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Scenes from China; goodies from home; student outdoor performance; very interesting bin Laden and Obama masks; inside the women’s dorm…and our grandson Colton’s 1st birthday (who can blame a granddaddy?)

We’ve been trying to get in some foundational studies that will be with them in coming months and years

The weather has been erratic lately, getting as high as 95 degrees and the next day it was 69. Was low of 55, high of 59 same week as the mid-90’s. It is really nice when it’s lower, especially for our students, who have no air conditioning in their dormitory rooms.

We were told the temperatures are similar to that of Tennessee, and we’ve found that to be the case many days. I doubt it’s been 55 as a low anytime lately, though.

I remember many August days when my dad wanted to go sailing…no wind, and very hot and humid. We do not look forward to those times, though Tonia, Wendy, and Aiden will be here for 10 days to bring greater joy to our life! It IS hot everywhere we’ve ever lived during that month.

I continue to marvel at these youngsters. They deal with the difficult temperatures in such a positive way!  They are not sleeping well at night, when it’s over 90 degrees, and some are having trouble staying awake at the end of the second 50-minute session of our weekly classes. We have had them on our mind and in our hearts!

We were told “foreign teachers” tend to grade easier than the Chinese instructors, and I tend to agree. Most of my students will get A’s and B’s, with only a few C’s and maybe 1-2 who are close to a D. If they are in class and participate, hard to see why there should be any F’s.

I think we put ourselves in their shoes and reward them with appreciation and encouragement, and we certainly identify with the difficulty of learning a new language. 🙂

We’ve been treating several to lunch, in anticipation of the summer break, when most will not be around. Life on a college campus speeds up the last month; it becomes quite hectic due to the pressure of finishing work and finals. Those who live in the area have volunteered to be ‘tour guides’ when family comes in August.

We have several older students who will  likely not be in our area next fall. Two are completing graduate ‘papers’ in early June.

We’ve been trying to get in some foundational studies that will  be with them in coming months and years. I am also thankful for email, so we can engage in questions, answers, and encouragement from a distance. Have found Hindu backgrounds coming to the forefront in recent ‘count the cost’ discussions.

I am reminded daily that those who have planted in previous years paved the way for the watering that is taking place right now. We anticipate a harvest in due time. For certain, “good news” is being received with earnestness…will not return to us void. 🙂

Harding group delivered some items yesterday…received some new 33” waist jeans/pants/shorts and also a cornbread pan. Now I have to find some corn meal…have missed eating cornbread here with pinto and white lima beans, slaw, cheddar/jalapeno cheese and stewed tomatoes. Jennifer also sent a new bottle of hot sauce, also good with dried beans.

We saw a black & white copy of Terry’s Little Yellow Duck children’s story and were pleased (it has been self-published on Lulu.com). Family members who have seen it were positive (what did we expect, huh!). It is now in English and Spanish, with plans to translate it into Chinese soon.

Terry and I have received three textbooks to help us learn more Chinese during our summer break. We’re in the process now of finding one of our better students, who will be in our area during that time, to help us.

I bought a new shelf for our kitchen this week, giving us much-needed storage space. I bartered the salesperson down 100 yuan from the asking price…Batsell would have been proud.

Received only my second haircut in China today…might give you an idea how much was cut off the last time. Asked for less and received a more reasonable cut this time. I was a 60’s teenager so I like my hair longer than most. 🙂

Terry and I were two of six judges of a speech contest. The system was a little unorganized for our liking, but the participants did great…and two of her students were in the top three. It is something we will likely be asked to again and again, since we’re ’the experts’ on English.

Greetings from Terry: Saturday, May 14: we had the American foreign teachers over to our apartment for a devo and lunch. Thirteen people in all. It was a lively time of singing, petitioning, reading, eating and visiting. And a good time was had by all. That evening we discovered a kind of student play being put on outside in the badminton court; complete with costumes, back drop, loud speakers and music.

Sunday, May 15: I enjoyed the luxury of sleeping until 7:30. The electricity was off when we woke and it did not come back on until 7:20 pm at which time we gave a cheer of joy, raided the refrigerator and had a hot meal.

Sunday, May 22: This has been a very good week. I am reading The Harvester by Gene Stratton-Porter. Now I know where my Mother may have gotten her love and understanding of plants. It is a very good, old book.

With only five weeks left in this semester I am realizing there is so much more I want to share with my dear students. Hopefully we will be able to keep up the friendship when they are on the Central campus next year.

Wednesday we took one of our study groups out to lunch and really enjoyed our time together.

On Friday only one person was able to come to the 3 pm study but it was a very profitable time spent in Matthew 7. Knowing some of the graduate students will be leaving soon makes it urgent for us to get the most important things before them for their own contemplation. If we whet their appetites and teach them to feed themselves they can go on to maturity with help and guidance from the one who makes it all possible.

Saturday we took two of my students out to lunch and then back to the apartment for a visit. A dear couple with strength of character and firm ideas of what they want in the future.

It will be interesting to see what plans He has for their life. As they left our apartment, each carried our favorite book, the first time they had owned their very own copy 🙂

The same evening we took a taxi to the East campus and met Jon and Amber White, here for six weeks from  Harding University. They were kind enough to bring some much needed medicine and miscellaneous supplies to us from Gary’s sister, Jennifer. It was good to meet them. Even though they will be busy on another campus, maybe we can spend some time with them while they are here.

It is raining and quite cool this weekend, a welcome and refreshing change. As always, we thoroughly enjoy each time we get to Skype with our sweet families back in the States. It is “strength to our bones” to see their smiling faces and to see how they are working and living to His service.

Gary bought a small metal cabinet off the street that is just perfect for our kitchen. It is clean, light weight and just fits in the space for it. I enjoyed working the puzzle to decide what all could be stored inside. It makes our small space easier to manage. “Good eye!” Gary.

Monday, May 23: During the twenty minutes between my two morning classes some of the girls were talking about how they decorated their dorm room. I asked them to take pictures so I could see it and they excitedly said they could take me right then to see it.

So we walked very quickly to the fifth floor of the next building. I was happy to see it was a new, clean and spacious. As  you  walk  into  the room there is a desk and storage unit of pine wood with a black metal bunk bed directly above it for each girl, two on each side of the room. The ceiling is very high so the girls are not at all cramped in their bunks.

Just beyond the beds was the large white tiled washroom with the bathroom off to the side. That end of the room had high uncovered windows that let in plenty of light. The girls had taped colored paper loosely over the light fixtures and hung different colored streamers from the ceiling. They had decorated the walls with different colored paper cut outs, pictures and sayings. There were streamers of artificial willow leaves in the doorway dividing the bedroom and the washroom. It was a very clean, neat, pleasant, uplifting living space. I took pictures (see page 3), but it was hard to capture it. The girls were so excited that I had wanted to see it.

We are finding all sorts  of  good  fresh vegetables at the market and in the (cont. on page 5)restaurant: egg plant, cucumber, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, smaller green and red sweet (as in not hot) peppers and potatoes, several kinds of lettuce and greens. At first there was broccoli and celery, but I have not seen it for a few weeks now.

Love to all who read this. Thank you for your petitions on our behalf. They help make it possible for this shy woman who would rather stay in the background can even contemplate standing in front of 281 university students. Have a good week. — Love, Terry

More from Gary: I watch with amazement each day of the task the grandparents have in this society, that of raising grandchildren so the parents can work and earn a living for all. As much as I adore my grandsons, it is not best for anyone that they would be raised by the older generation. For one, we simply do not have the energy! 🙂 Yet, here, it is the expected and normal situation. A question was raised last week  in  English  Corner:  “Should grandparents be paid?” Since they are provided housing with utilities and food, I suppose you could say they already being compensated.

I found the ‘new apple in town’ cartoon very interesting (see photo page 3). Printed in the May 13 China Daily, it depicts a main message about America’s Apple Corporation and Benjamin Franklin and Sir Isaac Newton…and what appears to be Adam and Eve on the left of the picture with a serpent in the Garden of Eden tree. Someone is making progress in this country! 🙂

I do not plan to ever “grow accustomed” to the desire on the part of the Chinese to eat their food fresh…especially chicken! When we walk off campus around supper time, we both have permission to say firmly “eyes straight” and realize that someone is holding a live chicken to our right and left land we do not want to see or think about what they are about to do. Yes, it IS the “preacher’s bird” but I don’t mind leftovers. 🙂

My speech classes are presenting the lessons they learned from The Ultimate Gifts film from three weeks ago. One student talked of the gift of Family and broke down three times in tears as she spoke of the lessons she learned from her father, prior to his death a few years back…a very moving circumstances for the entire class.

Another spoke of befriending someone in middle school, only to find out later they had intended to take their life, until she had offered her a friend she’d never had before.

As we near the close of the semester, we’re getting ready for most of our present students being on the same campus with us next fall. We think it will open doors for personal relationships and more discussions.

I found the ‘new apple in town’ cartoon very interesting (see photo: look carefully). Printed in the May 13 China Daily, it depicts a main message about America’s Apple Corporation and Benjamin Franklin and Sir Isaac Newton…and what appears to be Adam and Eve on the left of the picture with a serpent in the Garden of Eden tree. Someone is making progress in this country! 🙂

Thought you might be interested: Shanghai has some 132,000 individuals with a personal wealth of 10 million yuan ($1.54 million) or more. The figures show that the city is home to the second-largest number of wealthy people in China, after Beijing.

The “pig-feed king” Liu Yongxing, chairman of East Hope Group topped the list of Shanghai’s Top Ten wealthy people, with a personal fortune of about $5 billion. Second to Liu is the property tycoon Xu Rongmao, the chairman of Shanghai Shimao Group, with personal wealth of $4,900 million. Zhou Chengjian, the president of the Shanghai-based textile company Metersbonwe Group ranked third.

Therefore, the Hurun Report further concluded that Ye Lipei, the chairman of the property company Super Ocean Group is the richest Shanghainese mentioned in the report. The 30-year-old basketball star Yao Ming is the youngest local billionaire.

The report also found that the city is home to 7,800 super-rich people, those with personal wealth of 100 million yuan. That’s a rise of around 7 percent from last year. In total, China has 60,000 super-rich people who are worth 100 million yuan or more, up about 10 percent on last year’s figure.

“Shanghai’s rapid economic development and exploding real estate market has created a situation where 1 in every 175 people in Shanghai is a millionaire,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, the chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report.

The data indicate that the average age of the super-rich is 43, and that there has been a surge of interest in fine wines and collecting art, especially classic Chinese art.

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Being a Blessing…There is no plant  in the ground but is full of His virtue. There is  no form in the strand  but is full of His blessing

It is not enough to possess “things”; we must also possess the kind of character that enables us to use “things” wisely and enjoy them properly.

It is related that during the Civil War a Confederate soldier who was placed far out in a lonely wood to watch suddenly felt a strange dread and fear come over him. The moon was shining dimly in the deeply wooded place. And while it seemed strange and unwise, he felt constrained to sing softly the old song, “Jesus, Lover of my soul let me to Thy bosom fly,” and the stanza, “Other refuge have I none.” This he did, and immediately felt relieved of his fear.

A few years later, when the war was over, he was at a meeting and sang the same song. After the song, a stranger came up to him and said, “I never saw you before, but I have heard that voice before.” Then he asked him if he sang that song one night during the war.  Then he related to him how he and some of his men, who were Union soldiers, were hidden behind trees and had their guns turned on him and were ready to fire! “But,” said he, “as we heard that song, ‘Jesus, Lover of my soul,’ and, ‘Other refuge have I none,’ I said to my men, Don’t shoot that man,’ and we slipped away and left you. I shall never forget the voice I heard that night.”

It’s similar to the story of an only survivor of a wreck who was thrown on an uninhabited island. After a while he managed to build himself a hut, in which he placed the little all that he had saved from the ship. He prayed for deliverance and anxiously scanned the horizon each day to hail any passing ship. One day on returning from a hunt for food, he was horrified to find his hut in flames. All he had was going up in smoke! The worst had happened, it appeared; but that which seemed to have happened for the worst was in reality for the best. To the man’s limited vision it was the worst. To The Father’s infinite wisdom it was the best, for which he had prayed. The next day a ship arrived. “We saw your smoke signal,” the captain said.

I remember reading a story not long ago about the “elevated” in Chicago–a train that when it comes into the downtown, it’s on a high track. A young man was riding that train day after day as a commuter. And as the train slowed up for the station where he got off, he could look through an open curtain into a room of a building and see a woman lying in a bed.

She was there day after day, for a long time, obviously quite ill. He began to get interested in her since he saw her every day. Finally he determined to find out her name. He discovered her address, and he wrote her a card, assuring her that he was praying for her recovery. He signed it: “The young man on the elevated.”

A few weeks later, he pulled into the station, and he looked through that window and the bed was empty. Instead there was a great huge sign: THE FATHER BLESS YOU, MY FRIEND ON THE ELEVATED!

It sounds rather trite to say it, but it is a fact that the everyday blessings of life are so basic that we often take them for granted.

When spring came to England after the devastating bombing raids of 1941 by Nazi Germany, a strange thing occurred. It brought a beautiful, botanical resurrection. The explosions brought to the surface seeds of plants which were thought to be extinct. Some 95 different flowers and shrubs were found suddenly growing and blooming in the bomb-pocked landscape of England. Likewise, adversity, in life often turns up unexpected and undeveloped parts of our lives. The bombs of adversity and suffering often resurrect long-dormant flowers.

It doesn’t say enough , but what it does say is good.  I’m referring to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s reflection on success.

How do you measure success?  To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;  To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;  To appreciate beauty;  To find the best in other;  To leave the world a bit better whether by a wealthy child, a redeemed social condition, or a job well done; To know even one other life has breathed because you lived, this is to have succeeded.”

We had better bear our troubles bravely than try to escape them. Indeed, sometimes The Father will place certain obstacles to prevent sin or harm.  However, if we try to remove these obstacles, we will ultimately come to regret it.

We must remember that no matter how difficult our tribulations may seem to us, there are always others who are in a worse situation than us! — Gary

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Brinson’s pirate; steamed bread/dumplings; colleagues; spring arrives; city gates; another trip to orphanage

“I love my crazy job” is on office mug as constant reminder over the years, though it’s in California storage …..something of a metaphor of life/situation right now

I celebrated the beginning of my 33rd year of working full-time for the Father on May 13. No regrets, no matter what ‘ups and downs’ we’ve experienced. We have always put our life into His hands! “I love my crazy job” is on a mug as a constant reminder over the years, though I haven’t seen it because it’s been in California storage since the first of April, 2010…..something of a metaphor of our life and situation right now. 🙂

We participated in a class project “from a distance” with our oldest grandson, Brinson. To begin, he sent us by mail a man he’d drawn and colored, but it still has not arrived…it’s been over three weeks. So he started again, drawing another one and sending by email attachment this time…we printed it on our dysfunctional new printer (a long story) and cut it out.

Our assignment? Hold it in front of some architecture unique  in your area and take a picture, and send to him ASAP…which he was then able to present to his teacher and classmates as part of their learning experience.

Terry and I were both humbled through the avenue of an English teacher’s staff meeting and competition. We were asked to come provide support for one of the two presenters, with no prior warning that they would also want us to evaluate their efforts in the area of pronunciation, grammar, etc. I was able to comment on their overall effort, but little else.

One of the presentations was equipping students on the practice of dating, and specific ways to respond to dating opportunities. One area was blind dates; after making some general comments (mentioned earlier), I did mention that I personally had one particular experience on a blind date, and “had to cover my eyes” after the introduction of the young lady. They did not “get it” (and, of course, it was a joke). No laughs or even smiles. We have been warned that our humor is often lacking. One of our discussion members did tell Terry the next day on the teacher’s bus that I was humorous, so at least he ‘got it.’ 🙂

One more comment on the speeches from my Speaking Skills students: they have a good value system in place regarding money and love. As mentioned earlier, several students spoke on “Love is more important in marriage than money” and others on the topic “Money is not the key to happiness.” They also spoke in positive terms about the reality that “living in the city compared to the country offered more opportunities to help them take care of their families.”

Some may remember that some of the Davenport family are big Cubs fans…always hopeful for “next season.” I made the statement that “just watch…I’ll go to China and the Cubs will win the World Series, and I’ll miss it.”  Well, so much for that dream! I am leading the fantasy baseball league I’m in with Eric and Gregory and friends from Ohio and Florida for the first time since 2001, though I doubt it will continue! 🙂

Greetings from Terry: Ahh… Some citrus trees are blooming on campus. It reminds me of living in Phoenix; a good memory.

We have enjoyed the break of no classes Monday or Tuesday of this week (May 2nd &3^rd) due to the May Day Holiday. My time was spent sleeping later, doing some cleaning and hand sewing, preparing lessons, studying and meditating on my favorite book, reading a book and writing a book.

That’s right. Sunday night I had an interesting and detailed dream. So I wrote it down and decided to try to make it into a children’s book. Gary is doing the technical part on the computer. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

The other day I heard what sounded like someone practicing classical piano coming from one of the apartments in the next building. It was very beautiful.

Last night Dean Catherine gave us several loquats; small oval fruit, about 2” long. peach to light orange in color, smooth and soft skin. They were very delicious. They tasted like a cross between a peach and a mango but different. I’m saving the seeds for Mother. I know she can get them to grow.

Today I actually saw honeysuckle blooming next to the roses and a new purple flower I have never seen before. Large trumpets of amaryllis have also bloomed this weekend. Lily pads are beginning to spread out on the pond. I followed a thin, smart looking brown and white bird for a while trying to get a picture of him but he just wouldn’t cooperate. Maybe I will catch him later. I did so enjoy my walk. It was warm but my small umbrella provided a comfortable shade. Father’s handiwork is so beautiful.

Well, the little children’s book is finished and the first copy in black and white is ordered. Color was too expensive. It was a fun experience. We started to print it in English, Spanish and Chinese all in one cover but Google Translate did not give a good smooth translation so we stuck to English and Spanish. Now back to life as before.

This week a student gave me a gift box of jasmine tea from her home town. It smells so-o-o-o beautiful and tastes good, too. I wonder if it makes my blood sweeter. I got my first three mosquito bites of the season all in a 20 minute span three days after starting to drink the tea. 🙂

Our next door neighbor is in the process of totally redoing his apartment. What sounds like a sledge hammer and a small jackhammer are coming from our adjoining wall at all hours of the day starting at 7:00 AM.  It really makes us thankful for the “xiuxi” they observe from 12:00- 2:00. (like the siesta) Today I was thankful for my MP3 player to drown out the noise during my day off  from teaching. The Neil Diamond song I listened to was “It’s A Beautiful Noise”.  So apropos. Love, Terry

We received the following email the day after Colton’s first birthday. While it is absolutely true that the first birthday is for the adults, pictures secure the memories and the children get to enjoy it later! Those of you who are close enough to spend special time with your grandchildren/children, don’t let the time get away. We’re already looking forward to spending quality time with our three grandsons and five children next January.

Six weeks and the semester ends. 🙂

WHAT  IS A GRANDPARENT? (Taken from papers written by a class of 8-year-olds)

Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people’s.

Grandparents don’t have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn’t play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us money.

When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.

They don’t say, ‘Hurry up.’ Grandparents don’t have to be smart. They have to answer questions like ‘Why isn’t God married?’ and ‘How come dogs chase cats?’

When they read to us, they don’t skip. They don’t mind if we ask for the same story over again.

Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don’t have television because they are the only grownups who like to spend time with us..

They know we should have snack time before bed time, and they say prayers with us and kiss us even when we’ve acted bad.

Grandpa is the smartest man in earth! He teaches me good things, but I don’t get to see him enough to get as smart as him!

A six-year old was asked where his grandma lived. “Oh, she lives at the airport, and  when we want her, we just go get her. Then when we’re done having her visit, we take her back to the airport.”

Experiencing Joy…Happiness is a feeling. Joy is an attitude. A posture. A position. A place.

It says in the Declaration of Independence that we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Those words are the preamble to the American dream. But more than 235 years later, the innocent, hopeful intentions of our founding fathers have become blind and dangerous compulsions.

We all know we can’t buy happiness, and we are often surprised by what brings us happiness and frustrated by what we believe should make us happy.

It has been suggested that we are becoming a nation of men and women who, in the quest for happiness, all too often fall short of achieving any kind of inner peace. Instead of life’s journey being an exhilarating adventure into the unknown, for many of us it is a compulsive and tiring trek, an exhausting journey where the next stop for replenishment never seems to arrive.

George Santayana: “A string of excited, fugitive, miscellaneous pleasures is not happiness; happiness resides in an imaginative reflection and judgment, when the picture of one’s life, or of human life, as it truly has been or is, satisfies the will, and is gladly accepted.”

“Many apparently successful people feel that their success is under-served and that one day people will unmark them for the frauds they are. For all the outward trappings of success, they feel hollow inside. They can never rest and enjoy their accomplishments. They need one new success after another. They need constant reassurance from the people around them to still the voice inside them that keeps saying, “If other people knew you the way I know you, they would know what a phony you are.”.

Happiness is not about having what we  want…but wanting what we have! In many ways, happiness is within us waiting to be discovered.

I was told recently of a view of happiness:  An Englishman, a Frenchman and a Russian were discussing happiness. “Happiness,” said the Englishman, “Is when you return home tired after work and find your slippers warming by the fire.”

“You English have no romance,” said the Frenchman. “Happiness is having dinner with a beautiful woman at a fine restaurant.”

“You are both wrong,” said the Russian.  “True happiness is when you are at home in bed and at 4 a.m. hear a hammering at the door and there stand the secret police, who say to you, ‘Ivan Ivanovitch, you are under arrest,’ and you say, ‘Sorry, Ivan Ivanovitch lives next door.'”

Statistics show that despite conflicts, married people are generally happier, live longer, and contribute more to society than those who remain single or leave a spouse.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s personal experiences certainly proved correct the statement that “the cross of Christ destroyed the equation religion equals happiness.”

Can this statement be said of you? Now that I know Christ, I’m happier when I’m sad than I was before when I was glad.”

One of my favorite stories about a person with a grumpy personality begins with a man going into the doctor’s office. As he walked in, he was met by the receptionist. He told her that he had a sore on his chin that he wanted the doctor to examine.

She said to him, “Down the hall, first door to the right, & take off your clothes.” “But ma’am,” he said, “it’s just a sore on my chin. I don’t think all that is necessary.” She repeated, “Down the hall, first door to the right, & take off your clothes.” “But ma’am,” he said. “Down the hall, first door to the right, & take off your clothes.”

So he went down the hall, took the first door to the right, walked in & saw another man already sitting there in his boxer shorts, shivering. He said to him, “Boy, that receptionist is really something, isn’t she? I just have a little sore on my chin & she told me to come down here, go through this door & take off my clothes.” The man in the boxer shorts said, “You think that’s bad? I’m the UPS delivery man.”

Dr. James J. Walsh said, “Few people realize that their health actually varies due to this factor.  Happy individuals recover from disease much more quickly than sad, complaining patients; and statistics show that those who laugh live longer.”

