Journal Entry #31: Sunday, June 13, 2010

It was Sunday morning.  Jessica and Mia wanted to make breakfast for the Myers and us.  They made a very traditional breakfast much like I had been served at Jessica’s house a few weekends previous.  The noodles with sausage and egg that was served was just as good as I had been served earlier by her family’s live-in cook, Luo.  We also had real brewed coffee brought down by the Myers.  It was more than I usually ate for breakfast but Donna is a much better breakfast eater than I, and I wanted her to experience this cuisine as best she could while she was here.  We ate the noodles and sausage soup with chopsticks! Of course, we were supposed to pick up the bowl when it only had the liquid contents remaining and drink the final portion of the dish

This Sunday brought about our weekly family gathering to remember our fallen Brother. I was excited because Donna was here to experience this unique gathering.  Unfortunately, because of the change in school and class schedule brought on by the Dragon Boat Festival, we did not have all of our family together for our meeting.  The Gearhart’s were missing.  We had invited some of our Chinese family but only a few could attend.    It was particularly important for me to have Jessie meet with us because she had become a family member about 7-8 months earlier while attending school in Searcy. After our meeting we had some more group photos taken.  Mia took a couple of photos, and then Donna took some so Mia could be in the pictures.

It was finally time for our team to really start the journey home.  The girls, Carey and Sarah, had lovingly become good friends with our Chinese student assistant, Blanche.  Who could blame them?  Donna said that if she were there any longer that she was sure that she and Blanche would be good friends as well.  Blanche was like that.  She was strong, independent, funny, smart and a delightfully friendly young lady.  She was in post-graduate school working on her Masters in English and was one of Edwin’s favorite students.  The girls all cried and hugged each other.  Blanche probably cried the most.  It was very touching.

Edwin had made reservations at the Yellow Tablecloth restaurant for lunch.  We had eaten there the day before.  The food the first time was good, but we were wishing we had eaten somewhere else, if for nothing else the variety and opportunity that was before us. 

About the time we were getting seated one of the Chinese Christians, Irene, showed up with some drinks that she had purchased for the group.  Most restaurants do not serve anything except Hot Tea, and usually Green Tea.  There were a total of 10-11 people attending lunch.  Attending the worship service and lunch was the Myers, Edwin and Mary, the Gearharts, and Gary and Linda.  Also attending were Faye, Laura, Blanche, Jessica, Mia, Donna and I, plus Barbara Last and Irene.  We had a great time of fellowship and discussion.  After lunch Donna and I were going to walk about the campus, but it was raining so hard that we ended up simply walking back to the apartment after stopping at a bakery to buy some “Friendship Bread.”  We went to the Sedonia Bakery and perused the various and different delicacies they had for offer.  I needed to get back to the apartment to let Jessica and Mia in as Jessica was leaving again to go back to Changsha to visit with more of her family.  Mia was staying one more day, but she was meeting up with her new friend Amber to hang out and do college girl stuff.  Mia is so sociable and loves meeting new people.

We hadn’t been home very long before Alice called.  She was about an hour early for our 4:00 o’clock appointment but she wanted to come by, speak English with us, visit more with Donna and look at photos with us.  The Chinese students loved for the Americans to show them photos of their family, home, America and most anything else we could show them about our life style.  Our 4:00 o’clock meeting was a trip back to Lilly’s family for dinner.  They wanted me to come back and bring Donna.  I thought the previous lunch with them was fascinating by just the fact that this was a typical, whatever that is these days, Chinese nuclear home life.  Again, I had to insist to Alice that we were taking a Taxi and I was paying for it.  The last time I went the bus was a bit unsanitary, and it was a little further than I wanted to travel on the bus.  Sometimes the busses are new and clean, and sometimes they are not!  It was raining, again!  In addition, while Lilly and her family lived in a very nice gated building the bus let us off a few blocks from where we needed to end up and the walk through the part of town looked a little suspect to me.  I also knew that a taxi would drop us off as close as we instructed the driver to do so. 

We arrived at Lilly’s house and were greeted warmly.  Lilly’s father was still at work at the bank and her mother was busy preparing our meal. Apparently they have a system for meals.  She cuts, chops, slices, dices, and makes all other preparations, while Lilly’s father actually puts it together, stir-fries and cooks all the parts.  While we waited for the dad to come home and the food to be prepared Lilly showed Donna around the apartment.  I also asked Alice, to ask Lilly, to show Donna her portfolio of artwork.  

Lilly’s family, the Zhou’s, served a variety of vegetable dishes, fish soup, a very unusual Sweet Potato dish, and plenty of other dishes.  I thought they had made more than enough food for just five of us.  Just before it was time to eat they made a phone call and soon Lilly’s aunt, uncle and cousin arrived to have dinner with us.  It soon dawned on us that they had been invited to see us!  We were the spectacle of entertainment.  None of them spoke English enough to carry on a conversation.  The uncle was probably the best and they were all very friendly and hospitable, but still it felt a little weird when we realized they had been invited just to gawk at us. 

We had been there about two hours total when I made the first gesture that we needed to get back to our home base.  We expressed our appreciation for their food and gracious welcome, as they did for us coming to their house.  Soon after that we were off.  We did have to walk a few more blocks than I wanted to catch up to a taxi but soon we flagged one down and got back safe and sound.

We had one more item on our schedule for the day.  We were to visit with Peter, Esther, Faye and Irene.  This was the group that met for Chinese church services. We met at the Myers’ house and had some snack foods for desert and a very pleasant time of fellowship.  When we finally arrived at our house I would have gone to bed but I realized that Mia was still out with her friends and had no key to let herself into the apartment.  I felt like a Dad waiting up for a daughter to return home but I had no choice.  I knew if I went to bed that her knocking on my door would probably not wake me. Fortunately, Mia finally arrived about 10:30 p.m., with Amber, who wanted to come in to tell me goodbye knowing that I was leaving the next day.  After spending a month with my team, and a week or so with Jessica and Mia, Amber has the dream of transferring to Harding as soon as she can.  I don’t know if that will happen but I pray that it will.  Amber is a wonderful young lady who is seeking to find meaning in life.  I believe that if she came to Harding we could easily show her the way!