Women's Day, etc.

Hello!

Today (March 8)  is Women's Day in China.  It celebrates how valuable women are to society, and was set in place 100 years ago to try to help women gain equal rights in society! So today is the day to say "Man, I feel like a WOMAN!" :)  We celebrated when one of our students and his wife brought us cheesecake for the holiday!  It was great!  In mainland China, women get the day off of work.  Many schools are off today because of that...even in Macau!  But most women still have to work (like me), cause it's not a mandatory holiday for the employers to give ;)

Well, things have been changing around here!  I have been advancing a little more in Chinese (both languages, but especially Cantonese) in the past few weeks than I have been in a while.  I had many people in Hong Kong look at me in extreme surprise wondering how I learned Chinese so well, and exclaim "WOW!! le zhong mun hoa hoa!" (Your Chinese is so good!)  or "Wow!! You sound just like a Chinese person!"  Of course, I think they are being just a little lenient on me, but it's still extremely encouraging!

I have been formatting my work computer (that just got moved to my desk last week!) to my preferences...adding my newsletter program, changing the desktop, and arranging icons and folders to my liking. That's great :)  I like making it feel useful to me.  I'm still working on getting the Asian script installed and working so that I can type Chinese when needed.

I have been listening to KLOVE a lot via their online streaming.  I even sent them an e-mail thanking them for their wonderful online streaming, because it really helps!

On a less positive side, I've been in a lot of pain lately, because of my back.  I haven't been to a chiropractor in about 7 or 8 months, and my shoulder is really feeling the pain, which leads to my neck, which causes migraines....boo.

The weather is now Spring.  It's the rainy season.  Though it hasn't been raining while I have been commuting,  the ground is soaked as I walk by, and I often fall asleep to the sound of rain.  There is also cardboard all over the ground!  My dehumidifier is running whenever I am home, which helps!  Also, I have stopped wearing 10 layers, and am only wearing 1 layer today, which is great!  I even have short sleeves on!  I do have a jacket just in case, though!

The internet has been down for a while, so we ventured out of our offices and worked on a few things in the office.  It's back up now, so I can update you all about the events!

I've found myself on top of things lately.  It's been a good thing!  I am able to plan for my classes a week a head, and am able to stay organized and such!  Tomorrow we are teaching the story of Ruth and Naomi to the kids--finally--a kid-friendly lesson!  Unlike last week's Hosea and Gomer!  (for last week I changed it to a child who ran away from home again and again until finally she went to jail and the parents had to bail her out, then changing it to many people--us--who run away from God, and God comes to us and dies on the cross to pay the price for our sins!)  This week we will be singing "We Love (CLAP CLAP) because God first loved us!" and playing follow the leader, and talking about how Ruth followed Naomi wherever she went, and put her trust in God!

This is getting long, so I will post later about Hong Kong and all that awaited me there! :)

To all of you women out there: HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY!  You are a wonderful daughter of God, and He loves you so much, and has made you beautiful: not only on the outside, but on the inside, where He has washed you clean of sin and its ill effects!

To all of you men out there: Say something nice to the women in your life today to remind them how special they are to you, and how God created her beautiful just the way she is!  Men, sorry, there is no Men's day in China, but God created you beautiful too--from the inside out! :)