Moves in Xi'an

For the last month we have been traveling on the Spring Festival break and simultaneously Blogger stopped working on our end even through our VPN. I don't know if it was the Chinese firewall or a glitch with Blogspot, but we were told that our site was no longer available but had been moved permanently!--yet another MOVE! So the following entry is catchup from just as we left on our trip.

This week Julie and Dave Monson got to pack up in order to move to a new apartment on their campus so I hopped a bus across the city to go help get all their stuff ready for the moving crew their school had promised to send the next day. We don’t envy them their new apartment even though it has been renovated and has considerably more space. They have been on the 20th floor—with an elevator—and will now be on the 5th floor, with none! (I am grateful for our second floor apartment!) Finding empty boxes to pack in is next to impossible so we loaded clothes into suitcases and garbage bags for the move. Julie (on the right above) with Ruth Ann Prather in our branch and I had a fun outing to the West Market after the pack up. Nice area where the Silk Road officially began. Xi'an has built this stunning West Market to honor that beginning.

A couple of days before, Julie, while out shopping, had fallen when she tripped on a big roll of recycled newspapers a Chinese lady had dropped right in front of her and she was hobbling around with two very bruised knees. Just what she needed with her five floors of steps she has to now climb several times a day!

Tuesday was our first adventure to home teach. We go and come by bus, of course, and John has to hold on with both hands en route. The newest members of our branch are Patrick and Xiaoyu Belnap, who had just moved back to Xi’an with their little son, Lucas. Xiaoyu is from Xi’an and has been a member for about six years; hers is a remarkable story of a mainland Chinese girl finding and joining the Church.
We are delighted to welcome them here. It is fun to have them living at Brittons’ former apartment. It feels very at home to go visit, even climbing those long six floors of stairs to get to the apartment. They have a wonderful little family with Lucas being the only child in our branch!

Julie’s move earlier in the week was just a warm up because on Friday the foster home began its move to its new quarters out in the country and the branch was there to help out. What an experience that was! Because of our scheduled departure on Saturday, Friday was our only day we could participate so John went, with all the men in the branch, to dismantle the kitchen cabinets Amanda had had installed but for which her landlord refused to reimburse her so she opted to take them along.

The women showed up about 1:00 to help out however we could and to be on task to help hold babies during the actual move. Amanda was calmly at the helm of this remarkable move. At present, Starfish has 42 babies and their nannies. Each nanny is generally responsible for three babies. But for the move that meant that for every nanny there needed to be two volunteers to get all the little people cared for.

Before that could happen, cribs by the dozen and all the other paraphernalia necessary to the care for the children had to be transported. We have never seen such big trucks as what we saw that day. These are not spiffy enclosed moving trucks, but open cattle-car type vehicles with furniture literally dumped in every which way. It was a sight to behold.

By 3:30 babies were assigned and we all headed out to the touring bus for the move. What a job. The TV cameras were there on the bus taking pictures of this remarkable event.

The new place, which I have yet to see, since we helped out only on the front end of the journey, is in the country and is big and spacious and surrounded by a large complex of retiree apartments.

This little guy is named James and is the sweetest child I've ever encountered. Wonderful to learn that on Valentines Day this year he is being adopted to an American family. They will be blessed as he will be.

I understand that the grandmas and grandpas residing next door to the new foster home were just waiting in grand anticipation for all these little ones to move in next door. What a wonderful thought that they would be on hand to love and hug these little children.

After waving off the bus I headed for Wenyi Lu to pick up John’s suit we had had made and headed home in the worst traffic and on the most crowded buses I had seen in a long time. While running for the bus I was talking with John on the cell and heard a crash. His legs had given way and he fell, ending up hurting a shoulder that we have been working on daily ever since. Poor dear!

