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posted by Donald on 11/8/07

Fun is one word with as many definitions as there are people you ask.

And in Chinese it has yet another definition: rice.

One Chinese character for rice bears the likeness of a sheaf of grain and is pronounced as “me” in English.

The second character, 飯, often following the first, is pronounced very similarly to the English word “fun”. During lunch with the staff at She-Zih Elementary School, when I first learned this second word, it struck me that in two very real ways we were “having fun”. Since then I haven’t had a hard time remembering either word for rice.

Sometimes the written characters include phonetic hints but not always. Thus written and spoken Chinese seem to us like two languages instead of one and with about 3000 common characters, the undertaking is a good test of our determination but I remain convinced that it will be best to learn them simultaneously. While, for me, the glory of the written language particularly is barely beginning its colorful sunrise, it is very rewarding to be able to recognize a character or two on paper and understand their background. Here are some examples.

* “Also” or “both” pictures a hand holding two grain stalks

* “Order” is derived from grain stalks lined up in a row

* “Morning” is represented by a sun coming up over some “grass”

* “Japan” is known in literature as the land of the rising sun

Week by week our appreciation builds and we look forward to each Wednesday lesson. As we are reminded in I Corinthians 8, knowledge puffs up but charity builds up, so pray for us, that our acquisition of some language skills would not be in actuality a self-centered pursuit, merely another skill. The potential of communication and service to others through the language is enormous. The enormity of the language will be manageable (even fun I would say) if we keep comparing it with that.

5 Comments » | posted in Politics, Tidbits

posted by Michael on 11/8/07

The finishing of a project always takes longer than its basic construction. To help put up the soffet and facia Uncle Alan came again on July 12, and the same day we were also able to put up the plastic wrap and install the doors and windows. This went smoothly because we had bought the windows and doors before we built the shed, and had been able to make the openings just the right size.

The next step was to put up the cedar siding to match the house. Donald, Jonathan, and David had stained it ahead of time, and even though Dad and I worked together on it whenever we had time, it was over a month before that step was complete.

To make the shed useable, we needed plenty of shelf space. I came up with a plan for the shelves based on what they would be used for, and as it turned out some of our stored lumber worked perfectly. With other projects going on simultaneously, building the shelves took five weeks.                                                              .

For easy lawn mower access, we planned to make a ramp up to the door. But before building it, we made sure to install the underground drain pipes to carry the water from the gutters to the creek. Meanwhile we had poured a little concrete pad in front of the door as a landing for the ramp. It was into October before the ramp was built.

Lastly, on October 12 we put up the gutter and downspout. The shed is now fully functioning and things around here are becoming much more organized. The feeling of completion is amazing – but a combination of patience and determination is required to bring any project to the finish line.

Determination:

Purposing to accomplish God’s goals in God’s time regardless of the opposition.

6 Comments » | posted in Family News, Possessing the Land

posted by Jonathan on 11/4/07

This week we had the opportunity to go to Cabela’s with some friends of ours the Elliotts and Pitcocks. It was a long drive but defiantly worth it. They had a really colossal mountain in the middle of the building covered in all sorts of animals. They had a lynx chasing a rabbit, mountain sheep jumping a real running stream and waterfall, polar bear standing up, a heard of muskox charging down the mountain and being attacked by timber wolves, and a big herd of elk which were all life size. And lots of other little animals all over the mountain.

 
 
 
In another section of prairie and desert there was a huge life size elephant. And they had a leopard jumping into a tree trying to catch a bird that was flying away, and a heard of lions and hyenas fighting. They also had a big crocodile that had a bird in it’s mouth. 

posted by James on 11/2/07

Sunday, October 28, marked a day of fellowship and fun for our family at Cacapon Resort State Park, West Virginia. We traveled over 100 miles over the mountains for a memorable get-together with the Wilkes, Sutphins, Campbells, and Mattiches.

It was one of those cloudless mornings where the beams of sun were just warm enough to chase off the chill of autumn in the mountains. “I remember pausing outside the quaint, enclosed pavilion and listing to the melodious harmony of voices giving praise to the Creator from within” James says, reflecting on the a cappella singing after the morning service, “It was worth remembering, especially after hearing Mr. Wilkes’ fervent exhortation to let Christ radiate from me.” The inspiring and acutely applicable sermon was taken from Colossians 3:16 and focused on the outward manifestation of Christ’s work in a Christian’s heart.

The rest of the day also turned out to be memorable. Food and fellowship followed the service and it was refreshing to spend time with both old and new friends. Concerning the two relatively new families, Dad comments: “I was able to talk with Mr. Campbell over lunch and then with Mr. Mattich while the others were playing soccer.” As usual, there was continuous conversation with the Wilkes and Sutphins to catch up on all that had happened over the past few months.

When asked about the most enjoyable activity of the day, David replied “Either soccer, the spinning merry-go-round, or feeding the fish”, referring to what happened to some of the leftovers from lunch. However with many of the younger ones by the lake, it was of great astonishment to hear that it was Joshua who actually fell in. “I wish I could have seen it” Mom says, looking back on the humorous occurrence. It happened during a passionate game of tag when Jonathan, to his immediate gratification but imminent regret, cunningly carried out a successful plan of attack to which Joshua’s efforts of escape resulted in a splash of a catastrophe!

Jonathan mentioned another highlight: an energetic game of soccer, or “Discipleship” as Mr. Wilkes termed it, inspiring a spirit of teamwork and encouragement. With mud puddles to dodge and the cold to fight, the game required more than just skill. Character was key and everyone worked together toward that end. “It was great!” remembers Jonathan.

To conclude the memorable get-together, we assembled once more at the pavilion with prayer and singing, farewells and blessings, and hopes for a future opportunity to meet again.

3 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Robert on 11/1/07

Only 15 minutes! The thought made my heart skip a beat. That was all the time that I had left to put together a piano arrangement for the delegation of mayors and leading educators from Romania! Just a short time earlier I received word that the delegation had made a special request to Mr. Gothard for me to play “Amazing Grace” at the next session. Now, here I was, running to the piano practice room to hammer out an arrangement in just a few minutes. I sat down and prayed … really hard.

“Lord,” I said, “My only purpose in playing is to glorify You. Somehow cause this to come together beautifully so that You would be honored.” The arrangement started coming together with the help of a timely tip from a talented pianist.

Before playing, I shared briefly with this secular delegation how God’s amazing grace had transformed my life. Then the translator translated the words of the song into Romanian and I sat down to play.

It flowed beautifully. A friend commented afterwards that it was the best arrangement that they had ever heard me perform. One of the Romanian educators even had tears in her eyes as she listened to the gorgeous melody of John Newton’s classic hymn.

“Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.” Psalm 146:1-2

6 Comments » | posted in Family News