Being transformed

Being transformed...

There are moments when I recognize His hand transforming my thoughts, emotions...my entire being. 

I grew up in a small town and never desired to be in a big city.  

Ok...honestly, the thought of doing so was frightening to me.

I can remember those rare days in the states when my car was in the shop for maintenance and how frustrating it was to depend on someone or to call a taxi (my thoughts were, "that would be a waste of money"), walk?  Are you kidding me?  In this heat or cold or...

Being transformed...

Today I live in a city of 14 million plus, walk almost everywhere within a mile or two, ride our scooter to those a bit further and take a taxi, bus or one of these for those even further or if I'm carrying many bags.    

And 

I have loved each moment of it - I stand transformed.  

In the states, I never cooked.  I mean if it came out of a box - sure I could do it!  

I started this post at 1 am while I was making cinnamon rolls - from scratch.  

Yes, I know those of you who know me are in shock but I have found no other way to make things here.  Did you know you can make powdered sugar and sour cream??  I truly thought they just existed - haha!

Again, being transformed and I'll be honest - I am not completely enjoying each moment of finding what to make and spending the time making it (many days it is exhausting), but there are glimpses of enjoyment here. :)  

AND since I am working on food - why not start with more food pics?  

Here are two beautiful bakers, cutting out some biscuits for breakfast.. I mean dinner. :)

Some have asked how much things cost here.  Many things are cheap - eating from street vendors, noodles (like REAL ramen) in a shop, even fruits/veggies are much cheaper than in the states.  

However, anything from a cow is crazy expensive.  Ground beef - if you can find it, costs about $6/lb.  Now for organic lean beef, I would've paid that in the states, but this is just regular old, filled with water/fat beef.  So, we haven't had any. :)  The 1 quart of milk below is about $2.50. The HUGE chunk of cheddar was $40 (we sold some to other folks here but this is the only way we've seen it here so far).  The two baggies that look the same thing contain butter (about 2 sticks = nearly $3) and mozzarella cheese (500grams = $5).  I don't remember how much the mayo was but thought it was funny in the bag. :)  

Some other interesting packaging - eggs in bags (either like this or in little plastic bags), bread comes as 8 pieces per loaf and has a sweet taste to it and the bottom is a bag of sugar. 

Shopping in general takes longer here (which is truly the more exhausting part than making the food - I've never been a big shopper anyway).  Many items we either must identify by the way it looks or by a friend telling us what it is.  For example - can you guess what these are?

The little blue and white bag is salt, the middle is a form of corn meal and the far right is baking powder.  Now imagine everything being like that!

On the flip side we can occasionally find special treats that remind us of things we would on occasion get in the states - grape fanta(ish) and moon pie(ish).. :)  My dear hubby got these for our study break. :)

As I struggle through some of this I am reminded He is worth it. :)  Those around me are worth it....

This is a picture of a few stores/markets outside our apartment that we frequent.  The one with the meat is our meat store (we have bought pork there).  This is also where we buy eggs (interestingly, they are bought by weight). Next to that store is where we buy steamed buns and next to that is where we get our veggies.  

This is across the street where we get our fruit.  The lady in orange we affectionately call "the fruit lady"as we don't know she and her husband's names yet.  In the other shops is "the meat man" and "the veggie lady."  We gotta start somewhere right?? Hoping as we learn to talk we can get to know them better and share life with them. 

This is a picture of the food street that we talked about in the last post.  Up and down both sides of the street are various street vendors and little shops where you can buy food.  I have no idea what most of it is at this point as there are almost no pictures on menus and very very few places have anything written in English.  We have ordered by pointing and grunting (grunting is common here). Aside from the Korean restaurant, ran by a Korean, where Brian can order us some food.  :)

I feel like I am a bit consumed with food - but it is a basic necessity. :)  Seriously though, as I stated earlier, I have always struggled with cooking but in a pinch could open a can of spaghetti sauce, boil some spaghetti and voila!  OR I could quickly order a pizza, go to McDonald's/Taco Bell/KFC and order without there being a language barrier.  I'm sure we are eating healthier, just eating later as we try to put it together.  I feel a bit limited in inviting people over at this point too as I have no idea what to serve anyone. ;)  So, if you have some great 'from scratch' recipes that have few ingredients - please pass them on!!

