Seeing The Unseen

Looking out my window this week has been nothing is not bleak.  In fact it started out as bleak and worked it's way right into downright depressing.  Air pollution is not a new thing for us.  Most mornings we start out not by checking the weather, but by checking the air quality index.  Recess at our school is not determined by good weather vs. bad weather.  It is determined by acceptable vs. unacceptable air pollution.  This week took unacceptable to a whole new level.  Monday the air took on an acrid smell and started getting thicker. The number outside was over 200 and growing.  (just for reference, if you live in the U.S. or E.U. your level is most likely under 20) We cancelled the kids outdoor playtime and hoped for a better day tomorrow.  Tuesday the intensity of the situation really set in.  The grayish-yellow clouds made it hard to see very far out the windows and quickly brought to a halt any desire to go outdoors. The number...

I love living abroad.  One of my favorite things about it is the chance to meet so many people from around the world.  Making friends who speak different languages, eat different foods, have different habits, and different ideas is fascinating.  It makes you stop and re-examine why it is that you do things a certain way.  It helps you recognize that some of the things you call normal behavior aren't normal at all to someone else. This week at our school we are celebrating international day.  A chance for all of our students from different countries and cultures to share the costumes, foods, and customs of their home with the rest of the group.  It was exciting to see what the different kids have to offer. We had a wonderful day today trying different foods, learning new songs, dances, and games, making fun crafts, and coming to understand a little more about the diversity in the world.  It was a treat to see the students light up as they came dr...

             (Pollution Level under 100) WARNING:  If you are my mother, you should stop reading right now.  This may disturb your sleep. Just this week we had our air purifiers delivered.  3 of them to be exact.  The pollution here seems to be climbing to new levels weekly and it's becoming to hard to ignore.  We are in a constant debate as to whether 4+ years ago when we arrived in China the pollution existed in our city to the same degree as it does now.  We aren't sure if we were just ignorant at the time and the "fog" that often plagues our seaside city was indeed pollution, or if it is actually that much worse now.  But whatever the case, we are painfully aware of the pollution levels now.  There are multiple apps on our smartphones that remind us daily of the levels that we face.  In fact I have stopped checking the weather forecast for the day when I wake up.  I'm much more interested in th...

With our kids finally a little grown up (i.e. no diaper bag necessary) we felt it was finally time to take a little trip inside of China.  Now that everyone can carry their own backpack and pull their own suitcase traveling in China’s most tourism heavy holiday seemed like a possibility.  So we hopped on a train with the Thorpe crew and headed off to explore Suzhou and Hangzhou, two famously beautiful cities outside of Shanghai and most importantly to re-connect with the Doyle family who left us to move south 2 years ago.  Rewind 4 years ago and I was fresh “off the boat” from the states.  Shell shocked and bewildered with a 5 month old and 2 year old hanging on each side of me, I arrived into Qingdao not knowing what to expect.  Still wondering where I fit into this strange new world, I happened upon two lovely ladies at a community BBQ;  Carrie with her 6 month old Mac in arms, and Jill with 1 year old little Zoe toddling close behind.  As i...

The older I get, the more thankful I am for my education, all 32 years of it to date.  Starting with my parents, Sunday school teachers, pastors, preschool, primary and secondary teachers, college professors, mentors, and the fantastic doctors and nurses I worked alongside, the list is long.  The number of people who have invested themselves into my life is staggering.  With each passing year I am little by little coming to realize the full value of the wealth of knowledge and wisdom that was passed onto me through so many people’s lives.  My parents are celebrating their 30 something anniversary this weekend.  What I learned from them about a good marriage, communication, love, child-rearing, and simple faith is priceless.  It guides me every day.  There is not a day that goes by where I do not hear their wise words as I try to live as a Godly mother and wife in my home.     In this past year I have helped to teach classes...