Saturday morning we left for the airport shortly after 6:00 am, first by taxi to the Bell Tower, then by airport bus. At the airport we checked in our luggage, went through security, and settled in for an hour’s wait for our flight to Guangzhou, which was scheduled to leave at 9:50. About 9:00 an announcement came across that our flight had been delayed “due to mechanical failure” for an undetermined amount of time. Mechanical failure didn’t sound very fun to us so we ended up switching our tickets to a 3:30 pm flight. It was a long wait at the airport but at least we had a seat and a time! It turned out that our original flight actually arrived within minutes after the one we took. John looks like we all felt!

Because Xi’an was so cold when we left, we had worn our down coats and long johns, sure we would quickly shed them in tropical Guangzhou. But we arrived to find our heavy coats almost insufficient for the unusually cold temperatures in this southern part of China.

We were warmly greeted at the airport by a student from Southern China University of Technology whom friends of the Monsons had arranged to meet us. He came with a driver in a large van to pick us up and take us to the university apartments we are staying in for the few days we are here before going on to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. After a quick dinner we were grateful to crash for the night and looked forward to the next day.

Sunday morning we got ready to leave by 9:00 am to try to find a taxi to deliver us in close proximity to where the Guangzhou branch meets, some thirty minutes away. We were grateful to have received emailed instructions to get us there. We found a huge branch (by comparison with our little Xi’an group) and we were delighted to join with them. Their meetings began at 10:00 am; they meet in two large adjoining apartments.

Although we arrived in good time, before joining them we made use of the unoccupied apartment (later to be used for Primary) for a prearranged conference call between our district President, Steve Toronto, in Beijing; our branch in Xi’an; and us and Monsons in Guangzhou, while President Toronto conducted a very unique sustaining of our new branch presidency with John as the new branch president and Dave Monson as the 1st counselor, to serve in the Xi’an Branch in the Beijing China International District. John is the second branch president to so serve here in this branch since it was organized less than six years ago. Another adventure ahead for us in China, but he is willing to do all he is called upon to do to the best of his ability. I am grateful for his faithful willingness to serve wherever he is in the world.

Another Week in Xi'an

Well we are finished!!!! Over the last few days we have read and graded John's 320 summaries and argument essays. Because I was already done with my finals and had my grades turned in and because I had far fewer students, I helped him by reading a million essays arguing about whether or not Xi'an ought to implement heavy fines for both vehicle operators and pedestrians in order to curb the escalating traffic problems.


In this ancient city with its mostly narrow streets--certainly not designed to handle the growing numbers of private cars that have come into vogue in just the last five years--Xi'an is facing a serious problem that no one seems to know how to solve. The kids did their level best to think it through and get their thoughts on paper, not an easy task in English when you are Chinese. I guess reading all those arguments made me even more cognizant of just what being on the roads in Xi'an is all about.


Because we were up late getting the last class's grades logged in we got going slowly this morning so took a taxi to church, hauling with us our contributions to our monthly, after-church potluck. En route our driver went down a wrong lane of traffic, before--seeing cars headed his way--realizing that wasn't going to work, then made a U-turn where it was clearly marked that such a maneuverer was illegal, before safely delivering us to our hotel chapel. Usually I don't look out the window but the fluid dynamics of this morning's trip to church was really quite remarkable in that we got there without mishap! I began to think HEAVY fines for taxi drivers might be a really good idea after all!


But for now, the grades are in, the papers are stacked up high, John and Margy's book is written and edited for next semester and their power points are ready to go. Lucky them. I, on the other hand, have done nothing towards next term so still have that to face but we are dancing in the alley for right now to have a six-week break ahead.

Our biggest jobs this week are to get packed for our trip--we leave on Saturday--help Monsons pack for their required move to a new apartment, and help out on Friday at the foster home to move Amanda and her 42 babies and 21 nannies to their new facility. John and others of the men go to the new place Friday morning to receive and set up the cribs coming in by the movers. Our job, as the women in the branch, is to show up at noon to hold babies for the long van journey to their new home. Because we can fit about seven of us adults in the van--each of us holding one, maybe two babies per trip--we figure in seven trips we can ferry all the babies. Amanda says that there is no book on how to move a household of 42 babies, 21 nannies and all their stuff, but maybe she will write one when it is all done. John and I have just said repeatedly how grateful we are that there are no baby-seat requirements in China right now. We'd never get all the kids moved if there were!


