Not so blue skies...

It is the end of another week and almost the end of this cold and rainy month of February! Although it has been raining for about as long as I can remember now, we aren't letting the weather drag us down too much. The rain has sort of been a nice change of pace, although I wouldn't mind if the sun decided to reappear again.

The rain provides us with the opportunity to see another side of China: the colorful ponchos people wear while pedaling their bikes furiously through the rain; the squishy clay colored mud that gets to splatter all over your pants (and then it looks like something it shouldn't); the open pastel umbrellas spread out to dry all over the classrooms; the countless dirty shoe prints making a million patterns over the floors. And although it is still pretty bitter cold, the plants and grass don't seem to mind too much. You can already glimpse little green sprouts on tiny bushes and miniature white flowers bravely peeking their heads out of trees. Maybe, just maybe, spring is around the corner.

So with the possibility that the weather might improve in the near future, we plod on. My classes are still going well, and I'm getting to know my new freshmen nursing and sophomore business English classes better. And more of my students are eager to hang out with me! So they continue to warm up to their new teacher, who acts totally American, but looks curiously Chinese.

In other news, the time has come to earnestly think about next year and what He holds for the future. Agh! It's so scary and exciting at the same time. He is really challenging me right now to consider what it means to truly be an excellent teacher who reflects an excellent Creator and Son. And so I'm seeking to see if He wants me to continue on this path I'm on. Will you please lift me up for this decision we have to make? And please lift up my other teammates, as several of them are also wrestling with similar things.

Thanks again for all your support, love, and encouragement! Have a blessed weekend. Hopefully you are looking at sunny skies right now!