Okay, if any of you did not watch Sarah Palin's speech last night, go online and WATCH IT!!!  It was AMAZING!!!  Probably the best speech I've seen from someone in politics.  Well...this is my first year really paying attention to it...anyway, it was just really great.  FANTASTIC!!!
Some of my favorite things she said:

"The difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?  Lipstick."

"A writer observed: 'We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity.'  I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.
"I grew up with those people.  They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America ... who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.  They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America."

"I've learned quickly these past few days that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.  But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country."

"Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.  And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.  I gues a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities."

"...there is much to like and admire about our opponent.  But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this man has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state Senate."

"And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they are always, quote, "fighting for you," let us face the matter squarely.  There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you.  In places where winning means survival and defeat means death.  And that man is John McCain."

"I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening.  We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco."

"This is a man [Barack Obama] who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fightin, and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campain.  But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent's plan?  What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning the waters and healing the planet?"

"Harry Reid, the Majority Leader of the current do-nothing Senate, not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee.  He said, quote, 'I can't stand John McCain.'  Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we've chosen the right man.  Clearly what the Majority Leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to John McCain."

I love her more than never before and I'm so excited for the debates.  Have you noticed that when Obama speaks, he only does it well when he has a written speech in front of him, AND a teleprompter???  Then, when he's confronted by the media unplanned, with nothing to read from, he stumbles, he pauses, and his answers are completely weak.  So, I don't think he's going to do that well during the debates when he has to come up with things on his own.

After a convention, the nominee's poll points are supposed to jack up.  Obama's did...until Palin was announced the Vice President.  Then McCain's was closer.  Then, last night when Palin gave her speech, Obama and McCain are now at a tie.  And that's only because of the VP.  Just imagine what's going to happen when McCain gives his speech tonight! 

Have you heard the things said about Palin now?  My dad told me today that Barack Obama said something along the lines of "Palin denounced Jesus when she put down community organizers because Jesus was the first community organizer."  And some people are going to be believing that. 

I'm sure going to be praying for this year's election.  Wouldn't that be awesome if we had like two terms of McCain, then two terms of Palin???  Wouldn't that be FANTASTIC if the first woman president would be a strong, Christian, conservative woman instead of Clinton?  Just some thoughts.

In Christ,
Messenger

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So, only a few days after John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin for his VP, we find out Palin's oldest daughter, Bristol, is pregnant.  Now, I am not posting to bring down the Palin family, but I want to share my thoughts about the situation.

Because I have felt called to someday open a crisis pregnancy center, my heart goes out to girls in Bristol's circumstance more than anything else.  These girls have given away something that was precious, even if they didn't realize it, and they're now feeling what happens when they do that. But, I do not believe that abortion is the right way to go.  Children are gifts, so I boldly applaud Bristol's choice to go through and have the child (and she's even planning to marry the father).  Many have now criticized the Palin's for being so pro-life, and so Christian, and so against this kind of thing out of wedlock, but I think that Dr. James Dobson says it best:

"In the 32-year history of Focus on the Family, we have offered prayer, counseling and resource assistance to tens of thousands of parents and children in the same situation the Palins are now facing. We have always encouraged the parents to love and support their children and always advised the girls to see their pregnancies through, even though there will of course be challenges along the way. That is what the Palins are doing, and they should be commended once again for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances.

"Being a Christian does not mean you're perfect. Nor does it mean your children are perfect. But it does mean there is forgiveness and restoration when we confess our imperfections to the Lord. I've been the beneficiary of that forgiveness and restoration in my own life countless times, as I'm sure the Palins have.

"The media are already trying to spin this as evidence Gov. Palin is a 'hypocrite,' but all it really means is that she and her family are human. They are in my prayers and those of millions of Americans."

There are many Christian girls who make the same mistake, but that does not mean they are failures.  It means we too, as Christians, are not perfect.  We are saved by grace, and every time we make a mistake, are forgiven. 

I've heard Bristol is due in December, and I am praying for the whole Palin family on this challenge in their lives.  Whether Bristol is keeping the child, or giving the baby up for adoption, she has made the right decision to walk the walk in saying that every child should be given life. 

In Christ,
Messenger

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Wow, that's the longest title, I've ever had.

Anyway, we saw Journey to the Center of the Earth today in 3D.  Honestly, they really could've done a better job.  It seemed to go really quick.  They could've shown the uncle and nephew at the house for a little longer about their difficulties bonding, added more acting in the center of the earth, shown more about the girl and her dad's relationship (she said something in the beginning that made it seem like she and her dad didn't get along well or something), they could've made it better and longer.  When they were escaping, I was like, "What?  That's it?  It's over???"  Oh well.  And they jacked up the prices for seeing something in 3D!!! 