Today was a banner day for us. For the first time in nearly five months we rode in a car for our trip home from church. Amanda has been given a really nice big van by some organization that has greatly blessed the foster home and made her life much easier, albeit that it has over 200,000 miles on it. Today she, with the help of her driver, whom she calls "Apple"--his Chinese name being impossible to say, even with her command of the language--brought us and the Monsons home though we live on opposite sides of the city. It was such luxury! En route she told us that she had hired "Apple" part time as a driver three months earlier for 1000 RMB/month. After two months though, he had told her she didn't need to pay him any more. He just wanted to help out. He owns a taxi and hires two men to drive for him so he is free during the day and he has plenty of money! We were really shocked to hear about his kindness because it is so rare for the Chinese to be philanthropic and so unusual for them not to put their top priority on acquiring as much money as possible. Yet here was this wonderful man who just wanted to serve. What a great example to us all.

In our branch meetings today we welcomed a new young couple--Patrick and Xiaoyu Belnap--who had truly been prayed here! The Brittons officially moved and the Belnaps arrived all on Wednesday after we enjoyed a last-supper with them at Monsons'.


Xiaoyu is from Xi'an, was converted five years ago in Hong Kong and later married Patrick, from Salt Lake City. (John used to work with his father, Kerry Belnap, at LDS Foundation. What a small world it is in the Church!) They have a little son, Lucas, plus Xiaoyu's mom lives a block from where they are now living--in the Brittons' former apartment. What a blessing they will be to have in the branch. Someone who can carry on in the branch and help out Amanda in the foster care home, when all of us BYU teachers leave for our next adventures when this school year is over. The Lord is so good to answer our prayers and bless the lives of His children, even those in Xi'an.

Happy New Year from Xi'an

We have welcomed in 2011 with an unusual event for us--we actually stayed up until past midnight! I don't remember that having happened for some 25 years. But it wasn't because we were out celebrating. We did have a New Year's Eve party at the Monsons' in our branch but after a challenging bus ride, once again balancing our contribution to the dinner on my head to keep from having it crushed by the very crowded New Year's Eve celebrants, we arrived at about 7:30--only about 45 minutes late. But no one minded. It is just a fact in Xi'an. You get there when the bus gets you there, no matter what time you start out!

We had a great time eating burritos (Cafe Rio style), while enjoying being together. It was a delightful evening. We left about 9:30 in order to try to make our way home before the buses quit running. We have found a new route to the other side of town, where everybody in the branch but us lives but it necessitates a transfer at the south gate of JiaoDa. Sometimes we are really lucky and hop off bus 700 and right onto 313, which brings us neatly in two stops to Rainbow Bridge and a short walk home. We had no problem getting a spot on 700 but didn't arrive in time to take the last 313 home so instead had a brisk walk through campus, walking off our dinner and getting John a little much-needed exercise. He has stayed in all week working on getting his grades caught up and his plans for next semester organized.

Earlier in the week, I gave my last final, this one for my writing students. These kids come to finals with fear and trepidation. I guess all students feel a little like that, but Chinese students really feel the pressure to perform. (The statistics are that every two minutes a Chinese student commits suicide--pretty sad.) I had spent the last day of class prepping them for my exam and hoped it would help. I graded the exams the following day, met with the assistant dean to have her help me put everything together. (It is tricky when you have to fill out all their forms, which are printed in Chinese. Everything has to be filled out accurately and submitted in the proper order)I turned everything in on New Years Eve, happy to have closed fall semester so quickly. John's final isn't until January 4. Then he, with my help, will grade his 320 papers and get grades submitted before we leave for our break.

