Neighborhood outing

My goal is to get out of the house once every day, besides walking my dog, whether I need to or not. I usually go out on my e-bike and roam around, run a few errands, or buy groceries. Last week I took a turn down an alleyway I'd never explored before, and I saw these pretty rusted metal doors, with faded Chinese poem banners, smothered in bright green ivy. I love it.

While I was taking pictures, a girl came up to me and asked, in English, if she could help me. I don't know if Chinese really have an intention to "help" foreigners when they ask this question, but it is a nice way to break the ice, let the foreigner know they speak English, and start a conversation. I found out this "girl," who looks about 18 at most, is 32 years old and has a husband and 8-month old child. They all live with her in-laws. We had a nice conversation and I made a new friend.

Brief updates: weather, friends, TV, movies, transport

WEATHER: June serves up pleasant weather where I live. July and August are unbearably hot and humid, but June's [usually] mild rains, known as the plum rain season, make for bearable temperatures. I'm trying to get out as much as I can before it becomes too hot. Today we had torrential rains instead of mild rains, but that's not common.

FOREIGN FRIENDS: Most of my foreign friends in town are leaving for the summer, but will be back in the fall. Chinese friends will still be around though, most of them anyway.

TV VIEWERSHIP: I get CNN International and Fox News on satellite TV, so for the most part, I hear the same news you do. I usually watch CNN in the morning (Anderson Cooper, et al) and Fox and Friends in the evening. (I'm in a different time zone, remember?) The toxic, argumentative political atmosphere bothers me though, so lately I've had have to turn off the TV often to maintain peace of heart and mind.

MOVIES: I don't watch movies much, but I watched the movie "Lion" on the airplane a few weeks ago, and I loved it. It is about an Indian boy who ends up being adopted by a family in Tasmania, where I once lived. The boy arrived in Tasmania the same year I did, in 1987. The movie is a tearjerker.

TRANSPORTATION: Bamboo Forest is opening more and more subway lines, and it makes life easier. When it rains and I have to get out, I stress out trying to plan the best way to get where I'm going and back. Taxis fill up with passengers during rainstorms and vacant ones can be hard to find; e-bike travel is not a great option; I'll get wet walking to and from the subway station, and sometimes at the other end, my destination is too far from the subway station. Buses seldom go where I want to go, so they are ruled out quickly. If you've always had a car, you've probably never had to think about this kind of thing.

Hope you've enjoyed these random updates!

Friends of mine

I had dinner with a few American friends at their place recently. These people are like my overseas family. I'm so thankful for them!

Before I left Texas

Before I left Texas, some college friends came to bid farewell. In this photo: (l-r) Phil Moore, Laura and James Wilson, Jane Collette, Andy and Patsy Phillips, me, Mark Thomasy, Cindy and Bruce Welch. My parents, Laura's mom LaVerne, my niece Valerie and my nephew Nathan were also there. I had bronchitis at the time, and was kind of "out of it," so I didn't get to visit as well as I would have liked, and I can't remember some of it either (meds?) but I will never forget their gesture of love at coming together on my behalf. Thanks to you all!

P.S. For the record, this is not my hairdo of choice. This is what you get when you let your hair grow out after 11 months from a state of baldness.

Catching up

Since arriving back in town, I've tried to catch up with some of my previous friends. I met with Oscar and Damian at Starbucks. These great young men are kind of like my local little brothers. They are the ringleaders of a group of young people that I often meet up with. It was so good to see them again and to know that their lives have gone well over these past couple of years. I have quite a few others I need to catch up with soon as well. 

Visitors from Tasmania

When I moved to Tasmania in 1987, so did another Texan, Sandy Hatch. She got married a year later to Warren Graetz and she has lived in Tasmania ever since. We were both back in Texas at the same time, so she came to Houston and stayed with me a week while I was undergoing radiation treatment. She was a great encouragement and help. 

One weekend, Sandy and I traveled to Whitehouse to visit my family. 

The top photo of Sandy and Warren was taken at MD Anderson, on the skybridge. The other was taken while having dinner with the family of my brother James. (Interestingly, Sandy and James traveled together on the same Continental Singers summer tour in the 80s). 

So glad I was able to visit this dear friend, who has already returned to Australia.

Visit from a childhood friend

 

Kim and I have been friends since 5th grade, and she came to visit me in Houston. Her daughter (pictured above right) also lives in Houston. 

Kim and I drove down to Galveston for lunch on the beach one day. It was really hot that day and we weren't much in the mood to take photos. So this bad one is all we've got.

