Sam the Man

Today when I dropped Sam off at school I had a divine moment of realization.

I was kneeling by the table saying good morning to his buddies when the conversation started.

"We are going to beat up bad guys today," Sam's friend Kalif began. Sam and his other buddy Terry jumped right in. Being the mother I am, I quickly jumped in too. "Oh, we shouldn't beat people up," I told them. "We beat up bad guys," Terry explained with a tone that implied that the conversation was finished. Being the mother that I am...I was not done. "Oh, even if they are bad guys we shouldn't beat them up." Kalif quickly replied, "But bad guys sometimes have guns." "Then we should call the police," I responded. "Maybe you could pretend to be the police." Then in a way that only a child can say to his parents, Sam said, "Mmmmoooommm." I was shocked as I heard Sam's desperate tone to get me to stop. Then one of the boys let one rip. "It wasn't me," Kalif said. "Not me," said Sam.

As I heard Sam not claiming the foul smell on the heels of a conversation about beating up bad guys, it hit me. SAM WILL BE A MAN. I guess I just didn't think about my son turning into one. But he will.

A secret confession. I thought about stopping the teacher on my way out and asking her to move Sam's seat. I didn't.

A friend

Just two weeks ago at a conference I received an amazing confirmation and renewed calling to China. HE spoke to my heart so clearly answering one of my deepest fears about going to China - Will I have a friend there? I know it sounds silly, unspiritual, and selfish, but loneliness scares me. For an extrovert, living in a city where no one will understand me (outside of my spouse) is what nightmares are made from. Deep down I wonder if I will be able to handle it.

I walked into the conference not knowing that the theme was friendship. I must admit I rolled my eyes when I discovered the topic. But, as I sat in the auditorium with 8,000 of my closest girlfriends, HE spoke deep into my soul.

"Tammy, I will be your friend."
"Tammy, sometimes you need to leave things behind and trust ME."
"Tammy, pray and believe big things."

Today as I sat drinking coffee with a dear friend and co-worker sharing what I had learned at the conference - peace and sadness washed over me. Krista was excited and amazed with me over what I had learned. It was such a sweet time of fellowship between two friends. I was sad that moments like those with Krista would be ending in a few months. But she said it for me, "What a great reminder that HE will be your friend in Xining."

It is exactly what I need to hold on to. HE will be my friend. Yes, I will be leaving behind people I love, but I am believing HE is going to do big things in my life because I am willing.

WHAT?

So, what will we be doing in Qinghai?

To be honest we will be doing a lot of what we do here at MSU. A big difference will be that instead of hanging out with international students from all over the world...we will be international students hanging out with Chinese students!

Bryan and I will both be students studying Mandarin at Qinghai Normal University. It is a school specifically to train teachers. The university actually has a good English department so the Chinese students we have been hanging out with the past two summers have been fluent in English (which makes it a lot easier)! The program we will be a part of actually looks kinda like a tutoring program. We are able to learn Chinese at our own pace and are assigned to a teacher with any other foreign student at our level. (This university actually has other westerners that are there to learn Chinese.) We have been told that on average it takes seven years for someone to learn Mandarin.

For Samuel...he will be enrolled in an international school in the city. We were able to visit the school and meet the principal this past summer. There is a community of foreigners (from the UK, Korea, the US and more) who have pooled resources together to form a school for their kids. We were very impressed with the school. He will learn in English in the mornings and Chinese in the afternoons. Sound familiar? It should! That is what his pre-school was like this past year.

One reason we are trying to leave the end of July is so that we have a few weeks to settle in before school starts for all of us at the end of August.

So that is what we will be up to. We have answered the "where" and "what" questions of this next phase in our journey. Now we are waiting to see how HE answers the "how" question!

US Travels before China

We are trying to be ready to head to China the end of July (or maybe the beginning of Aug). Of course that time line might vary based on when our house sells, and how our fund development is going. If you would pray for those things, we would appreciate it greatly!

One important thing that we hope to accomplish before July is visiting as many friends and family as possible. So we thought we would post our travel plans. If you would like us to visit you or your church please send us an email.

March 25 - April 8 | Florida/Georgia/Alabama

May 12 - May 19 | Cedar Campus in the UP Michigan

June 6 - June 21 | Madison, Wisconsin (orientation for LINK)

June 24 - June 30 | Bethlehem Family Camp, Florida

July | back in Michigan to complete packing

Some of these dates might vary a bit and we can add in visits so please let us know if we are going to be in your area. Thanks.

As you can see it will be a crazy few months. We appreciate you thinking of the kids and praying for them to handle the travel and change well.

Just to make you smile.

Their smiles make me smile. I thought you might enjoy them too!

A determined Ruthie

Determined is a great way to describe Ruthie. (At times I have been known to call her stubborn, but my mom quickly reminds me that I was the same!) She has been displaying her determination in her new quest for a baby sister or brother. She has decided that the power to get a new baby is in praying.

For two weeks she has been praying every night for a baby. "God please put a baby in my mommy's tummy. I will be a good big sister!" "God help us find a baby with no family. I will be a good big sister!"

It all seemed innocent until Saturday.

We were packing our bag in the locker room after enjoying a swim, when a family with a tiny baby walked in. "Hey," Ruthie yelled. "How did God give them a baby? I still don't got one!" I smiled sweetly at the young mother and ushered the kids out QUICKLY before Ruthie decided to grab the baby and run!

Our one sorrow in moving to China is that Ruthie's prayers may go unanswered for awhile. As a family we feel very passionate about adopting which we put on hold in order to study in China. We are believing that God will satisfy this desire in our hearts somehow, sometime. Right now we just are not sure how. At times I feel as impatient and determined to make it happen as Ruthie. We would appreciate you joining our family in seeking God's heart in this matter. He has placed a desire in our lives to move to China as well as to adopt. May we trust Him with both.

Our new home in China

This week we have been finalizing details surrounding our new home in China. We are very thankful to the American couple who is helping us. They have been students at the university for two years and are returning to the States in July. Perfect timing for us to take over the lease on their apartment that is just on the edge of campus.

Several folks have been asking us about the living conditions where we will be headed. As you can see we will be very comfortable. Here are photos of the living room, and kitchen. I also thought you would enjoy the photo of the small bathroom. There is a second bathroom that has a western toilet. So no worries. If you come to visit you won't have to squat the whole time!

Winter Fun!

We have two creative children who have become even more creative as the winter months drag on. Ruthie's toddler bed has been turned into a airplane that travels from their buddy Alyssa's house, to Nana's house, to China. The living room has been transformed into a zoo. The stuffed animals all carefully separated according to what they like to eat. But the latest adventure is one of the best of all.

The bathroom was deemed the "Williams Water Park"! A large tote was filled with warm water and bubbles - "the hot tub". A second tote was filled with cold water and ice cubes. The shower was the sprinklers and you could ride in a small tote through the waterfall. As I sat and watched them I thought two things: 1. Praise God for tile floors, and 2. so this is what kids in Michigan do for fun in the winter!

a home in China

We feel very blessed to have a great lead on an apartment for our family when we move to China. An American family we had met last summer emailed us that they are preparing to come back to the States and wondered if we would want to take over their lease on their apartment. We were amazed. As we had walked around campus last summer their apartment complex was the one we said, "if we ever move here we would want to live here."

It gets better! They have also offered to sell us their furniture and dishes etc. It will make the whole transition much easier to have a home to move directly into.

It seems that things keep falling into place which confirms to us that we are being led to move to China. Thanks for praying for us and our big move!