True joy allows us to live with this motto: Today, when I awoke, I suddenly realized that this is  the best day of my life, ever! There were times when I wondered if I would make it to today; but I did! And because I did I’m going to celebrate! Today, I’m going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I have had so far: the accomplishments, the many blessings, and, yes, even the hardships because they have served to make me stronger.  — Gary

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English corner; campus scenes ‘up high;’ book finished; students ‘meet and greet,’ two beautiful gifts, and a trip to a local orphange

Teaching about the ‘Ultimate Gift’

I am in a four-week class project with all my Speaking Skills students, which began with the viewing of the film The Ultimate Gift. If you have not seen it, I strongly suggest you buy it and watch as a family. (I also recommend not getting the book. I made that mistake, ordering it on my kindle…the movie is much better!).

The students are asked to begin keeping a journal, after watching the film, on the process involved in two of the gifts they are seeking to learn (gift of work, value of money, gift of family, laughter, dreams, A day, love etc.). They will speak to their classmates at the close of the project (for a grade, of course…using English) of the lessons they learned, the difficulties involved, and the final result on their personal character. They will also hand in their journal. I look forward to hearing (and seeing) the results, and feel it will open some doors wide for further discussions.

I took an A1C blood glucose test and found the exercise and different diet here is doing great things for my type-2 diabetes! The test showed 6.0, the best it has been for several years. I have had 6.6 to 6.8 for a long time…finally got it really low now. Not sure I can do much better…glad to know the changes are good for me. I have ordered a size 33-waist on a pair of blue jeans, to be delivered in May by a visiting Harding professor and students coming for work on this campus. All of my pants are loose, so I will need to do some shopping in the states in January when we visit family and friends during our winter break from school.

We had a special celebration one Saturday afternoon with one of the Discussion groups. They had finished a big test that morning and were great students, talking about ‘listening to and obeying our conscience.’ Had some special snacks; they also presented us with a boy and girl plaster doll (see photo), which we will cherish for many years to come!

We had some 43 students in for another ‘get to know you’ time earlier in the afternoon. A great time to reach out and hope we can begin ‘reaching up’ with more of them. They brought us two flower arrangements, which were absolutely gorgeous .

We have mentioned Dale and Lisa Taylor (sons Seth and Caleb) several times in our newsletters. They are such earnest workers for the Father and great help to us on soo-o-o-o many occasions. I finally realized they have a blog that some might want to read: http://votefordale.chattablogs.com (and see pics, etc.). Dale grew up in Chattanooga, and Lisa in Monteagle…we had to move to China to meet Family members who grew up in the same state as me 🙂 (a really small world).

We mentioned we had finished recording the audio for the English speaking book for Dr. Yang. He called tonight and said there was some background sounds on some of the recordings, and we’d probably need to redo some of them…..hoping it is not a lot, but willing to do whatever is necessary.

Greetings from Terry: Spring has arrived with many people sweeping and cleaning around the campus here. We really appreciate it. The trees have put on their new green lace dresses and we noticed some miniature purple iris opening up yesterday as we walked to class; such a pretty and uplifting sight. (smiles from Father).

I have asked many of my Chinese colleagues about Tai Chi and they all say it used to be linked to Taoism many years ago but now everybody just sees it as good exercise. It is especially favored by the mature set, because of its slower pace.

We were able to go out to eat with our American friends from the East campus the other night at one of the “Good and Cheap” restaurants across from our campus. They brought with them another couple they have met recently who are from the UK and needed a bit of encouragement. They are teaching English at a middle school. (I am sooo thankful for the classes that have been assigned to me.)

This past Saturday we had another “visitation” time at our apartment. This time I had passed the signup sheet with 30 spaces on it explaining that we can’t invite everyone all at the same time because of lack of space. When I got the sheet back after class 30 more people had added spaces and filled in their names. (Something was lost in the translation, you think?) So, we had standing room only come Saturday come 2:30. It was crowded and warm, but fun.

Thank goodness we had bought extra treats for the study group that was expected later that day. With the two groups we had somewhere around 53 students in our apartment in one day (we’ve had around 95 students in the past month).

Two different groups brought us arrangements of carnations and another brought us a gift of two ceramic banks made to look like a Chinese boy and girl. They are cute and will be great reminders of the friends we make here.

So far I don’t know of anyone who mails or sends letters or cards here. They don’t have a postal delivery system per say because no one sends mail, they just text or email. Saturday, while we were out we discovered a mail box on the sidewalk in front of the main gate that we had failed to see before. Of course we don’t have any stamps but it is a good thing because Monday we were told they don’t use that mailbox anymore! I am sooo thankful we did not put our one necessary piece of mail in that box. It never would have been found. Instead, we gave  up trying to mail it and gave it to Keven to take care of for us.

Friday and Saturday Brad and Kelly Kelley spent the night with us while they visit and have meetings with people on the south campus. They are Freed-Hardeman alumni. It was good to meet them.

Saturday we had the last of my class visitations in our apartment, with 22 girls showing up. We enjoyed them very much.  Later that day we went to watch a men’s club basketball game here on our campus. One from our study group was on the team.

Sunday, I went with Lisa and others to the orphanage in Shashi. It was about a 25 minute bus ride then a 7 minute walk. We played with the children and helped them dye Easter eggs before having an egg hunt. Then they ate the eggs by first dipping them in a bowl of granulated sugar.

The girls from one of our studies this weekend brought us three stems of beautiful pink Easter lilies. They are filling our apartment with their delicate sweet scent. It’s not too much, just right: better than candles or spray.

Every night Gary volunteers to dry the dishes to help me get out of the kitchen faster. I really appreciate it, but he is getting banged up doing it. Our kitchen is narrow and the cabinets on both sides are so low I just barely fit under them. When the doors are open while he puts away the dishes he is forever banging his head on one of them. He’s a trooper. He makes my life a joy in many ways.

Yea! I finally found the post office. One of my sweet students took time out of her busy schedule to accompany me on the bus to find it. It was a five minute bus ride, five minute walk, up some stairs and at the back of a cell phone store.

The campus is wrapped in a delicate sweet scent from the trees and flowers that is carried on a light breeze; a very welcome change. The beautiful roses are now in full bloom. There are several different kinds near our apartment. I appreciate someone’s green thumb.

The days are getting much warmer and the sun is very direct. Pretty light pastel parasols and umbrellas are popping out everywhere, like spring flowers, as a protection from the sun.

That’s life in the big city of Jingzhou. — Love, Terry

From Gary: I have 146 ‘Speaking Skills’ students and their midterm was a 4-6 minute speech on the topic of their choice. The first speaker introduced us to her ‘best friend,’ and proceeded to put together a clarinet, with full instructions, and eventually played two of her first instructional pieces she was taught as a beginner and then an inspiring 30-45 second piece as a close. Wow! Needless to say, she got a high mark.

Another spoke of the ‘most important part of the body.’ After convincing us of the importance of the eye, she moved to the thumb, and proceeded to show us a long scar on her left thumb, describing a childhood injury when she almost lost use of it. But neither was the final choice.

But the ‘most important part’, in the end, was ‘the shoulder,’ and not to hold the head or the brain…but because it is the place where we can offer encouragement and support…or a place for tears by our friends. Needless to say, she got a very high grade, too!

One student told us of the agony and joy of having some teeth pulled ‘last week’ and having braces installed…with full details of needed adjustments…and ended with a big smile. (These examples came from the first day and the first 15 presenters…a great beginning). 🙂  Other noteworthy speech topics: “Marry for love, not for money” and “Money is not the most important thing.”

I received an interesting email from an Ohio friend…talking about unique calendar month of July, 2011. This year, July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This happens once every 823 years. This is called money bags. So, forward this to your friends and money will arrive within four days. It is based on Chinese Feng Shui thought. The one who does not forward…..will be without money. I forwarded it and am waiting…wonder what will happen?

Weibo to Reshape Internet behavior in China in a few years (this article was on chinadaily.com Sunday, April 24)

It is the new kid on the block and growing leaps and bounds. Soon it may tower like a goliath over other better known peers in the Web world as suitors from the government, public and corporate sector jostle for attention on its platform. Weibo, or micro blog, the sending of brief text, audio or video to select groups, is making rapid strides in China and reshaping the way information flows with their multiple sources and diversified, authentic content. It is also becoming an attractive platform for companies to showcase their products and reach out to more consumers.

Unlike Twitter, micro blog is relatively new to China and just two years old. Despite being a late entrant, the weibo has already started to reshape people’s lives in China, thereby indicating its growing prowess. A typical weibo starts with an “@” before the user’s nickname, and like Twitter, has a word limit of 140 words. There is, however, one exception. Internet company Tom.com has set the weibo limit at 163 words to match with its parent company name 163.com. Unlike Twitter, a weibo can also be a picture, a voice message, a song and a video.

In February this year, Beijing rock singer He Yong posted a short message on his micro blog styled, “Weibo the Almighty, please save my child!” It was a request for help to cure his 30-month-old daughter as she refused to take any food or water for five days in a row. In the same month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saved over 900 stranded Chinese workers in Libya as they were able to locate them through their weibo messages for help.

Pursuing Peace…“No sleep can be tranquil unless the mind is at rest.”

“Because we lack a Divine Center, our need for security has led us into an insane attachment to things. We really must understand that the lust for affluence in contemporary society is psychotic. It is psychotic because it has completely lost touch with reality. We crave things we neither need nor enjoy. ‘We buy things we do not want to impress people we do not like.’ … We are made to feel ashamed to wear clothes or drive cars until they are worn out. The mass media have convinced us that to be out of step with fashion is to be out of step with reality. It is time we awaken to the fact that conformity to a sick society is to be sick.” — Richard Foster.

Peace is rare: Less than 8 percent of the time since the beginning of recorded time has the world been entirely at peace. In a total of 3,535+ years, 286 have been warless. Eight thousand treaties have been broken in this time. But we don’t always want to be so grandeur in our thinking. After all, I don’t start wars and I certainly can’t halt them.

We might rather dwell on this little piece of real estate that can be called ‘mine’ and leave it at that…to work on the attainable, casting aside the greater ideals.

Media mogul Ted Turner wanted to see if anybody had a real vision of a future world at peace and in harmony with the environment. He said his quest ended in disappointment. Turner told an Atlanta gathering of contributors to his Cable News Network’s World Report a few years back that he funded a competition to find a book that gave a workable plan for a world of peace.

“With 10,000 manuscripts, we did not have one plausible treatise on how we could get to a sustainable, peaceful future,” Turner told the gathering. The board chairman of Turner Broadcasting System Inc. said that, without a feasible plan, the prospects of creating peace are grim. “You’ve got to have a vision,” Turner said. “We can achieve it.”  It’s too bad that Ted didn’t read the manuscript about the Prince of Peace.

I’m reminded of the Peanuts cartoon with Lucy saying to Charlie Brown, “I hate everything. I hate everybody. I hate the whole wide world!”  Charlie says, “But I thought you had inner peace.”  Lucy replies, “I do have inner peace. But I still have outer obnoxiousness”

We might ask daily these questions:

1. Do I strive to live in harmony with others?

2. Do I strive to be sympathetic to the feelings of others?

3. Do I give the benefit to others I would give to myself?

4. Do I tend to insult or bless?

5. Do I spread goodwill with my conversation?

6. Do I pray for people to be in harmony with the Father and others?

Herbert Hoover said, “Peace is not made at the council tables, or by treaties, but in the hearts of men.”

Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice. The bottom line?  Peace is the deliberate adjustment of my life to the will of the Father. —Gary

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“We believe we are here for a reason: to reach out to the 18-20 year old university students in Jingzhou…to sow seeds of knowledge and understanding wherever possible. We know it will not return  to us void. We have the opportunity to reach the future leaders of China, and to be ‘stretched’ ourselves in the process. Your prayers and support are deeply appreciated!”  — Gary and Terry Davenport  

Another China website: http://www.wix.com/ged850/chinaman

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City scenes, visiting students, more seekers…and Gregory/family in California

More Seekers Found; Discussion Groups So-o-o-o Good!

We have found four more seekers and enjoying time in the Word. Three different Discussion Groups now each week…it is so-o-o-o good! Four of our learners are Chinese English teachers, so communication is excellent.

Have found one of them likes basketball, so have added that to my exercise schedule. Some are pretty good players, I have found…and I am winded after only a few minutes…should have played with the NW group in Texas when I was there with Eric.

Also spent about 20 minutes on the badminton court with another student contact and two of his friends. Again, a good beginning and reminded that it has been a long time since I have played…made several good shots and look forward to more (beginning to feel like some of my early campus leader days at MTSU many years ago, when sports was a way to spend time with the seekers).

Well, I’ve done it. I‘ve had a Chinese massage…a new experience for me on any continent! Terry and I  spent $4.61 each for a 75-minute massage. A great price and a long time for the money, for sure!

The hours of standing on concrete floors and climbing finally took its toll on me; the talented lady decided she was going to make true the idiom ‘no pain, no gain.’ It hurt more than it pleased, but my lower back felt better and maybe I can avoid other problems for a little while longer. I have had to wear my back support the past three weeks, so I hope this will move me forward a bit.

Dr. Yang took us to dinner after one of our recording sessions and wanted to introduce us to baked dove…and sent a baked chicken (with all its parts) home as leftovers with us; and, yes, it still had the feet and the head…actually took it into our house overnight…though the skeleton was in the garbage early the next morning. (we have crossed over that line, it seems).

We have had some repairs/updates on the apartment in the past two weeks. It was vacant for several months prior to our coming, and lacking in upkeep. We have found the workmen very polite, punctual, and professional in every way. One of them was walking through the study and saw Colton’s picture on my laptop screensaver…he pointed to it and then  got  Terry’s attention…and had a  huge smile on his face.

I am still somewhat amazed that complete strangers still want to say ‘hello’ to us on the street and in the shops…especially the middle-school students.    We are watched everywhere we go…doesn’t really bother us, since we are ’watched’ every day of our life by our Father. But it does take getting used to here.

Often Terry and I look at each other, as we prepare to end another week,  and say out loud “can you believe we are in China?” It has become so natural…less surprises…days very normal now….but still catches us by surprise, too.

Warmer weather has brought out an unsightly habit here…children pulling down their pants and using the restroom on the sidewalks. Where are the parents? Do they come clean it up? I do not stay around to see.

My sister, Jennifer, asked me on a Skype connection if I missed ‘doing what I used to do?’ I have just this past week realized that I have been in denial for a few months…..assuming I would be ‘teaching’ in America again, and just now realizing that it likely will not happen. I have gone through anger and bargaining…no depression…..so I had the steps of grief in a different order? Glad to be able to use my experience and age is a benefit here.

Greetings from Terry: After our recording session on Wednesday, April 6^th Dr Yang took us to the West Campus where his wife teaches. We usually only see the small gate and two buildings at the entrance where we teach. He took us through the main gate and showed us all around. It was good for us to see this other “face” of the campus with it’s fairly new track and field area, open spaces and well kept buildings. We saw a small orange orchard and many cherry trees in bloom. There were some very large-bodied birds in the top of some tall trees. He said they feed on the small fish in the water. I would love to find out their English name. I have never seen any like them before (see photo above; where is our expert, Gene Dempsey, when we need him?).

His wife joined us after her last class and we went out to dinner at a restaurant well known for their “dove hot pot”. Our Dean and upstairs neighbor, Catherine, joined us for dinner. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit and discussions.

Thursday, April 7^th– I have no classes on Thursdays so I finally got to do something I have been planning to do. I joined the women on the badminton court for their “Tai Ji” exercise class. It is made up of slow disciplined moves set to beautiful flute music. I have been observing them every morning as I wait no for the teacher bus. I was warned it is best to have an instructor so as not to hurt your self, so I just tried to follow the hand and arm motions. Needless to say, it being my first time, I was only able to match the movements in a very general sense. But I enjoyed it.

The leader turns in a complete circle as he goes through the motions so I know it must have been humorous to watch me try to look at him and do the motions at the same time. Oh well, the “foreigner” is watched with interest matter what she does or does not do.

Yippee! Four more seekers identified. We continue to have high interest in our discussion times. Many want to study the same book we do.

Saturday, April 9^th– Dale and Lisa had all of the American foreign teachers over for lunch. We also got to sing in English and Gary talked about our favorite book. The fellowship was so very good. And I got to get a hug from each one! I have really been missing my family hugs.

We had another group of my students over just to visit and practice their English. This time about  25 showed up. It was great. Eight of them were young men (most of our students are females) so it was good for them to get to meet Gary. Love,  Terry.

Hungering for Hope….He that lives in hope dances without a fiddle

A woman diagnosed with a terminal illness called on her minister to plan her funeral. She had some ideas about what she hoped would happen, but she was insistent about one thing: “I want to be buried with a fork in my hand.”

Her incredulous minister demanded an explanation. “Oh, it’s quite simple,” the woman said. “In all my years of attending church socials and potlucks, I always remember that, when they clear the dishes, someone will say, ‘Keep your fork.’ It’s my favorite part, because I know something better is coming. So I want people to see me there in that coffin with a fork in my hand and know: ‘Her best is still to come.’ ”

Sometimes in spite of all the positive thinking we can generate, life is really terrible. Simple optimism will not do. Genuine hope (“confident expectation”) must go beyond positive thinking.

Genuine hope is not “Wishing for something you know isn’t going to happen.” It is not an idle wish at all. Hope is a vigorous principle; it sets the head and heart to work and animates a man to do his utmost.

I like the story about the boy and his father who were planning a fishing trip for the next day.  That evening as the father was putting his son to bed, the boy hugged his father’s neck and said, “Daddy, thank you for tomorrow.”

Our  nation was built by the power of hope. No painter ever set brush to canvas, no writer ever set pen to paper, no builder ever set brick on brick, no enterpriser ever built an enterprise without having hope that he or she could do what they were dreaming of doing. We have not begun to fathom the power of hope in creating better lives for ourselves and our children.

Hope prevents us from clinging to what we have and frees us to move away from the safe place and enter unknown and fearful territory.

Hope is grief’s best music. Hope is like the clouds: some pass by, others bring rain.

Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.

We might be like the student athlete, who was contemplating the difficult height of the bar on the high jump. “I don’t think I can make it,” he said. “Think positive!” said a friend. “All right,” the athlete said boldly, “I’m positive I can’t make it.”

Over 220 years ago, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote out prerequisites for contented living.  Whether you’re the eighth wonder of the world or not, these are the things that really matter:

1. Health enough to make work a pleasure

2. Wealth enough to support your needs

3. Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them

4. Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them

5. Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished

6. Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor

7. Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others

8. Faith enough to make real the things of God

9. Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future

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Exotic food, Qingming Festival, Peach Village trip with new friends…and daily scenes

Life cycles are the same worldwide, and life goes on…

Greetings from Terry: Wednesday, March 30: We got to eat dinner with Ron and Evelyn McFarland in their apartment on the South Campus. They are the American foreign teachers from the Nashville/Murfreesboro area. We had a delicious meal and good fellowship. They have been a real encouragement to us since we arrived.

Friday, April 1: This is a warm, sunny, “one layer” day. One layer of clothes, that is. I discovered a yellow forsythia bush in bloom; just like they have in Tennessee. There are several rose bushes swelling with buds and cherry and peach tree blossoms filling out the trees. The city buses are more crowded this week as people enjoy the good weather and family fellowship of the Peach Festival in one of the area parks. I have heard it said that if you attend the peach festival the tradition is you will meet your Mr. or Miss “Right”.

This week end one of the teachers lost his uncle to cancer and one of my student’s grandfather passed away. Four of my students returned home for various reasons. Life cycles are the same worldwide, and life goes on.

Last night at English Corner a female student asked if I thought it was better to wait until after graduation to get married and if a couple did get married during school, then realized they were not right for each other what could they do? Needless to say, this opened up a very beneficial discussion on preparing for marriage, counting the cost, being selective and living by God’s direction because He made us, loves us and knows what is best for us. All of which was made as “I’ statements based on the “American Culture” I come from.

This week’s text lesson was Novels and Movies. One of our vocabulary words was “glamorous”. I told them just because a movie star (sports figure) looks glamorous drinking, smoking, gambling and living as if married when not married does not mean that life style is good for you to imitate. Movies sometimes lie. They don’t show or tell you how much drinking, smoking, etc. ruins your health, messes up your family and brings a nation down. Do your own thinking. Be selective. You are worth it. Your mind is important. Protect it. Feed your mind only what is beneficial.

Saturday, April 2: I taught two classes today making up for the classes that will not meet this Monday because of the national holiday when they honor their dead ancestors. The Tuesday classes will not meet either but they will not be made up.

We were blessed to have several more students into our home to practice their English and visit. I continue to be impressed with their maturity and thoughtfulness. Love, Terry

Greetings from Gary: I discovered a wood craftsman in one of the hole-in-the-wall back market spots. A professional man, he had a large pile of wood carvings in the corner. With an axe in hand, he was carefully shaping a piece off wood to be used in what appeared to be a drinking container. Wish I had the words to spend some time with him…bet he has some enchanting stories…plan to find an interpreter and go back soon…and will buy one of those containers to take home on day, even if I have                                     to hold it on my lap for the 26-hour trip home.

I give some details of the national Qingming  (Pure  Brightness) Festival on page three. It was a new learning experience for us and offered some unique ‘talking points’ with our students. I used the occasion to discuss the grief process with my students upon their return to classes, hoping to open doors to other equally important subjects.

We are teaching several students weekly to give glory/praise and be thankful. It is also true for daily items that prove successful here…the internet worked great and I was able to enjoy the March Madness games…and also some baseball, through mlb.tv. Not a big deal to some? Of course. But for a former sportswriter with a longtime love for sports, it has been a blessing. Go Cubs! Also found iTunes has episodes of NCIS for $2.99 each, which is allowing me to follow the guys from afar.

Some have asked if we have eaten chicken feet yet? This from the internet: “Braised and deep-fried duck and chicken feet are Asian staples. Duck feet are bonier and have more of that pebbly webbing which at least makes look distinctly avian. Chicken feet, unfortunately, look a lot like a small human hand, minus a finger.

“There’s almost nothing to sink your teeth into other than skin, which you chew and discard anyway, so why eat feet? “Because the taste is incredible,” says Chris Cosentino of San Francisco’s Incanto restaurant. Braising and deep-frying chicken and duck feet releases and concentrates the flavor in their bones, cartilage, skin and tendons. Getting a good gnaw-on is the only way to tap all that unctuous goodness. “You’re not going to get that flavor any other way,” he says.

Some of our new Good News students wanted to take us on a trip on one of our days off; 25 minutes away on a city bus….large fields of beautiful yellow flowers and peach trees blossoms (can’t wait to eat the fresh fruit)…they looked after us…wanted to make certain we were not too tired after two hours…kept asking “are you too tired yet?”…..when we would smile and say no, they would tell us “you are so healthy”….total strangers wanted to have their pictures taken with us (hard to stay humble here :)….we took them out for dinner after a long afternoon…had a great time! (see pictures)

Our schedule was changed last week due to the national Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival, one of the 24 seasonal division points in China, falling on April 4-6 each year. We moved weekday classes to Saturday for makeup…and had the three-day break; there will be two others this semester with similar schedule changes.