2 weeks ago now the staff of the school had a team building activity.  We drove up into the mountains and visited a site dedicated to that idea.  One of the activities we participated in involved quite a leap of faith.  Strapped into a harness you climbed a telephone pole up to a platform  about  20  feet in the air.  Then we walked out onto a plank attached to the platform and had to jump across an open air gap to another plank and then back.  It was a pretty intimidating jump.  Saying you could do it and then actually finding the courage to jump once you were up there are two different things.  You had to really trust that the harness would hold you if you missed your jump.  In China that’s no small leap of faith. Things here aren’t known for their reliability.   Starting off this semester we are meeting a few people who have just arrived in China for their first time.  Helping them sort through things brings bac...

Just this month, my first born turned 6.  It was a bittersweet moment for me.  He seems just recently to be so old.  His questions about life, eternity, and everything in between are often very deep and insightful.  There isn’t very much he needs my help with anymore.  He can dress himself, brush his own teeth, shower, and so many other things that used to require so much of my assistance.  Of course he still always wants me around and asks for help even when he doesn’t need it sometimes just to keep me close.  I’m glad he hasn’t grown out of wanting me nearby.  He still loves to show me everything he makes and every new accomplishment.  He is tenderhearted and responsible, always wanting to do the right thing, ever ready to help.  Six seems old to me.  Maybe because it’s the first birthday I remember.  I can picture sitting around my dining room table with a bunch of giggly little girls.  I could still name m...

Our little preschool world                                                                   The beautiful painting by Maddie's Teacher Pizza Making Party About a month ago now, we closed the door on a wonderful chapter of our lives.  2 1/2 years ago Rob and I came to visit the city we now live in.  We came in search of a preschool for our kids.  We had nothing really to go on, but an internet search.  We didn't know anyone who lived in the area and had nowhere to go for recommendations.  So after arriving in town, we started to work off the list we had come up with.  We visited schools so gross that I almost puked from the smell the minute we walked in the building and so ritzy we would never be able to afford them.  We couldn't even get past the gate of one school so exclu...

It's summertime for us!  Finally!  We are enjoying a much needed break from the heavy demands of this last teaching semester.  Physically and Mentally we were desperate for rest and rest we are now getting.  One of the great joys of our rest period is having the chance to sit down with a friend or two  one-on-one that we don't usually connect with during the school year.  I had that chance yesterday and it was sweet.  I knew God was doing amazing things in the heart and life of my friend but I hadn't yet had the chance to hear of it personally.  Sitting quietly in a little cafe and hearing story after story, detail after detail of answered prayer and the clear movement of God in re-directing a life was like water for my thirsty soul.  Times like those can't come often enough and they are valuable in so many ways.  One thing they bring is visible reassurance of God's specific working right now, in this time and this place.  A second ...

Doesn't She Look So Grown UP? Last week I broke my daughter’s heart.  It’s the first time that I remember her looking at me that way.  If you know Maddie then you know she is quick to laugh, mischief in her eyes, strong, and determined.  She doesn’t cry easily and if she does it’s mostly from pain (falling down or getting a cut) or occasionally embarrassment.  She spends most of her time chattering, singing, and giggling which is the direct opposite of her first year of life in which she cried non-stop and I wondered if she would ever be happy.  PTL that she developed into a pixie full of smiles and mischief.  She loves to hold babies, especially adorable cousins like Delaney We were riding in the elevator up to our apartment, behind me I could hear Robbie and Maddie chattering away to each other. We were leaving the next day for a quick trip to Beijing and so I was only half listening to the content of their conversation while I mentally ...

International Children’s Day was a wild success!  I’m not sure how international the day really is.  I hadn’t heard of it until we moved here.  But it is a huge deal in China and tends to be super fun!  Preschools and primary schools have big performances, field trips, or parties.  Our preschool does Children’s Day in big fashion that is seriously exciting to be a part of.  Each class spends the month of May practicing their performance non-stop.  By the time the big day rolls around they are ready to go and so excited to show off for their parents and grandparents.  This year they also asked the parents to join in the performances.  I was skeptical at first, but in the end it turned out to be so much fun.  Providentially my performance was in traditional Chinese Tai Chi because after watching the other parent’s performances, I realized how lucky I was.  My performance didn’t include any hip shaking J   Rob cancelle...