On New Years Eve I began receiving emails from my cute students, wishing me a happy and prosperous New Year. They set great stock by being able to send wishes to those they care about. This is a sample: Dear Professor, Happy New Year~ I am happy that this is the first e-mail of this year. I love you very much. It is your encouragement that makes me want to write more and fall in love with English writing. You have encouraged me to feel more about my life. I really really appreciate your appearance in this semester, in my life. I hope you can keep healthy and energetic in the following years. Look forward to meeting you in the next semester. I love you! Tian Ning (Wendy).

As other teachers wrapped up their last classes some were more industrious than we were. Dave Monson, for example, made some 250 oatmeal cookies (their toaster oven is much bigger than ours) to give out in his classes. I thought that was pretty neat until hearing from Julie that she had come home from school and sampled the raw dough, left sitting out on the counter for hours waiting for the last batches to be baked. Shortly thereafter she becane deathly sick with food poisoning. I brewed up colloidal silver (which kills salmonella), grabbed some lecithin (which purges toxins) and headed out on a rescue trip to succor the sick. Not only is Julie our RS president, but I'm her visiting teacher (and furthermore she was heading up the New Year's dinner!)The remedies had her back on her feet by the next morning. Boy I'm glad we have our colloidal silver maker with us.

New Year's Day was a luxuriant day of doing next to nothing at home. I don't think either of us ever went out our front door, but to bring in the milk. I stayed in bed being cozy and warm reading a novel, something I rarely allow myself the time to do, and John puttered at his computer. We enjoyed our breather enormously.

A highlight of our New Year's week was to have our first video Skype connection with Adam and Kimmy's family. They bought a new home computer for Christmas and by New Year's Adam had gotten it hooked up with the webcam working so we were able to see them and the kids. That was a treat for us. Now to have both Chi and David's family and Adam and Kimmy's in regular contact with us is a joy. Wish we also had the chance to be in touch with Patrick's gang but we are grateful they are busy in their lives, doing good things. Kimmy had just picked up their Christmas package from the post office, which was still being held for them. We were glad it was, and not sent back to us here:) The kids modeled their Chinese robes and we coached them about how to work the Chinese musical spinning top we had sent along with their other things. What a fun visit for us.

Sunday morning brought big-time snow to Xi'an, which made for an interesting, very slow, trip to Church. We took a taxi for a change and were impressed with how carefully our guy drove. No one was speeding through the streets. We were crawling. We finally arrived for John's branch council meeting and then our fast meeting, Sunday school, and RS/priesthood meetings. It was a wonderful uplifting time together, though cold since the "heaters" in the room seemed to want to put out air conditioning instead of heat, but still the warmth of the Spirit was there in abundance for which we are most grateful.

Christmas in Xi'an . . . and a glimpse at home!

We have had a wonderful Christmas in Xi'an, though very different from what we are used to. The highlight for us was being able to speak with and see Chi and David and kids and to talk with Adam and Kimmy and all their kids. THEN to make it even more special we received an email from Nya telling us all about their Christmas, her gifts, and the school play she is going to be in. That was such a treat. I think hearing from our kids and grandkids is the greatest joy we can think of. We have loved our weekly visits from Chi and family on Skype. Being able to see the kids growing up is really neat. We have missed having a similar experience with Patrick's and Adam's families. Adam has been traveling and their at-home computer died so we were thrilled to hear that they have a new computer at home for Christmas. Patrick and family don't do Skype so we really miss seeing and hearing from them but have appreciated Patrick's taking the time in recent weeks to write us an update about each of their family each week.

We are really enjoying our experiences here, as difficult as they are but all the same having contact with family makes a very special difference in our lives. It was wonderful to receive a picture card from Adam's family, though their envelop of pictures has yet to find its way to us. Hopefully sometime. China mail is not easy!

On Christmas Eve I gave my last two oral finals from 2:00 until nearly 5:00 pm, taking bus 313 from Rainbow bridge rather than my bike since we were getting our first snow of the season! How's that for perfect. A white Christmas!


