A Teacher's Summer

I think I could get used to this summer-off life! I've been back in the U.S. for almost 6 weeks which seems unbelievable and, for the most part, its been a great summer. After a rough first week and some big decisions (more on that later...) I have spent my time with family and friends, catching up on the past year. Some stories from my summer...

As you know from my "Murdo" blog, I drove to Wyoming and Colorado for a week. I rented a car, took off and spent approximately 30 hours on the road that week. I camped in the Big Horn Mountains with my grandparents for 3 days and was utterly amazed by the beauty of nature. I couldn't take my eyes off the blue skies and I think I dislocated my neck (is that possible?) as I stared at an indescribable night sky of stars. We built campfires, went for walks, entertained the local squirrels as they took advantage of every possible moment to steal food or paper towels, and my grandma and I sprinted for the camper as a mama moose came running towards us, only to veer off at the last minute. I then drove to Colorado to spend a few days with the Brandt family, my good friends from Tianjin. After all of this time to think and pray alone in the car, peace in nature, and the company of friends I came back with one load off my back - I would not be attending Bethel this fall for graduate school.



I spent a few days in Marshalltown then took off for Cedar Rapids and Vacation Bible School at my church. This week was such a blessing!! I got to see so many kids and adults that I missed during this past year. My heart was warmed so many times - when 4 year-old Kaia proudly said "Ni Hao!" to me, when the Neven girls showed me their tai chi routine, the looks of shock and then huge smiles as people saw me around church, and the face-to-face conversations with some of my best friends.


I returned to Marshalltown after the week in Cedar Rapids and got back just in time to be at the hospital as my first niece was being born!! I'm such a proud aunt and very, very proud of my stepsister, Bre, as she cares for this precious little girl. Her name is Kailynn and she's a tiny little thing that has perfected the art of sleeping! I've spent a good amount of time with them over the past few weeks. :)


In between all of this there have been some baseball games, the Iowa State Fair, 18 mile bike rides, plenty of eating (with cheese being a MUST at every meal...or snack...) and some preparations for my next journey. Oh, and of course I was glued to the T.V. for about 2 weeks during the Olympics! Yay, China...they were awesome!!! Most recently, though, my family has expanded even more to include Yi Qi, my mom's Chinese exchange student for the year. She's 18, attending Marshalltown Community College, and is from Shenzhen province in southern China. She is a joy, she makes me laugh and she is adjusting to life in Iowa very well.


So, I've written a book and haven't even told you what I'm doing next year! Well, for those of you who have told me that you were going to miss my blog next year, I'm here to give you good news. After much prayer, discernment, conversations with others, and deep introspection into what my heart is telling me I have decided to return to Tianjin, to my school, and to my students. This was NOT an easy decision. The peace I feel now compared to my "tortured soul" of 4 weeks ago is so comforting and tells me I'm doing the right thing. So, my visa is in the works and I should be leaving sometime in the middle of September - more details on that to come. I have no idea what this next year will bring but I truly hope that you will continue to live this adventure with me by reading along. One of the main lessons I've learned (actually re-learned and will probably continually re-learn) is that we can all be used in amazing ways. Sometimes that takes a leap of faith, though, and a willingness to say, "YES." Are you willing to say "yes" to something that may seem crazy? Hahaha...I am! :)