Thirty-seven years later

During the last week of February, I was in the hospital due to a severe infection. I posted something on Facebook with the initials of the hospital where I was staying. Next thing you know, I hear a knock on the hospital room door, and in walks the pretty lady above. I didn't know she was coming and she doesn't live near me. Yet, without a moment of hesitation, I gasped and said, "Jana!"

I last saw her in 1978, when I graduated from high school and she was probably 16 or 17 years old. I immediately recognized her. And she is just as sweet as she ever was, with the love of Christ oozing from her as it always had.

Jana, along with a few other of her classmates (most specifically Angie and Dalene), have helped me tremendously, jumping in to raise funds for my expenses, to contact the American Cancer Society on my behalf, and seek housing for me during medical travels. 

It is no accident as to whom God puts in your life. Who would ever guess that after 37 years of having no contact whatsoever, Jana (pictured here with her husband who I met that day), God would bless me with her presence once again?

Many of those reading this blog have the same kind of heart as Jana, and it is no accident that you are in my life either.

Pretty little liar

On my trips to Houston, sometimes I stay overnight with a family consisting of two parents and a 8-year-old boy named Cole. I just met this fine Christian family in recent months. My brother J has known them for years.

Last week when I was in Houston, the adorable boy Cole took down the collage of his baby photos that was in the guest area where we were staying. He was embarrassed by one of the baby photos in which he was taking a bath and his private parts were showing. His mom made him put the framed glass collage back on the wall before he broke it. But we gave him an idea that he might put a post-it note over the one offending part of the collage. He ran in the kitchen, got a yellow post-it note, and covered the photo.

The cute little fella was relieved. He laughed along with the rest of us and said, "Sometimes I am forced to lie and say that the photo is of my cousin instead of me!" 

College friends and health updates

Sorry I haven't been updating the blog lately. I took a hit from chemo, but chemo is over now.

My brother J and I got a visit from some college friends yesterday. Wes S. and Steve P. came to visit for the day. We actually needed some help with some things, and they volunteered to come pitch in and help us out. We loved the fellowship time with them. Not only had we all gone to college together in Brownwood, but after college we all ended up in Fort Worth and attended the same church. I hadn't seen them in about 30 years, but we kind of picked up where we left off.

L to R: Wes, Steve, Elizabeth, J

We took 17 photos, and my brother J made goofy faces in all 17 of them. Someday I'm going to make a collage of his goofy face photos. Every goofy face is different.

In other news:

I defied the odds for months, but as you can guess from the photos, I finally lost all my hair. Well, not ALL my hair. I think I had about 137 strands of hair still intact at its lowest point. It started growing back a day or two ago, so I decided to own up to it. I never shaved my head through the entire ordeal, because I wanted to see what happened if you didn't shave it. Now I know. I'll tell you more about it some other time.

I'm having surgery this Wednesday in Houston. The surgeon will remove all the lymph nodes on the right side of my neck. Please pray for me. I don't know how much I can post during recovery, but when I am able, I"ll try to do a better job about updating this blog. It just feels a little strange to talk about life in Texas on a blog called "Stories of the Middle Kingdom." But I will. Thanks for understanding.

Friends

Three of my college friends drove over to see me this weekend. Two of them stayed over night. We had a four-hour lunch at Chuy's on Saturday! L-R: Cindy, Patsy, me, Mel. Friday was my birthday, so it was a fun birthday weekend.

Friends

Some friends came to see me before I left town. I love these families and these adorable little kids, Angela and Lucas (the kids speak excellent English). The boy has a funny look on his face in these photos, but he is a happy hilarious little boy in reality. The kids are both 5 years old, even though the girl is small for her age.

Prayer supporters

Two days before I left China, these three beautiful ladies rode a bus for an hour each way to come to my apartment to pray for me. The one in the middle is 8 months pregnant. What an honor to have these believers in Christ come and pray for my healing. I am blessed.

Luella

When I first moved to Bamboo Forest, I went to the vet and asked him if he knew of someone who could dog sit when I was out of town. He said no, but if he thought of someone he would let me know. A few weeks later,  I got a call from Luella, and it was the start of a something good. She's more than just a dog sitter. She comes to my house once a week, and the first order of business upon arrival is for Mimi to receive a doggy massage. Mimi demands a extended one from her beloved substitute master.

Mimi lovingly looks into Luella's eyes during the massage. And, um, yes, I do realize that rawhide bone in Mimi's mouth was intended for a dog the size of a golden retriever. But it looks hilarious in Mimi's mouth, so it was worth whatever I paid for it just for that.