After the final I scurried home to get the last touches of my dinner ready. I had done the earlier preparation in the morning. We had two couples and two single sisters in our branch for dinner to try to brighten their homesickness for family. One of the singles is a widow and Christmas without her sweetheart is a very difficult time--I can't even imagine it! We had an Italian/Norwegian dinner with artichoke/chicken/tomato panzanella salad, tomato basil soup, Ruby River-like yam disks, deep fried then served with cinnamon butter, and for dessert Norwegian rice and cream. Yummy (Thanks to Elaine's recipe from years ago), fruit--oranges, grapefruit (well here it had to be pemmellos, and pomegranates) as well as Christmas cookies I figured out how to bake in my TINY oven using a flattened 9" aluminum pan. It was a delightful evening, admittedly much smaller than our usual Christmas Eve open houses in our Maryland and Salt Lake years, but fun anyway. It made Christmas Eve for us too.


On Christmas day we slept in! We were bushed and had no little people to roust us out early. We enjoyed a Christmas breakfast of cinnamon rolls, orange juice, hot chocolate, granola/fruit/yogurt. It wasn't like going to Little America with Gledhills for our traditional outing but it was yummy, and we didn't end up eating as much.

In the afternoon we went to our branch president's house--they are back in town to make their official move to Xiamen, though they have been there for a couple of months, kind of camping out. It was wonderful to see them again.

For the Christmas Night party we had all the branch (all 21 of us) plus visitors who are here volunteering at the foster home. They had come from Norway, Sweden, Canada, Indonesia, etc. Wonderful young people, traveling around to see the world and stopping along the way to lend a hand in service. It was a pleasure to meet them--and to sample their contributions to our meal! Helena, the Swede, is a chef. Oh my! Once more we came home very tired but happy, so glad to be with good friends and feel the joy of the season.

Elise and Ed Britton spoke in our Sunday meetings today and they really touched our hearts with their desire to serve the Lord wherever He wants them to be. Turning their lives over to Him and allowing Him to lead and guide them has blessed them with great miracles, as we know happens to all of us when we do likewise.

After church today we had a pot luck while we all waited for our turn to give our tithing settlement declaration to Pres. Britton. Not many units in the Church where that can be done in one afternoon! I made Hard Rock Cafe's baked potato soup from the left over mashed potatoes and Aunt Margie's salad, and no-knead bread.

Because we never have the opportunity to have homemaking meetings, we took the first five minutes of our Relief Society time for me to demonstrate how to mix the bread and then put a batch I had brought with me ready to form and raise for second time, set it to raising and baking as part of our potluck, though it didn't get done in time for the main meal,it served its purpose and was gobbled up after dessert when it finally came out hot from Ruth Ann's little toaster oven.

John and I, with the Brittons finally dragged ourselves to the bus stop to catch our respective buses home. It has been a very long but very good day. Because John is not only first counselor but also the branch clerk we were there for the duration to get all the signed declarations, collect the little bit of tithing, and have all paper work in order. He has decided that one of the important reasons he is in Xi'an is to get the branch clerking tasks organized! He may be right!

We hope that your Christmases were filled with the greatest joy of the season and that you will treasure being together with your families. We love and miss you all. Next week sees the last of my finals--then I have hundreds of papers to correct and grades to give for my writing students. John gives his finals on January 4 and then he faces millions of papers to grade in order to wrap up his semester. But we will get it all done and deserve our upcoming break in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Southwestern China, and Gulangyu (Xiamen) directly across from Taiwan.

This Week in Xi'an

December is racing by so fast I almost wish for a Narnia-like delay of "always winter but never Christmas" just so I can get more done in this month before Christmas arrives, hard pressed by the New Year at its heels. But despite my wishes, Xi'an days do fly by.

