May travels in Texas

We are finally over jet lag from our March trip to China. We got back April 4th but the trip was so hard, it seemed to take a very long time to begin to feel well again. I want to blame it on my illness while in China, my sprained foot, the lack of sleep two days before returning home and the long flight from Seoul, South Korea. But, we could also say it’s our age because the trips seem to get harder. Ron had a difficult time after this one too.


Leigh Ann came from Atlanta on April 24th and spent a week with us in Lewisville, TX. It was a busy week with work coming in from China so we had very little free time. We took about 45 minutes each day to walk around the lake at the park but that’s about the extent of our recreation. She returned to Atlanta on May 1st. We really enjoyed having her with us.

We left the park at Lewisville two days later and relocated the RV to Bear Creek Park in Fort Worth. On Saturday, May 5th, Dr. Joshua, our doctor from China arrived to visit with us a few days. He stayed with us in the RV and got to experience us closing it down for travel on Sunday afternoon to Proctor Lake Park in Comanche, TX. We went to church in Lewisville Sunday morning and then rushed back to the RV to prepare to move. I quickly prepared some lunch and began closing things down for the trip. Joshua was very interested in the process of removing all loose objects and storing them away, bungee-cording doors and areas that might open during a bad bump in the road, bringing in the sliders to reduce the size down, etc. We drove to the dump to “dump” the sewage, a process no one should miss! At the gatehouse, we hooked up the car on the dolly. Ron had slipped on a ladder trying to clean windows on the RV on Saturday. He had a bad place in his side (either cracked ribs or a sprained muscle) so he was very sore. Because of Ron’s limited mobility, I got down underneath the car to hook a steel cable from the car to the dolly for extra security. I thought I heard Joshua’s camera click. When I got up, I told him he better not post a picture of me in that position on Face book. He said he would not do that. I believe him. He’s really a super nice guy and a good friend.

When we arrived in Comanche, it was late Sunday afternoon. It was about 96 degrees as we took the belts off the car tires and removed it from the dolly and got set up in our spot in the campground. Dr. Monte Horne and his son, Caleb, stopped by on their way home from Amarillo. I quickly prepared some snack foods and we all had dinner together. Because Dr. Horne had gone to take his son to a tennis tournament that weekend, we met with Rosy and Marissa, his wife and daughter on Saturday night and had dinner with them. Joshua also took a short tour of the hospital in Hamilton, TX that evening.

Our May newsletter tells about the charity hospital we plan to build for Joshua in China. He was visiting with Dr. Horne and the hospital in Hamilton to get ideas about the hospital he wants to construct in China.

Monday morning, we drove from Comanche to Hamilton for Dr. Horne to spend more time with Joshua and give him a complete tour of the hospital. They completed their meeting about 9:30 and we drove Joshua back to the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport for him to catch his flight back to California and then from there back to China. Joshua was only in the U.S. a week so he experienced jet lag for almost the entire time. Each time he got in the car, he began to nod and go to sleep. He slept well the two nights he stayed with us. Our leather couch makes a queen-size bed and it is firm like beds in China. He said he got a full night’s sleep the last night he was here. We surely enjoyed his visit with us. One of the elder’s wives at church told me Sunday morning that we should have called them and let Joshua stay with them. I told her how much I appreciated their hospitality but I thought Joshua wanted to experience a “camping” experience. I told her we have known Joshua for about 10 years and he’s just like family to us. We didn’t want to share him on this short visit anyway! He said it was most interesting, seeing how we live and move around to do fund-raising. I think he has a greater respect for our work now.

We have limited access to the internet in this remove area. We are not near any big city. We are several hours from Ft. Worth or Waco. We have been going to the library to have internet but they are closed today. We have struggled along getting internet only partially throughout the day. It is very frustrating when it works part of the time.

Yesterday, we left at 3 p.m. to drive to Franklin, TX (3 hours’ drive) for Wednesday night service. We were there about two years ago and received a friendly reception both times. It was midnight when we arrived back at the RV. The gatekeeper put the lock on the gate to appear it was locked but left it for Ron to push the lock together after we arrived. That was exceptionally nice of him. Otherwise, we would have parked outside the gate and walked almost a mile to the RV. I was not looking forward to that because there are wild animals in the park. We know deer is in all of the parks and a buck will actually attack someone at times. We saw a fox run across the road one day. We have not had any campers in our particular area all week but two big dogs have come around the RV at night barking at some animal they were chasing. Campers have to keep dogs tied so we think these dogs were from the farms near the park. I was not excited about facing all of these varmints on a very dark walk to the RV. We were dead tired after the six hour drive and fell into bed and slept until 7:30 this morning.

Rain has moved in this afternoon and is supposed to continue throughout the day tomorrow, tomorrow night and for part of Saturday. Rain is loud in the RV. It is like rain on a tin roof but if there’s no wind and storms to worry about, the rain is peaceful and soothing. Ron just said maybe he can sleep 12 hours tonight but now it’s really coming down hard. Flood warnings are out in some areas but it’s still so dry in this area of Texas, I think the ground is going to soak it up quickly. Farmers are very happy that some rain is happening these days.

We had dinner on Tuesday night with the preacher and his wife for the church in Comanche. Their nephew and his wife came with us to a Mexican restaurant and we have a very good meal together. The restaurant has a teepee out front. We thought that was a bit strange but the motif all over the walls and in some sections were all Indian, with wooden statues and relics. It was certainly different but since we are in a city called “Comanche” it is appropriate. Their nephew’s wife said she was full Indian and her grandfather was a “medicine man.” I thought she was Hispanic but with her black hair and dark skin, they look a little the same.

We will be with the church in Comanche on Sunday. The preacher told us they will treat us to lunch on Sunday. Sunday is Mother’s Day so that will be a nice treat. We have appointments in several other cities over the next several weeks.

Without internet access and no TV reception, it really feels like “camping.” Ron does not miss the TV but I do. I feel like we are cut off from the rest of the world. We should be in this area through the month of May and into the first of June.

Things are always changing

When we live in a country and things are gradually changing around us, we don’t always notice how different things were months or years ago. If we think back 50 years, then we know there have been drastic changes in every aspect of life.

Each year, when we go to China, we see many changes. The first one is electronics. When Ron began going to China in 1998, we didn’t have laptop computers, email, MSN, Skype or cell phones. I had no contact with him for the entirety of his trip. Now, I can chat from China with my daughter every day by one of the means listed above. Although I really don’t like to learn a lot of this stuff, I am grateful that it’s available. Our travels are so much easier now. Ron can text our son in another city to let him know when our flight will arrive. We have contact with all of our workers by cell phone once we arrive in China.

Cell phones and electronics have taken over China just as in the U.S. On every plane, we see Chinese young people with Kindles or some such Ipad.  It is the things that look like a tablet and can do so many things. (You see, I really don’t know much about these expensive electronics that have not become necessary for me to have.) I’m not even sure how many different kinds of things they have but they are watching movies, playing games or reading from these small devices.  Almost every Chinese we see has a cell phone in their hand and they are forever checking text messages. It is almost an obsession with Chinese people just as it is with Americans. Just 10 short years ago, this was not the case.  A couple of days ago I heard that Apple sales affects the stock market either causing it to rise or fall.  Electronics is a major part of our lives now whether we like it or not.