Here is some of its history: Qingming Festival is when Chinese people visit the graves or burial grounds of their ancestors. The festival originated from Hanshi Day, literally, Day with cold food only, a memorial day for Jie Zitui or Jie Zhitui. Jie Zitui died in 636 BC in the Spring and Autumn Period.

He was one of many followers of Duke Wen of Jin before he became a duke. Once, during Wen’s 19 years of exile, they had no food and Jie prepared some meat soup for Wen. Wen enjoyed it a lot and wondered where Jie had obtained the soup. It turned out Jie had cut a piece of meat from his own thigh to make the soup.

Wen was so moved he promised to reward him one day. However, Jie was not the type of person who sought rewards. Instead, he just wanted to help Wen to return to Jin to become king. Once Wen became duke, Jie resigned and stayed away from him. Duke Wen rewarded the people who helped him in the decades, but for some reason he forgot to reward Jie, who by then had moved into the forest with his mother.

Duke Wen went to the forest, but could not find Jie. Heeding suggestions from his officials, Duke Wen ordered men to set the forest on fire to force out Jie. However, Jie died in the fire. Feeling remorseful, Duke Wen ordered three days without fire to honour Jie’s memory. The county where Jie died is still called Jiexiu (介休, literally “the place Jie rests forever”).

Both the Han and minority ethnic groups at this time offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the deceased. Also, they will not cook on this day and only cold food is served.  On each Qingming Festival, a cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly simplified today.

After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet. In contrast to the sadness of the tomb sweepers, people also enjoy hope of Spring on this day. The Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly, the trees and grass become green and nature is again lively. Since ancient times, people have followed the custom of Spring outings. At this time tourists are everywhere.

Longing for Love — Duty does not have to be dull.  Love can make it beautiful and fill it with life.

I have always admired the spouse who said “I love you, not because you’re perfect, but because you’re so perfect for me.” It reveals an acceptance and understand that is not shallow or weak.

Some time ago, I was blessed to be with a group of wonderful people in South Florida for a number of years. One of the group complained because of a distraction during a Sunday morning assembly. Two people were mumbling to each other, it seemed.

Because I knew the situation, I was able to offer a quick and adequate explanation: “Forgive them,” I said. “I need to explain that one of the people is a new member and doesn’t speak much English, so the message is being translated.”

Something similar also occurred: a young man was wearing a baseball cap during a class…one of the group commented on it to me after class ended. I explained calmly that the person had just concluded chemotherapy and was conscious of the fact that he’d lost most of his hair. To that person’s credit, there was quick retreat from his words and thoughts.

All of a sudden everything changed. Patience replaced impatience. Why? Because patience always hitches a ride with understanding.

Love for God is not difficult, because all us need to do is be aware of how He has loved us — in creation, in the supply of all we need, in leading and putting us in various places with various persons. But above all else He has loved us in having given his Son for us, having redeemed us, having forgiven us, having healed our inner hurt.

If we have the love of God in our hearts, then we can be patient; we can be peaceful; we can be good, loving, faithful, gentle, kind, and all these other qualities. But without love all we can do is imitate these qualities, and that is what produces a phony love. One of the most deadly enemies of the Christian cause is phony love.

History tells us that no one treated Abraham Lincoln with more contempt than did William Stanton.  He called him “a low cunning clown”, he nicknamed him “the original gorilla” and said that Du Chaillu was a fool to wander about Africa trying to capture a gorilla when he could have found one so easily at Springfield, Illinois.  Lincoln said nothing.  He made Stanton his war minister because he was the best man for the job and he treated him with every courtesy.

The years wore on.  The night came when the assassin’s bullet murdered Lincoln in the theatre.  In the little room to which the President’s body was taken stood that same Stanton, and, looking down on Lincoln’s silent face, he said through his tears, “There lies the greatest ruler of men the world has ever seen.”

The patience of love had conquered in the end.  We might occasionally respond the way an elderly couple in a nursing home did. They were constantly fighting, arguing, yelling at each other as they had from the time when they were first married as young people. They would argue and fight from the time they got up in morning until they fall in bed at night.  Finally one day the wife says to her husband, “I’ll tell you what, let’s pray that  one of us dies. And after the funeral is over I’ll go to live with my  sister.”

If patience is the passive side of love, kindness is the active side.   Kindness is: “… a word suggesting goodness as well as solicitousness. They are interested in true goodness, actively interested in the welfare of those about them. Obviously these people are doers; they do not claim good intentions but then plead helplessness because of weakness or apathy.”

Kindness is the opposite of “having a chip on one’s shoulder. A chip on one’s shoulder predisposes one to hostile action with only the slightest provocation. But kindness in one’s heart predisposes one to helpful action which only requires the hint of a need before it takes action.

In a world that is saturated with harshness, a kind disposition is a refreshing breeze. There is many a woman who would trade a handsome husband for a kind one. Kindness would stifle the plague of child abuse.

Farmers in ancient Israel used to train an inexperienced ox by yoking it to an experienced one with a wooden harness. The straps around the older animal were tightly drawn. He carried the load. But the yoke around the younger animal was loose. He walked alongside the more mature ox, but his burden was light. In this verse Jesus is saying, “I walk alongside you. We are yoked together. But I pull the weight and carry the burden.”

C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity wrote, “Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life.

“It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling. Now no feeling can be relied on to last in its full intensity, or even to last at all….

“In fact, the state of being in love usually does not last….But of course ceasing to be ‘in love’ need not mean ceasing to love. Love…is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by the grace which both partners ask and receive from God….They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be ‘in love’ with someone else.

‘Being in love’ first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enable them to keep their promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.”

If you have love in your heart, you always have something to give. No one ever said it better than C. S. Lewis: “To love at all is to be vulnerable.  Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken.  If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.

“Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.

“But in that casket -safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change.  It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable….The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love… is Hell.”

顺其自然

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Proof reading a manuscript; Terry’s desk, some students, food and daily sights

Two major events occurred in recent days in our life. First, we have been asked by two university department heads to work jointly on the proof reading and editing of a workbook entitled A Practical Course for Pronunciation and Intonation.

Dr. Yang has written the material for use here, and wants us to ‘double check’ it and make certain that the English words and sentences are proper.

Then both Terry and I will go to a recording studio here on campus and read the material for making a CD to be used with the workbook by students in the future. It is 154 pages long; we’re hoping we can do the reading in 6 sessions of 1.5 hours each.

It will be some hard work and likely take longer than we think ‘on the front side,’ but we’re more than willing to do what we can do to move the project forward.

We’ve had our first sessions and it has gone very well…and, of course, Terry is great. Her speech is clear and precise…just what the doctor ordered. My ‘Tennessee slang’ is acceptable, too, it appears.

Second, a local friend (Howard) heard us talking about needing to find someone who could cut our hair. He has a brother just a half-mile away who cuts…he went with us and his brother did a great job…for about $3.07 each, which includes getting it washed in advance.

(I have never had anyone wash my hair…not even Terry…though it looked possible in the movie Phenomenon. I had my first haircut in a barber chair as a university freshman at MTSU; my dad had always cut it up to that point).

The students tell us often how unusual it is to see a husband and wife holding hands and walking ‘arm in arm’ all the time. It’s how we have acted all our life, but it has opened many doors of communication and questions from them. If it encourages the young men and women, then it is great from our standpoint. But we couldn’t stop if we wanted to :).

I won a badminton title as a fifth-grade camper at Harrison Bay in Chattanooga many years ago…and have won a few ping pong matches in my life. My reason for mentioning those two facts? I know those are two favorite sports here and the students look pretty accomplished. I am looking for the slowest, poorest players possible on this campus for my initial endeavor in the sports world.

We now have four weekly Good News times in our apartment…all on Friday-Sunday. We are staying busy but loving it!

Greetings from Terry:  I have been quiet with few words this past week, content and going about my business. Mostly because I had a bit of a cold but it is better now.

My desk and chair were delivered and put to use immediately. So nice to have my own space to spread out and prepare my lessons. And I do mean “spread out”. Gary uses a computer, I use paper. Gary works in a straight line, I work in a scattered pattern until all of my notes come together to form a whole. It sounds confusing but it works for me.

Saturday morning we walked with our umbrellas in the light rain through the maze of alley ways to the market to purchase fresh vegetables for the week. Dale and Lisa introduced us to the honest vender whom they buy from. After our outing I took a long, deep nap, must have needed it to catch up and heal.  Felt much better when I was finally able to wake up.

We continue to enjoy the friends and relationships we are making here. My students are the best. This week we will begin having the students into our apartment to practice their English as we visit and get to know each other. Maybe we will practice reading some English together. Help us lift that up this week.

Tuesday the 15^th — I got to baby sit for Dale and Lisa as my “Thank you” for all they have done for us. So they got to have a night out by themselves. I really enjoyed their two little boys, Seth and Caleb. They let me read to them, play games and watch half of a movie in English and half of a movie in Chinese. They are both fluent in Chinese and English. They are very relaxed and well behaved so it was a very fun evening. There were six for our first day meeting this time.

Monday, 3/21—It rained today but I did not see one earth worm out and about on the sidewalks or streets.

We got our first hair cut in China today and we like it! Yarps are answered. Our fellow teacher took us to his brother’s shop. He did a very professional job. We are pleased.

Dean Catherine and Dr. Yang came to our apartment to ask us if we would proof read their new English Pronunciation and Intonation textbook. They also want to record our voices reading  the text on a disc to go with it; such a humbling request. We agreed to do it before they mentioned they would pay us a little for the project. I let him know we do not have full understanding or training in phonetic notation but we would do our best.

Thursday, 3/24 — Today was our first recording session in the recording studio on our campus. It was fun and interesting. We had to be absolutely still and quiet as we read the script; pausing between each page. It went well and we finished the first lesson. Gary’s deep voice came through very well and sounded great. He is the announcer//narrator voice and I am the lesson voice. It will take about two months.

We have scheduled 1.5 hours each Saturday afternoon to have our students over for ‘get to know you’ time, in addition to other Good News studies. We have 13-15 at a time.

You are all in my thoughts. Terry

Chasing after courage “Courage is fear that has said its prayers”

When we truly accept the fact that we are never, ever truly alone, we can respond with courage to the individual events of our life.

Conviction becomes our strength. We become bold in our words and our actions. We grow more immune to the normal despair brought on by pressure presented by peers.

Victor Frankl, the eminent German Jewish doctor, was arrested by the Gestapo during World War II.  As he was being interrogated by the Nazi secret police, Frankl was stripped of all his possessions–his clothes, his jewelry, his wedding band. His head was shaved.  He was repeatedly taken from his prison cell, placed under bright lights, and questioned for hours. He underwent many savage, senseless tortures. But Frankl realize he had one thing left:  “I still had the power to choose my own attitude.  Bitterness or forgiveness, to give up or go on.”

In June l955, Winston Churchill, who was then near the end of his life, was asked to give a commencement address at a British University.  At this time he was physically infirm; he had to be helped to the podium.  Then he held on to the podium for what seemed an interminable amount of time.

He stood with his head down but then finally raised that great leonine head of his, and the voice that years before had called Britain back from the brink of destruction sounded publicly for the last time in history.

“Never give up.  Never give up.  Never give up.”  With that, Churchill turned and went back to his seat.  I’m told there was silence, and then, as if one person, the whole audience rose to applaud him, because he was a man whose life and words were together.