I'm sure most everyone has heard about McCain picking Sarah Palin to be his VP.  I'd never even heard of her before today, but now I think I really like her!  I read up on her and learned she was the leader of some Christian athletes association when she was in high school and was the leader of prayer before their basketball games in high school.  And, she is very, very pro-life.  If McCain gets elected, I really hope she can sway him to do something about abortion!
Oh, I can't wait to see the debates!  I saw Obama being interviewed about McCain's choice of Palin, and he stumbled through his words!  Sure, he can give a good speech when he's got material and reading form a teleprompter (that's the word, right?), but when he has nothing, he's stuttering, giving long pauses, and his answers are pretty weak.  I can't wait for the debates when he has no material!  I'm really hoping McCain will get in.
Now, McCain wasn't my first pick in the beginning.  It was Huckabee.  But, I think it'd be better for McCain to be in than Obama!  And I just realized that next election (2012) will be the year I graduate and the year I vote for the next president!  If Palin runs for president, I could vote for her...?? :)

Okay, the life of a young author is hard sometimes.  When my sister or brothers are on the computer, I have to use my mom's computer, and if she's using hers, then I have to write it down on paper (but I'm not complaining about that).  When half of my story is on the computer, and the other half is on paper, that's when it gets difficult.  If I want to write more, or correct, I like to print my story that I started on the computer and use a pen.  It's so much easier.  And right now, the story I'm talking about is like ten pages long (I've only begun it, it's not finished yet).  So, I want to take the 10-page story up to my room so I can more easily put it all together, with the hand-written papers, and correct it with a pen. 
But my mom doesn't seem to get it.  In fact, no one really seems to get it.  I like having my WHOLE story with me (and right now it's ten pages), but my mom is saying that ink is too expensive right now for me to print something off.  I think what I'm going to ask for next Christmas (not this Christmas; with my dad quitting - or resigning - his job, we're trying to cut back on money...a lot) is a laptop.  Even if I'm not given the internet I would REALLY like my own computer.  If it only had word, I'd be happy.  That's all I really need.  I can use internet on this computer and do my writing on the laptop. 
And no one seems to understand!!!!!!!!!!!! 
I don't know if I'm being selfish or reasonable, though...
What's the problem with printing off ten pages???  IT'S TEN PAGES NOT A WHOLE BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I just needed to vent for a moment.  Today hasn't been the best.

Okay, I think those are my only thoughts today really.

In Christ,
Messenger

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In church these past two weeks we've been talking and praying about eachother's burdens.  At the beginning, I was so fired up for God.  We'd just gotten back from China, my dad was quitting his job (and I've been SO excited for the changes that are coming with that), and I felt perfectly fine.
Then two nights ago came.
My sister and I have really, REALLY wanted to be involved in a youth group.  Our church is so small (yet, it's really great to be in), that we don't have a youth group.  The youth: me, my sister, and this other guy that just turned 13.  So, what are we to do?  We ask my dad if we can search, yet again, for a youth group.  In the past, we've found one really awesome youth group - but it's 30 minutes away.  The one closer we went too is so HUGE and it seems like everyone has their own little clique.  We've gone to a few others, but they just don't seem to be the one we're looking for.

And then I met this girl at the end of school.  She is the first girl I've met that has such a good relationship with God and is open to talking about Christianity and issues, and whatever else that is on her heart.  Exactly what I was looking for in a friend.  So, she invites me to a purity class that's going on for almost the whole school year.  You're taught about abortion, sex before marriage, it covers probably EVERYTHING.  The most I was looking forward to about this class was learning and being able to help other girls struggling with modesty, the thought of abortion, or whatever else. 
Can you guess what time it meets?
The same time our church meets - 5 pm every Sunday.
So my dad's answer?
No.

Well, that's what it basically sounded like to me anyway.  And the whole thing has been kept silent ever since.
Until two nights ago at least.

My sister and I brought the subject of looking for a youth group again.  And as my dad begins to talk, it sounds like this HUGE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!  He has this tendency to mention all the negatives of what we're asking for and then he says, "But I'm not saying no."  And we're like "Really?  Cause that's what it sure sounds like with everything you have against it."
So my dad starts talking about all the kids that go to youth group just to hang out; all the kids that go there that may seem on fire for God, but later leave the church altogether; all the stories he's heard of the young youth pastors abusing his students, running off with the pastor's wife, whatever the bad story may be; that my sister and I would probably find it hard to get involved since we don't go to the church; he puts on this whole NOOOO! talk. 
And then: "But this doesn't mean it's a no."

I'M ABOUT READY TO SCREAM!!!

So, I brought up the purity class again, in a letter, telling my dad, what if we ask how our church feels about meeting in the late morning?  I ask him what the harm is, what if this is God's will?  Later I learn he feels really bad that I can't seem to find a youth group, that everything that comes up seems to not work. 

Now I feel bad...I mean, really bad.

How can I show my desires without feeling so bad, without seeming to hurt my dad's feelings that his teaching isn't satisfying my desire to be with other teens?  Even though I love his teaching, and I've really grown from sitting in with the adults, I so want that relationship with other teens who have the same passion for God as I do.  But...I don't know what to do.

So, Sunday, my dad and I are being prayed over.  I'm sure they're going to be asking me about what burdens I have, and that's what I'm going to say.  I think I'm scared that this desire in my heart to be involved in a youth group, to go on trips with other teen girls and grow in my relationship with God with other teens, won't be met, that maybe God has another plan.  This is the first time I'm really scared about what God has in store.  Does He want me to be in a youth group?  Or is there something else?  I've been asking him to give me peace about whatever his will is, but I'm not feeling that peace.

