Wow, thanks!

Thanks to those of you who have written/called/visited in the past couple of months, but especially during the past week. I got 33 birthday cards, and I haven't stopped to count the Internet greetings I got. And some of you didn't know it was my birthday, but you kindly wrote/called/visited/gave gifts anyway.

By the way, I had one of the best birthdays ever!

I want to write to thank all of you personally, but those individual thanks will come later. I have to leave here in less than 24 hours and I don't have everything packed. Plus, I have to go to the bank, the doctor, the hardware store, the post office, and renew my driver's license. Things are hectic. I need to get up at 2 a.m. tomorrow, so I plan to be in bed by 7 p.m. tonight.

Today is the only day I am both eligible and present in the USA to get my driver's license renewed before it expires 362 days from now.

My flight plan: Here to DFW (20 minutes) to Tokyo (14 hours) to Shanghai (3 hours). The longest layover is in Dallas for four hours. My first flight leaves at 7:10 a.m., but I need your prayers at least as early as when I check in at 5:00 a.m. Wednesday. :-)

More news soon!

Running Out of Time

Uh-oh. I only have four full days left before I leave the country to return to Asia, and one of them is going to be spent traveling from the USA east coast back to Texas. Yikes! What happened to the time?

Please remember me as I run to buy a few last things, figure out where in the WORLD I think they will fit in my already full luggage, say good-byes (the hard part), get some sleep, do banking, walk my parents' dogs one last time (not that the white one even likes me very much, but I still kind of like her anyway), mail off some paperwork after I do the paperwork, reconfirm flights, etc.

And, though I know it is not your fault Mr. late Martin Luther King, Jr., your birthday, which is now a banking holiday, did not fall on a very helpful day. How I am I supposed to go to the bank when it is closed?

And, despite the way things sound, it is not all about me. My mom has a doctor's appointment Tuesday morning (I leave Wednesday morning) -- I pray that all the news is good.

Worth Propagating

"The reason some folks don't believe in missions is that the brand of religion they have isn't worth propagating." -- unknown

Blue Skies in Texas

We get blue skies in Bamboo Forest too, but less often due to Seattle-like rain and fog. Again, I took this photo when there were still leaves on the trees, so this is not a December photo. :-)

Backyard Scenes in Texas

Here are a few scenes from my parents' backyard. The photos were taken before winter hit. The backyard is, without question, a bird haven.

Merry Christmas from Texas


I am in the USA this Christmas. My parents' house is all decked out with decorations and lights, both indoors and out.

My oldest brother and his family are driving here on Christmas Day for a few days' stay, and my second oldest brother and his family already live here in the same town, so we'll all be in the same place at the same time this season. (I just have the two older brothers.)

We're hosting a bit of a small family reunion at my parents house the day after Christmas, one that will include aunts, cousins, and whomever else dares to claim us as kin and can come. :-)

My mom just celebrated her birthday this past Tuesday. We had a big blow-out for her on that day. At least I think it was a blow-out, because when it was all over I passed out on the sofa from exhaustion. Happy Birthday Madre!

Queen Mimi (my dog, in case you've been living on another planet and didn't know) is back in China and is doing fine by all reports. She's not going to like it a month from now when I am back with her, because I refuse to take her downstairs on the elevator for a morning walk before I have two cups of coffee, whereas apparently she has trained (tricked?) her current dogsitter to do just that.

Last night I thought I would have to get up in the middle of the night to build an ark, but now the rain has been replaced by a cold front. A few hours west of here they are getting snow, but we probably won't. It's cold though. I heard someone say it was colder than a cast-iron witch's elbow. I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds pretty cold to me.

Merry Christmas!

Worth Considering

"We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first." -- Oswald J. Smith

Worth Repeating

"In our lifetime, wouldn't it be sad if we spent more time washing dishes or swatting flies or mowing the yard or watching television than praying for world missions?" -- Dave Davidson

Autumn in the USA

Pumpkins, hay bales, turkeys, scarecrows, black Friday advertisements -- I think I am in the USA.

Turkey shoots, pick-up trucks, wearing shorts in November, rhythmic-sounding "ya'lls" -- I think I am in Texas.

Antibiotics, Advil, dentist appointments, insurance papers -- I think I am waiting to get a root canal.

If my tooth didn't hurt so bad, I'd shout: Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll!!!!

Wheeeeeee!!!!

Ha-HA! Master's gone to America and I am free-riding in taxis while she's gone. She would be so ticked off if she knew this!!!!!

Hey world, look at me! A dog in a taxi! Woo-hoo!

I like sightseeing too ya know! I kind of miss Master, kind of not.

Love,

Meems