Again and again throughout Churchill’s political career, he had known setbacks. Three times, his career apparently was over, he was sent off to oblivion, and yet somehow he had a sense that there was still something left after the worst.

Fear doesn’t want you to make the journey to the mountain. If it can rattle you enough, fear will persuade you to take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands.

Today our culture is far less likely to raise up heroes than it is to exalt victims, individuals who are overcome by the sting of oppression, injustice, adversity, neglect or misfortune. … Success, as well as failure, is the result of one’s own talent, decisions and actions. Accepting personal responsibility for victory, as well as for defeat, is as liberating and empowering as it is unpopular today. I like these words: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of  deeds could have done them better.

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is not effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumphs of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. “

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TJ’s 1st Chinese wedding; puzzle presents challenge; remembering Alabama friends

Good News is so much better than all of the stories that are around us each day, and that is true wherever we live.

Open doors provide occasions for much thought and guidance, and, for each, we are thankful. Life is like a puzzle: difficult to accept or appreciate or navigate until it comes into a particular focus.

Then it makes all the difference in the  world. It becomes clear.

We are thankful for open doors here and good news is being shared weekly…working on the puzzles of life and finding the focus.

We were listening to a lesson by Marvin Bryant Sunday morning when he referred to our son Eric’s presentation the previous week (when Eric filled in with Marvin out of town). As Eric’s name was mentioned, Terry said proudly, “That’s my boy” with a big smile on her face. We are enjoying some good teaching from ‘a distant land’ because of the internet.

Had a flashback moment from the past: was fixing a peanut butter and strawberry sandwich to stabilize my blood sugar and saw a stalk of bananas on the table.

A few years back, I remembered how daddy liked peanut butter and banana sandwiches, so I decided to try one again. It tasted great, but kept sticking to the roof of my mouth and was impossible to chew and enjoy. Not tempted to try it again, but a nice memory to experience in China, anyway. 🙂

I did the same thing many years ago as a 27-year old. I saw a can of sardines in the grocery store and decided to get one, with a RC cola and some tobasco and crackers…to recreate those times when we would enjoy those items with my granddaddy behind the garage on those weekends when we’d go help him with some special tasks.

It did not taste good at all…making me wonder if I really ever did enjoy it. I know it was great to be with granddaddy…in person way back when and in my mind often these days.

Things we hear every day: Firecrackers, music each morning and evening from loud speakers waking up the children, lots of drivers honking their automobile horns, neighbor’s talking and music playing through ‘paper-thin’ walls, and a rooster early each morning. The drivers aren’t really honking at each other ‘to get out of the way.’ It is more like they just want to make those ahead of them know they are in the area and ‘to be aware of them.’ No anger. No anxiety. Just know that I am here, too.

Things I see most days: older retired men and women on our campus at 7 a.m. exercising and meditating on the badminton courts on our campus; older grand-parents taking care of the little ones so the parents can go to school or teach classes.

For all of my adult life, I have said to those who have visited our house at meal time that “if you don’t find something you like, just let me know and we’ll get out the peanut butter and jelly.” I have never liked ‘food fights’ in my house, having seen them at other times and in other places. (I have added to that phrase in later years for my grandsons: “if you have something you like for a meal, eat a good amount…you might not like what is planned for the next meal”).

Little did I know that this ‘comfort food’ would provide such a treat for us here. Not only is it protein, it is also quick and simple. We have finally found peanut butter in the area and are well supplied, especially since our first package contained some.

I heard two familiar words (“first call”) from Terry tonight a few minutes prior to supper being served. Those in the Davenport household grew up knowing those words meant one thing: supper is just 3-5 minutes away, so stay close and be ready to come to the table. The only thing better: “second call,” which meant to immediately come to the table with your hands clean, ready to eat. It sounded good to hear them again.

I told the English Corner students tonight that “I cry at night” since I am missing March Madness in America…and I wake up the next morning and find that Rivals.com and NCAA lets it be shown internationally via the internet. WOW! And I have also discovered ESPN Radio. Let’s go SEC!

Choosing Character — The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and      controversy. The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice; not what we are when standing in the searchlight of public scrutiny, but when we reach the firelight flicker of our homes; not what we are when some clarion-call rings through the air, summoning us to fight for life and liberty, but our attitude when we are called to sentry-duty in the grey morning, when the watch-fire is burning low.

It is impossible to be our best at the supreme moment if character is corroded and eaten into by daily inconsistency, unfaithfulness, and besetting sin.

Mark Twain’s advise?  Always do right; it will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

Billy Graham often says, “Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.”

Our character is simply a life in which all virtues and graces have become fixed and solidified into permanence as established habits. It costs no struggle to do right, because what has been done so long, under the influence of grace in the heart, has become part of the regenerated nature.

Character is not made in a crisis.  It is only exhibited in a crisis! A flaw in one’s character will show up under pressure.

One of his principles was that we are to be concerned more with our character than with our reputation, because our character is what we really are, while our reputation is merely what others think we are.

Tom Landry, the legendary football coach of the Dallas Cowboys, said “I’ve seen     the difference character makes in individual football players. Give me a choice between an outstanding athlete with poor character and a lesser athlete of good character; and I’ll choose the latter every time. The athlete with good character will often perform to his fullest potential and be a successful football player; while the outstanding athlete with poor character will usually fail to play up to his potential and often won’t even achieve average performance.”

If you cheat in practice, you’ll cheat in the game. If you cheat in your head, you’ll cheat on the test. You’ll cheat on the girl. You’ll cheat in business. You’ll cheat on your mate. Sow a thought, reap an act. Sow an act, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.

Today our culture is far less likely to raise up heroes than it is to exalt victims, individuals who are overcome by the sting of oppression, injustice, adversity, neglect or misfortune. … Success, as well as failure, is the result of one’s own talent, decisions and actions. Accepting personal responsibility for victory, as well as for defeat, is as liberating and empowering as it is unpopular today.

The late C.S. Lewis said that people can ask only three basic ethical or philosophical questions. To describe them, he used the metaphor of ships at sea. When sailing      ships leave port to embark on a journey, sailors must determine three things, according to Lewis.

First, they must know how to keep from bumping into one another. This is a question of “social ethics.” In other words, how do we get along with one another on this journey called life?

Second, they must know how the individual ships remain seaworthy. This is “personal ethics,” and it deals with the individual’s vices and virtues – with character.

Finally, sailors must decide where the ships are going. What is their mission and their destination? This last question is the ultimate one for us. What is the purpose of human life? Why are we here? Bob Hope once said, “If you haven’t got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.” When some one mentions the word “charity,” we usually think about giving material things, such as food, clothing or money, to needy people.

However, the book “Hope Again” contains a true story about Tom Landry, the great coach of the Dallas Cowboys, and the late Woody Hayes. The story illustrates a different kind of charity, but real charity nevertheless.

Years ago, Woody Hayes was fired from his job as coach of the Ohio State football team. The reason Hayes was fired was that he struck an opposing player on the sidelines during a football game. The press had a field day with the firing, and piled criticism and shame on the former Buckeye coach.

(I was a sportswriter at the time and in charge of laying out and planning the sports pages the next morning at the Chattanooga News-Free Press. I arrived around 4:45 a.m. and was shocked that Hayes, who had struck the Clemson player on his sidelines around 11:15 p.m. the night before, as Ohio State University was finishing its game, had already  been fired. It was quick under any circumstances, considering his stature in the state and at the school).

Few people could have felt lower than Hayes felt. Not only did he publicly lose control of himself and do a foolish thing, but he also lost his job and much of the respect others had for him.

At the end of that season, a large, prestigious banquet was held for professional athletes. Tom Landry was invited, and he could bring a guest. Who did Landry take with him as his guest? Woody Hayes, the disgraced man everyone was being encouraged to criticize and scorn.

The game of football has rules against piling on someone who has been tackled. The reason for those rules is simple: prevent needless injury to the player who is down. The world would be much better if we actually lived by such rules. But when someone makes a mistake or is going through difficult times, one of the first responses of many people is criticism and gossip. Another response is to shun someone who is down. Either response  piles on more pain–needless pain.

Tom Landry did not pile needless pain on Woody Hayes. Landry had charity in his heart. Charity, in the form of mercy. So Landry reached out with mercy to help a fallen man get up and begin climbing the hill back to a mended life.

So remember two things. First, instead of piling on the pain when someone is down, be merciful. Apply the principle in the Good Samaritan story that Jesus taught– to be the one to come to the aid of one who’s fallen, not one who passes by on the other side of the road– and help fallen people up the hill they have to climb.

The second point is that there is an interesting thing about hills. When you help a person up a hill, you find yourself closer to the top, and the better it will be when you need mercy. Yes, we all need mercy.

Link at Lulu for my book: http://www.lulu.com/browse/search.php?fListingClass=0&fSearch=gary+davenport

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Neighborhood scenes, talented basket weaver & musician, and a very special pair of letters

The English corner event with the students has become one of our most treasured times. Each Thursday at 7 p.m. finds them eager to come, no matter what the weather, and it is an encouragement for us to be there and be willing to stay longer than we had planned.

Terry has all six of her classes off this campus where we live, while only three of my six classes are on the Central campus (the situation improves next year when all those freshmen will be on our campus and we’ll be able to have contact more often).

Their curiosities are normal (What food do you like? Do you like China?) but they are also wanting to discuss all manner of more important issues in their lives, and it is Good News for us to share! We have also begun some individual English Speaking sessions in our apartment, with much “planting and watering” taking place.

Some have asked the size of this university? Yangtze  River and its five campuses is some 40,000 students. The Central/West campuses where we teach has 5,500 students.

We are so thankful for Skype, and wonder why we had not used it before when our family was living in so many states? We got to see and talk with Louise just now and she looks great and has a wonderful attitude…her spunk is back.

We have limited sports TV but the radio has been great…able to listen to Tennessee men (lose) and women (win) as the season ends and tournaments commence. Hope to at least hear some of March Madness.

I haven’t remembered to mention the big surprise we received when we arrived in China and began unpacking. Our grandsons, Brinson and Aiden, had written each of us a note…and they were special indeed! They are taped to our refrigerator (see picture on other page). CYH, Brinson and Aiden!

We had need for a ‘big bathtub’ and Good News prevailed in a group of Friends last week. People are listening and learning much about life and its meaning. It is very good what’s happening around the world!

We met a Chinese native who was also an English teacher (Wendy) who was quite friendly, asking if our days were getting normal, etc. I responded that they were more  and more normal, then observed “except for right now,” since we were sitting in a local police station 🙂 getting our registration to officially teach in China.

The past weeks have brought two serendipitous moments: while talking on two occasions with some students, two  young women looked at me and said plainly “you are a handsome man.”

While at the police station, they had us take off our glasses and had Terry pull the hair behind her ears, for the ‘mug shot.’ I made the observation that “I do not recognize my wife.” Our foreign expert office representative, who was guiding us through the process, said to Terry, “Gary is quite humorous.” (I think I am going to like China very much). 🙂 In two weeks: I am an expert, handsome, and  humorous…not  a bad start for a strange guy in a new country. (I think spending time with Marvin Bryant and the Northwest staff in San Antonio has awakened my ‘very dry’ sense of humor.

Greetings from Terry, Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Mother started PT and OT this week with a good attitude and willingness to work.

An efficient plumber fixed the water tank drip and extended the washing machine drain pipe so that it now empties into the floor drain instead of onto the floor.

There are 11 digits in the cell phone numbers over here.

