Back in NC

I'm back in NC now. I drove home from Charleston, SC yesterday with my mother. We had a really great drive back and a great visit with family and friends in Charleston. As I was walking up the driveway from getting the mail I looked up at the sky to the stars. They were so clear last night. So bright too! I stood there in awe of what God has created. I'm so thankful I can see them here. I'm even more thankful that while I was in China, I couldn't see them. It helped me to be more appreciative of moments like last night when they're so bright and clear. There were moments when I was in China that I was "without" some things or things weren't the way that I had always known them to be, but God gave me perspective. He taught me through that. He taught me to be thankful for the little things in life because you never know when they're going to be gone. To look at each day as something new and exciting. Some things that I'm thankful/grateful for now that I may have missed before China:

1. the stars in the sky
2. a heated home (whenever and however much I want it)
3. provided toilet paper and napkins
4. soap in the bathrooms
5. people who understand what I'm saying and I can understand them
6. relatively clean air to breathe
7. grass to sit in and walk on
8. an abundance and trees and flowers all around me
9. ice
10. freezer space
11. carpet
12. right to privacy
13. shower curtains

And there are many others, but this may have to revisited. It's never a bad idea to write down what I'm thankful for.

Waiting

The big question that people have been asking me lately is "So what are you doing next?" This is a huge question. I feel like people are expecting some huge answer. Something remarkable and inspiring. But I don't have one. At least not one they're expecting. The answer I do have is always the same though:

The Lord is telling me to "WAIT".

So wait I am.

One of the things I know for sure about the Lord is that He's faithful. He has led me faithfully in my walk with Him. He has always shown me which way I needed to go, whether that be a nudging in my heart, His spoken Word or just what I thought was a thought of mine, all the while knowing that He leads me even when I don't know it.

And while I have days that I struggle internally with the fact that I don't have a job, for the most part I'm content with where I am. I know He is faithful. I know that when it's time for me to move He'll tell me when and where. So I wait for Him to tell me and don't move until that moment comes. But for now I'm really enjoying the time He's given me with family and friends and time to think about everything He's done and taught me in the past year and a half.

And on that note, I think I'm going to start going through and telling you what it was that God did and what He taught me. You should hear about all of that and join with me in praising Him and thanking Him for it. I want you to see the big God that I know and just how amazing He is!

 

Mom and I headed out to Folly Beach yesterday. We walked on the sand and listened to the waves crashing. I hadn't been out there in at least two years. It was such a beautiful day and so quiet. A nice little place of rest and relaxation.

Merry Christmas

Day after Christmas. Wow, this year was so different than what we all expected. But, hey, still great! I talked with people that I love and spent great time with my family, just us five. It really has been wonderful. Oh and did I mention that we've been eating well?!

Each day reminds me that everything good in my life is from the Lord. Everything! What a time to be thankful! What are you thankful for?

I'm thankful for even sickness because it made us all stop and just rest and relax TOGETHER. We talked a lot and watched movies and laughed and there was nothing pressing that we had to get to. I'm thankful that I have such a wonderful family that are so fun to be around. I'm thankful for the Lord's provision in ways that I don't even know. What a good God we serve!

Christmas/Sick

Almost everyone in my house is sick. My dad's been sick since Sunday, Chris and Mom since Tuesday. I have a cold and an easily irritable stomach. But nothing I can't handle after living in China, right? :) Yeah it's sad, they're in bed sick and not feeling well. We weren't able to go to Charleston yesterday and not today either.

So what were we to do about Christmas dinner? I went out yesterday and bought all the fixin's for it. We're having everything we would normally have only Jenn and I are cooking it rather than my mom and all the aunts. It should be interesting. It'll be fun for sure. I'm actually excited to be in charge of such an important meal. I just hope everyone will be able to eat it and enjoy it.

Yesterday I was super busy with cooking as well. Making an Italian Cream Cake, Snowball cookies, chocolate marshmallows, and the cornbread to be able to make the cornbread dressing for today. It was a busy day but a fun one.

We opened all of our gifts last night as a family. We had a new member for the first time ever! My sister's fiance, Alex, joined us. Jenn read Luke 2 for us. It's our tradition every Christmas Eve before we open a gift. We decided she would do it since it was her last time living in the house and being single for Christmas. We had a great time laughing and opening gifts and being shocked at what we got from each other. It was really nice.