Another very obvious change is the dress. Although most Chinese dress much the same as Americans, many of them have later fashion trends. We used to say the Chinese took their dress styles from Western countries but what we saw this time is not from America.  The greatest change is in ladies fashions. These are among the more wealthy (working) girls. In the airports, on the streets and in shopping centers, many young women tend to dress very immodestly now. Short shorts are popular, so you see them everywhere. Because it was still chilly (or cold in some cities), they wore tights under the shorts. Sometimes, however, they wore regular hose (hose with designs) or no hose at all.  They wore short shorts even if they had to wear a jacket to keep their bodies warm. Very short skirts are equally popular. Many of them are ruffled and made of thin material. One reminded me of the little ruffled panties we used to put on baby girls (6 months old – not 30 year olds!).

Many young women wear outfits we used to call “baby doll” but they were  “baby doll” pajamas. These little fancy tops and skirts look like an outfit a cute little six-year old girl might wear to an Easter egg hunt. They are completed with spike or wedged heeled shoes of every weird shape and design you can imagine. The outfits and shoes are not cheap. They are definitely worn to get attention but most Chinese are now used to it and seem to pay little attention to a woman walking through the airport in such an outfit. I tried not to stare, but it was so unbelievable to me that these girls would dress that way when modesty has been the rule in China for so long.  (We saw little of this in Hong Kong, which surprised me.)  These are working girls who have money to spend now so they want to follow the latest trends. I think these fashions may come from Japan, because I can’t imagine it is a European fashion and I certainly have not seen anything similar to this in the U.S.   I call the little short ruffled skirts a “Bo Peep” outfit. If they had a shepherd’s staff, they could be pictured in a storybook about little Bo Peep.

I was overwhelmed to go to the grocery store (food on one end, cosmetics and household items in sections at the other end). Although Walmart stores are in China, many of the markets are designed in much the same way. It is hard to find items because you must recognize it (pictures) with only Chinese writing. It is difficult to tell shampoo from conditioner.  There are so many kinds of foods now. Chips, cookies, cakes, and snacks of every kind are available. We think we are so blessed to have such a great variety of things in the U.S. but I would imagine that the amount is doubled in China. As a result of the better economy for the working people of China, obesity is beginning to show up. We saw more heavy people on this trip as well as some chubby children. Having KFC and McDonald’s available doesn’t help. There are Starbuck’s, bakeries and ice cream shops everywhere.

Ron has bought his clothes in China in the past years but now he finds them as expensive as in the U.S. Unless you can go to one of the bargain spots where there are booth after booth of things being hawked by the sellers, you can expect to pay almost as much for clothing as we pay in the U.S.  There are many expensive boutiques. The major department stores are as expensive as any Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s. All of the designer stores are in major cities. There will be Versace, Hermes, Coach, Chanel, and other such expensive brands (these are the real thing at a very high price). The bargain stores are the ones with the fakes.

In past years, people stared at us a great deal. There are so many visitors to China from so many countries now no one looks at anyone. While in an airport, you can see people from many countries and you hear different languages being spoken. This was true more so in Hong Kong than in China, of course.

Everyone is traveling in China. Every plane is full. Flying is sometimes just as economical as taking a train so both methods of travel are sometimes difficult to secure.   Soft sleepers on trains are almost always sold out and every plane is full.   It does not matter what time of day or night or which day of the week you travel, it is much the same. 

I'm sure we will continue to see more rapid changes in the years to come. 

The only thing that seems to be constant is poverty among the country people.   There are few changes among the peasants.   They have no way to change their status.  Life for them is the same as it was 50 years ago and it will probably be the same way in 50 years from now.   Our Savior said we will always have the poor with us.   Although we see the rapid growth in the economic sectors of China, our work continues among the poor.   The wealthy are not going to help the poor.   The government is never going to care.  No one is going to reach out to save an orphaned child except those that have a tender heart because of believing in His word.   No one is going to teach these little ones the truth.   Our work is endless and the fields are white for harvest.

Thanks for continuing to remember us and the little children we care for.

Hong Kong - A trip to Remember

I was with Ron only once before on a quick trip to Hong Kong. We were not there long and I saw nothing that I remembered from that trip. This time, however, I have many things that will always be remembered.

Thursday, March 29th, we prepared to leave Ronald’s apartment so he could complete his preparations for Gigi, his wife from the Philippines who was coming back with him to China for the first time. I washed sheets from our bed, helped with a little dusting and cleaning, prepared lunch, cleaned up the kitchen and then we left for a nearby hotel. Ronald had more cleaning to do, a trip to the grocery and his own packing for the trip to Hong Kong. We stayed in a hotel because there was no way we could get up early enough the next morning to wash his one set of king-sized bedding and leave everything clean for Gigi. We hesitated to stay with him as long as we did, but he didn’t seem to mind. He said, however, that he didn’t get to bed until midnight, getting everything done. Our night in the hotel was not good. It was so noisy with doors slamming and loud talking in the hallway until long past midnight. We had to get up and be checked out of the hotel by 5:30 a.m.

We took a taxi to another hotel that provided us a 40-minute bus ride to the airport. We checked in at the airport, having a little time to spare. Two different flights to Hong Kong previously scheduled had been cancelled by the airlines so we re-booked for a flight to Shenzhen, across the border from Hong Kong.

Hong Kong reverted back to Chinese rule several years ago, having been under Great Britain for many years. There is still a border crossing so it was not an easy trip from Shenzhen, although it is a short distance with a river between them. After we landed, we took one subway line to the end (about 30 minutes) which was the furthest you could go and remain in China. Then we boarded the subway to Hong Kong. We had at least three changes onto different subway lines (each taking about 30 minutes). They were all crowded so we did not get seats for most of this trip by subway. We finally got to the Hong Kong immigration area and completed our “leaving China” and entering Hong Kong checks. At last, we got another taxi to our hotel.  Driving is on the left side of the road with the driver's seat on the right side of the car.   It seems really weird.  There is a lot of construction everywhere and the roads are winding and up and down hills.   They drive fast but sensibly.  

Our hotel was nice but remote from the city. Ron booked it because it was near the congregation where he was scheduled to speak on Sunday morning. We had not eaten all day so by the time we arrived and got checked in at 2:00 p.m., we were all hungry. We went to the hotel dining room (nothing else around this area) and ate a rather expensive lunch.

The next morning we had a very good breakfast buffet in the hotel. At noon, Ronald checked out of the hotel, preparing to go meet Gigi and her parents at the airport that night. He came to our room for a few hours and then we took a taxi to the Star Ferry area.