I have seen my first blossoms of Spring on a type of tree I have never seen before. I also saw my first fly of the season (not so exciting).

Last week in our discussion of heroes, I told them of Johnny Appleseed, who was “unselfish” in planting so many apple trees for the American settlers. It is a fact that he wore a cooking pot for a hat, loved all men, carried no gun and did carry a Bible everywhere he went. Today in America many people still carry a Bible with them.

This week I gave them an apple seed to look at and asked, “What do you see?” “What can you learn from an apple seed?”  As you can expect they came up with some great answers: apples, tree and orchard. Our vocabulary words were “potential” and “vision”. One student said she was amazed at the power of nature. I pointed out that it was a wise plan to have the seed inside with the potential of becoming so many more and how ever that design came about it was a good one.

Yesterday was “Woman’s Day”. I received several texts from students wishing me Happy Woman’s Day. And I actually got three hugs from students after a short discussion after class. Hugs are good. I guess we have indeed “broken the ice” as the first idiom we studied says.

We watched an Andy Hardy movie starring Mickey Rooney. It was like seeing old friends again. I really enjoyed it.

I am listening to our upstairs neighbor’s music. I am thankful she has good taste in music. The walls are so thin. The first night we were here, just before I went to sleep, it sounded just like someone was walking past my bed in high heels. I opened my eyes and looked around. It was coming from upstairs but it sure sounded closer than that.

Today Dale showed us how to get to the vegetable market that he and Lisa shop at, also where they buy packaged, frozen, skinless chicken breasts, eggs and flour. Then he took us to a three story market that is just down a ways from our campus. All very useful information.

Love, Terry

Practicing Patience…A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.

A train was filled with tired people.  Most of them had spent the day traveling through the hot dusty plains and at last evening had come and they all tried to settle down to a sound sleep.  However, at one end of the car a man was holding a tiny baby and as night came on the baby became restless and cried more and more.

Unable to take it any longer, a big brawny man spoke for the rest of the group.  “Why don’t you take that baby to its mother?”

There was a moment’s pause and then came the reply. “I’m sorry.  I’m doin’ my best.  The baby’s mother is in her casket in the baggage car ahead.”  Again there was an awful silence for a moment.

Then the big man who asked the cruel question was out of his seat and moved toward the man with the motherless child.  He apologized for his impatience and unkind remark. He took the tiny baby in his own arms and told the tired father to get some sleep.  Then in loving patience he cared for the little child all through the night.

I cannot think of a virtue that is more desperately needed, or harder to produce in our lives, than patience. And we’re not often prone to waiting. It reminds me of the prayer offered by the impatient Christian: Dear God, please grant me patience. And I want it right now.

The story is told of a young Christian who went to an older Christian for help. “Will you please pray for me that I may be more patient?” he asked. So they knelt together and the old man began to pray. “Lord, send this young man tribulation in the morning; send this young man tribulation in the afternoon; send this young man…”

At that point the young Christian blurted out, “No, no, I didn’t ask you to pray for tribulation. I wanted you to pray for patience.” “Ah,” responded the wise old Christian, “it’s through tribulation that we learn  patience.”

“Patience is self-restraint which does not hastily retaliate against a wrong.” That’s pretty good. When someone does you a wrong, how do you respond – with patience or anger?

Here’s another: “Patience is the ability to accept delay or disappointment graciously.” How do you deal with delay or disappointment? For some that’s really tough. Yet, patience is the ability to accept it without becoming upset.

Finally, perhaps this speaks to each  of  us? “Patience is the powerful attribute that enables a man or woman to remain steadfast under strain – and continue pressing on.” Maybe that is where some of us are. We’re dealing with difficult circumstances. We’re a raising a child, or we’re caring for again parents, or maybe we’ve had a loved one who is ill and we’ve spent long hours at the hospital or nursing home. We’re weary, but patience is the quality that says, “This too, will pass. It’s almost over.  I can keep on keeping on.”

This is my favorite definition: “Patience is a calm endurance based on the certain knowledge that God is in control.”

In the midst of a storm, a little bird was clinging to the limb of a tree, seemingly calm and unafraid. As the wind tore at the limbs of the tree, the bird continued to look the storm in the face, as if to say, “Shake me off; I still have wings.”

The word translated for patience expresses a certain attitude both to people and to events. It expresses the attitude to people which never loses patience with them, however unreasonable they may be, and which never loses hope for them, however unlovely and unteachable they may be to us.

A young man was very upset with his mother. They had argued, and at work that day he wrote her an angry letter giving all the things that he felt were wrong with her. It was a very nasty letter. After sealing the envelope, he handed it to a co-worker to mail it for him. Well, the co-worker knew what was in the letter, so he put it in his pocket. “Maybe he’ll have second thoughts about it. I can always mail it tomorrow,” he thought.

The next day, when he went to work, his friend was sitting there all forlorn, saying, “Oh, I wish I had never written that letter. I’d give $100 to have it back.” Well, you know what happened, don’t you? His friend pulled it out of his pocket and said, “Here it is.”

Patience in marriage works a lot like faith. It demonstrates the certainty that what we hope for–physical, emotional, spiritual oneness–is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it in the here and now.

When William Booth finally left the Salvation Army, he sent a one-word telegram to every member of his army. That one word embodied the guiding principle of Booth’s life: “Others.”

What is the reward of this ‘displaced gratification?’ The man or woman who understands delayed and displaced gratification realizes that “others” are what it’s all about. Instead of demanding our rights and satisfaction, we can work for the rights of others, we can find fulfillment in seeing other people satisfied, and we can serve instead of trying to conquer.

Displaced gratification is the oil that keeps our society running smoothly. People often discuss the importance of delayed gratification; what do you mean when you talk about “displaced gratification”?

In delayed gratification, we put off something so that we can enjoy some thing even better later on–avoiding a “sex life” before marriage, for instance, so that we can more fully enter into a deeper love of the marital union. In displaced gratification, we put off something so that the gratification can go to somebody else. Within marriage, for example, we put  our spouse’s needs ahead of our own.

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Campus scenes, TJ at work, boot being repaired as animals walk past

When we left Texas and flew around the world, we knew it was likely we’d have emergencies affect our family with us away. Terry’s mom had a severe stroke and is on our prayer list. We have given all these circumstances to God since we cannot be present for each as it occurs. Thank you for prayers on her behalf.

We also just learned that my brother, Joel, is dealing with serious health issues. We pray for “our children, grandsons and family that is away” every single day…just as we have for our entire married life. I pray they can receive from God “confidence, courage, and comfort” as they go through His day in their life.

I remember when Tonia (Scotland) and Eric (Czech Republic and Australia) went on summer mission trips while at Harding that this was an annual conversation school officials had with the students. And each year something did occur in the families of some of the 300-plus students who did mission work.

Terry: Tuesday, I found out my mother had a stroke. It hurts to be so far away and not be able to hug her and help make it better. My sister and brother-in-law are taking good care of her and she is already improving. I am thankful we said our “important words” before I left. We knew there would be changes in the months we would be gone. It is all a  part of being raised with “roots and wings”.

Gary: It’s been a while since our last newsletter. We’ve been settling in to do the work we were called to do, with fewer reactions to things that are not so new now. We have enjoyed a little more sunshine and warmth during the afternoons, and want to put some of the 34-degree weather “in the classrooms” behind us.

I used to think cold was easier to cope with than heat. Not so sure now with cold toes and fingers common in our apartment in late-February, since the heaters were barely keeping up on some days. But remember, shed no tears for us; our students have no heat in their rooms.

Have found simple task are more difficult to accomplish. I had a heel on some boots come loose the other day….found two nails that would do the trick but had no hammer and/or glue for a few days. Oh, well.

We took our passports to the East campus to finish our registration to live in the area. On the way out Terry saw an older woman working on the corner of the street repairing shoes. She approached her to fix my boot problem…five minutes and 1 yuan later, we were on our way.

While there, a group of animals were being slowly walked down the street, which just happened to be four-lanes and filled with cars, scooters, bicycles, and pedestrians. Quite a contrast of the ‘old vs. new’ China.

We bought some foreign food last week and realized we had no can opener, and no one here seemed to know what we were talking about…fellow foreign teachers have come to the rescue for us. We have several in California storage, but haven’t seen our things there for several months, now. My mom also gave us a good one, but luggage limitations put that one for keeps in our van sitting in Texas, awaiting our return January 2.

Our students have a good grasp of many American idioms and proverbs we share each week. The opportunity to impart values is important to us; it will become more appreciated as time progresses for them. What is especially revealing? When we share the points with our 575-plus students, we must first apply them to ourselves. This one especially applies (one we taught during the Love and Romance theme): Absence makes the heart grow fonder….persons, places, or things become dearer to us when they are absent.

I also have to admit missing some food items from back home: Sonny’s barbeque with the family in Davie, Florida; Mexican with the San Antonio clan; Mom’s macaroni-and-cheese with tomatoes in it and cornbread; Jennifer’s homemade bread; and good food and friends at the famous Market Café in Judsonia.

We had some special time with family in those weeks prior to our adventure’s beginning; I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.

We took a bus 20-minutes away last weekend to stock up on some groceries, and Terry commented that she could see our breathe when we talked. She got quiet, thought for a moment, and said, “Maybe the reason I did not see my breathe in that cold classroom yesterday was because my body was as cold as the temperature.”

We have experienced our initial ‘English Corner,’ a time for some 60 minutes on Thursday evenings when we were asked to make ourselves available to the students for questions/answers in a public forum.

The students stand around us and ask any question they want…some very simple and others very complex talk about love and relationships. We enjoyed our first session and look forward to others. It will be a time to plant much seed…they giggled when they told us they had seen us walking on campus holding hands. I told them it was something we have been doing for a long, long time.

Each of our students have chosen an English name, and are quite proud of them. They find a word they like and decide it makes a good name….some are quite unique: Spring, Cute, Winter, Yo-Yo, Leaf, Cola, Cloud, Shine, Jewellery, Mickey Way, Flanky. One chose the name Agnes. I can almost hear Louise in the back of my mind say “why would anyone choose a name like that…”

Observations from Terry: The stairs in our apartment building have sound sensitive lights. We just clap and they come on.

The RT Mart where we went shopping is two floors with a flat magnetic escalator so you can take your shopping cart on with you.

Pretty soothing music is played on campus in the morning and evening around the time the little children are dropped off and picked up from Kindergarten to help make the transition pleasant. We all enjoy the sound.

We purchased salt in a half pound paper package. Since I do not have a salt shaker I just snipped one corner very tiny and labeled it “shaker” and snipped the other corner larger and labeled it “pour” for measuring it out. It works just fine.

At different times the “air conditioner” (which heats and cools) in our bedroom sounds like a motorcycle, the car in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and a purring lion. Because we are soooo thankful for the warmth from it we are delighted to hear it. It is amazing what ‘perspective” can do for you.

By the way, the Chinese do have an “inside voice” and don’t always talk loud when in public; as we were led to believe. Also, we have not noticed them standing too close to us to talk. They leave about the same space we are used to

Hope all of you have a great weekend.

The Devil’s Tool Sale  — “It was advertised that the Devil was putting his tools up for sale. On that date the tools were laid out for public inspection. They had prices marked on them, and there were a lot of treacherous instruments: hatred, envy, jealousy, deceit, pride, lying, and so on. Laid apart from the rest of the Devil’s tools was a harmless looking tool, worn more than any of the others and priced very high.

“What’s the name of this tool?” asked one of the customers. “That,” the Devil replied, “is discouragement.” “Why have you priced it so high?” “Because discouragement is more useful to me than all the others. I can pry open and get inside a man’s heart with that when I cannot get near him with any other tools. It’s badly worn because I use it on almost everyone, since so few people know it belongs to me.”

