Apartment Hunting

We hit the pavement with our Canadian colleagues for the next couple of weeks.  When our individual efforts didn’t pay off, we engaged a local realtor to help us find what we were looking for.  And what we were looking for was pretty specific.  It had to be in a specific complex and have a specific size.  

One apartment after another was turned down for various reasons.  Too small; too old; in bad repair, etc.  Our precious daughters had shared a room for many years, and our oldest was especially keen to have her own space “for the first time ever” (her words).  Finally, we came upon a suitable apartment that was in area we needed it to be.  Unfortunately, the landlord was asking too much.

We were reluctant to give up, as we could see she really wanted us to be her renters.  Her son was in Washington, D.C. for work and she was confident we would take good care of her property.  There was a good bit of common ground.

Dinner with our Landlord (left of Gracy) and her husband and son

At this point, we engaged the help of our Singaporean colleague Karen.  She grew up speaking both English and Mandarin Chinese fluently and is a fabulous negotiator in her own right.  After about thirty minutes of lively banter she had talked them down an additional 800 RMB per month (about $150 USD).  

We moved in on October 1st, just over a month after our arrival.  We were finally able to stop living out of suitcases!  With this foundational piece in place, we could now turn our attention to several storms that had begun brewing months prior to our arrival.  

One thing we have learned about living overseas.  Though many of the days may feel ordinary, the overall instability of living abroad means there is never a dull moment!

Rewind

Since we have been forced to temporarily push the pause button on our on-site, overseas service for the time being, now seems like a good time to begin reviewing the past 18 months in China.  With likely several weeks or longer to work with, I might as well begin at the beginning.

We boarded a plane on August 29th, 2018, to return to China for our third stint.  We knew going in that the organization we had chosen to join was facing some hard times.  But nothing could have prepared us for what was to transpire in the coming months.  It would be a year and a half of what felt like a potent cocktail of constant change, continuous crisis, and unprecedented opportunity.

The first ten days, we lived with a family of four in their four bedroom apartment.  Talk about cramped!  They were very kind and yet after ten days, we all felt the need for a change.  The couple living at the guest flat moved to another colleague’s apartment so we could have our own space.  And since we were required to live in the same complex as our teammates, it made for slim pickings when it came to apartment hunting.  

Not used to restrictions and limitations, this was our first introduction to a charity project in open collaboration with the government.  In our previous times in China, even though we knew that we needed to be particular in what we did or didn’t do, we were rarely in regular communication with local authorities.  In this situation, we needed their explicit permission to engage in any new initiative.  I knew there was going to be a learning curve.

In addition, our wonderful international team of volunteers was truly “International.”  In our previous experiences we had worked with all Americans except for one German couple, one British couple, and one family with a Canadian father.  Our new team had Canadians, British, Australians, Singaporeans, a gal from Taiwan, and short-term volunteers from various other parts of Europe.  It was both a breath of fresh area and an awakening to various new points of view!

And though in retrospect I am nothing short of both grateful and amazed at what God has allowed us to participate in, there is no doubt that this third “new beginning” was a shock to our individualistic, American style of life and work abroad.

Tapestry

This morning we had the chance to reconnect with someone we worked with during our early days in China.  Karen served as our language consultant as we first began to become acquainted with the Chinese language.  She had already been in China for a number of years at that point, and was always very gracious and encouraging as we made slow but steady progress.

She was also with us when we passed our final language check and were declared “fit” to serve in the roles we were recruited to fulfill.  Many things have changed since those early days, but the bonds remain as strong as ever.  

And this serves as an important reminder when we are forced to face the unexpected but inevitable bends in the road.  When we put our faith and trust in God, nothing is wasted.  Even seemingly incompatible experiences are somehow miraculously woven into a tapestry that can often only be seen clearly in retrospect.

And for us this beautiful, intricate tapestry is the web of warm relationships God has given us over the years.  And though we all may now be removed by distance, our call this morning was a testimony of the unbreakable connection God forges through mutual service to a higher calling.  

So for those of you who are transient like us, be encouraged.  You are gone, but never forgotten!  And if we don’t meet again on this side of heaven, I’ll be looking for you on the other side with a big smile on my face.

The Long Way Back

This morning we had the opportunity to meet with our entire International Team via Zoom call.  On of our therapists led us in worship.  She was even able to put up slides with lyrics on the call.  Our Field Director had also prepared a devotional that we read and discussed together.

Zoom call with our International Team

As it always is, our discussion was both frank and personal.  When you serve abroad, there isn't much need for pretense or presentation.  What you see is what you get.  We serve the broken and the vulnerable.  They have nothing to hid and really nothing to apologize for.  They teach us so much!