Messenger

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So, last weekend it was a day for girls!  My brothers were at a sleepover, my cousins (who we watch five days a week) stayed home, and my dad was at work.  It was only my sister, mom and me.  So, what did we do?  We got ready for school, but shopping at the mall.  I got some new jeans and my sister got a few shirts.  We almost saw a movie, but decided to go to the lake 'casue it was so hot! 

Anyway, the reason for my writing this blog.  On our way into the mall, we stopped for some reason...I think my sister had to tie her shoe...I can't remember.  Anyway, there was this woman sitting on a bench by the entrance to the mall, her head down so her hair was covering her face, and a cell phone in her hand.  As soon as we stopped we noticed she had begun crying...quite loudly, yelling something out that either was too warbled by the sobbing, or in another language.  My mom looked to us and we started whispering among ourselves, asking questions about the situation that was on our minds.  But what did we do?  We continued walking.  I continued walking.  There was no stopping to comfort her, to tell her of Jesus' love and healing for whatever she was going through....nothing.  And the whole walk through the mall, guilt chewed away at my mind. 

Why couldn't we have done something?  Why didn't we do something?  She could've just gotten a call that a loved one died, got severely injured, that she didn't make it into a college...whatever it was, she was devastated.  And we walked by.  There were others around, too.  And they just walked by as well.  God was really speaking to me to DO SOMETHING!  It was screaming in my mind, tugging at my heart, bringing tears to my eyes.  But I pushed the voice of God away and went to shopping. 

I started making excuses.  Well, my mom, a pastor's wife continued on.  My sister continued on.  They didn't stop.  I can't just leave them and do it all by myself.  That brought to mind the new movie "Prince Caspian".  I saw the movie on the airplane from Beijing to Vancouver and it was still fresh in my mind.  Unfortunately, I cannot remember the exact lines, but I'll give you what I understood from it.
Towards the end of the movie, where Lucy finally meets Aslan (and not in a dream), she says something like she's sorry but the others didn't believe her.  Aslan, though, says to her, why did that stop you from coming to me? 
That hit me hard thinking about the woman on the bench.  I failed.  I followed the crowd.  I let my fears and the influence of others stop me from following God, and doing something to help that lady.  By the time we left the mall, she was gone.  And who knows where she is now?  Who knows what's happened to her?  Only God, and I'm hoping he brought someone along that did help her.

Now, I'm usually not that compassionate toward that kind of a situation.  All I can say is I got my dad's compassion level (which is not very high...at all).  But when God tells me something, I find a compassion for someone on the street.  One time - (I don't mean to boast) - there was a woman on the street in Seattle singing, holding up a sign that says "Anything will help".  In my hand, I had just purchased a book by dc Talk, called "Promises for a Jesus Freak".  Tons of Scriptures were in there to help in almost any situation.  But as soon as I saw her, I felt a need for her to have that book, to hold with her God's Word for times of trouble.  So, I walked up and gave it to her.  It's all fuzzy now, walking up to her, I just remember I was scared out of my mind and shaking so bad.  But I gave it to her.  When we walked to the same store she'd been standing outside of, she was singing "Lord I Lift Your Name On High".  I felt so encouraged.
But with that woman outside the mall, I felt so discouraged, so low and so helpless.  I felt like a failure in God's eyes, like He was shaking His head as he looked down on us walking away.  Now, I know that's probably not true.  Everyone makes mistakes, and that was a huge one for me that my heart still breaks over. 

My point is that when you hear God's voice, obey it.  Don't question it, don't think about it too long, don't let others tell you otherwise.  Listen and obey.  Who knows what could happen?  I have no idea where that singing lady, or the crying woman are in their lives, but God does.  And when we obey Him, He can do something HUGE in others' lives.  Who knows what could happen? 

I still feel huge regret over that mistake, but I've learned.  Next time, I will do something.  I pray that God will give us all courage to obey His voice.

In Christ,
Messenger

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In two weeks I am officially a high schooler.  Man, only a few days ago I was so stressed about what classes I need to take, what classes I shouldn't take, how different it's going to be, the whole thing about high school.  But last night my mom and I sat down and figured out what classes I'll be taking and now I'm so excited to start!!!

So, my first semester I'll be taking these classes:
Creative Writing
Math
Life Skills
Drama

Drama takes up all of after lunch, so it's like two classes.  But, drama only lasts the first semester.  So, my second semester is going to look like this:
Lit (in place of Creative Writing)
Careers 1
Health
Math

And because there aren't any classes I need to be taking after math for the last hour, I get to go home!  This year is going to be awesome! 
Oh!  Then logic/debate is being taught on Tuesdays, so I get to take that class if there isn't too much homework involved.  (Even if there was, I would love to take that class!). 
My favorite teacher is teaching Creative Writing and Lit, and he's written a book or two.  I can't wait for him to teach me writing! 
DRAMA!!!!!!!!  I fell in love with this last year when we practiced for the play "Did Someone Say Murder?"  That year of drama wasn't the best.  We made TONS of mistakes in the three performances we had to put on, but we had a blast learning it.  Hopefully this year, though, the people that didn't really put much into acting and learning their lines have learned their lesson and will work harder this year.  I REALLY HOPE SO!!!