Ronald had told us before we went to China that he wanted to treat us to a tour of Hong Kong (Anniversary/birthday present for both of us). He and Gigi found a great tour guide when they were in Hong Kong for Christmas and he was able to book him from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

We had about two hours before we were to meet the tour guide so we walked across to a very upscale mall. It was about five stories with mostly designer stores (very expensive). Hong Kong is full of expensive jewelry stores, boutiques, and all top quality, designer brand stores (Gucci, Coach, Hermes, and Versace, just to name a few). The top floor had restaurants so we chose a good Chinese restaurant that was not too expensive. We enjoyed a good meal and when we left, I was the last one out of the booth. When I put my left foot out onto the floor, I thought it felt numb but I had not noticed that it had gone to sleep. This has never happened to me before so I must have tucked this foot behind the other while we ate without realizing it. The minute I slipped completely out of the booth and stood up, my left leg gave way and I went sprawling on the floor between tables. It was a spectacular display of clumsiness and Ron and Ronald missed it. They had already walked out of the restaurant. I had about six Chinese waitresses and waiters rushing to help pick me up. I was standing when Ron walked back in to see what happened to me. I held on to the counter and put some weight on the foot and it felt O.K. Ron took my arm and we walked out. I could feel a little pain in the ankle but walking was not really a problem. We walked back to the Star Ferry and I sat down to wait for the tour guide.

There was no way I was going to disappoint Ronald after he had paid for this tour and had looked so forward to treating us. I told him I thought I would be O.K. He assured me there was quite a bit of walking. I decided to try it and thought if I had to cancel somewhere along the way, at least I had given it a good try. The foot began to swell slightly but there was only a little discomfort.

We took the Ferry to the other side of the bay and had a great view of the harbor.

From that side of the island, we walked around a bunch of streets and ended up at Diamond Hill. There’s a nunnery there with the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen. The trees are trimmed perfectly, many of them bonsai trees of all sizes. We walked through the garden for at least an hour. The nunnery was closed to the public but we could view the beautiful buildings from one side. The tour guide said during the day, tourists can go through portions of it. On one such trip, he quickly counted 109 nuns. These are Buddhist nuns, all estimated to be in their 70’s or 80’s. Buddhist is dying in China so after these nuns pass on, I guess this will be nothing but a tourist site. 

We walked a few more streets and went to the Parliament Hotel, a very beautiful structure. They were having late afternoon tea so the downstairs was completely full, having tables for at least 200 (maybe even more) people. They have an earlier tea and it’s usually full for that one also. The British influence for afternoon tea is still carried on in Hong Kong. The tour guide explained that this hotel was completely occupied by Japanese troops during the war and this was the actual place where they surrendered. This hotel is at least $600 U.S. per night and they have seven (yes, 7) Rolls Royce limousines parked outside to take guests back and forth from the airport (not complimentary).

We walked through the market area (much like a flea market in the U.S.) where goods are displayed in booth after booth. If you do not stop to look at things, they don’t bother to give you a sales pitch. We didn’t want anything so we just walked through without stopping. It was quite large but most of the stuff was junk (and what looked the best, such as leather purses, were probably all fake, imitations of the real thing). The Chinese are very good at duplicating brand names and making it difficult for the average person to tell the difference. We do know that $10 Rolex watches will run a few weeks until the battery is dead. They could pass for the real thing if you are not a connoisseur of the finer things in life.

We passed all of the very expensive car dealerships (it seems strange to find them side by side in a downtown area instead of out in the suburbs where we find them in the U.S.). We also walked through an area where billboards and signs displayed hotels that charge by the hour. You won’t see that anywhere in China.

We took a bus back to the Star Ferry and crossed over again; taking a taxi from there to the Peak. This is the highest point of the mountain overlooking all of Hong Kong. It is the exclusive area to live. There are many high-rise apartment buildings and homes on the mountainside. The trip up the mountain was steep and curved. My ears actually stopped up and popped during the trip up. After we got to the top, we still had a 20-minute walk around a narrow road. We could have gone to the top of the building for viewing the bay (almost all of Hong Kong) but it was expensive and there was a crowd waiting to either go for the view or take the sky lift back down the mountainside. Although my foot had swollen quite a bit, it was not painful so I told them I thought I could take the walk. We slowly climbed slightly uphill along the road until we got to the overlook area. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It was about 9 p.m. The lights from the city, shining on the water was spectacular. It was a little cooler on top of the mountain. I took a jacket and was comfortable but Ron said he was cold in just a short-sleeved shirt. We then had a 20-minute walk back down to the taxi stop. It was about 9:30 so we said goodbye and thanked our tour guide for a great time. We took a taxi back to our hotel. Ronald took his bags and headed to the airport to meet Gigi and her parents.

Gigi got a tour package for them arriving from Cebu, Philippines. It included their flight, hotel and a tour for the next day. They did not arrive until almost 1 a.m.

I took pain-killers and went straight to bed and to sleep. We had walked more than four hours (carefully with a swollen foot) so I was very tired. I was uncertain how my foot would let me sleep or what it would be like the next morning. I slept all night and the foot was actually better on Sunday morning. We dressed and took a taxi to the area for the church meeting. The driver did not know which building, nor did Ron. Ron was there two years ago but it was very hilly with many apartment buildings that looked similar. We walked up and down steps and around building after building. Ron said he knew it was not easy to find because it’s actually a rental section of an apartment building. I finally found a seat in a courtyard between buildings and told Ron to come get me when he found it. He was back in a few minutes with one of the church members. Ron recognized her from his previous trip. She had actually come to the hotel the last time to take him to the church.

We had a delightful visit with this group of Christians. They can openly worship in Hong Kong. We know China doesn’t like their religious freedom but to put it down would cause problems they would never be able to handle. A very nice man (Tony) translated for Ron. Between worship and class, they had a birthday cake for two of the children. Most everyone could speak English and communicate well with us. After the class was over, about 10 of us walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch. They ordered small portions of many different things (enough for everyone to try). I did not know most of what I ate but it was all very delicious. They had many questions about our work and the discussions went well. They are appreciative of our work and for our visit to their congregation. I think only Julie Ng, a successful business woman, is our only orphan sponsor from this congregation. I hope that will change and others will want to help. Some expressed an interest in visiting some of the care centers.

We rested in the afternoon and waited for Ronald to contact us for a place to meet them. Instead, they came to our hotel room. Gigi’s parents were very nice (I would really love to be a friend with her mother). When we went to the hotel lobby to meet them, Gigi came running to hug me. She had told me in an email that she was nervous to meet us. I told her not to be nervous because we were looking forward to our first visit. She began crying as she hugged me with a big bear hug. I think the only reason she let go was because Ron was saying, “what about me?” She looked me in the face and I saw the tears on her cheeks. I felt like crying too but it was overwhelming feelings of joy. Gigi then reached over to hug Ron. I walked to her parents and gave each of them a hug. We went to our room and visited a while. Then we went to the hotel dining room and had dinner together. They left after dinner to go back to their hotel, and we did not get to see them again. It was a wonderful visit but much too short.

We planned to leave the next morning for the U.S. It appeared there were seats that day so we checked out of the hotel at 5 a.m. and took a taxi to the airport train. We arrived about 6 a.m. and were told they had oversold the flight. We waited anyway to be sure we could not get on. They oversold it by 44 seats so people from coach were moved into first class until the plane was completely full. They actually turned away people that had paid for a ticket. We took a room in the hotel at the airport and decided to try again on Tuesday morning. It was the exact same thing the next day. People were off this week for Easter week (spring break for many people) so the airport was overloaded with many travelers.