Other than reaffirming our bonds of friendship and partnership, one other thing that was confirmed during this time together for me personally.  We long to go back.  Yes, it's been nice to be home and see familiar faces.  But the same calling that took us thousands of miles from our families still calls us to make every effort to return. 

So, like many of you, we are waiting.  Waiting for things to return to normal so we can return to our normal.  In the meantime, we will wait patiently and with gratitude - trusting that His plans for our family will ultimately be as GOOD as He is.

In Our Absence

Last night I had the pleasure of connecting with our Local Manager to hear how things are going on the other side of the pond.  She was in good spirits as we talked about work-related matters that are pressing at present.  She said the other staff are glad to be back at work and that there is a pretty positive vibe at the office right now.  And though I was certainly relieved to hear this, my heart couldn't help but long to be back in the thick of it again.

But two things have been a great encouragement to me recently, even though for the time being we are forced to be far away.  Firstly, we are looking to hire someone to handle our local fundraising and communications.  As Alice and I discussed the requirements of the position, I gave her a pop quiz on what kind of people we are looking for.  "What are the three characteristics we are looking for?" I asked.  She responded quickly, "Humble, Hungry, and Smart!"  She then proceeded to give a brief explanation of each of these traits.  She even gave an example of one staff member neither of us hired who does not exemplify these traits :)

The second encouraging thing was a text from the mother of two vulnerable boys living with a disability.  Here is a paraphrase of what she wrote:  "Your love gives our family the strength to carry on and to not feel alone.  Even though you are not family, you feel like family."  What a testimony to the impact of our team!

And though for a time we are apart, I am confident that God will use our absence to strategically move people to step up when it matters most.

Current Status

When the first few cases popped up on the West Coast, I don't think anyone could have guessed how quickly it would become a national phenomenon.  But now COVID-19 dominates every feed and every newscast from New York to Bombay!

So here we are, sitting in radically different circumstances, and yet the reality is still the same.  We are physically separate from our work for the time being.  So how do we cope with being quarantined in a second country?  The answer is simple.  In addition to making sure our kids are on track with school, we do everything we can to support the people who are still on the ground serving orphans and vulnerable children.

We are in daily contact with the staff and are diligent to pass along news and photos to our ICC partners around the world (offices in 7 countries).  We meet weekly with our Local Manager to discuss both strategy and operations.  We "sit in" on weekly staff meetings virtually and give input and encouragement.

And we pray - daily - that God would protect our staff and families and that He would further the good work that he has begun.  Please pray with us!

Early Days

Our first day back we gathered with Gracy's family for a celebratory lunch.  It was wonderful to see familiar faces and spaces that we had longed to see for many months.  The food wasn't bad either.  We don't eat a lot of lunch meat, sandwiches, and salads in China.  So this was indeed a readymade feast.  After filling our bellies, the name of the game was staying awake until bedtime!  Having slept maybe a total of 3-4 hours in 21, I was the first one to go down for the count.  Gracy and the kids fared better.

The weekend led to a joyful reunion with members of our home church.  It was special worshipping freely with fellow saints with a good cup of coffee in hand.  The message was on point and we were on cloud nine.  The following week included more coffee and more friends.

In the weeks that followed, we were hearing the first signs that the virus was abating in China and were beginning to dream of an early or late April return to our field of service.  Then we began to hear reports that COVID-19 had popped up in Washington State.  At first, the reports were sporadic and I maintained an optimistic outlook that what we experienced abroad was unlikely to repeat itself here.

But as I sit here now on my picturesque porch in Eastern Georgia, everything has changed and yet somehow everything is the same!

Home Soil

After waiting several hours to board our flight to South Korea, we were on our way.  Since we were departing close to midnight, it was going to be pretty difficult to delay sleeping during our five hour first leg to Seoul.  But with the help of in-flight Tetris and The Shawshank Redemption (one of my favorites), I managed to get by with sleeping only an hour or so.  But the three and a half hour layover in Korea was formidable.

There is nothing more vulnerable than falling asleep from exhaustion at an international airport with vital personal belongings scattered loosely about your person.  In moments like these, I am grateful that most of those around me are also weary travelers rather than desperate pickpockets.  There is like an unwritten code with frequent travelers that you do not do to others what you would hate for someone to do to you!

So we left at 11:15 PM Thai time on February 17th and landed at 6:30 AM Korean time on February 18th.  After our layover, we departed for Atlanta at 9:30 AM or so local time on February 18th and landed around 9:15 AM Atlanta time also on February 18th!!  Pretty crazy, huh?  Gracy's parents met us at the airport and whisked us home.

