A Few Days' Hodge-Podge

I mentioned to Lisa at Pen and Ink (who ordered her own copy of White Road) that I'd dog-eared the page where I found the most lovely sentence in the whole book, in my opinion. I meant to share it sometime. Here it is:

"The profile of the moon, still a narrow but brilliant bracket, was climbing over the roofs against a blue-black sky." (p. 138)

Simple, elegant, unique. Penned by a woman not writing in her native language. This sentence describes the evening when she and a group of women and children (families of the regiment) had to flee a town in Siberia at night, barely ahead of the pursuing Bolsheviks. Their officer husbands had left separately. They didn't know when they'd see them again. Chaos reigned among their sleighs, yet overhead the moon ascended and slid through its usual course, untroubled by the violence below.

Remember the abundant pecan harvest we had last fall? Already the trees in town are making the next crop. Here's a cluster of itty-bitty pecans:

I took that photo while walking the dogs on Saturday. Julia had flown away to Washington state. Adam was gone to presbytery meeting. I asked the doggies to pose calmly for some photos.

 I never did get them both looking at the camera simultaneously.

I said, "Where's Daddy?!"

Haha.
Also, in family news, Anna has successfully bought a car.

She'd been saving up ever since her last little red car was totaled by a policeman who rear-ended her. Finally, her daddy took her to a bunch of used car lots, and she picked one. In the end, that's what you have to do. The girls has wheels, and we are so glad! She made it look so easy, I may have to do the same thing one of these days, if we can't get the Jaguar running.
I mentioned that Julia's gone. She went on a mission trip with some other church kids. They are working on an Indian reservation. I snapped a photo of them when we dropped them off.

Julia on the left, one of her best friends in the middle, her cousin (my niece) on the right. The report thus far is that they are having a great time and getting along well. Evidently these three are hanging together and getting to know some Korean kids from Canada who are also there to work. I'm so happy she could go. Mission trips were a huge part of my life from the time I was 15 to 25. I went on at least five trips to Mexico (the Yucatan), and two trips to Poland. Those trips are a huge part of who I am.
Lastly, while melting in the heat at the farmers' market Saturday morning, I made yet another purse-baby. I promise I won't post pics of each-and-every one of these. Maybe.

I love the curly red hair with the periwinkle purple bed. Her name is Helen.
Blessings and peace to you all on this Lord's day! Wherever you are, don't forget to worship and give thanks.

The Birthday Girl Goes to China

Anna, our most delicate child, is yet again doing something big and bold. When she was a newborn, she lost weight and failed to thrive. But she made up for it later with spunk and discipline.

She was tiny -- way underneath the charts, but she never gave up. She didn't walk until she was 20 months. We held her back a year because she hadn't done 2nd grade math even in 3rd grade. We wondered, "What will she become? What will she be able to do?"

And she never disappointed! She learned to work hard to compensate for every shortfall. She cried but picked herself back up after every setback. She took ballet and played volleyball, and didn't quit. She did college algebra (!!) and developed such amazing study skills that she's flourishing at college.

She's grown into a beautiful young woman who loves Jesus and loves being involved in His kingdom on this earth. Today's her birthday. And this summer she's following her dream and God's call on her life, and going to China.

God is doing astounding things in China, and I wish that more Americans were as aware of what's happening spiritually in China, as what's happening economically or culturally. The Christian church is bursting at the seams, growing exponentially there. Some groups who study the numbers say that there are as many as 100 million Christians in China now.

As part of her course work, Anna will be an intern in China for six weeks this summer as a teacher. She'll be teaching English to adults there, middle and high school teachers. She's been training this year, teaching ESL locally near her college. Cross-Cultural Studies is her major. She's always longed to go to Asia to teach. She's so ready to go! We're proud of her enthusiasm, her love, her dedication.
I know some of you have a deep love for missions and want to know about her trip, and I'll be updating about it this summer. Also, if you want to be really involved and donate toward the cost of this trip, here's a link to ELIC, English Language Institute, China. You enter Anna's last name (Christiansen) and her teacher code, which is C630. You can give online. It's tax-deductible too. And hopefully, with all of our prayers and help, we will be launching a new ambassador for Jesus's kingdom off into the world, for a lifetime!
If you're interested in what God is doing in China, here are some links about the growth of the church there. The Chinese church needs trained leaders with access to theology and English language materials.
Asia Harvest's table of Christians in China.
The Telegraph -- Chinese Christians defend their churches
Christian Post -- more on church growth
Gospel Herald -- recent converts

Anna, we love you so much, and pray for God's blessing in your life as you share his love and your gifts with those across the globe!