John rarely gets away from his desk at home, grading his piles of papers or preparing a new powerpoint for the next day, but finally Saturday I got him on bus 700 and headed to the remarkable Xi'an fabric market to try to find material to have him some new trousers made. We had tried to buy him some new pants but everything he tried were floods on him so we decided to go the custom-made route. Dozens of shops loaded with fine woolens line several streets. Each has its tailor who can size you up in short order and write up an job slip before you have even decided that you are going to buy! Our tailor came highly recommended to us by our branch president's wife so we hoped we were in good hands. We came away with having ordered three pairs of trousers as well as a herringbone top coat, all for about $120. We are to pick them up on December 29 and then we will know how well the money was (or wasn't) spent.

Xi'an continues to provide sunshine and very crisp days that feel more like late autumn than winter. My students' journals all bewail their not having any snow to play in yet, but John and I are not complaining. It can stay this way all winter in our book. Christmas Eve is actually supposed to see a snow flurry so who knows, we just might have a white Christmas after all. That is OK with me (as long as it all blows away on the 26th!) It is invigorating to still be able to ride my bike to class--even bundled up in my down coat, Pashima shawl, gloves, and ear band.

Friday I taught my last classes for the term. John still has a week and a half to go (but he started much later than I did, so all is fair!) I still have finals to give and grade so the pressure is still on. This week I gathered all my students' personal narratives and formatted them before having them published in a little book called "Growing up in China"--my Christmas gift to them. I took it to be printed and bound with a nice red cover at the college print shop (two copy machines jammed between vegetable bins on one side and clothing racks on the other). When I picked up the 32 finished books the next morning and paid the bill it came to only 144 yuan--about $20, or about 62 cents each.

Besides school stuff I also made my monthly visiting-teaching trek to see Amanda Delange at Starfish foster home and had fun helping to weigh and chart the littlest babies before they are bathed and then fed. It was a busy place since Amanda is being pushed out of the four apartments she has had nannies and babies in for the last several years and the renovation of her new quarters is not yet finished but somehow Amanda will move, lock stock and baby, by the end of the month. She is a remarkable person who seems to me to do the Savior's own work in her service to the weakest of His little ones. She often has volunteers from all over the world who come to help out and take part in whatever way they are needed.




My favorite outing this week was a long-anticipated visit to the artists' street, just inside the city wall. Elise Britton, back in town from Xiamen for Christmas, met me with her artist daughter Bethany on Saturday morning so Bethany could show us all the treasures of this area. Because she loves art, and speaks Chinese, she has found a number of friends amongst the artists who are there working their craft as they welcome visitors to their shops. Many of these shops had been renovated and they were beautiful with wonderful doorways that drew us in to admire their works. Along the way we stopped to buy hot breads that were stuff with veggies to keep up our strength as we wandered. It was a lovely morning.




We wish you all a sparkling holiday week filled with love, laughter, good food, and music. Have a very Merry Christmas.

Children and Christmas in China

Since we came to China we have been entranced by the beautiful Chinese children and the riveting attention we see paid them by parents and grandparents alike. No sacrifice is too great to allow that child every opportunity money and time can buy. In this vast country with its burgeoning 1.3 billion population (and its strictly enforced, one-child policy--at least in the cities), we see young people who paradoxically long for a sister or a brother, while also fearing to share their parents love with any other child. But certainly these children are treasured as the embodiment of their hopes and dreams for the future. We just enjoy seeing them and their parents as we come and go.

It seems amazing to us that December is here already and Christmas is just around the corner. We love celebrating the season, wherever we are, but I have been surprised in large supermarkets like Walmart and Vanguard to find myself surrounded with tacky Christmas decor and clerks with Santa hats on while Christmas songs blare. I don't really like it much and can't quite explain why, except that it doesn't some how feel just right.

It is as commercialized as any American effort in order to make every day count at the register. I didn't care for that in the USA. I like it even less in China where any effort to celebrate our holiday is just on the surface--just for profit--with nothing under that surface. No understanding of the real Reason for the Season. And the worst part of it is that I can't tell anyone what is wrong with that picture.