Ron sat me down with the bags and he went to see what other airlines might fly to other cities that we could connect with. The only possibility was Korean Airlines but to buy tickets was very expensive. They told him he could buy them cheaper on-line so he came back and got on the computer and booked us both on a 12:30 flight to Seoul, Korea. We rushed to check in but their system did not show our on-line booking. He had to go to the ticket agents, get their office in N.Y. on-line (it was about 11 p.m. there) and wait for nearly 30 minutes before they confirmed the booking and gave him a ticket number. We were the last people checking in for the flight by the time we got back to the counter. We quickly got to the gate and had only a few minutes before boarding the flight.

Gigi’s parents were back in the airport to return to the Philippines but we had no time to try to find them. I asked two Filipino girls sitting by me which airline they would most likely be flying and they told me it might be Philippine Airlines but it was located in Terminal 2. Once we got things settled for our flight to Seoul, we had no time to go see them off. Ronald and Gigi were in the airport until their 5 p.m. flight to Nanning. I was especially disappointed that we had spent so much time in the airport and I didn’t get to spend any more time with them. Ron was so glad to get out of Hong Kong (it is expensive there) but I was sad to leave my kids and not see them again.

The trip to Seoul was about three hours. We walked around in the airport, checking out restaurants and the hotel. We were not successful in finding anything for hotels outside the airport. I was reluctant to leave the airport although Ron said U.S. passport holders did not have to have a VISA to come to South Korea. We still have several military bases there. We went to the food court and ate and then to the lounge area. The hotel room was going to be $172 U.S. for the night but they actually rent the room by the number of hours you stay. We decided we would rest in the lounge until about midnight. There were lounge chairs that reclined and it would have been fine for the night if others had respected those that wanted to sleep. About 10 p.m. a group of young American students came in and dumped their stuff around, chatting and eating. Some took advantage of the free showers in that area. They all left later and then a group of Chinese students came in about 11 p.m. They would not stop talking so at midnight we went to get a room for six hours. From 12:00 to 6:00 a.m. it was still $120 U.S. We slept until 5 a.m. I showered and packed up and it was time to leave. We walked around trying to find something for breakfast but it was so expensive. We had exchanged some money but didn’t have enough for most restaurants. We didn’t want to exchange more and be stuck with Korean money so we snacked on a few things to tide us over. We boarded the flight at 11:00 a.m. bound directly for Dallas, TX. We had coach seats, of course, and I was stuck in the middle of three seats with a Korean guy on my right. It was my home for the next 14-l/2 hours. I knew I could not sleep in a seat like that so I watched four movies (8 hours of entertainment still left some boring time before we landed). We got to Dallas at 9:30 a.m. (the same day we left Korea) but we passed through many time zones in the meantime. My eyes hurt from the dry air, my sleep time had long been exhausted, and my foot was swollen more than before. There’s no place to prop up a foot from this small space in the middle seat!

We had to go through immigration in the Dallas airport, arriving back in the U.S. from a foreign country. Outside, we waited over an hour for the Holiday Inn Express courtesy van to take us to the parking lot for our car. From there, we drove to the Anchor Boat and RV Storage in Denton to get our RV. We were close by the Hickory Creek Park where we booked RV parking for the next two weeks. We parked, hooked up the power and began setting up the RV and putting things away.

The refrigerator had been off for almost a month so there was some mold inside. Ron forgot to leave doors open so it would dry out. He proceeded to wash it out with Clorox but I collapsed on the couch. Before I knew it I was asleep. Ron finished cleaning the fridge and went to Wal-Mart for groceries without me knowing it. I awoke as he came in with the food. I helped put it away and fixed up something to eat. We are still fighting jet lag (arrived Wednesday afternoon – it’s now Sunday afternoon). We go to bed by 9 p.m. and wake about 3 a.m. It just takes about a week to get the body reset for this time zone. By 3:00 p.m. we begin to feel very tired and forcing ourselves to stay up until 9:00 p.m. takes a lot of effort. Ron says the secret is to keep moving but since I’ve been sick for three weeks and still have a sore foot, that’s been very hard for me. Today is a bit better so maybe we are over the worst part of it.

This was really a hard trip but mostly because I was sick and did not have much energy the entire time. Then, spraining my ankle three days before we left was not good. Having to forfeit our usual first class seats with Delta Airlines for a longer flight in coach made the trip especially difficult.

Looking back, in spite of Ron having to drag Pat everywhere, everything else went well and spending time with Ronald was priceless. It was such a joy to be with him for about 10 days.  Meeting Gigi was also very, very special.  She is wonderfully sweet and loving.  We love her very much.  We are so blessed!

Ronald's Apartment in Nanning, China

After living in the orphanages for more than two years, occupying whatever room they had available, Ronald finally got an apartment in Nanning. He married Gigi Gayo, who lives in the Philippines, September 24, 2011. They have spent some time in Hong Kong but this is the first time she’s received a VISA for China. She is coming to China for the first time on April 3rd but it’s on a one entry, one month VISA. In time, they hope to get her here full-time. We will be in Hong Kong when she arrives this weekend so it’ll be our first time to meet her. Her parents are coming as far as Hong Kong to meet us on this trip. It should be an exciting time for all of us since we were not able to go to the Philippines for the wedding.

Yesterday afternoon, we watched Ronald and Gigi’s wedding video. It was a very pretty wedding and we were so excited to see everything about it. We also saw a slide show of their times in Hong Kong and on the island of Palawan (where they honeymooned). The pictures were really beautiful.

Ronald chose Nanning as his home base because we have three of the orphanages in this Province. He can travel to any of these three orphanages in a matter of a few hours. Ron is trying to get registration for Agape in Nanning as our home office, which will eventually allow Ronald more freedom to do banking and other things.

His apartment is on the 32rd floor of a high-rise building. The view from every window is spectacular. From this height, even the slum apartment buildings do not look terrible. There are 12 high-rise apartment buildings in this complex with gardens and walkways in-between. Today the sun is out and it’s about 75 degrees. We walked around the complex and enjoyed seeing the beautiful gardens, manicured plants, pavilions for resting, lovely designed walks and the large swimming pool that is now empty. His apartment consists of a small laundry room (washer and racks for drying clothes but no dryer), a small kitchen, living room and dining combination, bedroom with king-size bed, bedroom with small bed and desk (where he does his work) and small bath (shower head on the wall in one corner). There’s no way to take a shower and not get the bathroom wet but keeping the spray low is the key to containing water mostly in one area and being able to mop the floor once you have finished your shower.

The apartment costs about $300 U.S. plus a small amount for utilities. He bought a small space heater for winter and a dehumidifier. There is an air-conditioning unit in the living room and a wall unit in the master bedroom. It does not get severely cold here in the winter. The apartment is furnished with simple but nice furniture. You might think it all came from IKEA.

It is a quiet apartment. We only hear the next door neighbors on this floor when they come in or go out and slam their door. Oh yes, we can also hear them chopping up their vegetables to cook in the apartment next to us!

