Massag-EE and "Bathing"

Once we got home from the village we got together with the guys and talked about our experiences. They guys got to meet with an incredible family and help to disciple them. After that we decided it was time to go and get a massage or massag-eee is how they pronounced it. :) N and I opted for just a foot massage and T and Connie wanted a back massage. Let me just tell you that these massages are NOT like what you get in the states. They were PAINFUL!!! T thought he was going to cry several times. My foot massage was not too bad except for that the water they had you place your feet in was boiling hot! (I had to have them add some cold water. I'm sure they thought I was a wuss.) My calves were also very sore from "running" up the pagoda stairs a few days before. It felt good, but it also hurt. The whole experience cost us 38 kuai, which comes to about $5.50 USD. I also developed a HUGE bruise on the side of my knee from the massage. They push really hard on your pressure points. It has finally gone away. :)

After we returned from the massageeee's we were in for a real treat. The son from the family that T had met with that afternoon had brought a friend over to be baptized. :) This young man has led so many to the Lord. He is an encouragement to me, and also some one I look up to. He has only been a believer for about 11 months, and has had the opportunity to lead many to the Lord. What's his secret? He's actually sharing with people how Christ has changed his life!! This was so cool to be able to be apart of. After they were finished we all sang in our own language....I have decided to follow Jesus.


Here is a list of questions that they ask them before they are baptized.
The questions are:
Have you put your trust in Jesus who died on the cross for your sins and on the third day rose again?
Do you know that Jesus has forgiven all of your sins?
Are you telling everyone here that you will follow Jesus and never turn back?
Will you keep following Jesus even when they curse you, hit you, arrest and imprison you and threaten to kill you?



What would you say?











This is a video of us singing. You can't really see anything because the bathroom was so dark, but you can hear us singing. Quite a powerful experience!

Out in the Village.

On Saturday morning all the girls piled in a van and headed out to a village. Luckily we did not have to eat in this village. I'll save that for another post.:) We were able to break into groups and do some prayer walking around the village. It was so neat to be able to pray out loud for people walking right next to you, and they had absolutely no idea what you were saying. :) Very cool experience! On the way home we flagged down a "bus" to ride home in. Those people drive ALL over the road. I just had to not pay attention. ha!


A hospital in the village. You mainly just get IV's here. Most of the patients, about 90% were small children, they had diarreah. They believe that when a child gets diarreah that you stop feeding them. Then they become dehydrated so they need an IV. Most of them also have malnourishment problems.
Inside the hospital.
A primary school.

Everybody needs a waterbuffalo. Mine is fast, but yours is slow. :) This was the "beef" that we ate. It was ok, just a little tough.
People selling fruits and vegetables on the main street of the village. Isn't she precious?
Chickens/Ducks
These women can carry some serious weight in these baskets.
Just on old truck sitting in the road. They thought it would be funny if I got in it. :)

Squat-Tay Pott-Tay VS. The Western Toilet!

Here is one of my most favorite parts about China-The squatty potty! Oh the fun this entails. If you can't squat then you would be in trouble. Luckily I only had to use one of these the whole time I was there. I strategically decided when to drink and when not to drink so I wouldn't have to use one. :) ha! Actually it is not that bad if you can squat and hold your breath at the same time. :) The one at the school was pretty brutal, but when nature calls you can't ignore it. :) Also you have to carry your own toilet paper around, because there isn't any in any of the public restrooms. Thank you Lord for the Western Toilet. Actually, I guess it's all in what you are use to. They have trouble keeping the westen toilet from breaking, because all those use to the squatty try to climb up on it and squat. :)


Squatties in the girls bathroom at the schools we taught in.
Closer look at the squatty. There is no flushing mechanism. :) I do believe it has a slant to it though. ha!
This is a squatty in a restaurant. You all eat in one big room, and this is also in the room. With a door of course. :)

Intentional!

The song I have added really emulates what Christ is doing in my life right now. (You will have to click play on the Music Player to hear it.) It reigns true here in the states and all around the world. I pray that as you listen to it, you will see the faces in this blog and faces around you everyday that are in desperate need of a Savior. Sometimes it seems like a mountain would need to be moved in order for that person to even be able to know about God or acknowledge there is a God, but that's what He is in the business of doing. Let Him use you, and be INTENTIONAL about sharing him and living your life for Him. That's the one word that sticks with me from this whole trip. INTENTIONAL

SHINE YOUR LIGHT!!!! Have faith the He can and will move the mountains!


Matthew 17:20 Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

Implied is that the presence of faith is more important than the amount of faith. If faith is there, however small, it is enough to remove mountains of difficulty.

"Mighty To Save" by Hillsong

When everyone needs compassion,And love that never fails,Let mercy fall on meWhen everyone needs forgiveness,Kindness of the SaviourThe Hope of the nation

(Chorus:)Saviour, He can move the mountains,My God is mighty to save,He is mighty to saveForever author of salvation,He rose and conquered the graveJesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find meAll my fears and failuresFill my life againI give my life to followEverything that i believe inNow i surrender (and i surrender)(Chorusx2)

(Bridge:)Shine a light in and let the whole world seeSinging, for the glory of the risen kingJesus, Shine a light and let the whole world seeSinging for the glory of the risen king

More classroom time....