I couldn't believe it but my brother and sister bought me a new bicycle! I am so excited! It looks just like the one I had in China, which made me so happy. I'm just going to cruise around all over the neighborhood on it. Now that I think about it I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in the neighborhood, other than my dad, who would be a riding a bike. And I got lots of great cooking stuff for more recipes to come! Who's excited?!?!?!

 

Cooking up some goodies for Christmas. Oh they're so yummy!

From one to the other

I went from having no work to having a lot all of a sudden. I started substitute teaching yesterday. I was a 1st grade aid and then a 6th grade Bible teacher. Today I helped the 4th grade make gingerbread houses, was a librarian for the afternoon and told the 5th grade about my experiences with Muslims.

I was really thankful to be able to share about my experiences with Muslims. The biggest thing their teacher wanted them to learn was not to judge all Muslims by a few. I tried to reiterate that one as well. Because it's not true, they aren't all the same, just like Christians aren't all the same. Every Muslim that I've ever met has been so sweet and caring and very hospitable and giving. Look for the good in people and you'll sometimes find things you weren't expecting.

Can I also say one more thing?

Sunday morning I didn't go to church. I spent the morning with God at home and on a walk with my dog. As I'm walking back home there were many, many cars that drove past me (most likely on their way to church themselves-all dressed up and about that time in the morning). I waved and smiled to each one and out of about 16 cars there were two that waved back. Now, most mornings when I pass people going to work or taking their kids to school, I wave and they wave and smile right back. They even initiate a lot of times. What's sad to me is that on a Sunday morning when people are driving to church to worship God they seem to be less happy than on a weekday when driving to work.

This is similar to what waiters and waitresses say about working Sundays. They hate working Sunday afternoon lunches. People who attend church are known (for the most part) to be stingy with tips and instead leave a tract or a nice note. Point is, they don't leave a tip. Man we're not giving good impressions...all around.

I'm supposed to be the light in the darkness. To love me enemies and love those who hate me. Be a step above. My life is different. I know the one true God. But how many times do I look just like or even worse than the people who don't know the Lord?

My relationship

I skipped church this morning. For the last four nights I haven't been sleeping too well. And I've been waking up every morning at 4:15. So not getting too much sleep. I woke up this morning at 4:00 again and so tired. So instead of going to church I took the morning with God. He and I took my dog on a walk. It was so nice to just walk with the Lord and talk with Him and have a relaxing morning. I love this relationship!

Freedom

So I had lost my passport until yesterday. This whole month that I've been back in the States I was worried that someone else was traveling around the world as Kathryn Kimbrell. I had looked through my entire room and all of my bags from China (I just unpacked them all on Thursday). I still couldn't find it. I called the airports I traveled through on my trip back and they didn't have it either. Oh my gosh! What to do? So yesterday I asked a good friend and my dad to pray that the Lord would help me know where to look for it and would help me to find it. Not even 30 minutes later I found it in a pile of old mail in the kitchen. Praise the Lord! He is good and helped me to find it.

It's funny because I felt so restricted without it. I felt so closed into this country. You know me; I like to be able to get up and travel anywhere! Now I feel so free to be able to travel and to see and go and do! The Lord knows me so well and knows what I need.

In Charleston

Well, here I am in Charleston visiting family. My brother, Chris, and I drove down on Sunday night with a little stop in Columbia along the way. It was a long drive but a fun one. We'll be here in Thursday just visiting Pop-Pop and Aunt Teresa while trying to be slick in buying Christmas gifts when no one is around. Oh...and we're catching up on our sleep. Yea!!!!!

A Change

So by now you all know that I'm back in the United States. And I think there may have been some confusion as to how long I would be here. I am not just visiting the States; I have moved back. It was the Lord who called me back here so here I came. I don't have any idea what's next for me though. I believe Him to be telling me to just wait and to rest in Him for a while. I trust that He'll show me the next step He wants me to take; He just hasn't made it clear to me what that will be. And that's okay. I'm thankful for this time of rest and being with family and friends-few get this time in their life.

So with this move back to America, this blog will be changing a bit. I will continue to post pictures and stories of my life. In addition to that I will hopefully be sharing my heart with you all in a more intimate way. The Lord is so good and so faithful and my desire is that everyone would be able to see that in my life. So I'm thrilled to be able to share with anyone willing to read about all the great things He has done and is doing.