That said, we are so glad that we do know what is beneath all the tinsel and the holiday cheer and are so grateful that the Savior was born into this world and that He was not only was born but also lived His sin-free life of love and service and died that each one of us--even the 1.3 billion Chinese who don't know of Him--might live again.


A Bright,
Shining Star

“There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ.”

—President Thomas S. Monson

Downhill to the End of Term

Another week has flown by faster than I can believe. I can still remember as a kid that every day past Thanksgiving lasted 48 hours--not the usual 24. And Christmas Eve. . . well, I didn't think Christmas Eve would ever end so Christmas could come. But that kind of time warp happens in reverse for us oldsters in Xi'an. I have only two more class periods for each of my six classes and then we have exam weeks.

Examination time sends Chinese students into a panic and I don't blame them. The pressure they carry on their young shoulders is something to behold. My students keep daily journals, turning one in to me each week while they write in their second one and I read and comment on the first. Because I have the luxury of classes under 20 students (not like John's 40+ grad-student courses) it has been doable to read over 100 journals a week. I find it an awesome way to help them improve their ability to communicate in English but I also find it a very interesting way to get into their heads a bit. I am privy to their occasional fights with dorm mates, their successes and tragedies (their word) if they don't absolutely sparkle in every presentation, quiz, or role play they do. They are very competitive and "lose face" with themselves and anyone else around them if they aren't at the top. Since it isn't possible to have them all be at the top on everything--they are all in the same classes--there are always those on a high and those in the basement in their reporting their joys and woes.

Back to exam time for these kids. The standard for grading at JiaoDa is for course work to count 30% and final exams to count 70%. We have both successfully argued to alter those to 40% and 60% but could not get them any lower. A student could do very well in the coursework and bomb the final and seriously risk losing his or her spot at the university. The consequence for that is a very, very bleak future ahead. My kids are English majors. Most of them didn't choose that major--they got assigned to it. Overall they try to make the best of their lot and try to keep dusting off their dreams for the future. My writing students are junior and so are worried about how they are going to find work. Some of the kids freely write that they are trying to get in the Communist party in the hopes that it will augment their job opportunities, and explain that they all say this and that at the meetings to be viewed as they must be viewed. It doesn't seem to always mean a lot to them beyond that, though they are very loyal to their country. I hope they will do well in their exams. Suicide is all too common in China among students.

Thursday night we go to English Corner to sit around and talk with anyone who shows up and wants to talk English. John decided that would be a chance to catch some of his students for conferences he hadn't fit in and this week he sent an email saying he'd be there from 8-10. He had about eight of his kids come and they had a great time talking about their writing and then eating plums and peanuts that the students supplied. I spent the time talking with a half a dozen others who were very interested in American politics and politicians. Interesting views they have of our country seen through their "red" lens. They have inquiring minds and good questions and know a lot more about our system than we do about theirs. We even had a five-year old come to English Corner this week with his mother determined for her son to get a head start on English.

The weather in Xi'an continues to be more autumny than wintery, but today was windy and dusty. The street sweepers are an absolute must around here and we are grateful for their constant efforts. If you ever get to thinking your life is dull or boring, just consider how you would enjoy doing nothing but sweeping the roads and dirt 18-20 hours every day, seven days a week. I can't imagine having every Sunday just another day in the week.

Our Sunday, on the other hand, abounds with the blessings of the Spirit as we take bus 408 for 1 yuan each (about .15) for 40 minutes to Church. We arrive to enjoy together a wonderful community of saints with whom we share the sacrament, our testimonies, Sunday School lessons, and our Priesthood and Relief Society, all working together with our few numbers just as well as in your large wards. Today John (as acting branch president, reorganized our RS presidency, moving me to first counselor, since Elise Britton has moved, and adding LaRee Phillipi as second counselor. How grateful we are that we all have each other. We try to make everyone feel at home and a part of things. In that effort, today we celebrated the 21st birthday of our youngest Relief Society sister, Bethany Britton, with chocolate cake and flowers.

