I'm very bummed that I somehow hit some button that has erased the design of my blog. All pictures, extras, and backgrounds are gone. Not cool. :(
Last Saturday, Natalie and I drove up to Wichita for a FOCUS anniversary reunion. We didn't know that we would see anyone we knew but thought it would be fun because of our love for FOCUS. We got there in time for a picnic. It was hot but bearable as we sat in the shade and flung ants off of us. I did get to see our "host" the second time I was in China.
She was our contact if we ever needed help with anything, opened up her apartment for us to do laundry, helped us get settled in our city, and took us to Beijing to debrief on our way out.
Last Saturday, Natalie and I drove up to Wichita for a FOCUS anniversary reunion. We didn't know that we would see anyone we knew but thought it would be fun because of our love for FOCUS. We got there in time for a picnic. It was hot but bearable as we sat in the shade and flung ants off of us. I did get to see our "host" the second time I was in China.
She was our contact if we ever needed help with anything, opened up her apartment for us to do laundry, helped us get settled in our city, and took us to Beijing to debrief on our way out. We also got these anniversary t-shirts. We tried (4 times) to get a good picture. Clearly that didn't work out!
After the picnic we drove around, A LOT, looking for shopping. I don't know what our deal was, but there were many times we drove in the opposite direction we were supposed to. We knew it was time to turn around when it turned to farm land. We saw the "Welcome to Wichita" sign on all sides of Wichita! Natalie put it best after our trip, "It was good to see you and all of Wichita." After an afternoon of shopping, ice cream, and reading magazines at the bookstore we headed to a special service for FOCUS that evening. (Of course not without getting turned around again!) I thought we did pretty good since I left the directions and map on my coffee table. I also left my shirt for that night, and shirt for the next day as well. And my brush. I had to make do...just like being overseas! :)
After the picnic we drove around, A LOT, looking for shopping. I don't know what our deal was, but there were many times we drove in the opposite direction we were supposed to. We knew it was time to turn around when it turned to farm land. We saw the "Welcome to Wichita" sign on all sides of Wichita! Natalie put it best after our trip, "It was good to see you and all of Wichita." After an afternoon of shopping, ice cream, and reading magazines at the bookstore we headed to a special service for FOCUS that evening. (Of course not without getting turned around again!) I thought we did pretty good since I left the directions and map on my coffee table. I also left my shirt for that night, and shirt for the next day as well. And my brush. I had to make do...just like being overseas! :)What a great and moving service it was. It reminded me why I love FOCUS so much. It has changed my life to understand that we are to live with a purpose of exalting Him among the nations, no matter where I am. I love to hear and read about what is going on among the nations.
After the service there was a reception where they had a picture of every team that had gone. Here is my teams picture from my first trip in 2000. This picture was taken during one of the best/worst weeks of my life. They wanted to make sure that we experienced anything and everything that could possibly happen while overseas. So at this point I hadn't showered in several days; I had eaten food that worked my gag reflexes, and we had just finished laboring in the sun.
I tried to scan pictures from that trip since that was before the digital camera but I wasn't having much luck. So I found some pictures from my second trip in 2006.
Oh what fun! Will I go back? I wish I knew, and hopefully Raymond will be right with me!
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