Kayla and T eating in the school cafeteria. This food was horrible, but worth our time that we spent with these students.
Connie sharing the love of the Father with these students. It was a neat experience. Even a language barrier cannot separate the love of sharing the Father!
Connie teaching and telling about her family. She has an incredible story of heartbreak and joy-losing two of five children and her husband, but also sharing the joy that she still has because of her relationship with the Father. On a funny note they would gasp every time she would add another child to her family. They thought it was wild that she had 5 children. Most of them are the only child in the home.
Me teaching Jesus loves me. There is power in the name!
Kids watching us walk onto their campus. They were everywhere!

The second day that we went back we were able to share a little more. We had lunch with some students in their cafeteria. It was an experience. I'm not real sure what was on top of my rice, but I dug down to the bottom to be able to just eat the rice. :) I survived, and it was worth it. We sat in there for about 2 hours laughing and talking with several of the students. They were teaching us Chinese and they were asking us about our culture. Of course Christmas came up, and Connie just happened to have some pictures illustrating why we celebrate Christmas. :) We shared as best we could with those girls. I do believe they understood some, because later that night. Our friend was able to share with them in chinese and 14 of them accepted the Father. It was so AWESOME!!!

This is a video of us singing with the students. Note- this is not me singing. I would have done even worse than her. :) Just goes to show that you can be used regardless of ablility, just willingness. :)

Back in China.......In the Classroom.

OK I am going to get serious about finishing up my China trip. I may post several blogs in a row. We have VBS next week, so I need to get this finished. :)

After our Pagoda run we headed back for a rest. :) Needless to say my calves hurt for the next 3 days. We then headed out for a quick bite to eat before going to the schools for the first time. We were going in for their evening classes. They start at 7:30 in the morning and go until 10:00 pm. They do have two big breaks during the day. We got there during their free time. All of the kids either play basketball, table tennis (ping pong), badmitton, or just hang out.

We had three girls that were basketball players that jumped in and play with them. They quickly drew a crowd! I struck up a game of badmitton with some girls. I wasn't very good at first, but quickly got the hang of it.

After that we headed to the classrooms. We taught two classes the first night. I was a little nervous and did not know exactly what to expect. These kids had been studying English for several years. They read and write it, but have not had much practice actually speaking. So they were thrilled to get to talk to foreigners. We went in the classrooms and you would have thought we were rockstars! They would clap and yell for us. We told a little about our families, and then worked on simple english with them. Things such as colors, days of the week, months of the year, antonyms (which they were really good at), tongue twisters, etc. One of their favorite things was learning colors with starbursts. :) What cracked us up was the way they pronounced orange. They would all say Orang-E. So we taught them that the e was silent. They always wanted to know if we could speak Chinese. We learned a little, and of course they would laugh at us when we would try to speak. It was fun! We were able to teach in the schools for 5 days.

Our quick dinner before heading to the schools.
Katie thought it would be funny to eat the chicken head. She put it in her mouth, but quickly spit it back out- Chicken!!
Katie going for a lay up.

T shooting for three. The would cheer everytime one of us made a basket.


Dream (his english name), Kayla, Connie, and Me. Dream was talking to us and then all of a sudden ran out of the office. Before we knew it he was back with bags of corn for us. I guess he thought we were hungry. It was super hot, but really good. He was overwhelmed that we spoke english, and was so excited to get to talk to us.

Here Comes the Bride......

We interrupt the China trip to bring you some VERY important news!!! My little brother Chad got married this weekend. :) The wedding was beautiful and very sweet. So was the reception. It was all desserts. I was thrilled!! I love me some sweets! :) They even had my favorite CHEESECAKE!!! I am so happy for Chad and Mandy! They are a precious couple that have a zeal for the Lord. I can't wait to see how the Lord uses them. Love you guys!!!!

The pictures loaded backwards so the rehearsal starts at the bottom.




Mr. and Mrs. Chad Plummer!!
There they go.......
Here the come.....
Waiting.......
Decorating the car.
The Bride's cake. I didn't taste it. I thought I better stop after cheese cake and groom's cake. :)
The groom's cake. It was yummy!
The happy couple.

Mandy and the boys!
Bridal Party. All the bridesmaids got to pick their own dress. I thought it was really cool, and looked great together.
Chad and the women.
Little Brother Chad, Me, and Middle Brother Chris.

KG and Aunt Mandy. KG just loooooooooooooves Aunt Mandy. It is so cute.
KG and CT ready for the wedding.
CT looking sharp!
Princess KG.
CT and KG ready to get the show on the road. We had pictures at 11 am and the wedding wasn't until 2pm. They did really well for being dressed up so long. Of course KG thought she was a princess. You weren't getting her out of that dress anytime soon.

Mandy's Mom, Mandy, Chad, and Uncle Chris listening to instructions. Well, it looks like at least the women were. :)
Daddy got to preach the wedding, Uncle Chad, and Uncle Chris practicing.
CT took this picture of Uncle Chad and Aunt Mandy at the rehearsal.
This is what the tables looked like at the rehearsal dinner. It was a lot of fun, and the food was FABULOUS!!! They had cheesecake there too. I think I have had my quota for the month. :)
CT and KG chilling while Mommy, Mimi, JC, and Kristen decorate for the rehearsal dinner.