Even the most successful, spiritually mature people face disappointment and discouragement. The challenge is to honestly face the problems without fooling yourself or giving up, but rather acknowledge your need for help, get help from others and obey the Father in the midst of problems.

As Warren Wiersbe said (in his book Be Satisfied: Ecclesiastes), “Life is filled with difficulties and perplexities, and there’s much that nobody can understand, let alone control. From the human point of view, it’s all vanity and folly. But life is God’s gift to us and He wants us to enjoy it and use it for His glory. So, instead of complaining about what you don’t have, start giving thanks for what you do have—and be satisfied!”

Well, as desirable as patience may be, it is not easy to develop patience. For instance, I think developing patience is difficult because it goes against human nature. We aren’t born patient, are we?

When a baby wakes up in the middle of the night and is hungry, or its diaper is wet, it doesn’t lie there and think, “I know Mom and Dad are tired. So I’ll just wait until a more convenient time to let them know that I need something to eat or my diaper changed.”

No! That baby cries impatiently and continues to cry until it receives the attention it demands. Children aren’t very patient. Have you ever traveled with a child? That can be quite an experience.

How about the little 4-year-old boy who was traveling with his mother and constantly asking the same question over and over again: “When are we going to get there? When are we going to get there?”

Finally, the mother got so irritated that she said, “We still have 90 more miles to go. So don’t ask me again when we’re going to get there.”

The boy was silent for a long time. Then he timidly asked, “Mom, will I still be four when we get there?”

A second reason why developing patience is difficult. It’s because there are weeds of pride, selfishness and anger that can choke out the fruit of patience.

A couple of years ago a survey revealed that we have become an impatient and often times angry nation. You see it at work. You see it in school. You see it on the highways.

A man’s car stalled in heavy traffic just as the light turned green. All his frantic efforts to get the car started failed, and a chorus of honking horns behind him made matters worse. He finally got out of his car and walked back to the first driver behind him and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to get my car started. If you’ll go up there and give it a try, I’ll stay here and honk your horn for you.”

Thirdly, patience is difficult to develop because it’s contrary to our culture. We don’t live in a relaxed culture. Go to most third world countries

today and you’ll find a much different lifestyle. They’re more laid back. They think, “Whatever happens, happens. It’ll be all right.” And they wonder why we’re so uptight.

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(Pictures of fellow foreign English teachers and those who trained us included)

*Ignore photo dates (we really are in China)

Greetings,

This has been a very good week. Thank you, Father, for the ability to see and hear our family members by skype. It is so amazing.

Tuesday, when we went to Wuhan for the medical exam we ate at Subway before coming home. It was just like in America. I accidentaly pointed to the spicy mustard instead of regular. It made the top of my head and inside my ears burn but not so much my mouth. It was really weird. It mostly tasted great.

When we returned to Jingzhou we went to a dinner for the new foreign teachers hosted by Mr. Barry Xiao, the director of the international foreign affairs office. It was held at the best (large and beautiful) hotel in Jingzhou. The restaurant was on the 4^th floor in a private dining room with a server there at all times continually bringing one delicious dish after another and putting them on the large glass lazy susan in the middle of the round table. Our host’s place was designated with a tall red folded napkin.

We had our picture taken with Mr. Xiao and the others in the lobby in front of a beautiful sculptor of a dragon and a phoenix. They said the dragon represents the Emperor and the Phoenix is married to the dragon. We arrived home by 8:00 PM, a 13 ½ hour day, tired, full and happy/

On Wednesday, after signing the official contracts Ed Mosby took us to dinner with all the other Christian foreign teachers in Jingzhou. It was fun and delicious. After dinner Gary and I rode back to our apartment with Dale and Lisa on their two scooters. We went a moderate speed and it was smooth and quiet; about a six mile trip. They are safe, good drivers. One street we went down had a red glow in the open doors of the salons. Lisa said it was where the “women of the night” are. (Her little boy was standing up in front of her on the scooter) The literal “red light” district I have heard about long ago. All was very quiet and calm all along our way home with moderate traffic.

Thursday, Feb.24. Today was a very “fascinating” day. I was supposed to teach my last set of classes for the week. But, because of a miscommunication I was at the wrong place at the right time to catch the 7:20AM teacher bus to the west campus. I called Kevin then ran to the right place. I had missed the bus. Called Kevin. Back to the front gate to catch a taxi.

Got there in plenty of time to put all my information on the board, arrange my things and be ready to greet the students. That done, I still had time so I dusted the layer of chalk dust off the podium. No students. I dusted the first three rows of desk tops. Time to start class but still no students. I checked my schedule, time, room number, all correct.  Called Kevin. He would check and call me back. I dusted three more rows.

Kevin called back very upset that they had changed my schedule without telling me or him. He apologized profusely and told me which city bus to take back to my campus. He met me at the bus stop and walked me to his office where we got a new copy of my schedule. Instead of two classes on Thursday I now have one on Wednesday morning and one on Friday morning. Kevin has been such a big help. His attitude through it all reminds me of Phil. 1:1-18.

Several people have said we have “good form” then explain that we are more slender than other Americans they have met. The water here seems to be soft, gentle on our hair and skin. The other day I saw an older man walking along the street. He reminded me of my Dad who passed away in September. I cried. Then I thought, he would be so proud of us walking the many long ways here and climbing all the many flights of stairs. It was a sad, happy, good feeling.  When I shared my thoughts with Gary he said he agreed and understood. Later he said his Dad would feel proud of us, too.

Sunday we had our first person over to share a meal with us, Kevin. We had delicious left overs from the Bamboo restaurant the night before. I served it Chinese style; one dish at a time as I heated it in the microwave until it was all on the table. When it was time for desert I washed the small bowls to serve the American chocolate pudding. Before dinner we all listened to Eric’s lesson “We Are Not Home Yet” on Gary’s computer. It was a very good lesson.

Sometimes I feel like we are the Box Car Kids, from the children’s book, as we eat out of our mix matched dishes and use make shift furniture. It is like being newly weds again.

This morning when I left for class the temperature for the day was 34-38F. I had my five layers on. No heat in the classrooms. I could have used mare layers but once involved with the students it wasn’t too noticeable. Later in class when we were getting chilled I taught them “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes” with the motions starting slow and getting faster each repetition. They liked it and it helped us warm up while using more English words. I really enjoyed my two classes today. Gary had a warm lunch all set up and ready on our little table he had moved into our one room with a working heater. Soooo good to get home and warm.

Love, Terry,

What are we teaching?

We were asked in our teacher’s manual to help our students learn how to determine the difference between love and romance. We spoke of American culture and Valentine’s Day (what is love?) and conversations related to those items…with a definition from 1 Cor. 13. Also talked about what we might look for in a future spouse.

Some experiences from Gary…

• Surprised on a recent grocery trip (by bus about 37 minutes away) to find some choice food items (see photos) and especially white lima beans, one of my favorites (remember I AM a southern man). Now we need to find some ingredients for corn bread.
• While mixing some sugar-free chocolate pudding (yes, I am spoiled) I looked out our fourth story apartment window and saw a young boy blowing a whistle in time to his bouncing steps. A little rainy and cold, maybe; he’d didn’t care. (reminded me of Brinson and Aiden).It was just what I needed for that exact moment.
• We have met many new Family with Good News spread…a room full of New Friends. Much good is occurring here from diligent work of many in the past years. It is a challenge to learn songs in a different language but I’m thankful there is patience and love from all concerned.

I am trying to practice what I’ve taught, as presented in a book I compiled a few years back…in relation to change: “Mark Twain was both wise and observant…and was “right on” when he said that “the only person who likes change is a wet baby.”

Harry Emerson Fosdick laid it out plainly for us to see and comprehend: “Christians are supposed not merely to endure change, nor even to profit by it, but to cause it.” We might also add: and embrace it!

Change is one of the most threatening things many of us face in life and yet we encounter it every day. The universe itself is changing. Scientists tell us that all ob­served systems are continually changing from order to disor­der, and that every transformation of energy is accompanied by a loss in the availability of energy for future use. In other words, our universe is running down.

Besides that, the world we live in is changing. Highly so­phisticated technical developments have radically altered our lifestyle, and now they threaten our very existence. Ideologi­cal developments have changed the balance of world power and threaten our freedom as a nation. Governments are toppled and new ones established overnight, and sometimes it seems as though revolutions are as common as eating and sleeping. Every day the news reports focus on some new changes occurring in our world.

People change. One day we may be in a good mood, the next day in an ugly mood. And it is disconcerting if we never know what to expect from our wives, our husbands, our parents, or our bosses. Nice people sometimes get irritable and touchy. Fortunately, grouchy people sometimes get nicer.

But we all change. That is the nature of creaturehood, and that is the nature of life. We find it unpleasant and intimidating at times. We would rather keep things the way they always were because the old and the familiar are more secure and comfortable, like an old shoe. But shoes wear out and need to be replaced, as does most everything else in life. So we struggle to adjust to change.

We grow and we strive to better ourselves, and that is change. Sometimes our sense of well‑being collapses around us; we lose our health, our loved ones, our money, or our material possessions, and that is change. Our bodies begin to wear out; we can no longer do the things we used to do, and that is change.

Over a hundred years ago, in a Scottish seaside inn, a group of fishermen were relaxing after a long day at sea.  As a serving maid was walking past the fishermen’s table with a pot of tea, one of the men made a sweeping gesture to describe the size of the fish he claimed to have caught.  His hand collided with the teapot and sent it crashing against the whitewashed wall, where its contents left an irregular brown splotch.

Standing nearby, the innkeeper surveyed the damage.  “That stain will never come out,” he said in dismay.  “The whole wall will have to be repainted.”  “Perhaps not.”  All eyes turned to the stranger who had just spoken.  “What do you mean?” asked the innkeeper.  “Let me work with the stain,” said the stranger, standing up from his table in the corner.  “If my work meets your approval, you won’t need to repaint the wall.”

The stranger picked up a box and went to the wall.  Opening the box, he withdrew pencils, brushes, and some glass jars of linseed oil and pigment.  He began to sketch lines around the stain and fill it in here and there with dabs of color and swashes of shading.  Soon a picture began to emerge.  The random splashes of tea had been turned into the image of a stag with a magnificent rack of antlers.  At the bottom of the picture, the man inscribed his signature.  Then he paid for his meal and left.

The innkeeper was stunned when he examined the wall.  “Do you know who that man was?” he said in amazement.  “The signature reads ‘E.H. Landseer!'”  Indeed, they had been visited by the well-known painter of wild life, Sir Edwin Landseer.  God wants to take the stains and disappointments of our lives and not merely erase them, but rather turn them into a thing of beauty.

Two frogs were neighbors.  One inhabited a deep pond, far removed from public view; the other lived in a gully containing little water, and traversed by a country road.  The Frog that lived in the pond warned his friend to change his residence and entreated him to come and live with him, saying that he would enjoy greater safety from danger and more abundant food.  The other refused, saying that he felt it so very hard to leave a place to which he had become accustomed.  A few days afterwards a heavy wagon passed through the gully and crushed him to death under its wheels.

I appreciate the conviction that can state “if your religion does not change you, then you should change your religion. Change is a challenge and we need to accept that challenge because it’s the way God planned it. And God’s plans are good.

Our Address

中国 Zhong Guo China
湖北 Hubei
荆州 Jingzhou
434023
长江大学 Chang Jiang Da Xue / Yangtze University
城中校区 Cheng Zhong Xiao Qu / Central Campus
Gary and Terry Davenport