"Religion that...our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in there distress..."Every time we visit the Philip Hayden Foundation orphanage, I leave feeling like I have been given a gift far greater than anything I could have given to the children who live there. Before we go I feel like I will be a tremendous blessing to the children, but I walk away feeling like they have blessed me far more than I could ever bless them. I start by thinking "they need me," and I leave knowing I needed them! My only wish is that I could realize this need from the beginning.
I have often wondered if I approach the Father in the same way? Do I approach him thinking "He needs me" only to realize my need for Him? Wouldn't it be better if I was humble from the beginning so that I could enjoy the blessings throughout the entire process?
"Humble yourselves before Him, and he will lift you up"
Why we are grateful this week:
1)Jessie and I finished our classes this week. Jessie had a full week that ended up being 26 credit hours so that she could finish, but now all we have to do is turn in our grades by mid-January. We are excited about the final week of December and the first weeks of January because we will have plenty of time to spend with students.
2)We visited the Philip Hayden Foundation yesterday and as always it was a great experience. Peter, Jessie, and I took three students: Cassie, Felicia, and Pan. We stayed for about two hours, and my favorite part was listening to Pan sing Christmas songs to the children.
3)Jessie and I will be celebrating our third wedding anniversary on Tuesday. We will once again spend our anniversary in Beijing.
4)It snowed last night and left about a inch. Around 9pm we went out and played in the snow with many of the students. It was great engaging in various random snowball battles!
5)Jessie's appetite has returned and she has dealt with very little nausea this week!
Please continue to "think" about us:
1)On Wednesday night we will be participating in the college's Christmas Eve celebration. Peter will be singing a Chinese rap song with another student, the three girls will sing "Silent Night" acapella, and all five of us will sing "Joy to the World." We are excited and a little nervous about this evening; last year there were over a thousand students and faculty at this celebration.
2)At the end of the week, we will be traveling to Baoding to celebrate Christmas with the IECS team. We will leave Langfang on Thursday, and return on by the end of the weekend. Please keep our travel in your thoughts.
3)Please continue to keep our future plans in your thoughts. We are still trying to sort out where the Father is leading us for the upcoming year. There are some opportunities in the States that we are investigating, and we have not ruled out returning to China for a third year. Most of all, we want to follow the Father's blessing.
4)We are planing to tell the administration about our pregnancy this week. We are not entirely sure what to expect for the upcoming semester, and their reaction will also help us make an informed decision about where we might be next year.
Following His Blessing,
Brad