I'm so happy to share with any of you how I came to the decision to return to the States. Please email me or call if you would like all the details. Thank you all for your prayers that have been said on my behalf. The Lord is good. He has led me to this point and He will continue.

Leaving

Today was my last full day in China. These last ten days in China have been a whirlwind. It feels like I've been here longer than ten days only because I've done so much in these days. It's been wonderful spending so much time with people and making more memories with them. I'm so sad to leave and so goodbye to these people that I've come to love so much. I'm spending the night with a friend tonight as I've given away everything in my house and it's empty now. I leave tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 8:00am to head to the Yinchuan airport. I leave Beijing at 4:00pm tomorrow afternoon and will arrive same day :) into Greensboro, NC at 10:15pm. What a long Wednesday! It's so crazy that I'll be in America soon. I can't believe it! I'm sad to leave here and excited to be there. I can't wait to see you all and talk with you and share everything that has happened!

Need to go?

Lately I've noticed that there are a lot of toilets sitting out by the trash. I know the reason seems obvious-"they're broken". But really? So many toilets breaking at the same time? Seems odd...

Beijing Marathon

So by now you all know that I didn't run in the marathon and I wasn't upset about it. But I did go to watch and cheer on my friends. Here are our memories...Julie and I before the race, Julie and Shelley before and then Shelley, Miha and I after Shelley finished the half marathon and then Julie and I after she finished the marathon. It's our tradition after every run that we give each a high five so we kept that tradition going for this last run.

Elf

So I'm home sick today. I've been in bed all day except to get dinner at the restaurant outside of my gate. I ordered fried rice for the fast time in this country. Can you believe that?

I'm sick and watching Elf. Yes, it's a Christmas movie-I know. But it's the movie I watch when I'm sick. It lifts my mood and makes me smile. :)

And my goodness the air is so crisp and clean outside. The leaves are changing and it smells of Fall. It's quite cold, which is why I'm sick. But the sky is beautiful and I love the smells that come with it!

One more week in China. This time next week I'll be on my international flight back to the States. I can't believe it.

Here, there and then back again

So...went to Thailand for five weeks. Soooo good! I was in Beijing this past weekend. It was the weekend of the marathon. I didn't run in it though. I decided not to. But I was there to cheer my friends on as they ran! And my goodness was it crazy! 30,000 people ran in the Beijing International Marathon and thousands more were watching. Mayhem, mayhem, mayhem...but also really exciting!

So now I'm back in Yinchuan and extremely busy! I'm packing up my house, selling stuff, giving it away, baking :) and saying goodbye to those I've come to love and care about. Got a lot to do and it's going to be hard. I've got some good pics from Thailand and from this weekend that I'll share with you. And I'll be back in the States on October 29th. Looking forward to visiting and seeing everyone!

Is it Burma or Myanmar?

Nowadays it's Myanmar but the people of that country still refer to themselves as Burmese and the country that they live in as Burma. Therefore, out of respect for them, I'm calling the country Burma from here on out.

I went there yesterday. Quick trip. I am in Thailand 40 days or something and my visa expires after 30. So yesterday I headed out with a friend I met here at The Juniper Tree and we drove to Burma. Quite crazy really. Took a map and sack lunch and headed out. Great fun! Crossed the border, got a new visa and came back. And then stayed in Chiang Rai, Thailand for the night before driving back to Chiang Mai, Thailand this morning. We actually just arrived at 3:45pm. Great drive through the mountains of Thailand and a great deal on two orchids. $10!

Thailand

So I'm in Chiang Mai, Thailand currently. I've been here for a week and will be here for four more weeks. And my goodness is it humid here. I went running this morning and came back completely soaking wet. And I'm pretty sure I'm drinking twice as much water as I normally do, and I drink a lot of water! I'm enjoying my time here. I am able to see a friend I met in January when I was in Pattaya. Now seeing a new city and all it has to offer. I keep meaning to take pictures and post them. I'll work on that this week.

Sadness

Julie and I registered for the Beijing Marathon last week. But we both got an email this morning telling us that registration is full and we cannot run the marathon. Sadness. We are really disappointed because we've been training for this since March. And it was a goal of mine for 2008 that now will not happen. So yeah, disappointment. But we are going to try and register today to run the 1/2 marathon. I've already done one of those, but she hasn't. But we don't want all of this training to go to waste. So just updating everyone. I guess now my new goal will be to run this 1/2 marathon faster than I ran the last one.

Rrrroaches are still here... I'm going to bomb those suckers this weekend!

