“What did you think of the movie, “Amish Grace”  that we watched last Sat.?

Oh how that opened up an entire discussion!  I (Mary Kay) forgot the English teaching time and my student told me how she had shared the story of the movie with her husband and several other Chinese friends.  Each of them were left awestruck , mouths open wide as they heard how people chose to forgive rather than take revenge.

She told me about an incident in China that had hit the news last week.  There had been a very angry driver that had punched a lady that had cut him off.  She told me that many Chinese people were discussing how they did not understand how the Chinese had become like this.  “People don’t seem to have any moral values.  Young girls are becoming prostitutes in order to have more money and there is no law against it.

My friend explained how science has been so important to her culture.  There has been no room for a belief in God.  Growing up she was told that God and ghosts do not exist because you can’t touch them and that the Bible is just a fairy tale, especially the story of the resurrection.  But when she came to America she saw professors believing in God and the culture here taking Christianity very seriously.  It didn’t seem like a fairy tale.

It has made her wonder if what she was taught was wrong because her culture is spinning out of control.  Her comment was that “people have no “heart of love.”  But since they don’t have any faith/religion in  their society it is very empty and chaotic right now.  She is a very intelligent person and studied law.  In China she told me that the law constantly changes as they don’t really have anything to base it on.  So instead they just keep copying from other nations.

Oh how her heart is sooo open right now and she is searching.  She is just a representation of so many students that are on the same journey.  Thanks for your heart to intercede and love these people to Jesus!!

(PS This woman was just interested in learning English from Mary Kay, but now she wants to study the resurrection!)

We are taking about 15 students to Lancaster, PA over spring break! We will see Hershey Chocolate World (simulated factory), plus an Amish meal and an Amish tour with a Mennonite pastor that can explain the faith, and the musical Sight-n-Sound (“Moses”). A highlight last year was visiting a Christian Chinese bookstore that gave away lots of books and DVDs about the Christian faith. Almost none of the students are Christians, but most are interested. Do pray for a spiritually good trip!

We just had a wonderful retreat with about 14 nonChristians (22 people total) where we discussed “Who is Jesus?” We met in Gatlinburg, where we combined Bible study and fun.

MK is now meeting with two more women who wanted to learn the Bible stories!

“The best part was the Bible studies” said one new Christian. He led a small group for the first time.

“It was a perfect retreat, I wouldn’t change anything” said one seeker.

In small groups seekers expressed their concerns about hell. Young Christians sharpened their apologetic skills.

One woman shared her mother gave her a cross necklace, meaning that she had her mom’s approval to learn about Christianity.

Another young man publicly shared how he didn’t want to be converted, yet he had chosen to come to the retreat which we had prominently advertised the Bible studies. He had deep questions.

One young man called two days before, and said he would drive himself and sleep on the floor if needed, as we were already full! He did come, one person had canceled without telling us!

It was also a  great time working with coworkers from ISI (International Students Inc).

Wow! Thank you for your prayers to getting a great start to the year!

We had 10 visiting scholars from the East, for Christmas parties at our house this year!!

We felt like Mary and Joseph, who also had visiting scholars from the East. I think they enjoyed hearing the parallel, and they also loved seeing the story, new to almost all of them, of the first Christmas. We saw the Nativity Movie together, and discussed it afterwards. We shared presents and good food and saw Christmas lights. My wife, a Yankee, even learned how to cook a Virginian ham! (She asked for help from a New Yorker!)

But the dearest, was when one student told us, with tears in her eyes, that we had made Christmas really special for her and her husband, for the first time.

Keep these Virginia Tech visiting scholars, most of them from China, in your prayers.

We are having a retreat with nearly 20 non-Christians, in Tennessee, on the theme of “Who is Jesus?” We are working with two dear friends from International Students Incorporated (ISI).

Please pray for this retreat!

• good weather,
• travel safety,
• open hearts,
• clear teaching, and that everything would be smothered with
• the love of Christ from our hearts.

That’s January 5 to 7, Monday to Wednesday just after the New Year.

Starting the new year with a Bang!

We were Exhausted after our Thanksgiving trip to Ohio, looking forward to sleeping in our own beds!! But at 4 in the morning we heard a scuffling sound behind our bed. We tried to sleep, but it kept going on. Finally I (Fred) pointed out to my wife that in my family’s household, it was my mom that took care of animal pests in the house and mouse traps and all of that stuff.

Mary Kay reflected. “Well in my house it was always my father….”

We giggled like school kids. Expectations. She expected me to take care of it, I had hoped she would rise to the occasion. Finally we decided just to hold each other tightly, and discuss whether a mouse could climb up a bed post.

But the noise continued, so I looked very carefully behind the nightstand. Nothing. I went to get a flashlight, I came back and the noise was on the other side of the bed! But I saw nothing. So, having looked, we turned off the lights, got into bed, and waited. And then the theory. The second noise was because of the trash can being rattled when I went to get a flashlight, and the persistent noise, was in the wall.

We finally decided it was a Chimney Sweep bird, as we had problems before with them. We camped out downstairs for the rest of the night. The next night he returned. So I rose to the challenge, covering the only opening I could think of in the attic, and waited. He still returned early in the morning!

So later that morning I cut a hole in the wall and discovered not a bird, but 3 mice!! One was still alive, and very much afraid — just as I was afraid to touch them, dead or alive. I tried chopsticks, but I needed one hand to hold the light and my free hand wasn’t that good with using two sticks.

Inspiration struck. Aspiration! I wheeled my shop vac upstairs and sucked clean the hole perfectly. Then I set him free in the woods, he seemed very thankful and unhurt, though a trifle blinded by the light.

The mouse was probably much more scared than I was. Ideally I could have coaxed him out of the hole with water and cheese, and gently escorted him outside. But he probably would have been too afraid.

How unlike God I was. God had a problem with people in the Earth that He had made. They were making a mess. He could have just sucked us all up in a gigantic vacuum cleaner and thrown us out. It would have been a lot quieter for Him then. Are we as disgusting to Him as the mice were to me? Nevertheless, his solution was to enter into the disgusting hole, as a man, that would take away our fears, and who would lead us out of the hole we were in, leading us to a new home.

And that is the story of Christmas. We truly hope you have silent nights to help remember that most silent night.

Saturday was a special October event where we took our international friends into (and out of) a corn maze, chucked some pumpkins, listened to folk music (first time to hear a banjo), and learn about common barn animals.

And we love working with our new co-workers who helped in driving!

We even got to milk some artificial cows!

M