Our friends left today after a week long stay with us. It was a week full of good food, stories, laughter, and fun. Our spirits were lifted, our moods were lightened, and our hearts were encouraged by the time shared. Not many people can live in your house for a week and in leaving make you wish they had stayed a little longer. That’s the mark of good friends. They told us we encouraged them, and thanked us for our investment into their lives. But in reality their lives are as much a gift to us as ours will ever be to them. And we are acutely aware that we are only able to invest in them because we have been invested into by another couple equally precious to us that have spent years of their lives pouring God’s grace into ours. We can bless others because we were blessed. Life works like that, all of our lives touching each other, brushing up against each other, bumping into one another. All of those interactions shape us in little or big ways depending upon the depth...

This past week was filled with difficult news on all sides of the world. The two countries that I call home were rocked by tragedy both natural and evil. I grieved to read the news and hear stories of the lives that were lost and the pain and suffering that were inflicted. But also in a strange way reflecting on the stories brought me some reassurance and comfort. Since we announced our move to Asia, there have been the regular and innocently asked questions about the safety of our choice. “You’re braver than I am”, “I could never do that”, “Your poor mother”, “Are you afraid?”. Whether intentional or unintentional they always inflict some small measure of guilt in my heart. After all, what kind of a mother chooses to move her children away from the safety of a modern country and into a country where medical care, clean air, and safe food are not always readily available? As the guilt and doubts pop up in the soil of my heart, I always try to prune them out with the truths of scriptu...

A few days ago, we went to the traffic police office to check and see if we had any outstanding tickets. The traffic enforcement here is done almost all by camera and it's often difficult to know if the flashes you see while driving are just "big brother" watching or if you've actually received a ticket. So we periodically stop in to check out our offences, and claim the designated points against our licenses. (To Rob's utter delight, this time there was only one offence and the photo proved my guilt :-) After the offending points are assigned to a specific driver, you proceed to the bank to pay your fine. I've been to the bank here plenty of times and so I know that you always have to leave plenty of time and be prepared for the wait. It's a little like the deli counter at the grocery store in the states. You walk in, get your number from the machine, and sit down to wait for your turn. Often it can be up to an hour wait depending on the time of...

Not so long ago, I watched my daughter pick up something small and place it in her hand. A few minutes later I asked her about it and watched in amazement as she clenched her tiny fist around it, dug in her heels and refused to give it up. What had started as an innocent question from me, quickly developed into an all out mother/daughter war as we battled wills over this tiny object. The object itself had virtually no intrinsic value and my original intent was simply to talk with her about it and replace it with something better. Now however she left me no choice but to do battle for her little heart as her actions and attitude revealed her resolution to be the master of her tiny world. She reminds me of me. Quite a few years ago now as a very young woman/girl, God asked me for something very precious to me, and at once the facade of my trust in Him was stripped away and like a small stubborn child I clenched my fist tight and refused to give it up. Like my daughter I screa...

Air quality is a big deal around here these days. It always is in this part of the world since there are not a lot of quality controls over industry and pollution levels. But our city has always been one of the exceptions to the rule on this front. While the air quality doesn't usually come close to rivaling our home towns, it is also has been pretty good for a big city in comparison with most of the larger cities in this region. But apparently this winter some weather patterns changed and while we were on our U.S. holiday the pollution level in the air rose to dangerous levels on a regular basis. Our first week back was dismal and left me a little fearful to see if this was our new normal. But the second week back the wind returned. I freely admit that for our past 3 winters here I have always complained quite a bit about the crazy winter winds. They have inconveniently blown myself and my poor children around as we have tried valiantly to reach our destination walking or...