Crawling out of where?

Talking to my mom this morning on Skype a roach crawled out of my computer! Oh my goodness! If they're laying eggs inside of my computer I'm going to just die! Can you imagine? I think I need to start backing things up today just in case the roaches take over my hard drive. I think I'm going to try and take pictures of these little guys. It may have to be a picture of a dead one because they run so fast! Gotta go...I'm going to RAID them!

Some eatin'

I wanted to share with you what the food is like here in China. Many of these photos are from when my mom was here. I'll try and break them down....This one will be all cold dishes. We have thinly sliced non-cooked potatoes and spicy cucumbers, pickled radishes, spinach, something with three different things (rice noodles, seaweed, carrots), and cucumbers and garlic.

Health Check

Do ya'll remember last year's health examination and the story that went with that one? Well, this one wasn't as dramatic, thank goodness.

Little side note here: I was called on Sunday (by my teacher) to bring in my passport so I could get my new visa. I came on Monday afternoon. I get there and he wants me health certificate from last year as well as four visa photos. What?!?! I don't have these. And I wasn't sure if I had thrown the health certificate away. I was in panic. So I run home and pull out every sheet of paper that I own and start looking for these documents. Low and behold, there they are, and with visa photos! So I hop back on my bike, pedal as fast as I can back to the school and deliver these things. (My visa was going to expire on Wednesday.)

Yesterday my teacher calls again. He wants me to bring my health certificate back up there. (They made a copy on Monday.) So I ride on up there give the certificate and he points out that it has expired. I really should pay attention to these things. So, what did that mean. That meant that yesterday afternoon I had to get new visa photos made and that this morning I had to go get a health examination in Old City.

Hopping in the taxi without my morning coffee was a drudgery in and of itself. I had no idea how much I rely on my coffee each day. Needlesstosay, I was a little slow this morning. I get to the hospital and see my Korean health exam buddy from last year. There he is, waiting for me and the teacher.

So we go through the whole morning of this exam and I found out that I'm so healthy! I'm much healthier than last even! Woo! Hoo! (That's for Amy Kannel!)

Yeah, I've lost 4 kilos in 2 mos. You might think that a lot or too much. But don't forget, I'm training for the marathon. I promise, I'm eating plenty! My pulse is 50 and I had been moving around already! And my blood pressure was 110/62. I was so happy! Of course, the doctor did get onto me about my eyesight. Apparently that is not good (I was scolded) and my night vision isn't good. But I'm not wasting these contacts I have just because they're not the "perfect" prescription. :)

Update on the Rrrroaches: still dying....

Lately

So lately some interesting things have been happening. Where do I even begin? I think I'll start with the Rrrroaches (say it with a roll of the tongue). Yes, I am living in a roach-infested apartment! And it's disgusting. Gives me the shivers. Yuck! So they first came on the scene, let's see, at the end of July. My way of dealing with bugs like that is to ignore them and hope that they just decide to go away. But I am smarter than that. I knew that wouldn't happen, just hoping it would. I returned from Beijing after being there with my mom, to see that hope was crushed and they rrrroaches were everywhere! Oh my gosh! What is a girl to do?

Girls, by definition (my opinion), are not meant to, nor should they have to, kill colonies of rrrroaches! No way! And after not being able to sleep for many nights because of the fear and paranoia of having roaches crawling all over me I called for help! I called an American guy who lives here. I've become friends with his wife. He did a ton of research online as what the problem would be and how to fix it. I bought trashcans with lids, removed EVERYTHING from my kitchen and totally disinfected the place! And yesterday the guy came over for the day while I hung out with his wife. He sprayed my den and kitchen with this highly potent stuff. Flipped my furniture upside down and sprayed it. Moved my fridge and sprayed that. Mopped my floor, and a bunch of other stuff. He found where they were all living and he said there were millions. I'm so glad I didn't find that. I would have died!

We also realized that they started coming into my house from my neighbors who live above me. So he came back that night and caulked my ceiling and all of the cracks in it. The poor guy worked so hard. So these nasty little guys are coming out of the woodwork and dying all over my house. They're dead and laying there. Gross.

Hopefully more will be dying as the days go on...

Look at all the birds

Traditionally in China old men carry around their song birds in these little cages. They take them to parks and other meeting places and meet together to hear the birds sing in harmony. We saw these birds many places as you can see!

Go Where?

