Despite the cold, foggy, gray days of winter, God gave me a small gift. The orchid plant I bought for Rachel on her birthday last July added new growth and a blossom opened the weekend of the Thanksgiving holiday. I can see at least five more buds that should be opened by Christmas. What a beautiful gift!
Our high school choir students made a visit to our school’s new campus to say thank-you to the construction workers. They sang songs and passed out cookies. Rachel and Jessie, as part of the video news club, went as reporters to cover the story. At this point in the construction the men are working 24-hours a day in order to meet the January deadline, so that our school can be ready for students. They come from the countryside and live in tin building shelters with no heat. One of my Chinese co-workers at school said that it means more than we know for our students to come and share holiday spirit with these manual laborers. I’m really thankful Rachel and Jessie were able to take part.
Last week while I was at work at school Sean called me to come up to his 4th floor office. I work on the front side of the building on the first floor. Sean is on the back side, on the 4th floor. When I came to his office here is what I saw across the street from our school. Apparently some air conditioner units caught fire on top of this new-construction building. Thankfully this is a new apartment building and no one is living there yet.
Jessie and Rachel are following in their older brother’s footsteps as active participants in our school’s MUN program. This month they represented the Holy See as delegates in the 7th annual MUN conference in Singapore. This year our school’s director asked me if I would go with the group as a chaperone. I was so blessed to be able to witness the girls’ involvement in the conference. They both had opportunities to meet other students from as far away as Australia and Dubai. Representing the Holy See, they were able to speak out with a conservative voice. Here the girls pose in front of the fountain on the hosting school’s campus.
On the weekend of November 11th, Rachel and Jessie took part in the leadership team of our school’s annual retreat called Vida Nueva (Spanish for New Life). Rachel was asked to be the Rectora position (lead female student) and Jessie was asked to be a table leader. Many weeks of prayer and weekly gatherings to prepare went into the weekend. Thirty students from our school came as amigos (participants) in the retreat. The weekend is set up like the “Walk to Emmsus” for adults, that some of you may know of. However this weekend is intended just for teens. The Lord touched many students’ hearts, and there were lots of decisions to accept Jesus as Savior! We are so grateful for the powerful way God is moving among the student body in our school this year.
Here is Rachel with her co-leader, JinHoon, noticed the sweatshirt “Weak = Strong” designed by Jessie
One of the most handy birthday gifts I received this year came from Sean’s parents. They brought it to me during their summer visit. This amazing pan allows you to bake 3 loaves of French Bread at once. It’s made from Chicago Metallic, and called a Commercial II Perforated Baguette Pan. You can find one on Amazon.com. If you want to try making your own homemade French Bread, here’s a great recipe that makes 3 loaves.
French Bread
2 cups hot water
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons oil
Combine, stir until sugar and salt are dissolved, and cool to lukewarm
1/2 cup warm water
4 1/2 teaspoons active yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Dissolve yeast in warm water
Add yeast mixture to warm water mixture. Stir in 7 1/2 to 8 cups flour. Begin kneading when dough becomes too stiff to stir. Knead 3 – 5 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Divide dough into thirds. Work one piece at a time into long rectangle. Roll dough tightly to form the loaf. Place in each loaf in baguette pan. Let rise again (about 20 – 30 minutes). Brush each loaf with a beaten egg white. Make three slits in top of each loaf with a serrated knife. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
One of the most handy birthday gifts I received this year came from Sean’s parents. They brought it to me during their summer visit. This amazing pan allows you to bake 3 loaves of French Bread at once. It’s made from Chicago Metallic, and called a Commercial II Perforated Baguette Pan. You can find one on Amazon.com. If you want to try making your own homemade French Bread, here’s a great recipe that makes 3 loaves.
French Bread
2 cups hot water
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons oil
Combine, stir until sugar and salt are dissolved, and cool to lukewarm
1/2 cup warm water
4 1/2 teaspoons active yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Dissolve yeast in warm water
Add yeast mixture to warm water mixture. Stir in 7 1/2 to 8 cups flour. Begin kneading when dough becomes too stiff to stir. Knead 3 – 5 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Divide dough into thirds. Work one piece at a time into long rectangle. Roll dough tightly to form the loaf. Place in each loaf in baguette pan. Let rise again (about 20 – 30 minutes). Brush each loaf with a beaten egg white. Make three slits in top of each loaf with a serrated knife. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
> Parents were invited to watch their children perform Chinese dances for the celebration of the Chinese National Holiday in October. Megan’s class performed two dances.
> > Megan’s teachers are the ladies in the front and the back of her line.
> > Here is Megan sitting at her desk in her classroom.
> >
Parents were invited to watch their children perform Chinese dances for the celebration of the Chinese National Holiday in October. Megan class performed two dances.
Megan’s teachers are the ladies in the front and the back of her line.
Here is Megan sitting at her desk in her classroom.
Hearing car horns honking from my 8th floor apartment building is nothing unusual. But this morning while sitting down at my computer after the girls left for the bus stop, all of the sudden I became more acutely aware of some constant horn honking. This usually means there is a traffic jam on the street below our building. I walked over to the kitchen window to take a look and what did I discover…our school bus stuck in a huge traffic jam. The bus had not even reached the stop where it picks up the girls further down the street. AND this was happening nearly 20 minutes after Maddie had left for the bus! Evidentally, Maddie got to our bus stop and seeing that the bus was stuck in traffic, she and the other kids walked down the street to hop onto the stranded bus and sit to wait for the traffic to clear. When I came to look out the window, I noticed Maddie sitting in the front seat, so I called her. She said, “Yeah, we’ve been sitting here for 15 minutes!”
And here’s the cause of the traffic jam. A wedding! When the bride and groom arrive at their new apartment in the morning hours, they are followed by their guests all riding in red cars. Behind these two red cars you would have seen at least 10 more. This long line of cars basically blocks this already crowded side street, and impatient drivers usually try to go around them, which puts them into the lane of oncoming traffic. You can see where the problem comes in! This creates some very impatient drivers, and thus lots of horn honking. Here’s the happy couple.
Pulling into their apartment community followed by the small red car with the videographer.
