakfast" and sat there watching the clouds move off while we talked and ate. We got back in time to change into church clothes and then the rain had stopped.

Easter worship was cool and there was a packed house, including my friend and co-worker, Erin with her friend/my friend too Erica. It's always fun to merge your work life with your other parts of life, and this was no exception.

After worship, we all came to our house to get ready for the potluck we'd planned for Easter lunch. We had 14 people here for lunch and quite a spread I must say. The leftovers lasted me for lunches throughout the week, so that'll tell you how much food there was. Everybody enjoyed themselves which was just what we all needed I think. When everyone left at almost 5:00 my roommates and I all went into our respective bedrooms to nap, but understandably we were still exhausted the next morning when we got up to have Easter Monday breakfast together as a household. Monday night was an early night for us all. Good weekend.

Now, it's Monday again and we've just come through another cool weekend, that was not nearly as busy and yet still a lot of fun. I asked my roommates last night what they're looking forward to this week, and not surprisingly they all said "a four day work week." Yep, me too. We get Friday off as a random holiday, I believe it's called "Tomb-sweeping Day". Gotta find me a broom, I reckon...and a tomb too come to think of it. Actually, I've decided, rather spontaneously, to join my friend Julie on a weekend trip to Thailand. We're leaving Thursday night and returning Monday morning. It's only a 2.5 hour flight, and the package was pretty reasonable, so I said why not. We'll be at a beach resort for 2 nights and in Bangkok for 2 nights, with 3 days to play and relax. Yea!! Vacation!!

Well, I've got to get moving here. One last highlight/praise from the last few days. Last Thursday I was listening to Joyce Meyer while I was scooting to work, and the podcast was on Faith. I really liked some of the things that she and her guest said, so I texted my roommates to see if they would be around Friday night so we could listen to it together. They were all in, so we got together over some homemade quiche (thanks Mari and Annaloe) and listened to the 14 minute pcast on Faith. Then we talked about what we needed more faith for in our individual lives and I asked them to pray for a meeting I would hopefully have with my boss the next day. It was a cool time of sharing together.

The next morning, Saturday, I went to Chudong to do the storytelling, and then I went to lunch with Serena, my boss, the founder and director of the school. I knew I was covered in prayer and because of that I was able to diplomatically suggest some things that she might do to make the teachers enjoy their jobs more. (You know God was doing the talking if I was able to be diplomatic!) She was very receptive and even excited that she could create an environment that attracts teachers in a climate that is very competitive for schools hiring and keeping teachers. I really knew that God had given me favor with her when she reacted so positively.

Well, that's all from the TW. Gotta go teach A8, A7 and B4! Woo hoo! The wind is blowing in gusts, there's a light rain falling, but the temp is not too low, so that's o.k. Thanks for reading and thanks for keeping me in your prayers.

Have a great week.

Until next time,
LC