So while in Xi'An and Beijing we were well...lost a few times. So we had to ask directions many, many times. Here are those times captured...

Engaged!

Not me! My little sister, Jennifer (affectionately called Jennipoo by me), is engaged! She's marrying a son of friends of the family. I just wanted to share the news! We're all excited!

Beijing Olympics

Our sitings of the Olympic excitement! We have mom there so excited as she stands in front of the "Birds Nest". This is where opening ceremonies was held as well as all track and field events. Part of Team Poland there standing and waiting. A car decorated for the event. (There were many of those; it made them "official".) Mom is standing with what my friends and I affectionately call the "friendlies". Those dolls that are mascots for the Olympics. The countdown board to the Olympics, which has been going on for I don't know how long. More to come...

Still Alive

Ran 13 miles this morning...I'm still alive.

The Squatty-Potty

For some of you this post may not be a "socially acceptable topic". But for the sake of culture, I have to do it. Please bare with me. This is a picture of a squatty-potty as the foreigners affectionately call it. It's called that because that's what you have to do-squat down. This is the preferred "toilet" in Asian culture, not just China. It's also popular in parts of Africa. I first encountered this "toilet" in Cambodia, again in Kenya, in India and now again in China. And usually in these bathrooms there is no toilet paper provided. So you must bring your own or well...there's a problem.

Another interesting story. Don't know if I shared this earlier, but as my parents and I were on the train to Xi'An at the beginning of our trip there was a toddler going to the bathroom in the public hallway of the train. And the mother was watching as it was running down the hall of the train. Then two of my friends were traveling on a train just last week and the woman woke up in the middle of the night to find that the child who was sleeping above her was urinating over the side of the bunk onto the floor. At first it's completely gross, but then you have to laugh at it. I mean, you know, This Is China. Oh and there will be more of these stories I'm sure. There are always more...

We found Wal-Mart!

Mom and I found Wal-Mart while we were in Xi'An. It wasn't like the one at home though. As you can see by the huge containers of rice a fish!

Back in Yinchuan

I have returned to Yinchuan as of late last night. And mom is still on her plane back to NC. We spent our last day in Beijing yesterday walking through the city. We went to the airport early and saw so many of the Olympic teams flying in from all over the world. It was so fascinating and fun! The news stations were everywhere and the Beijing airport was packed with people! I'll post pics later.

In Xi'An

Mom and I are in Xi'An, unable to post pics. We have visited a few markets here, with me buying some great, cheap fabric to get some skirts made when I get back to Yinchuan. We had the opportuntity yesterday to see the Great Mosque. It was so fascinating with the ancient architecture and ancient writing. We also talked with one of the men who work there and worship there regularly.

I also celebrated my one year anniversary of being in China yesterday with my friend, Morning, and her boyfriend, Sonny. We headed out for Indian food (my favorite) and then to Pizza Hut for dessert. Pizza Hut is nothing like it is in the States. It's actually a really fancy and expensive restaurant in China. But we could afford the dessert, which was really good. It was so strange to see Pizza Hut like that.

I can't believe I've been in China one year. Soooo much has happened in the past year! I can only imagine what the next year will hold!\

Today we're going out to walk the City Walls of Xi'An. The only city in China that has it's full city walls. We're going to meet up with Morning again this afternoon and head to a Bird Market and to The Temple of the Eight Immortals. Tonight we're going to a Tang Dynasty dancing performace and jiaozi (dumpling) feast. And tomorrow afternoon we fly to Beijing.

The Market

So, yea, we like going to the market- interesting foods, smells, and people! and for practical reasons if you want veges, you have to go to the market because there are no cans or frozen bags - but who doesn't love fresh veges! So this is our last trip to the market before leaving Yinchuan. My friend, Julie came with us. That fruit mom is holding is actually a honeydew melon. They don't grow them this big in the States! Make sure you look closely at the chicken and you'll notice that the head is still attached! All they do here is pluck them. The pan of "what in the world is that?" is actually a pan full of liver. Bon appetit!

Xiuxi- (C-O-She)

The Chinese nap or play some kind of game with friends between 12 and 2, every day. It's amazing to me that they can sleep Anywhere! and it looks so funny sometimes. These pics were taken in the market, but you see people sleeping all over town. We woke up the guy sleeping among the dried noodles when we snapped the pic, but he was a really good sport! and how would you like laying your head down against the raw meat. I haven't picked up the tradition!