There was quite a tearful reunion both at the airport and at the house.  Our children saw our dog Daisy for the first time in 18 months.  Here is a photo of us right after walking in the front door!

Thailand

Upon arrival in Thailand, we changed into shorts and purchased temporary SIM cards for our mobile phones.  Though there were still surgical masks in view, the warm weather and the ease and friendliness of Thai culture quickly lifted our spirits.  We spent the first few nights at a guest house just inside "The Moat" in Old Towne Chiang Mai (which is centrally located and surrounded by an ancient fortress-like structure and moat for protection from invaders).  Our first meal was at a simple, roadside restaurant where we dined on various types of curry and some Pad Thai.

After a few days, we were able to move into The Juniper Tree - a guest house frequented by Overseas Workers like us for R&R.  There were a number of other families there, and for the first time in 18 months we saw our children surrounded by friends who spoke their heart language.  We love China, but Chinese children are in school seven days a week and rarely have time for socializing except on bi-annual school breaks.  More than once I teared up at the sight of our three children ambling easily with their new cohort over the next ten days.

But during those ten days we were going to have to make some hard decisions.  Our original return flight to China had already been canceled.  We were already going to have to shorten our intended stay in Thailand and lengthen our stay at the guest house due to ICC's first Global Summit being canceled due to the Coronavirus.  At this point, we had three options.  1) Try to find another way back to China and re-enter an indefinite quarantine situation.  2) Stay in Thailand indefinitely without our children's homeschool resources and try to ride it out.  3) Contemplate returning to the US for a time to stabilize our family and then return hopefully sooner rather than later.

After days of prayer and conversations with people we trust, we made the difficult decision to return to the US temporarily.  But what about timing?  We knew that 14 days at that time was the magic number for quarantine.  So to ease our border crossings, we planned to fly on the evening of February 17th (14 full days after we left China) and transit via South Korea before hitting US soil in Atlanta on the morning of February 18th.

With both heavy and happy hearts (hating to leave but happy to see friends and family), we pulled our masks back out and suited up for the second leg of our unexpected journey!

Take Off

The weekend before we flew, we made the difficult decision to self-quarantine.  Up until that point, we had made a few trips out and about to the grocery store and to the park.  On Saturday evening, the walls felt like they were closing in on us.  By Sunday evening, my anxiety was at a fever pitch and I was checking Air Asia's site every half hour or so to make sure you could still purchase seats on our departing flight.

On Monday morning, we left the house at 8 AM for our 1 PM flight.  We arrived about 9 AM at the airport prepared for increased security measures.  We were a bit early to check in, so I connected to the free airport Wi-Fi and was actually able to find a live stream of the Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs.  When we were finally able to enter into the secure area, the 49ers were leading 20-10 and the game looked out-of-reach.

After prolonged security inspection, we were able to get through to our gate and began the final hour or so of frantic app checking to make sure we were still about to be on our way.  My mind and heart prepared for the real possibility that our flight may be pulled at the last minute.  The stakes felt quite high.

At last!  We were called to board our flight.  Shortly after we were seated, we began to realize there would be fewer passengers on the plane than we had ever seen before.  In addition to our family, nineteen other brave souls were also bound for Thailand that day.  We all breathed an audible sigh of relief when we went wheels up around 12:55 PM and were on our way to Chiang Mai.

We were each very grateful when we successfully landed in Thailand and this first leg of our journey was now complete.  Little did we know this would be just a first step in an altogether unexpected international pivot that would unfold in the coming weeks.

What a Ride!

So our Coronavirus story began around the end of January.  We were out for Gracy's birthday on January 21st when we began to hear rumblings of a virus that was making some noise in the neighboring province of Hubei.  Within a few days, Chinese New Year had arrived and people began their scheduled holiday.  But before festivities kicked off in earnest, all everyone was talking about was the Novel (or "New") Coronavirus that had broken out in the city of Wuhan (the capital of Hubei Province).

We had planned to spend New Year's Eve with the boys in one of ICC's group homes, but decided instead instead to self-quarantine.  We didn't know the full extent of what was happening, but all signs pointed to something serious.  As the numbers of those infected continued to climb and the safety measures required began to multiply, we began to be concerned that we would struggle to keep our scheduled Visa Run to Thailand at the beginning of February.

On January 31st, merely ten days from the evening we first heard about Coronavirus (now known as COVID-19), we were more than a little concerned that our flight slated for February 8th was in danger of being canceled.  We requested a friend who had booked our initial tickets, Geoff, to move our flight up to that weekend if possible.  The best he could do was move it to Monday, February 3rd.  This set us up for a nervy weekend filled with doubt about our travel plans.  Our concern deepened when within 24 hours of moving our flight ahead, our original flight was indeed canceled!!