Home is Always a Good Place

How often we look forward to trips but none of them compare to coming home. Getting back in our own bed, having a good shower and finding our routine is very comforting. It won't be for long for us but our time at home is really appreciated.

I don't miss the GPS lady telling us "Re-cal-cu-late. Make a U turn as soon as possible." If we don't do as she says pretty quickly, it seems that she decides to get even with us. It's first "In .5 miles make a right." When we miss that one, she says, "...make a left." At times, when we mess up, she can't decide which way we should go and neither can I. On our last day in Searcy, I told Ron, "Turn right at the next street." (I didn't have the GPS on because I knew the way to where we were going). He breezed right on past that street. I said, "What are you doing and where are you going?" He said, "Oh, I was just looking at the horses up ahead and wasn't paying any attention to you." It is amazing that I could honestly tell my neighbor when we got home that we were still speaking.

Someone asked us last night if we were ready to put our house up-for-sale and live in the RV. Before Ron could say anything, I said, "I'm putting the RV on Craig's list and listing it 'cheap.' Ken asked if I would just trade it for spare parts. I told him I would trade it for almost anything. Anyone could just make me an offer and I'd probably accept it. The problem is, it's not in my name.

We have settled into the load of work on our desks, handling a month's mail and getting everything unpacked and laundry completed. In spite of a little fellow from China that tries to interfere, we are getting back to normal.

The day we arrived home, Yun Fei, a six-year old boy with deformed hands arrived from China. His host family in Buford, GA is on vacation so Yun Fei is staying with us until July 6th. He's cute as he can be. He's not afraid and he's happy as a lark. But, he is very "naughty" sometimes. He loves to grab things on my desk and run. He tries to hit the keys on my computer or work my mouse. He literally hits Ron trying to get him to play with him. I knew he would not likely sleep upstairs in my guest room all by himself so Aida is going there to sleep and letting him stay downstairs with Judy. I think he slept well last night but the first night he was up by 4 a.m. and banging on our kitchen door upstairs by 7 a.m. He told Judy he wanted to go up and see if the grandmother was awake yet. I asked Judy and Aida how many boys they wanted. They both say just one (Judy said she would take two girls).

Aida said this boy is mild compared to the five-year old heart patient that just returned to China. He had surgery at the Mayo Clinic but Aida had to live with him and his mother for about four weeks. She said he not only touched everything, he tried to destroy everything he touched.

The one-child policy in China causes the parents to be very lienient on their child. Especially if they have a boy, he becomes the boss in the family and no discipline is administered.

We are beginning to prepare for our trip to China on July 20th. Knowing it will be hot, we have to take cool clothes that can be washed. Our latest newsletter tells about the mission. If you don't receive the newsletter on-line, please write me at patbrown10@gmail.com to get on the list.

In the same newsletter, we mention needing a host family for a 13 year-old boy coming in August for facial surgery. He has a Tesser palate, a horrible cleft palate that goes all the way to his eye (he does not even have an eye on the left side of his face). He will have as many as five major surgeries on his face and will be in the U.S. for one year or longer. It's likely we will have to house him ourselves because no one will want to care for him. He probably can understand Chinese but I doubt he can speak with the palate open all the way up the side of his face. He really needs a Chinese family for him to be comfortable. Judy will do a wonderful job caring for him, but she also has a very busy job and finding enough time for him each day will be difficult. Since he has never been to school, we can't give him home schooling. We can't give him speech therapy until his surgeries are completed. He is likely to be very bored every day as he recovers from each surgery.

I have to live one day or no more than one week at a time. I hardly fret over what will happen further ahead than that. The Bible teaches us that worry is useless and each day has enough trouble of it's own. I truly believe that, so I am learning more and more about living by faith and letting God work out the details of each day's problems. Maybe I have so many problems because I need him to help me and show me the way to greater faith in HIM.

I am very excited that Leigh Ann (our daughter) is going with us to China on this trip. She will serve as the photographer (when patients are not in OR or Recovery). She will ask nurses to take photographs there. We will both take our laptops and continue to keep up with our computer work as well. Leigh Ann is now in charge of maintaining the data base for two care centers (Jackson Family Christian Care Center and our new one that will open in September - Refuge of Grace Christian Care Center). We will have about 850 children in our care by the end of September. Handling reports from China and letters between sponsors and the children is getting to be a huge secretarial job. Paige Peterson continues to work from home 20 hours a week to assist me in this work also. It is so good to have two very efficient secretaries helping me. We all work together so well coordinating the workload.

Our son, Ronald, has done a marvelous job for the past year. I know he has worked and lived under very difficult circumstances. He has lived with the problems of language and culture and continued to turn out some excellent facilities for orphans. The government is very pleased with the remodeling of the building for Refuge of Grace. It is going to be a wonderful place for 200 children. We are still in need of sponsors. If you know anyone interested in supporting a child, please have them contact me.

Although Ronald is taking over the oversight of all care centers (maintenance of buildings, training and management of personnel), he really needs a break so he is planning to come home at the end of August when we return from the medical mission. He can celebrate his birthday in the U.S. and get some very needed R & R. He has taken on a very tough job, but he's proving his leadership over and over in every way. It is truly a sacrifice on his part to stay in China. We are very proud of his dedication and determination to do the best job he can for the poor children.
He is providing a great deal of relief for Ron by taking on these responsibilities and handling everything so well.

Ronald lived with us in St. Croix, U.S.V.I when we first began mission work. He was still there when Hurricane Hugo hit and destroyed most of the island's buildings. He built himself a little two-room house from relief materials shipped from the U.S. and continued to live on the island helping with the reconstruction process. He has learned to live with very little, but it's still not easy when he has a beautiful 4-bedroom house in the U.S. and has grown up with most of the luxuries that we have all known.

If we have any interesting things to report before we leave August 20th, I will post again. Since the blog is censored in China, I will have to send my updates to someone in the U.S. to post for me. (Leigh Ann has been doing this for me on previous trips, but she's going with me this time!)

Thanks for listening.