So, for high school, you have to have a certain number of credits for each class.  My mom and I have figured it so that my electives are saved for Running Start, so I can do anything I want for at least some of the schooling.  (By the way, Running Start is a program where you can start your two years of college your last two years of high school, so you're doing both and you get your AA when you graduate from high school). 

That's it for now.

In Christ,
Messenger

A lark threatened with death for singing would still continue to sing.
She cannot renounce her nature.  Neither can we Christians.

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Anyone watching the Olympics?  Well, we have been.  The most we've been watching is swimming, even though we're not much of a swimming family.  In fact, we're all involved in TKD, but we've decided to watch Michael Phelps, the swimmer who wants to break the world record of getting 8 gold medals in one Olympics.  Already he has both four golds and world records!  Only half-way there.  But it's amazing, just watching what others will be talking about many Olympics from now!

We'll be able to tell our children as they watch the Olympics what we saw in the 2008 games.  As I'm writing this, it's a half-hour into Wednesday (:P).  We stayed up to watch Michael Phelps and his team.  Oh my gosh!  They blew everyone, AND the world record away!  It's amazing!  It's so exciting seeing the Americans beat world records, get gold medals.  In the water anyway. 

Goodnight!

In Christ,
Messenger

P.S. By the way, my post on the China trip is posted below. 

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Hey, everyone!  I'm back from the China trip!  Man was it great!  But I'm oh so happy to be home.  So, you all ready for a long post?  I've got my journal here so I can remember what happened every day and some of the feelings I had.  If you want to learn about the whole two week trip, keep reading.

Friday, July 25: Our departure day.  I can't really remember what time we left or anything, but it was pretty early in the morning.  I only got five hours of sleep Thursday night, but I was so excited about leaving I was wide awake.  OUr whole team met at the airport and we all wore our blue shirts.  You know we made shirts, right?  If not, we bought royal blue polos and a guy we know embroidered them with a torch on the left breast pocket with the Chinese love symbol and "China 2008" on the sleeve.  Anyway, we wore them so we'd see eachother easily. 
Our plane took off for Vancouver and it was TINY!  It only seated 53 people.  Going from Seattle to Vancouver was not a problem.  It took under an hour!  The Vancouver airport was the best airport I've ever seen!  It was very nice with waterfalls, fish tanks, indoor ponds.  It had a very relaxing atmosphere about it. 
But from there, we hopped on the 11 hour trip from Vancouver to Beijing.  I've traveled on planes before, but the longest was eight - nine hours, from Seattle to Florida.  But this was a long trip.  Thankfully there were personal TVs on the back of every chair for people.  They had movies, shows, music, and a map to show you where you were, the temperature outside, everything. 
I ended up watching "Spiderwick Chronicles", "Horton Hears a Who", and "Nim's Island". 
Through this long flight, I found out I get motion sickness.  I think it's just on the long rides, though.  'Cause last year when we went to Florida, I was fine.  Anyway, they served us three meals.  Boy was I glad I brought snacks.  That plane food was nasty.  Even the little chocolate pudding they had was not worth eating.  For our last meal an hour before we landed they told us we'd be having noodle special.  We got excited, but what was set in front of me was not what I thought would be called a "noodle special".  Cup of noodle.  I ate it more than I had the others and immediately I started feeling naseous.  Right after I ate about half to the cup, the plane made this huge sudden drop.  My stomach didn't seem to agree with that.  So it decided to throw a fit. 
I didn't feel good the rest of the way.  We hopped on a plane from Beijing to Xining which was under 2 hours, and I slept most of the time.  But on our way down I grabbed the little throw up bag just in case.  I was feeling horrible!  And that was a huge discouragement.  Already the trip was starting off wrong. 
(By the way: by this time, we had crossed the International Dateline, which meant it was now Saturday).
The Xining airport was small, so we were able to easily find the guy we were meeting.  For safety, I'm going to call this guy Bob.  He was there, holding in his hand a video camera, the red light on as we walked toward them.  I hid in the back because I knew I was pale with dry lips, looking like at any time my stomach would finally push my noodles back up. 
Bob had brought with him a Chinese friend I'll call Mike.  He could talk a little english so my dad spoke with him for a minute.
Now it was time to get on the bus.  Being sick, I hopped onto the front and a nurse that came with us gave me some naseua medicine that knocked me out.  I was so happy to go to sleep and get rid of the pain.  But 45 minutes later, I woke up, opened my little bag and the noodles were free.  Wow I felt so much better!  And by that time we were only 15 minutes away from the hotel.  It was about 10 or 11 at night and the Chinese people with us were like, "Do you want to stop off for dinner?"  Everyone on the bus said to just take us to the hotel.  As soon as we got to the hotel and got dressed real quick, dropped on my bed and fell asleep.
Let me tell you, those beds are hard.  Basically, you're sleeping on wood covered in sheets.  Since I sleep on the floor with my siblings every weekend, I was kind of fine with it, but throughout the two weeks there were some people who ended up having some problems.