Overall we are faring well physically with an up here and a down there. Mine this week has been a dislocated rib on my left side which has made getting out of bed a bit tough. On top of that I caught another cold with an accompanying cough. It isn't good to have a cough while dealing with a painful rib!

How have we managed to survive? While we were still in Utah serving in the Salt Lake Second Branch we were very blessed to have a reflexologist among our missionaries. For months Sister Cyr treated us twice a week to get us in shape to leave. The last few months she also began teaching us how to treat each other so that we would have the help we would need in China. She blessed us with a great gift which we have made regular use of! Just after arriving we ordered a massage table to make it possible to work on each other without having to lean over so much. What a boon that has been! More times than I can count, one or the other of us has been put on the table to have knees, or ribs, or feet worked on to help survive the next day. We are so grateful for her tutelage. Her efforts have proven to be our finest gift!

We also continue to improve our little apartment. Not only did we add swags to our ceiling in honor of Christmas, but we also have a new bathroom sink! Our former one had a lot of cracks and chips in it as well as a 3/4 inch gap at the back that had been filled with dirty caulking. John had noticed for weeks now that there was a filthy, but new looking sink on the floor in the corner of our bike garage. He finally got up the nerve to "ask" (by pantomime) if he could buy it. The nice lady--whose kitchen counter is inside the garage itself--gave it to him. He brought it home, cleaned and scrubbed it in John's thorough fashion, and got it ready to install.

While he was working on cleaning up the sink I was out trying to find my way back to a little market street where I had ordered a hood made for my down coat. Not only did I finally find the place again, but also had my hood put on the coat with a dandy zipper attachment for easy removal, while I sat in the shop and read the student papers I had fortunately thought to bring along. With my hood now attached, my next destination was to try to find Home Depot. Yes, there is one in Xi'an. I even had its business card someone had given me.

On my way out to find a taxi to take me there I came across a wonderful find! A street vendor with a huge wash tub full of what looked to be smoked pig meat items, ears, organs, and, what caught my eye--what looked to be a ham hock. I had earlier purchased bags of split peas at the "Hole in the Wall" (that is yet another story) restaurant supply and had tried making split pea soup with Chinese ham and, though it wasn't bad, was just not the same as having a real ham hock to cook in it. I quickly added that hock to my purchases and headed for where I could catch a cab.

Grabbing a cab just as someone else jumped out of it (the BEST way to get one!) I confidently handed the driver Home Depot's business card showing it to be on DaQing Lu. I knew it was somewhere on the other side of the west city wall, somewhere to the north of me. The driver looked at the card made a phone call and then waved his hand at me in the typical Chinese fashion that means "No way, Jose." Apparently the card (nor the person on the phone) were helpful in telling him where the place was. He wanted me to get out and go and I didn't want to. I figured that at least if he got me close to DaQing I could maybe find it on my own so I pointed in the direction I thought he should go. The driver, deciding that to get me out of his cab would be harder than just driving where I pointed to, laughed and drove, following my gestures to turn here or there.

To make a long ride a short story, bless him, he got me there, stopping more than one passerby to ask something unintelligible in Chinese. I happily paid him his 15 yuan and waved him goodbye and headed into the illusive shop to find a drill, a hammer, and a putty knife for John and his projects. Successfully finding most of what I needed, I headed out into the night to try to find my way to a bus that would get me home. Along the way I discovered a little plumbing shop that had the last item (which Home Depot didn't carry) that John needed to finish his bathroom project.

We end the week with a lovely new sink, my improved rib--much better this morning after John's reflexology treatment on it last night--and grateful hearts for all our blessings. We continue to keep you all in our thoughts and prayers and hope your life's opportunities and challenges--even when they are really, really tough--will prove to be blessings in sometimes ugly disguises.