It is a bit of heaven in the middle of China. Ronald says he can escape for a short time and not even realize he’s in China but then the difficult task of getting the work done brings him back to reality. We are very pleased that he was able to find this nice place for such a reasonable amount. We are relieved to know how he is living. When we return home, I can picture him in this lovely apartment with Gigi and feel proud.

Ronald’s job is very hard. Overseeing the six orphanages and making sure everything is run well, the children are being cared for properly and costs are maintained within budget, is a huge responsibility. He must spend time at the various care centers doing maintenance on the buildings, inspecting the buildings and grounds for future improvements and spending time with the workers and children. We are lacking in management-skilled workers. All of our workers are inexperienced, young and untrained but at the same time, they are difficult to manage. Ronald has developed a manual for every phase of operation so workers need only to study it and follow it to have a well-run facility. In spite of this tool, they have not yet learned to lean on our guidelines or on Ronald for help, rushing ahead to handle things their way, which is usually more costly and less efficient. We are told that our standards are too high and we are sometimes unreasonable in our expectations. We want our workers to do the best possible job so the children can learn a better and cleaner way to live. If we have high standards, the children will grow up wanting a higher standard for their lives than the poverty from which they came. Ronald has an on-going battle to keep things running well and handle various crises.

Ronald has developed programs to track cost of various things at each center and make comparisons to get a complete picture of how money is being spent. He spends a lot of time reviewing the petty cash expense reports from each center, approving them for accounting purposes. He also has to review and approve the monthly budget and request for the next funds to be sent to each care center. For six orphanages, it is a lot of work. We spend about $50,000 every month to care for the children, pay workers and overhead expenses. This is for six care centers caring for about 650 children. Twice a year, the budget will include extra expenses for tuition and cost of living expenses for the middle school and high school children that live at the schools and only return to the care centers on weekends. Sometimes, we have children in the hospital and more is needed for their medical care.

I really don’t know how Ronald will continue handling all of this and find time to oversee the construction of a small 12-bed hospital and clinic for Dr. Joshua to serve the poor people who cannot afford medical care. This building project will take him away from this nice apartment and he’ll have to find a temporary place to live in a remote area of Henan Province for about six to nine months. Overseeing construction is also very difficult. The standard construction is poor workmanship and use of improper building methods. It will be a huge task to have a good facility built within budget.

Tomorrow we will get up about 5 a.m. and go to John Connor Brown Christian Care Center in Tiendeng. In my next segment, I will give a report on our visit there and post some pictures of the children.

A Better Week

This has been a much better week for me. With the extra rest and sleep, my health has improved considerably. I have gone to bed by 8 p.m. almost every night and slept all night, sometimes with an afternoon nap. Ronald’s apartment is quiet and comfortable. The cough and congestion has improved day-by-day. Tuesday, we went to Wesley’s House Christian Care Center. We took an 8:30 a.m. train and returned about 3:00 p.m. by bus. We arrived about an hour before the children returned from school for lunch. We ate lunch with them. We had rice, carrots and greens, cooked with a little pork. It was very tasty.

The children were very happy to see us. It was especially nice to see Lankui, the little girl that came to the U.S. for surgery on her jaw. She had surgery in Nashville almost two years ago. She lived with us for six weeks before going to Nashville for the surgery, so we got very close to her. She was delighted to see us and we had some good hugs. Several of the girls, along with Lankui, went to their rooms and designed some wonderful drawings for us. It is their way of giving us a gift. They had glued small objects, such a colorful feathers or beads on the drawings. The older girls, including Lankui, took the same bus back to school that took us downtown Pingguo to catch the main bus back to Nanning. Lankui got off to go to school at her stop and waved until we got out of sight.

On Saturday, we went to Ronald’s grocery store, several blocks away. We woke up the morning before with a strong wind and storm at 6 a.m. It cleared out the fog and smog so Saturday was a warm, nice day. Ronald’s market, not the open street market, is very nice. Although it takes time to find things with everything in Chinese, there is a large variety of nearly everything. The vegetables and fruits in China are especially good. The spring time brings many good things from the farms and the stores are overflowing with food. Things are very cheap compared to the U.S. A package of green peppers (about 6) costs about 90 cents, a large tray of shitake mushroom costs 50 cents and three large, beautiful carrots cost 50 cents. We got a large amount of vegetables for this week. I have cooked a variety of rice, noodles, dumplings and vegetable stir-fry dishes. Each of us fixes our own breakfast each morning. I have cooked most other meals and Ronald cleans up the kitchen. We have not been out to eat but will have some meals out when we get to Hong Kong this weekend.

Today is Sunday. We had our service at 9 a.m. with Max, Ronald’s assistant, with us. Max has only been working in this position a little over a month but he had given his notice to quit at the end of the month. Ronald gave him some computer work three weeks ago, asking him to enter into excel spreadsheets some of the orphanages’ expenses. Everything was given to him so all he had to do was type in numbers in the correct columns. He still had not done any of the work on Tuesday and said he had not done the work because his eyes had been hurting. There is no doubt he is capable of typing in some numbers in a master form but it apparently this job is not what he wanted to do.

On Friday, when he resigned, he stated that our standards are too high after hearing Ron’s evaluation of how things are going at Wesley’s House. We found areas that needed to be cleaned with trash piled up and dirty walls that could be cleaned with soap and a rag. The Chinese workers think we should accept things the way they are used to, but we have told them all along that we expect our orphanages to have a better standard. Workers sit around while the children are in school - doing nothing. At Wesley’s House, they have a huge storage room of stuff, including clothing, bedding, toys and supplies. There were boxes and boxes of things the director has not opened and has no idea what is inside. A lot of these things have been donated. They don’t even know if it is things they can use. They are not of any benefit to anyone stored away like this. When asked why workers are not sorting through things while children are in school, he said they only did this on Tuesdays.

I asked if the children were allowed to play with the many toys I saw in the storage room. The director said there were not enough for each child to have one so they just kept them locked up. I asked what is wrong with teaching children how to share toys. No comment was made to answer my question. So, if you have 25 hoopla hoops and 100 children, you don’t let them play with any of them? Their answer is to just lock them up in a storage room?

Ronald offered Max the opportunity to have a job at Wesley’s House to help them since there is no male worker there, other than the director. Max said he’d just take his chances of seeing what other kind job he can find. When we found Max to come work at John Connor Brown, he was washing dishes in a restaurant. When he resigned that position (without any explanation as to his reason), he went to work for an orphanage with handicapped children. He lasted about a month. He said that was not for him so he asked to work as Ronald’s assistant. But, now he doesn’t want to do this either or take another position at any orphanage. Max is a good guy, a faithful Christian with good English skills, but he lacks motivation to work. It seems that the average Chinese does not see any need to put forth much effort in a job. When we arrived in Nanning and he learned we were staying with Ronald, he said if we didn’t need him the next day he would just go somewhere to ride his bike. Ronald told him it was still a work day and he could do some of the work he gave him three weeks earlier. It just wasn’t what he wanted to do, unfortunately. He is a university graduate with good English skills but he’ll end up working again in a restaurant at low wages simply because he does not want to work hard.

Finding motivated workers has been our greatest challenge. They all want to do as little as possible. There is no pride in doing things the best that can be done. It isn’t that they are incapable; they just do not see any need to make things better, especially if it means they have to work hard.