Thankfully - Meisi gets fed at school!  Apparently often, as her teacher sends me multiple pictures every day of her eating different things. :)

 Umm...this could explain some of our sickness we've been having. ;)

We fix the older kids breakfast before leaving and make their lunch to take with them each morning.  Our days are long.  We start at 5:30 reading, then wake the big kids, sending them off to the school bus (one hour in each direction). 

Next up is Meisi.  She is out the door for school shortly after the big kids leave.  

It has been so cold it hurts here so we bundle her up for the scooter ride to school. ;)

After dropping her off we go to language class.  We have been in language school for nearly three weeks.  So far we haven't learned to speak but have learned over 400 words that we can recognize by listening.  Here is a glimpse of the words we have learned.

It looks like we should finish this part of our phase (phase 1a) tomorrow.  Next week we will begin to speak!  Oh how I long to speak and be able to converse with people here (which we've heard is at least 6 months down the road).  However, this is a tough language and the idea that I might be able to understand what people are saying and have the ability to respond in 6 months is exciting!!

This week in our language class we had a field trip to a market to see if there were other foods we wanted to learn the names.  We hadn't been to this market before - but it was big!  Unlike a Wal-mart, every aisle or two was a different vendor.  The veggies and fruits are very fresh and yummy here but they don't keep very long, so we only buy enough for a few days.  

Meat anyone?  There are even pigs' noses and faces.  :)  There truly were some beautiful cuts of meat here.  

If you'd like a fish, you can pick it out alive.  They will scale it and even filet it for you.

Ok... so after 3.5 hours of class and shopping for dinner we do our homework until kids get home (about 2 hours later).  It has been taking us about 3 hours to cook, eat and then clean up.  By then it is bath, family worship time and then bedtime for kids.  After kids are in bed we have to finish our homework.  It has been 12-1am by the time we've been finishing.  Needless to say, we are exhausted.  

STILL, it is worth it. They are worth it.  He is worth it.

And I...

well, I just keep being transformed.  

Oh... and those cinnamon rolls??  They were sooo yummy!!! Click here for the recipe - but be warned - it took about 3 hours to make these - not quite like the pop'em open and in the pan kind, but they tasted MUCH yummier than those quick ones. :)  

Answer upon Answer

This week we have seen Dad's faithfulness in so so many ways.  We asked that you lift up some specifics this week and it is such a joy to share how He provided for each of those requests.  We do realize sometimes the answers and provisions don't come as quickly as these did, but we are very grateful for you walking alongside us, persistently talking with Dad on our behalf.  

First off - we got Aili and Ian registered in school and they let them start on Friday as we had asked. I rode the one hour bus ride with them and it was much better than we anticipated.  They have assigned seats but thankfully were able to sit with some precious kids they've been playing with this week.  When we unloaded Ian went straight to class with his friend (not even a hug)... Part of me was sad, but the other part rejoicing in His answering pleas for comfort and peace.  Aili and I walked up to class together.  She is my social introvert and entered class a little slowly which gave me a chance to get a hug from her. :)  After turning in paperwork I walked outside to take a picture of their school.  It truly is the most beautiful, well maintained school I've ever seen.  More like a junior college.  This is the outside.

When they returned home, they were absolutely worn out and hungry but after some food and rest they both shared about their day and new friends.  

Next answer - we decided upon a school for Meisi ("youeryuan" - which is like a preschool setting for her age)!  It is a national school that is all in Ch*nese but they do have an English class in the afternoon.  She went half a day on Thursday and all day on Friday.  She has done great! They try really hard to communicate with us but it is difficult.  We are so very thankful for friends who are helping us during this time of not being able to understand the language, especially when dealing with our baby girl.  

 One thing I really like about this school is there amazing outdoor play area.  It is clean and while the ground is astroturf it gives a great appearance and feel (grass is rare around here).  They also spend a lot of time playing which is kinda unusual for preschools here.  They often are very academic even in this young age.  She does cry when she is dropped off in the mornings but apparently cheers up quickly.  Brian says the teachers love on her while she is crying at drop off - which does so much good for my heart. ;)  The first day the English teacher stayed with her a little while.  She asked Meisi why she was crying and she said, "I don't understand anything anyone is saying."  They did say that after a while she played with the other children and cheered up. 

