Life in Full Swing in Xi'an

The meat market!

Kelley and I have been hard at work since our return to Xi'an. It has been an incredibly busy two months! We've settled in to life in China again and are moving many things forward.

Kelley buying a pillow.

Our language teachers gave us a progress test that included listening, speaking, and writing in Chinese. WE had great results. Both us and our teachers were very pleased with our language progress. For those of you interested in keeping track, Doug has the slight edge having scored 1 percentage point better than Kelley (keep in mind that Doug is writing this blog entry!).

Crazy hair day during
Spirit Week

Our son Isaac is running for student body president at his international school here in Xi'an. They narrowed the field down to him and a good friend of his. Last week they campaigned at the school and speeches are today. We're so proud of him. We'll let you know how things turn out.

Happy Birthday Renee!!
(pictured at only 4 years old...She's all grown up now!)

Back in the States, it's my daughter Renee's birthday today! We had a fun time Skyping this morning and talking about her week and our upcoming plans for Christmas time with her and her siblings. I am so blessed to have wonderful children.

There was recently a funeral in our
building complex. These are traditional
wreaths for a funeral

Here in Xi'an, Kelley and I are excited about the continued connections we are making. We regularly have opportunity to speak. Kelley has been asked to lead a women's group starting this week. Next month, we have our first public opportunity to speak in Chinese. Amazing to think we haven't even been here a year yet and already we are making presentations in Chinese.

Kelley with a Little girl that she
bought a sucker for. She was
just at the doctors office.

We are beginning to translate materials for groups in the Northeast. These materials will be used by numerous fellowships and clubs that see a need for helping those trapped in life controlling addiction.

 
We are thankful for excellent health!

Bless you all,
Doug and Kelley