The children deserve to have a better chance in life and it’s up to our workers to teach them. We have two American couples who have worked in China for several years teaching English in universities who are discussing the possibility of moving to one of the orphanages to work with the children. If this happens, the children will have English classes and help with their homework to improve their grades. We hope the American couples at the orphanages can motivate workers to improve the living conditions and raise the standards, but we never know whether Chinese workers will conform or simply quit, like Max, saying we expect too much.

Thanks again for your prayers for my health.

Trip to China March 13th

We had a busy week getting ready to go to China but we made the flight to Seattle without a problem. We spent one night there and caught a night flight the next day to Beijing. We arrived in Beijing about 11:00 p.m. I thought everything was well until I started taking my bag up the ramp from the plane. It hit me all at once that I felt very sick. Ron had gone ahead and was waiting for me in the terminal.

What started as a sinus infection almost seven days prior to this turned into bronchial asthma. I felt fine in Seattle and while on the plane to Beijing. Pulling my luggage up the ramp felt like I was climbing a mountain with a very heavy load. I was out of breath and exhausted in the short distance to where Ron was waiting. I told him I needed to rest a minute. We stood there a few minutes until my heart beat got back to normal. We walked slower than usual through the airport terminal, through immigration and out to the airport exit. Ron began looking for the hotel buses. Since they built a new airport three years ago for the Olympics, everything had changed. He left me with the luggage and went looking for the bus. I literally sat down in the floor beside the bags and did not care that many people stared at me. Ron soon returned saying we might as well take a taxi. We had to stand in line outside for about 30 minutes as people were lined up for taxis. The air was invigorating and I could breathe deeply without a problem. When we got to the hotel, I quickly got in bed but the rasping in my chest was such I could not sleep. I don’t remember ever feeling so tired. Ron asked what we should do. I told him to wait until morning and see if I was better. He rested a few hours and awoke to see about me. I told him I could not sleep and would need a doctor but I had hoped we could reach Dr. Joshua (where we were going the next day) because I trusted him. Ron agreed and said we needed to get ready and get to the airport early so he could get a wheelchair for me. He thought we could get there quicker than I could be admitted and treated in a hospital. Since we arrived at the airport early, and although it took an hour for them to find a wheelchair for me, we still had plenty of time. They rolled me through fast security so that helped a lot. The young man that pushed the wheelchair took us to the gate and waited until the plane took off. We had a two hour flight to Zhengzhou. When we arrived, someone was waiting at the plane entrance with a wheelchair so they rolled me to the passenger waiting area when we met Joshua. I explained briefly how I felt and he got a taxi. On the way, he made a reservation at a hotel near his apartment. He said he lived on the 5th floor with elevators so he didn’t think I could make it there. His wife met us at the hotel with his medical kit. He first checked my oxygen level and although it was a little low, he said it did not appear that I had a lack of oxygen. He said if my oxygen had been less he would have taken me to the hospital for an X-ray but he did not think it was pneumonia. He heard the rasping in my upper chest and immediately asked if I had ever had asthma. I’ve had two episodes of something like this, but not to this extent. Once, while we lived in Montreal, Quebec, I was diagnosed with bronchial asthma. I was also sick with bronchitis while we lived in Beijing. Joshua called in a prescription for me that time. His wife went to the pharmacy and I began my round of medication. He said I definitely could not take the train that night that would have gotten us into Changsha after midnight so they returned the train tickets. He made us a flight for the next morning and said if I was not able to go, I could stay with them three days and he would put me on a flight straight to Nanning, where our son, Ronald, lives. I slept all afternoon and all night. He told me the medicine would help me sleep because I had lost two full nights of sleep with the flight over and the night in Beijing. Joshua is as fine a doctor as you will find anywhere and I trust him with my life. He and his wife are wonderful people. Ron met with Joshua to discuss plans to build a small hospital and clinic to serve the poor. We have funds from several individuals already so construction will start soon.

I was remarkably better the next morning after sleeping more than 12 hours. I showered and still felt strong enough to dress, go down for breakfast and catch the airport bus. I was able to walk through the terminal but we took it slow. I still had fatigue but not compared with the day before. Our plane was two hours late leaving so when we got to Changsha, they told us the bus from there to Pingxiang had left and we’d have to take a bus to the South bus station to get the 4:30 bus. We got to Pingxiang at 7 p.m. and were met by Abraham, the director of the Refuge of Grace Christian Care Center. We went to the hotel in Luxi and stayed in for the night. We went to bed very early. I was very tired and the rasping was still in my chest so I slept on several pillows to help me breathe better but I also had a headache for two days. I showered and went to the buffet breakfast (if you could call it that) and then back to the room. The breakfast consisted of rice soup (congee) that is terribly bland, balsam (steamed bread with a little meat filling inside) and boiled eggs. That’s all there was – nothing to drink. I went back to bed and rested until the group arrived to have church service in our room. There were two directors from other care centers that came there to meet with Ron. We had five men and Hope, our English worker and translator. After our worship and class, the two directors from the other care centers stayed to talk with Ron about their situations and ideas for what needs to be done at their care centers. At 11:30, we all went to Refuge of Grace to have lunch. The children were so precious waiting for us to arrive. After about 30 minutes of greeting them and having them all around us, we went inside for lunch. We got in line and ate with the children at their tables. One little girl about 3 or 4 years old at my table stopped eating and pouted when I sat down across from her. I could tell she was shy and maybe even scared so I ignored her. She finally began to eat as I was finishing my lunch. They had cooked cabbage, cooked winter melon, rice and a meat dish that I did not try. It was obviously hot because of the red pepper that occupied a major portion of the dish and I had no idea what kind of meat it was. I do not eat meat in China without knowing what it is.

At 2:30, a busload of university students arrived to put on a show for the children. The college kids nearly drove Ron and me crazy, asking questions constantly, wanting to practice their English. They put little stools out for the children to sit on and used the front entrance of the building for their stage. They had musical instruments and amplifiers that were loud and ear-piercing. They sang some songs, a boy did a magic show with coins and cards, and a group of girls did a hip-hop dance. A group of our little girls got up and danced around holding hands. It was very unorganized but because the children were very small, it was cute. About this time, two more buses arrived with well-dressed young families. We found out later they were from the city and had come to see the children. But also in the group were some of their little boys that performed a karate act. The children really enjoyed it. These people brought in loads of gifts for the children. Hope told me their office was piled up with many gifts of food and clothing. They brought clothing their children had outgrown. They were so well-dressed that there is no doubt the clothing they brought was nice.

It was sprinkling rain all day and the temperature was in the 40’s. I was a little concerned about being out in it but I had dressed in layers and did not feel cold. Ron did not bring warm clothing like I did so he was chilled and taking a cold already. I was more concerned about him. He has a bad infection now that is worse than just an ordinary cold. We went back to the hotel about 4 p.m. and both went to bed at 6 p.m. It was 5 a.m. when we awoke. Abraham came at 7:45 a.m. to take us to a meeting with the government official. It was about an hour long meeting and then we went to the bus terminal to catch a 10:30 a.m. bus back to Changsha.

We had rain and fog in Beijing which delayed our flight out of there and every flight we took thereafter. We saw a little sun in Zhengzhou the day we arrived but have not had any more. We have traveled a very long way from Beijing to Nanning and still there’s a heavy cloud cover mixed with smog and fog. Every flight is delayed and the airports are a real mess.

When our flight was finally called from Changsha to Nanning, we boarded and waited and waited. They brought everyone a dessert snack (cookies, cake and a few other things). By the time they picked the garbage back up, the plane was still sitting on the runway. They had us all go back to the airport waiting room, taking our luggage back off as well. In about an hour, they started giving out the dinner meal to people in the waiting area. Before anyone could finish eating, however, they started boarding again. We got to Nanning about 7:30 p.m. We had been in the airport since noon when the bus arrived from Pingxiang to Changsha.

I told Ron if we had not had bad luck on this entire trip, we would have had no luck at all. We still have problems. Our flights from Nanning to Hong Kong next week have been cancelled twice. We now have reservations to go into Shenzhen (I think) which is right across from Hong Kong. We will have to take the subway from this airport into Hong Kong. We are hoping it will not be cancelled.

Ronald and his assistant met us at the airport when we arrived in Nanning. We took a bus to a terminal not too far from Ronald’s apartment and then took a taxi to the building. We are staying with him but I worry that he will get sick before we leave. He has a small bed in the room with his office so he took that room and gave us the king-size bed. He has a very nice apartment but the humidity is so high, mold is on everything and nothing will dry. He has a washer and a drying room but with the moisture, nothing dries for days and days. They bought a dehumidifier this afternoon. He has some plants (which are healthy) but water is literally dropping off of the leaves. Two days ago he showed us a wood picture frame that he had cleaned two days earlier and mold was all over it l/4” thick. I have never seen anything like this. It is mild outside and comfortable inside but you can feel the stickiness of the high humidity.

Yesterday morning, we walked quite a long way to the police station to register. Foreigners are normally registered with the police through the hotel where they are staying but since we are at Ronald’s apartment, we had to register within 24 hours of our arrival. The walk was through muddy alleyways, markets, and shopping areas before we reached the police station. I was feeling really tired but able to walk. They had put newspapers on the tile floor of the police station because of the muddy shoes that constantly tracked in water and mud. It was still horrible. Of course, they spoke no English even though they are registering foreigners. Ronald had to get Max, his translator, on the phone to talk to the girl for a few minutes to explain that we were staying with him. He had papers to prove his address and resident permit. The girl looked at all the VISAs in our passports (even those expired) and all the stamps in the passports collected from entering and leaving China through the years. She apparently did a complete police check on us also. It took a long time. Banking is the same way. You cannot do any transaction quickly.

When we returned to the apartment, I went back to bed to rest. Ronald and Ron went to the grocery store. Ronald and I have fixed some good stir-fry meals and we are enjoying being with him. He’s in his office on the computer all day and Ron’s on this computer. I only have it now because they are gone. I have rested, read, and crocheted. It’s been a good time for me to gain back my strength. I have almost completed the medication and I only have a small amount of congestion in my bronchi with a little coughing. But, the fatigue has been difficult. I have an autoimmune disease called Sjogren ’s syndrome. I was diagnosed in 1990 right before we moved from St. Barth’s (in the Caribbean) to Montreal, Quebec. This disease is related to and similar to Lupus in that the immune system has turned against itself and destroyed the moisture glands. I have no saliva or tears. I have learned to have something to drink when I eat to keep from choking and eye drops to keep my eyes moist. Along with these two major symptoms, there are many others, including fatigue. Whenever I get sick, it takes me two or three times longer than anyone else to get over it. My immune system is overactive (which resulted in the destruction of the moisture glands) so I can’t do much to improve it. For severe symptoms, prednisone or other NSAIDS are given to reduce inflammation in the body but I have never been given these drugs. I avoid taking anything because the side-effects are sometimes worse than the problem. There is no cure for Sjogren ’s syndrome. It’s just a matter of controlling it and enduring it. It just takes time to get over an illness and gain back my normal level of energy.

We are waiting for the government in Tiendeng (John Connor Brown Care Center) to give us an appointment before going there. They are causing some trouble for our director and we expect they do not want to meet with Ron and will not find time for us while we are here. Ron will just have to give them fair warning in a letter that we will not continue to tolerate their troublemaking. There are new workers now from the ones we dealt with in the past and our director says they just want a bribe, which they will never get. We planned to visit Wesley’s House Christian Care Center in Pingguo tomorrow. We will take a train early in the morning and return by bus in the afternoon. It’s just an hour or so away. Many shipments of blankets came to Ronald’s apartment so we have packed them in suitcases to take to Wesley’s House tomorrow.

We leave Nanning on the 30th and will be in Hong Kong until April 3rd. Ron will speak at the congregation in Hong Kong on April lst. Ronald will go with us to Hong Kong because his wife, Gigi, and her parents are coming there for a couple of days. It will be our first time to meet them. Gigi was only able to get a VISA for a single entry for one month so she will return to Nanning with Ronald on April 3rd. She has met him in Hong Kong twice but it’s the first time she’s been able to get a VISA for China. Ronald and Gigi wanted all of their parents to meet because we never know if there will be another opportunity. They wanted to treat Gigi’s parents and us to a tour in Hong Kong. It will be a little sad with everyone going different directions on the 3rd, but I will be very happy that Gigi is coming back for a month in China. We hope this is a start to get her to China full-time but we have to work it out for that to happen.

This has been a difficult trip. I think it’s hard enough when we feel well. While I was so very sick, Ron carried his luggage and mine. I know that was very hard for him. I will take much less from now on but 3+ weeks with a few clothes is difficult unless you have time somewhere along the way to wash out a few things. With this humidity, nothing dries, so it was not possible on this trip. I realize that nothing goes as planned on most trips, but every time we turned around, there was another delay or problem this time.

We shipped a box of blankets by FedEx and put a few miscellaneous things in for Ronald so we didn’t have to carry them on the plane. Wouldn’t you know it, the bill inside the box with the list of contents was lost and we’ve been fighting a battle with FedEx locally. They wanted to know every item inside, brand name, cost and weight. Of course, I had to just guess at all of that and then remembered a few things later that I did not mention. They are going to charge us tax or duty on the items. It’s still held by the FedEx office so I don’t know when they will release it. If they are unreasonable, it will cost more than what I paid for the items. I won’t try that again. It is the way of everything in China – difficult.

I know my writing has been rambling and poorly written. I have to share the computer with Ron so I didn’t have time to write things down as they happened. I didn’t feel like it anyway. I hope that the rest of our trip goes better than the first half. We hope to leave Hong Kong on April 3rd, spend one night in Seattle on our way back. We are supposed to arrive in Dallas on April 5th.

Thanks for your interest in us, our work and for your prayers.