This picture was at pick up.  I think this is one of her teachers.  She was very happy to see us at the gate waiting for her. :) She immediately told me "Daddy brought me here on our motorcycle.  I ate some, I drank some. I played some and I colored some. I had fun."  Again - answer upon answer. :)  

Some of you have asked for a picture of our new scooter (aka 'motorcycle' per Meisi). We got a great price on the rusted, dented used one.  Hopefully that will deter someone from stealing it. :) It really has come in so very handy for getting the kids to places a little farther to walk.  Of course, with all the yummy food here - we ALL need to be walking!!

Have you ever eaten sugar cane straight?  Wow - seroiusly worth a try some time!  Our fruit market couple let the kids try a piece for free a few nights ago.  Straight, pure sugar...of course, now they want some everyday!  haha

We found Nutella!  It will be a delicacy here - $10 per jar!!  I thought it was expensive in the states.  Meisi said, "Nutella makes me happy."  haha She will either need to become a chef or marry one - food is certainly the way to her heart!  

I wish I could tell you what we are eating but I have no idea!  This entire plate of food was just over $2. It was delicious!

With the help of some awesome new friends - we figured out how to order food online that was hard to find in stores and we made pizzas!  

We also were able to make brownies with stuff from the online store (with the cutest little helpers in the world).  Although the first batch was more like brownie crisps - still trying to figure out the huge toaster oven type oven we have.  

AND we were able to make pop corn (again - thankful for those who are helping us realize what products can be used to make things common to us). So movie night was ON!!  Our first movie - Kung Fu Panda - haha - seemed fitting. ;) 

I want to preface my next story - I'm truly not trying to complain but hadn't seen such a transformation in couches before this.  We had these really cool metro couches when we arrived- although the seat cushions were not covered....

Now we, have retro couches... We do miss the wooden arms which were like tables for us and the cool metro look, but it is nice to have seat cushions that are covered too.  These are not ours, just for our use while here.   Here are some precious new little friends too - we were watching them while their parents had a date night. :)  

We haven't done much in the way of entertainment outside the home yet.  However, our kids provided their version of theater for us.  It was fantastic!

It has been a fantastic week.  We've seen Dad provide direct answers and peace in decision making everyday.

Only a few rough moments... Meisi had a rough day on Friday due to a misunderstanding at the school (they thought she was staying a half day like some of the other foreign kids and got her ready to go home, but I wasn't there to get her).  One of our new friends took her back to her class, helped her calm down, checked in with the school later and for her bravery let her bring home their toy snake who Meisi had named "Archibald" last week while we were at their home.  Archibald certainly made her happy.

The weekend has been a tough one for her too - she has had a pretty rough bout with diarrhea since Friday.  Please lift her little body up that she stays hydrated and that it goes away quickly.  We've been loading up on probiotics and yogurt hoping to kill common culprits for this area.  A good nap today did make her feel better and her appetite has returned a little.  

While that would be a sweet face to end it on...gonna leave with one more food picture - 

There is this fantastic street nearby called "Food Street."  Will try to capture a picture soon so you can see it.  We ventured there for dinner Friday eve and ended dinner with a tasty treat  So these are fruit covered in sugar that has dried and hardened. Sort of like a candied apple but no cherry flavor - just sugar coating strawberries and oranges - DELSIH!  

I look forward to sharing stories of new national friends and sharing life with them.  For now - we are thankful to share our journey with you!  Thanks for walking alongside us.  

We have arrived!

The bags finally got packed...
Christmas day was a wonderful time of food and fellowship with family.
We said our "see you laters" to Brian's mom and grandma

Before leaving we ate at our favorite restaurants one last time for a while..

Family were so gracious to help us get to the airport with all our luggage then drive our van away to prep it for sale.

Did I mention it took 2 vehicles to bring all our luggage?

Being the procrastinators we are - it isn't too surprising that Brian and I only got one hour of sleep the night before take off.  We made it to Brian's uncle and aunt's home at around 3:30 am (we had to wake at 5am to leave for airport).  The kids went to sleep pretty quick on the first flight. 

The next leg was the long one.  We all took turns sleeping.  Although, the entertainment provided kept three little people desiring to be awake more often than not.  

IPads can be such a dichotomy of blessing vs. evil.  On long trips like this flight - it was a HUGE blessing.

How cool is all this ice near the arctic circle?  We flew over the north pole although I'm not completely certain where we were at this moment.

