Mission Accomplished

My main goal yesterday was to register for classes and, thankfully, I can say "mission accomplished!" It was an all day event where I kept hearing, "do this then come back..." I have my schedule and will go to class 4 hours a day. I am still a little confusted about my next step, but I think it is just buying books on September 2nd and a welcoming ceremony on September 8th. (There is also still the small issue of visas, but I am confident that won't be a problem).

While I was waiting in line to register, I noticed a white couple wearing Michigan t-shirts. Since (I'm learning) Americans are the only ones that bother lining up, we quickly got pushed to the end of the group and had plenty of time to chat. It turns out that they are here on scholarship and for the same reason we are. Their housing is messed up at the moment so they are going to be staying with us for a few days while they find a place to live. We are excited to help westerners who have just arrived in China because, let's face it, if we don't help each other we are all in trouble! Hosting people is something Logan and I enjoy doing and one of the major reasons we got the bigger apartment. I want to also note that we are also having a sleepover for 3 Chinese girls this Saturday so it will officially be a full house!

A Variety of Flavors

I thought you all might like to know what varieties of chips Lays and Pringles offer you if you decide to visit China...

Breezy Blueberry
Cucumber
Italian Red Meat
Lemon Tea
Lime
Mexican Tomato Chicken
Cheese Lobster
Finger Licking Braised Pork
Numb & Spicy Hot Pot
Spicy Seafood
Hot & Sour Fish Soup
Black Pepper Ribeye
Seaweed

I'm sure this list is not exhaustive, but these were some of the ones I noticed on my shopping run this morning!

Life without a car in China

Let me go ahead and say that we knew what we were getting into when we signed up to come to China, but it still surprises me how crazy just one day can be. When we first arrived in China we were staying with our mentor about 45 minutes from the coffeee shop which required us to take 2 buses to get to "work." One particular morning we left with David and were on the first bus when it started to have a strange smell and we saw lots of smoke coming from the bus. All of the Chinese people started screaming and ran toward the front, we all got off the bus in an orderly fashion (yeah, right...), it was mass chaos. After about a minute of standing outside the bus everybody just got back on and drove off...we took a taxi the rest of the way. That was fine, no big deal. Later that night Lyla was getting cranky so Logan, Lyla, and I decided to go home on our own. We walked the 1/4 of a mile to the bus stop and ended up waiting about 30 minutes for our bus to come. We got on as usual but only drove about 8 miles before we hit stop and go traffic. After 45 minutes of this, the bus driver just turned off the lights and the engine and told everybody to get off and walk. We still had a long way to go before reaching home because we hadn't even reached our 2nd bus yet. We got out and walked a while and realized that the problem was major flooding. We decided to get a taxi to take us home because we weren't sure the next bus would be running even if we did want to walk that far. We got in the taxi and realized that he couldn't go anywhere either so after 15 minutes of paying a taxi driving to go nowhere, we decided to get out and walk...again. We walked quite a ways and were overjoyed to receive a phone call from David that he had found a back way and was coming to get us in a taxi. He left the coffee shop nearly 2 hours after us. When it was all said and done, our 45 minute trip took over 3 hours! That, my friends, is public transportation in China.

Saying Zaijian America and Ni Hao China

According to the countdown on our blog we have only 8 days and 8 hours until we leave for China. We have been preparing for this moment for so long that it seems unreal for it to be so close. Most of our time this past month has been spent preparing all that we need for the move; packing, unpacking, sorting, visiting family, and enjoying all the yummy food that we will miss over the next 2 years. However, I'm sure that all the delicious Chinese food will keep us more than satisfied!

We have seen God work in amazing ways this past month and it has helped remind us to sit back and trust Him because He knows what He is doing! Thank you to all of you who have come behind us with prayer and financial support - it has been such an encouragement knowing that other people see the call on our lives and are willing to help us accomplish all that were created to do.

Once we get to China, we will update the blog as often as we can to explain what our day to day lives look like. We are so excited to get there and see what Wuhan is like, this will be our first trip to this specific city.

For now, I will leave you with some pictures of our precious Lyla where she is doing what she does best and that is just being herself  :-)

Lyla has a mini couch and she just learned how to cuddle up on it and watch her favorite move - Tangled.

30 at 25

Hello friends and faithful followers,

With only a month left (wow, 30 days!) until we depart for China, we are doing everything we can to get all last minute details in order. We are still lacking both prayer and financial partners, so we are launching a campaign to have our full budget pledged before we leave on July 27th. We are calling it 30 at 25 and what that means is that we are asking 30 individuals or couples to commit to donating $25/month. The length of your commitment is totally up to you, but we are hoping for a year long commitment. We know that it is by the prayers of the body that our ministry in China will flourish! We appreciate you and are thankful for the relationships that we have formed through our various phases in life. We have already had our first person make a commitment, praise God! If you are unable to commit financially, but would like to pray for us - let us know, we would LOVE to hear from you! If you are wanting to commit, please contact us:

amber.parker77@gmail.com
812-320-7639

The Parkers: Where are they now?

So, I acknowledge the fact that it has been forever since we've updated the blog. For our faithful follower(s) out there, we are truly sorry. Lots has happened in the past month! The first exciting event was that we had family photos taken and we love them all, but here are a few of our favorites (for more, you can check out Amber's facebook album...) 

Lyla was in a bit of a grumpy mood due to her missed nap but Emily Kathryn, our photographer, did an awesome job capturing the moment! The next major and even more important event was that Amber graduated with her Bachelors majoring in Bible and Managing Nonprofit Organizations on May 7th! We wasted no time and the next morning moved to Bloomington, Indiana to spend the summer with Amber's parents before moving to China. Logan had his first week of work in Indiana this week, he is working with a pool instillation company and learning some tricks of the trade, Amber hopes that knowledge will prove beneficial in the future when they get a pool of their own...or maybe that is just wishful thinking :) We will be staying in Indiana until July 27th when we fly to China, so this will be a time of intense preparation and of enjoying time with family. 

God has proven faithful with our funds for China, and we have recently been blessed by several people partnering with us for our time in China. Our goal is to raise $1500 / month and right now we have $700 / month pledged with all of our one time expenses (plane tickets, language school, and visas) covered! If you would like to partner with us in this ministry either through prayer or financial support, you can e-mail us at amber.parker77@gmail.com Every donation makes a difference and takes us one step closer to living out the vision God has placed in us to accomplish. Donations are tax deductible and can be given online. We hope everybody enjoys their week-end!!

Precious Moments

I'm not sure I realized how {un}eventful our lives were until I started writing a blog. With that being said I have a couple fun things to share. The first is that Lyla has been teething and for all you babywise people out there, you know what that means...no sleep! Last night I was cuddling with her in the rocking chair and as I sat there and watched her sleep I realized how precious babies are when they sleep. She kept smiling and I couldn't help but wonder what she was dreaming about {me, of course...but which fond memory.} Then a funny thing happened, she started babbling in her sleep! For all of you who know me well, you know who she gets this from. It was a moment I was happy to be there. Life is passing so quickly, I'm thankful for every happy moment I get to share with her. As I write this, she is crying because she just woke from her nap so, until next time...