Sunday, July 27: In the Beijing airport I had already become scared...far more than I thought I'd be.  With my stomach, the long travel, and the feeling of being lost in a strange country, I was feeling really discouraged.  This is a little something called culture shock and it only grew worse for me the next day.
Sunday we had breakfast: dumplings, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and other vegetables. 
Anyone know who Viktor Plymire is?  How about David Plymire?  They were great workers in the city we were in.  Look 'em up and be amazed.  They were a huge part in the building of the city we visited.  Anyway, we were able to see the very home Viktor Plymire built and lived in. 
My sister, Skittles, has blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin.  And she was the superstar of the city.  Everywhere we went, Chinese would be taking her aside and taking pictures, fawning over her.  It was hilarious. 
We also explored the oldest street in the city.  There was many Buddhist temples.  Scary-looking statues stood to the side before you entered.  At the very entrance to the temple, a pot of incense was burning.  Now, my stomach was still settling from the night before and the Chinese food in the morning, so the smell did not help me at all. 
And by now, culture shock was really setting in.  The smells in some parts of the city were so nauseating, the sights of the butcher shop, the difference between America and China, it was all hitting me.  Overall, I was not in a good mood...at all. 
We soon went to lunch and a Chinese group kept peeking into our room, smiling and fawning over the foreigners.  (Note: foreigner in Chinese actually means "big nose").  Soon they came in, and it turned out that they were a wedding party.  The woman was dressed all in red, just beautiful.  She came in with a tray and tea on top.  A man (who we assumed was the groom) held a teapot.  She started going around the room, telling everyone to drink.  (She spoke English very well and ended up being an english teacher).  Drinking the tea was like a toast, wishing them a good marriage. 
(Note: A famous question for the Chinese when meeting someone: "How old are you?".  It's like when we ask "How are you?")
When we got back to the hotel, I was still feeling really discouraged, still suffering from culture shock.  I loved the people, but the actual place made me feel really uncomfortable.  Everything was dirty, even the air.  The smells in some places sent a wave of nauseua over me.  Then I started thinking about my calling to go to Israel.  Would the flights make me sick?  Would the Israeli streets be dirty?  Would the people be dirty?  What's the food like?  What kind of customs do they have?  Discomfot and the feeling of being lost surrounded me.  I ended up breaking down and going to my parent's hotel room.  My mom and I prayed together and went to bed.

Monday, July 28: The end of culture shock.  Somehow, peace had come over me during the night and I woke up feeling encouraged.  I rememebered that this was only a two week trip.  China is not my calling - it's Israel.  And why would God send me on a mission I didn't enjoy?  Of course there's going to be discomfort along the way, but I knew I'd enjoy Israel.  I'd be home in two weeks, anway.
Today was the opening ceremony, where we were introduced to the teachers we'd be teaching.  You see, the reason we came was to help teach english to english teachers.  And in the opening ceremony, we were introduced.  At 2 we began teaching.  Each of us were assigned to classes, beginning at 2 and going until 4:50.  The first class would end at 3:20 and the next class would begin at 3:30.
The first day was just introducing ourselves, sharing pictures, our likes and dislikes.  And we let the students pick out their English names.  It was awkward sometimes, and we had to speak slow and pronounce our words very accurately. 
The heads of the education board invited us to a banquet that night, but had a sudden important meeting at the last minute.  So we went to a free dinner.  I tried lamb there and loved it!  That was another huge encouragement, since lamb is a huge dish in Israel.  They also had cow tendon (which I tried), and a chicken.  A whole chicken.  The head was still there.
(Note: the Chinese are CRAZY drivers.  Lanes might as well not even be there.  At one point, the taxi we were in started driving on the wrong side of the road.  Cars were heading toward us and and turned into our hotel right before they hit us;
Note: they honk to for two things: to let people know they're coming, and sometimes to announce they're turning;
Note: the Chinese like seeing leftovers on plates, because it lets them know we've had enough food and we are satisfied)

Tuesday, July 29: We went to the market that morning and I found some souveneirs for friends.  That morning I got a journal for my english teacher, a Chinese picture book for my history teacher, a chaligraphy pen for my math teacher, and a bowl and spoon for a friend. 
Then teaching began.  Our first class ended up being the open, friendly, and good in english group.  But our second class only had one who was real experienced, so it was difficult teaching them. 
Every evening we'd have an activity with the students.  Tonight was our first: ultimate frisbee.  We taught them how to play and began.  Or...the others began.  My sister and I were talking with two girls: one being a daughter of a lady from our second class, and the daughter's friend.  We ended up getting their e-mails.  What was really cool was that when we met them, they gave us gifts.  I got a beautiful journal and my sister got a wallet that she now uses.
As we were talking to the two girls, I noticed my dad surrounded by high school and college students.  That is so like my dad!  His assignment was to teach a lecture class in the morning, but today had been his first day.  And he doesn't teach the high school and college students.  They must've talked the whole time.  It was hilarious!