Luella, a recent widow, misses her husband terribly and is often on the verge of tears when we talk. She looks like she weighs 70 pounds. I think if she misses a meal she might not make it. Those of you who are pray-ers, please say a prayer for my friend Luella. I think she's scared to face her uncertain future.

Little things

Some friends of mine have an adorable 4-year-old daughter who speaks great English. When they were over at my place recently, she wanted to play hide-n-go seek. She's not very good at it, but I pretended that she was hard to find. I kind of feel sorry for kids in China. With the one-child policy, most of them don't have anyone to play with except adults. That means they are really pathetic at playing games.

 She fits into amazingly small spaces. She's tiny.

She displaced my water bottles that were previously residing in the box where she decided she was meant to reside.

 Some game was going on in her mind. Not sure what kind of game, but she was happy.

My house is not child-proof. I spent the whole time she was here picking up stuff and putting it out of her reach … things like Mimi's water bowl and Mimi's dry dog food (the little girl decided to mix them together).

Mimi did not find this 4-year-old intruder to be adorable at all. Oh contrare, Mimi thought the girl came to steal her food; she failed to hide her irate feelings over this. So Mimi had to go to jail while the girl was here, and by jail I mean inside the kitchen where she could see out the sliding glass doors. Poor Mimi. 

The burgundy coat

Xiao Wen's village, May 2013

My good friend in Bedrock, Xiao Wen (not her real name), lives in a village. Like many villagers, she works hard to make a good home life for her husband and children, taking on dirty jobs no one else will do and paying no attention to her own needs. They don't have much, but they seem happy and are always thankful for God's provision.

The other day, a professor at the university where I used to teach (I'll call her Jen, also not her real name) drove out to Xiao Wen's village, and told her that I had asked her to go to the village to pay her a visit. Jen gave her a beautiful warm, burgundy winter coat. I don't know if Jen told her the coat was from me, but Xiao Wen thought the coat was a gift from me since I was the excuse for the visit.

I wish I had thought to do so, but I had not asked Jen to go to the village, and I had not given Jen any money to buy Xiao Wen a coat. She had done it all on her own, out of the goodness of her heart.

The two women only know each other through me. Their lives are very different and they wouldn't normally associate with one another due to being in different social-economic levels.

Both are women of faith.

I love how they are looking out for each other though, even all these years after I, their common friend, has left. I love that Xiao Wen has a warm beautiful coat she would have never bought for herself, and I love that Jen went to some trouble to make sure Xiao Wen had something special to keep her warm through the bitter winter cold of Bedrock.

I feel weird knowing I got credit, but a third party, a woman who first made me aware of the situation, is going to clear up any misunderstandings in a culturally appropriate way. (For those who might know, D is the third party.)

Truthfully, I'm just thinking how this whole burgundy coat story has me feeling warm all over. :-)

The friendlies

While in the U.S. for vacation in December and early January, I got to see lots of friends, and here I'll introduce you to a few of them. Above is my childhood friend from Pecos, Kim. We were in the same grade in school, involved in many of the same activities, attended the same church and we both worked summers at the sulphur mine during college. When I was about 10, she helped save me from going under at a church swimming party, and in high school I paid her back for her kindness by hitting her in the head with a handbell and leaving a scar over her eyebrow. She is always a great encouragement to me despite the bodily damage I did to her, and I am so happy to have her as one of my lifelong friends.

I met Bruce when I was 16-years-old and my brother brought his HPU college roommate (Bruce) to a Pecos High School football game. I met Cindy two years later when we were both freshman at HPU. My brother and Bruce pretty much did everything together during college, and Cindy and I pretty much did everything together during college (with a group of other girls our age). And we ALL ran in the same social circle(s). Some years after college, Bruce and Cindy got married, and now they just live an hour away from my parents. I've probably done a better job of keeping up with Cindy than anyone else I know (especially before Facebook came along to make it easier for me to locate friends). These are lovely people with hearts of gold, and it's always great to see them and continue our long and beautiful friendship.

I love this lady. Meet Mrs. L, my parents' next-door neighbor. I'm sure we've lost count of how many times she has come to the rescue when we needed help (especially feeding the dogs -- INCLUDING MIMI that one time in 06-07 when she visited the U.S. -- and letting them out in the backyard when my parents were not home). She is SO NICE and humble, and I love her beautiful accent; she is originally from The Netherlands. I could visit with his 80-something lady every day. She is so very interesting. 