We've traveled to many places but arriving at the Shanghai airport was by far the hardest international interchange we've ever done.  We had to collect all our bags (which is normal) then transport them by ourselves (they said everyone was too busy to help us) to an entirely different terminal (which is not so normal), find the check in desk (which was exceedingly difficult being that no one spoke English) and recheck our bags as though we'd just gotten to the airport.  Looking back I should've taken pictures of the kids laying on the floor in the airport trying to sleep.  Then they went to the benches to sleep then they fell asleep on top of the luggage as we waited to recheck our bags.   By the grace of God five of our bags didn't make it to the airport.  How is that good?  Well, these were the bags that did (along with our carry on luggage) and we are pretty sure Meisi couldn't have pushed a cart of five more bags all the way through customs and 2 terminals- lol.  

The rest of us pushed one cart each.  The whole ordeal took about 3 hours.  We thought we were going to miss our plane because our incoming flight was 2 hours delayed in Detroit due to people carrying on items they shouldn't have.  They had to completely unload all the bags and reload them which is why five of ours didn't make it.  

So... as the saga continued - we got to the check in counter to learn that we were booked as stand-by instead of real seats.  We waited about half an hour while three folks from the airline made calls.  I just stood there silently chatting with Dad and He answered me and all of you who were talking with Him on our behalf.  They created a space for us, an entire row actually (we had one extra seat)! They apologized for it being on the back of the plane.  haha  We seriously could've ridden in cargo at this point.  I think we all slept nearly the entire flight to our final destination.  We arrived just before 1 am here.  

We were excited to finally get to meet our fearless leaders face to face.  They loaded us on a bus with seat belts (may be the last time we see those for a while)...

We thought we would all immediately fall to sleep but we had the munchies since, we think, we missed dinner in the midst of the chaos getting to the last flight then sleeping through the food served on the plane...

Thankfully, our leaders blessed us with snacks and food that we could eat for breakfast!  

After a quick snack they all piled into the same bed trying to warm up. It was cold outside and inside. The thing on the wall is the heating and a/c unit but it takes a little while to heat up the space.

That lasted about five minutes before they ended up in our room which was the warmest room in the house that night.

They have since gone to sleep in their beds (we've learned to start their heaters a couple hours before bedtime) but as usual we wake with at least 2 extra people in our bed each morning. :)  A dear friend told me years ago that the time passes by too quickly, so if they want to be close to you - savor those moments.  :)

After sleeping a few hours we got up, ate a little, started looking at the bags that did make it and went to lunch at a noodle shop across from our new home.  It was amazing - a spicy beef noodle dish that caused a numbing affect the more you ate.  It truly was delicious although that explanation probably doesn't make it sound so appealing. 

Most of the rest of this week we've spent cleaning and trying to unpack.  Cleaning here is totally different than cleaning back home.  

Yes, that is what it looked like inside drawers and cabinets.  Baffling to me to think how that is possible.  Setting up the place is coming along and we actually have luggage unpacked.  We still have many things stored in space bags for other seasons but we are getting more settled daily.  AND our five bags that didn't make it with us, came a couple days later.  Yay!  

Hopefully soon we can do a tour of our apartment (you did get some glimpses through the pictures). Here is a another little snapshot. 

This is the outside.  

The playground

View from the kids' window.

View from our balcony

We had our first dinner on our own tonight.  We love steamed buns and managed to pick out a few from the street vendor/market to bring home for dinner.  Not real fancy, but it was yummy and cheap. :)

Meisi has the right idea here (amazing how she can sleep anywhere).  Our couches are getting refinshed so for now they are decorated with our Wildcat blue, of course!  

We really are overjoyed to be here.  Yet, we have so very much to learn and that is a bit overwhelming.  We are certainly in a honeymoon period and loving everything right now.  Ok...so maybe not everything - the constant smell from the bathroom is a force to be reckoned with - not sure why that is with being on the 10th floor out of 11...seems like gravity would, you know...

There have been some other small trials (refrigerator not working, heater not working, washing machine not working, power outage for a few hours).  However, we can feel the HS working in us, helping us keep a positive outlook.  Looking back now that all that is fixed I'm so thankful for our family and friends who are walking alongside us, lifting us up.  It is not our nature to roll through those like we did.  We know it is our Dad's faithfulness in answering the requests that have been lifted up for us.  Thank you. Thank you, thank you!  Of course, we are so thankful for people here helping us get all those things fixed quickly.  

If you've made it this far in this very long post, you are a special gift for sure!  Hoping future ones will be shorter.  :)  Thank you for loving us and intervening  for us and our people.