Wednesday, July 30: Tuesday, some members from our team decided we'd have a different breakfast this morning.  We were getting sick of the same thing every day at breakfast.  So this morning, some team members had gone out and bought food.  We all met in someone's hotel room and ate.  OH!  The food was so good compared to what we'd been having.  Bananas, peaches, breakfast cookies, Twinkie-type-things, peanut butter...it was refreshing.
Then Satan started attacking.  My mom became really sick.  The flight had done something to her body so she became really constipated, and on top of that she got a bladder infection.  My sister got a sore throat, and someone else had messed up her back and had a headache. 
In the classes, my sister helps my mom and I help my roommate.  My sister was feeling to bad to go, so I decided to help my mom because she wasn't feeling well.  My roommate allowed me to help my mom, so I went to her class.  Unfortunately, sometime later, there was some miscommunication and my roommate understood that I wanted to continue helping my mom's class.  Thankfully, I learned of that and God gave me strength to bring up the subject that night.  We got it sorted out and I helped my roommate with teaching the next day. 
At dinner I urged myself to sit by someone who'd gone to Israel, and he also happens to be my guitar teacher.  I started asking him about the culutre.  He didn't tell me much, but he did say he'd bring pictures of his trip the next guitar practice. 
Singing was this evening's activity.  We sang "Amazing Grace", "My Bonnie", "The Ants Go Marching", "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", "It's a Small World", and "Deep and Wide".  It was cool teaching them to the Chinese and seeing them get so involved.

Thursday, July 31: Today was our day to talk.  Usually, we asked the students questions and they'd have to answer.  But today, we'd do all the talking.  Today we'd be teaching American holidays.  The very cool thing about this was that we were allowed to talk about Christmas and Easter and the two ways it's celebrated in America: Christian or not.  I was hoping for the question of which way we celebrated.  It ended up being not the best day.  My roommate was very nervous while teaching the first class.  Teaching the birth of Christ and the death and resurrection of Christ in China to the Chinese takes courage.  The second class she was much more comfortable.  The question I was hoping for did not come from the first class, but the second:
"Which way do you celebrate it?" one woman asked.
"We celebrate it the Christian way," my roommate answered.
"So you're Christian?" the woman asked.
"Yes," my roommate answered.
The woman turned to me.  "And you?"
"Yes, I am," I was able to answer.
It was so cool! 
That night we got a tour of the hospital from a doctor that asked us out to dinner.  It was...interesting.  Not a hosptial I would want to be treated in.  They just don't have the technology that we do for things.  And there I learned something scary.  80% of women get C-sections.  Not because they need it, but because the government wants to scare them into not having more children.  Can you believe that?  And the birth room looked scary.  There were two beds in the same room, both probably harder than our hotel beds, and really narrow.  Not something I would want to give birth on. 
At the dinner that night, I had the chance to try cow stomach liner.  But I passed it up.  It's okay.  I'd already had cow tendon.  I didn't need another part.  At the end they presented us each with a book in Chinese on David Plymire. 

Friday, August 1: Not much happened that morning.  The plan was for our classes to take them out and have them tell us in English what everything was.  We only took our first class and they took us to a temple - the one we went to on Sunday.  So all the unanswered questions we had were cleared. 
They told us that the scary-looking statues on the side are the demons.  They come get you and drag you down to hell if you do something bad.  You can ask for forgiveness from the god, but you will not always get forgiveness.  So Thursday had been a preparation for today.  Because they knew about Jesus now that we'd told them about his birth, death, and resurrection, we were now able to tell them what it means.
When a student told us about their whole belief, and that they were not always forgiven, my roommate jumped in and said, "Oh, well that is what is different about Christianity.  We believe that Jesus came down to take away that punishment, that if you ask for forgiveness you are saved forever.  If we believe, we don't have to be afraid of the demons chasing us and bringing us to hell." 
Unfortunately, whenever we mention religion, that stoic face comes onto everyone's face.  But who knows what's going on in their mind and heart?
Everyone in my class talks about my dad's class and how they love it!  It was so cool hearing them fawn over his teaching.  He is a great teacher, and with him resigning from his cop job, he's even considered teaching.  Anyway, there was one student that said "Mr. Chris" - my dad - "says that without struggle there is no improvement.  So he makes us struggle a lot in class."  Everyone cracked up at that when we told our team.
Our second class did a ton better job today.  We played a few games with them that really made them talked.  They laughed and joked, and had so much fun!  It was awesome seeing them open up.
Now, all week, the students had been learning about a famous American movie in one of their morning classes: Amazing Grace.  They learned the song, the history, and about the movie.  Tonight they watched it.  I'd seen the movie once before, but this time, watching it in that small room with the students was amazing!  I could really feel God in there, working on their hearts through that movie. 