My mom had surgery just a few days before I got home from the hospital. The Pairs, who are in the same Sunday School class as my parents, came to visit one day. They are so kind and thoughtful -- and humorous too -- and we are always happy to be able to visit with them! I got to see them at church during my visit too.

The Richardsons are also in my parents' Sunday School class and we were thrilled to have a visit from them while I was home. Like the Pairs, they also check on my parents regularly, and are often sitting with my dad in the waiting room when my mom has surgery. Please stop and say a prayer for Martha who will be having knee replacement surgery on Tuesday (tomorrow)!

Christine and Evelyn also came for a visit while I was in the U.S. My mom met Christine, a physical therapist, after her knee replacement surgery several years ago; they have subsequently become friends. They don't live too far from us. East Texans may recognize the little blonde from local furniture commercials that she stars in.

Evelyn and Koko the poodle are apparently having afternoon tea while the adults visit. Koko, please just go ahead and wipe that festive look off your face. (She cheered up considerably when the red-colored party decorations were removed from around her neck.)

I regret not getting photos of the Dodsons and Wades whom I also visited while I was back. Fortunately, none of them look a day older than the last time I saw them, so as long as they keep up their youthful appearance, I'll get photos of them the next time around.

I was also glad to run into old friends and acquaintances at my parents' church while I was back.

There are so many others I'd love to catch up with. Right now the plan is for me to return to the U.S. for several months in the summer of 2015, so hopefully I can catch up with many of the rest of my American friends at that time. 

Australian friends, not sure when I'll get to catch up with you (sigh). 

Annual Christmas Party

I had my annual Christmas party tonight, and invited my usual group of young friends.

Above is just a sampling of the photos I took at the party. 

Three girls at the party (new friends of mine, huddled together on the sofa in the top photo) had absolutely no idea what Christmas was about, no idea whatsoever. I tried to tell them, and they had blank looks on their faces. Did not compute. We all gotta start somewhere.

I could not ask for a better group of friends. They are polite, thoughtful, intelligent and fun. I can't imagine why they hang out with me since I'm quite a bit older than they are. All I can figure is that they moved to the big city to get good jobs (most of the guys are engineers), but apart from their work they don't really belong anywhere in society. I provide frequent gatherings where they can be a part of something. There are another half-dozen or so who sometimes attend our gatherings who couldn't attend the party today. I am blessed by these young friends.

Our next gathering may be in January when I teach them how to bake cookies (their request). Most people in this country don't have ovens and are thus unable to bake anything whatsoever. Should be fun!

Summer Picnic

I had a picnic with some of my friends at a public park back in July. It was right when the heat wave was starting. Still, most didn't wear shorts. Some observations: (1) the young woman above wore white to sit on the grass. Fortunately I had something for her to sit on. (2) iPads may be important picnic gear; I would have thought a sandwich was more fitting, but no one seemed concerned about eating at this picnic (Subway sandwich, across the street, finally got their business.)

The guy on the left is 33; the guy on the right is 22 and just graduated from college. These are very fine young people that I am fortunate to know.

This pretty girl is well educated and beautiful; like many in China, she's in her late 20s and can't find a suitable husband.

 This guy is a character, the life of the party.

Keeping a brave face

I found out today that the husband of a good Chinese friend of mine in Bamboo Forest has pancreatic cancer. What a blow.

Back in May he had low energy, was losing weight and was jaundiced. They went to the doctor, not all that common of a practice here. After a week of running tests, they found out he had this cancer. In China, cancer patients are not told they have cancer, just their family members are told. It is believed a cancer patient will lose his spirit and will to live if he knows the bad news. I always feel so strange when I know someone has cancer and that person doesn't even know himself. I wouldn't tell you this secretive personal news on this blog if there was anyway you would possibly know who he is. Not one reader of this blog has ever met this person though, so that's the only reason I feel I can talk about it.

He was told he has a bad cold/flu.

The 49-year-old is undergoing chemotherapy ten days a month, losing hair and has some nausea for his "bad cold." When I saw my friend today, she tried to tell me his situation is not too bad, but I knew she was just putting on a brave face, because she looked like she was about to break down in tears. I don't really know how much she knows about pancreatic cancer. Her daughter has looked it up on the Internet, but they can't discuss it at home. My friend looked really tired and worn out.

I'll make up some English pseudonyms for them so you can pray for them if you want to: Luella and Hank. They are super nice people and I have been to their home several times for meals. On the government official classification system, they are peasant farmers (but they live in the city and have low-paying jobs that do not involve farming). They are not the poorest of the poor, but neither are they as well-off financially as the middle-class. May God bless them.