January has been a busy month

After the holidays, we traveled to Houston, Orange, Bay City, Corpus Christi, and some surrounding cities from these larger cities.   When I am too busy to write regularly, it all runs together.  We are moving so often, I could not remember where we were without the postings on my calendar.  Things have been going fine without anything very interesting to report.  We report to churches where we were a year ago and when Ron does not have an appointment, we attend some other churches in the area.  It is interesting to meet new people.  We seem to have the ability to go when they are having potluck (or do they just have potluck often anyway?)   It's been our good fortunte to get some very good meals along with our travels.

We arrived in Bay City, south of Houston on January 11th.  We parked the RV at Riverside Park, a city park.

 The next morning, Lily Zhang our worker from China, came into the Houston airport.  Ron met her at the Houston airport and brought her back to the RV to spend 10 days with us.   We have known Lily for several years and she's worked with Agape in several capacities.  She worked as a teacher at the orphanges, a personal translator for us on two trips and at the last cleft palate medical mission.  Recently, she's come to the U.S. to bring children having surgery in the U.S.   People at Nichols Street in Bay City and Sweeny enjoyed meeting her and asking her questions about China. 

While at the Riverside Park, we enjoyed our walks each afternoon.  A tame duck at the boat dock made friends with Lily and she fed it each day we were there.   The first day we arrived, a beautiful male cardinal took a fancy to our mirrors on the RV.  I hung garbage bags over they and tied them tight so they would blow in the breeze but not blow away.  This didn't bother the cardinal at all.  He then decided to play with mirrors on the car.  When they were covered up, he liked the chrome all around the car.  He often flew into the windows around the RV and sat on the window ledge and watched us inside.  It seemed that he wanted to be part of the family but we did everything we could to shoo him away.  He woke us up at daylight each morning, pecking on the windows, as if it was his duty to get us up.

On January 23rd we arrived on Mustang Island (near Corpus Christi).   It is a Texas park right on the strip of land that is also Padre Island.   When outside, we could hear the roar of the ocean.  We took our afternoon walk on the beach.  I was not able to go every day because my dry eye situation got worse even with goggles on.  The wind was very strong so I stayed inside most of the time we were there.

Lily left on the 27th to go to Rochester, MN to the Mayo Clinic to meet a little 13-month old boy arriving from China.  He is an orphan and has severe heart defects.  As I write this, he will be fasting after midnight tonight and having surgery tomorrow.  Lily will be with him until he's well and ready for the flight attendant to take him back to his grandmother.  The boy's father was murdered before he was born.  His mother deserted him (as they usually do when there's a birth defect).  She left to go elsewhere in hopes of marrying again so he was left with a poor grandmother.  She was not able to accompany him to the U.S.

We also had a beautiful little three year old that had successful heart surgery in San Antonio on Friday.  If  you are on Facebook, you can go to Chinese Agape Foundation page and see this beautiful child that just had surgery. 

We visited churches in Corpus Christi, Portland, Port Aransas and Ingleside the past few weeks.  A member of the church at Port Aransas owns an RV park.  He heard Ron's report on the China work and came up afterwards and told Ron to vacate our spot on Mustang Island and come on down to his place for our last week with free parking.  The next morning, we drove there and took his last spot in the RV park.  He has two lots connecting each other with about 150 spaces.  He also has a motel, with pool and laundry room.  It was so nice of him to give us this great accommodation and save us some money.  Yesterday was our first really nice day in Port Aransas. It was foggy and rainy almost all week. After I closed down the computer about 4 p.m. we went for a walk around the town and on to the beach. I guess we walked 5 miles by the time we got back to the RV. I was so tired. We found enough leftovers so I didn't cook. We went to bed fairly early because I didn't sleep well the night before. I didn't sleep well that night either. I was concerned about the ferry crossing, for one thing. I am just too anxious every time we move. People envy us everywhere we go. At Walmart while getting gas, the lady from the little office came out and talked with me about RV's and said her brother is thinking of doing it full time. The RV parks are full everywhere we go. We walked through the one we were staying at (he has two parks side-by side) and about every state was represented except Alaska and Hawaii. People are permanent, for the winter at least. They have plants and stuff outside around their campers like they have settled in to stay. They are close together and hardly have any room between them.

The Corp of Engineer parks are much better space-wise. Ours was free this past week so it was O.K. but there was a lot of noise with people coming and going, talking, walking barking dog, etc.  He charges $45 per night for these spots. They have water, sewage and electricity for that cost. Some actually had electrical meters so they pay their own electricity if they are long-term. It is almost all old people - many look in their 80's but they drive these rigs all the way from Quebec and northern states. If I was going to hang out somewhere full-time, Port Aransas would be a good place but I think property is very expensive there.  It is an exclusive resort area.   You can see houses of all sizes and types, inexpensive to terribly expensive.  Along the waterfront, there were million dollar houses.  Here's three of the choices:

Better than a tent!

Or cute little houses like this...

Or this one?  

 

We went across the ferry from Port Aransas to Portland one day for me to go to their ladies' Bible class and have lunch with the ladies.  We also crossed by ferry to go to Ingleside our last Wednesday night in this area. 

Saturday morning, February 4th, we woke early and began preparing to leave.  It was foggy but we wanted to be one of the first on the ferry.  We had seen an RV and many campers crossing on the ferry the other times we took it so we knew we could take our rig across and save about an hour's driving.  Walmart also had cheap gas on the other side.   We were the first ones to board the ferry and the worker directed up all the way to the front with only a few feet to spare.  I just about fainted!   

As I already said, I didn't sleep well the night before thinking about this crossing and to face it like this was breathtaking, to say the least.  We took up almost a whole side of the ferry but they loaded the rest of it with cars and trucks and away we went.  It is a short ride but it crossed the channel where barges come though. 

Ferries run all day back and forth, free of charge.   We also passed large tankers coming to cross on the ferry also.  It employs a lot of workers doing this all day and night with several ferries coming and going all the time.

Arriving on the other side:

Waiting to take off:

We drove on to Alice, TX after we got gas at Walmart.  We had a little rain on us but not much until later that night.  We parked at the Alice Church of Christ parking lot.  We knew from last year that we could get close enough to their building to plug in for the night.  We unhooked the car and trailer and left them on the side of the building.  Then the rain began to come down.  We had heavy thunderstorms all night.  Ron said he got up a couple of times to look out to be sure the car was not under water.  He didn't know if it was draining off or rising in the parking lot.   Folks at church the next morning said they got 3" of rain in their gauges.  It was windy and cold but the rain had ended.  After we completed the morning service, we drove 2-l/2 hours down the Rio Grande Valley to Sunny Glen Children's Home.  We parked here last year and they gave us permission to come again.  We give them a donation in lieu of the parking cost somewhere else.  There's an RV park just on the other side of the orphanage property that extends for at least a mile.  It looks like it's completely full.  It would have to hold a minimum of 200 campers. 

It is cloudy and cool here in San Benita (just north of Brownsville).  You can't go further south than Brownsville.  It's practically on the Mexican border.   I expected it to be warmer but the cold front that produced so much rain north of here, pushed this far south.

We will be in this area a couple of weeks.  I hope I'll have time to post more often in the coming weeks.  We will wind up our work here and go to San Antonio next.  We will be back in Dallas to return to China on March 11th.

Thanks for following our adventures.  Please keep us and the work in your prayers.