Saturday, August 2: Okay, today I learned that a Chinese vacation is a ton different from an American vacation.  Our destination was Chinghai Lake on our day off.  It was three hours away, but we'd been told it was beautiful.  We had two Chinese leading the tour. 
An American vacation: head for the destination and get there; once you're there relax and do things at a leisurely pace.
A Chinese vacation: Head for the destination, but stop at little places along the way and it's all go-go-go!
The whole way we wanted to just get there and enjoy the lake.  But our tour guides wanted us to stop at this park, this river, this site along the way. 
Chinghai Lake was beautiful!  It was a bright blue, and with the white, puffy clouds in the sky it made a great picture.  We went to lunch and by that time were too tired to do anything.  The tour guides told us we were going to go to Sand Island and then make a four-hour trip around Chinghai Lake.  FOUR HOURS?!?!? we all thought.  We told them no and headed home. 
On the way back home we stopped off at a small, desert-like area for a leg-stretcher walk.  I stayed and about 20 minutes later saw everyone coming back, two people on a motorcycle joining them.  Nobody looked happy.  My mom had my sister's arm in a vise grip and the two were walking fast.  As everyone boarded, two people from our team stayed behind to talk to the motorcycle people.  One guy on the cycle brought his hand up as though he were going to slap the woman standing there.  It turned out that these guys had just appeared riding in the dunes and started riding really close to our group.  One guy got off the cycle and started heading straight for a teen on our team.  They were very threatening, holding up fists, yelling in Chinese, and riding their motorcycle really close to people.  They started heading for the women and children, one guy even headed for a four-year-old!  The team quickly left, but all the guys were riled up and ready for a fight to defend.  Thankfully, it wasn't needed.  No one knows what their problem was. 

Sunday, August 3: The resting day.  Walking around the city, shopping, and just leisurely searching around.  I ended up getting dolls for a friend, charms for three other friends, and chopsticks for another friend.  My mom's bladder infection still hadn't gone away.  She was feeling the worst during the afternoon.  She got really scared because she didn't want to have to go to the hospital or anything.  We prayed over her and by the next day was feeling tons better! 
Most of our group ended up going to the gravesite of Viktor Plymire's wife and son.  Because we were seperated from them, we missed out.  It sounded so cool to be there though.  A Chinese guy talked about it up there, and even though he was speaking a different language, the people there said it sounded so full of passion, that the guy was so full of emotion it was powerful!
We ran into one of our students and she invited us to her house.  We told her we were available after the evening activity.

Monday, August 4: Nothing much happened in class or during the morning.  Baseball was the evening activity.  The Chinese loved it and many were good at it.  Many times the rules were ignored, but we had tons of fun.  About seven of us followed the girl that'd invited us to her home to her house to visit.  Her mom had prepared TONS of snacks.  Nuts, candies, cookies, fruit, and every time we finished something, she and her husband handed us more!  We were so stuffed by the end of the night!

Tuesday, August 5: At breakfast this morning we'd learned some interesting things about what'd happened to a team member after we all went to our hotel rooms.  She had been sitting in her room, waiting for her husband to come back, when she heard the door open.  Three or four professional looking men walked in.  As soon as they saw her they froze, said sorry, and left.  She was pretty freaked out after that, and our team leader reminded us to speak in our hotel rooms as though we were out on the street - to keep it secretive. 
We took both classes out into town today.  Unfortunately, my shoes started rubbing up against my ankles after lunch, making scratches.  I put Band-Aids on them, but my shoes scraped them off.  I just had to keep walking.  The sun was beating down, too and the groups took us everywhere.  My problems: sores on my ankles, beating sun, I was wearing pants. 
With the first class we went to a park.  They took photos with us, talked with us, and we ended up having a great time.
But then came our second class.  I really didn't want to go out with this class.  They were quiet, but one lady loved doing, doing, doing!  I was exhausted from the last walk and my ankles really hurt.  But we had to go.  God spoke to me during the walk.  Even though my feet were sore, my legs were tired, my body was hot, and I was exhausted, we were there not for comfort, but to make relationships, to plant seeds.  And I started thinking of what Viktor Plymire went through.  He lost his wife and son and still continued his dangerous journey of traveling the Tibetan mountains, tiny yaks carrying his stuff as he handed out Bibles.  I figured I could survive an hour.
At the market I bought earrings for myself.  They were beautiful and I couldn't help but get them.  I was way underspending anyway.  The charms I'd bought for two friends had Chinese writing on them, so I asked an english-speaking Chinese guy what they meant and he said blessing and friendship.  Perfect!
The incident in our team member's hotel room last night was checked out by our team leader.  What it looked like and what was explained was that the guys wanted two hotel rooms, but the lady only said one was open (which happened to be right next to this team member's room).  They didn't believe her and walked into the next room anyway.  Still, it doesn't answer the question as to how their key card worked on her door.  Someone suggested that she'd accidently left the door a little open, but she said she heard the beep of the card being accepted.  So, we think there's more of a story.
The evening activity was our dancing!  Two of our team members did a swing dance, then we performed our line dance.  It was so cool seeing the Chinese enjoy the dance so much and it was so fun performing it for them.  After our dances, they did their dances and I tried one out.  It wasn't too difficult.
There was one guy on our team that shared his experience during that night.  He's a little bit of a bigger guy and a few college guys came up to him.  One patted him on the stomach and said "Happy every day!"  So we all laugh about it now.  We even found a plaque in a trinket shop that said "Happy Every Day!" 

Wednesday, August 6: Today was the day that those who missed out on visiting the gravesite got to go.  So we went.  It was about twenty minutes away and then we climbed up a small hill.  A shepherd lived there, right by the gravesite in a little home dug into the hill.  We climbed up and saw a dead lamb on the way and a goat's head.  It was interesting.  But the gravesite was amazing.   That Viktor had lost his wife and six-year-old son was so sad!  And yet he continued on his journey!
We shopped more when we got back and I got more souveneirs.  Over the week, I'd started feeling guilty about enjoying the first class so much but really not loving the second.  I wasn't sure what to do, so I just prayed.
Tonight was the basketball game - our team against the Chinese college student team.  We got beat bad, but you could tell they had fun.  My dad fell two times trying to save the ball, and one guy got hit in the forehead with someone's elbow by accident. 

