Eve also gave some to her husband, Adam, who was with her, and he ate it.So again Pilate asked Him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of." But He still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
It is amazing to me to realize that the silence of one man opened the door to Sin and the silence of another opened the door to redemption. Adam was silent when the serpent lied, and his silence ultimately lead to our separation from the Father. The Son was silent when others spoke lies about him, and his silence reunited us with the Father. Sometimes I wonder if silence holds just as much power as the spoken word?
Why we have been grateful during the past month:
1. In January, we visited Shenzhen, China for our staff conference. It was a great time of learning and fellowship. We spent most of the time discussing our "core values" and vision for the upcoming semester.
2. After our conference Jessie and I made our way back to Langfang so that we could greet my parents at the airport. We spent the next two weeks traveling with them as their tour guides. The four of us spent a couple days at our college, and then we went to Beijing for a week. After showing off the wonders of Beijing to my parents, we traveled South to Guilin for three days. The river cruise and the rice terrace tours were beautiful! After leaving Guilin, we spent one night in Beijing before saying goodbye to my parents, then we returned to Langfang and started classes two days later. It was a great time, but we are happy to be back home and teaching again.
3. Last Saturday we visited the Philip Hayden Foundation again with some of our students. Felix, Laura, Angie, and Lindy came with us, and it was good to spend the afternoon with them.
4. Our first week of classes went really well. Jessie's classes were excited to see how her belly has grown in the past month, and I was just happy to be back to a normal routine.
Please continue to "think" about us:
1. In January we decided that we will be returning to the U.S.A. next year. It was a difficult decision, and we will miss our work in China very much. Yet we feel confident that the Father is calling us to a different place. We are currently going though the application process, but we will most likely find work on the East coast.
2. The day my parents returned home from China, we got word that my Grandfather had been in the hospital with Congestive Heart Failure. Our travels made it difficult for our family to contact us. By the time we found out about his condition, he had already been released from the hospital. As of now he is home and recovering. My mother flew to Iowa this week to be with him, and my father will be home alone for a while.
3. We will have our first English Clubs of the semester this week. On Monday, we will have club on the main campus, and on Friday, we will travel to the western campus.
4. Please continue to remember Jessie, and our little girl. Both are doing great! Other than some aches and some weariness, there has been nothing but good news concerning our pregnancy. You can see a video of the baby's heartbeat on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Following His Blessing,
Brad
