Back in China - at last!!!!‏

Dear Family:

Well, we FINALLY arrived back in our beloved China - without our luggage!
After a long flight from San Francisco, we discovered in Beijing that our luggage was NOT on the same flight we were on!
HOW FRUSTRATING !!!!!!!

We arrived back at our apartment at 11:30 p.m. to find that there was NO hot water in our apartment and there was a huge
mess in our building... ceiling tiles all over the place, pipes on the floors, paint splattered and white plaster everywhere !!
Luckily our dear friends, the Stevens', came in our apartment and cleaned our floors and wiped the dust off for us...
We had moved everything out of our kitchen and bathroom before we left for the USA and put it in our bedroom. So, we had
to clean all that up before we could even move around in our bedroom. Therefore,we finally fell into bed at 2:00 a.m.
And we STILL do not have hot water today. And we still DO NOT have our luggage today!!!!!!

I don't mean to sound ungrateful and like a complainer BUT it is really so funny...... I want to remember all these humorous things so that is the reason I am telling you! I think of those poor people in Haiti that were in the earthquake. They have nothing, not even a place to lay their heads, and I am just inconvenienced for a few days without the luxuries I am so accustomed to! It is a humbling thought....

It is very cold here and the wind has been howling since we arrived. We haven't been able to stay warm and I am back to
wearing my thick thermals again. To think that 3 days ago, in San Francisco, we wished we had worn shorts because it
was so warm!

Everyone we see is so happy to see us and we feel so loved. Li Yang has called us and is coming to see us
and the cleaning ladies in our building rush to me and give me hugs. It makes us feel so good. They are dear people and we have
learned to love them so much. I dread having to leave them for the final time....

I have my new teaching schedule and I am teaching writing classes this semester instead of oral English! Very intimidating.
The good news is that I only teach Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and only 1-2 classes a day!
This really excites me, knowing that Lesa is coming to visit us in May and I will be able to tour with her!!!!

We are feeling lonesome for all of you and we want you to know of our love and appreciation for you. You are exceptional people
and we love you so very much. You are our reason for living and we have such great memories of our time spent with each of
you while we were in the states. Josh is the only one we didn't see and we are sad that he chose not to see us.

We want you to know that we are where we are supposed to be and that Satan knows we are here because he is doing everything he
can to discourage us. The Spirit is strong among these dear people and we are privileged to be here and feel of their love. We are
just a small part of the preparation for the gospel in China and we feel the responsibility to be a constant example of the Savior's love
for ALL of his children.

All our love,
Mom and Dad