Thursday, August 7: Our last teaching day.  Classes went as normal until the last half hour when we gave the students our gifts and said goodbye to eachother.  Our second class took us out to buy each of us an umbrella, so now I have a Chinese umbrella. 
Tonight was the mock wedding.  A couple decided they would get married again.  The funny thing is, my dad married them almost three years ago, and would now be marrying them again.  The couple's third anniversary is this Wednesday, and the mock wedding landed on the Chinese Valentine's Day. 
Chinese were chosen for the bridesmaids and groomsmen.  The bride's mom was there and so was her sister who was the maid of honor.  Her dad was there as well and her brother who had to fill in as best man.  The music played for the bridesmaids and everyone got in place.  Then everyone stood and hummed "Here Comes the Bride".  She had borrowed a white skirt and shirt and was wearing pink flip flops.  She'd also bought some plastic for her hair and it was neatly fashioned as the veil.  She walked down, my dad read some things about marriage and then she was given to her "soon-to-be" husband.  The whole thing was a huge witness because the ceremony mentioned Jesus, God, the Bibe and such many, many times.  One lady actually came up afterward and asked for a copy (which she was given).  Here's a funny thing about the Chinese.  They do not kiss in public.  So we asked the couple to make a big long kiss when it came to that time.  The students laughed nervously when they did.  The bride and groom laughed when my dad said "Now, I'm proud to announce, for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs..."  It was funny.  They even had cake to cut and feed a piece to eachother. 
That morning I ended up getting this beautiful white and green boat statue with Chinese writing on it for one of my teachers.  I can't wait to give it to him!
Right after the mock wedding I was flogged by students, most were mine, others I had no idea who they were.  They took our pictures and talked with us.  We were the last to leave the building.  I was given quite a few gifts too which was so cool!
My dad said he was asked a few questions today in his lecture class. 
"Are you a follower of Christianity?"
"Is everyone in America Christian?"
"Who are you voting for in the presidential election?"
"How do you feel about President Bush not attending the opening ceremony of the Olympics?"  (He did show up, though).
Through those my dad was able to share a great deal about his faith!

Friday, August 8: This morning was full of packing and TV.  I went into my sister's room to pack and found her and her roommate watching a Chinese soap opera.  It was hilarious!  Since they had no clue what they were saying, they'd make it up themselves.  Soon five people were in the room, laughing at the corny show.
That afternoon was the closing ceremony.  Speeches were made to the students, certificates were handed out and we were each given a gift: an antelope on top of a podium covered in Chinese writing.  It's beautiful!
Then we went outside to take pictures.  It was bittersweet, saying goodbye to the students we'd grown to love.  There were awkward silences because no one wanted to say goodbye, hugs, and gifts.  Soon we had to go back to the hotel. 
That night was a banquet hosted by the heads of the education committee.  I tried octopus, some weird fish, and seaweed.  We had a few toasts and couldn't drink our pop unless the leaders did.  They could only move the lazy susan and we had to keep our glasses lower than theirs on toasts.  It was cool, though. 
Tonight we went to a team member's room where they honored everyone one by one with special qualities they'd brought to the team.  Then we went to the team leader's room where we presented them with a large sum of money we'd ended up with from underspending then washed their feet.  Wow, it was amazing seeing their reaction.  They really looked so happy, so thankful to God that we'd come. 
We then hung out in their room and were each given certificates.  My dad got the certificate of "extreme extrovert" for always being surrounded by students asking for autographs and encouraging words.  My sister got "Chinese supermodel" for always being pulled aside for pictures.  I got "light the passion.  share the dream".  That touched me so much that the team leaders saw that passion inside me to share God's love to the people of Israel.  Then we stayed for the Olympics opening ceremony.  Did anyone watch it?  It was amazing!  The Chinese really put on a show!

Saturday, August 9: Traveling day.  We headed out at 5 AM.  What was I thinking when I sat in the back of the bus?  I don't know, but I started feeling sick.  Then the plane ride from Xining to Beijing didn't make me feel much better.  We had a five-hour layover in Beijing.  So we ate at Burger King, bought ice cream and looked at the gifts.  Finally we boarded.  They had new movies on the personal TVs.  My dad let us watch "Iron Man".  What an awesome movie!  I would like a sequel though.  The ending just didn't do it for me.  Then I watched "Prince Caspian" and "Kung Fu Panda".  By the last three hours, I was really feeling sick.  Thankfully, we didn't have much of a layover in Canada but I really wasn't feeling good.  The trip from Vancouver to Seattle was so short!  Under an hour!  Seeing Seattle below us, the Space Needle, Mount Rainier, even the clouds and the rain, made me so thankful to be home.  We landed and were only focussed on getting to the baggage claim to see my brothers and Grandma.  We were home!

I'll write about getting accustomed to American culture later ;P

In Christ,
Messenger

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