May in Beijing

Spring has arrived in Beijing!! It has been unusually wet and has stayed cool for longer than most years (so the veteran expats say). This has been reason for a lot of grilling out and eating outside at our favorite restaurants. Life in Beijing has been pretty normal for the past month or so. I did have the opportunity to go and camp on the Great Wall over her International Labor Day Holiday that was celebrated at the beginning of the month. It was a great time.

We understand many of you guys have been asking about our safety after Mondays earthquake in Sichuan. We are just fine and in fact, neither of us felt the effects of the quake (even though some of our friends did). However, we did have some friends near the epicenter in Chengdu when the quake struck. They are safe now and the wife returned to Beijing with their children. She shared their families' experience from the earthquake and the devastation it caused at church today. We now have numerous friends that have volunteered and are now in the effected areas bringing aid and giving medical attention. The loss of human life and property is staggering and the effort to return to normalcy is apparently going to take months upon months. The husband continues to stay in Chengdu. The past several years he has worked for a non-profit organization called Alpha Communities. They have been helping local people in that area for awhile (they sponsor the Buy a Yak program). Now they are one of the many organizations helping and bringing hope to the Chinese people effected. To see more visit their website at www.alphacommunities.org.

Steven and I are truly grateful at the blessing and safety we have here in Beijing. Our prayers go out to our neighbors in Sichuan. We love and miss our families at home and are thankful that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers.