4th of July in China

The 4th in China was fun!  All of the foreigners at SFCV went to Beijing for the day.  There were 21 of us.  We went to The Kros' Nest..a Western (American) restaurant that serves real pizza with real cheese.  It is rare to find cheese in China-they just do not have a taste for it here.  The pizzas were about 2 feet round.  It was delicious!!! After we went to a mall with a movie theatre.  Some of the people in our group went to see Transformers 2..in English, the others went to a "market" were we found lots of bargains.  Finally we went to Cold Stone Creamery..it was just like home!!  We sang American songs in the vans on the way home.
 
Sunday morning, Mary Morgan, Carter, Mary Holland-the CUMC summer intern-the newest member of our extended family and I went to church in Beijing at BICF with the Springfield team. This church is unique because you have to show your passport as you enter.  Chinese are NOT allowed to worship here.  There were people from all over the world worshipping at the service- Africa, UK, US, Korea, Asia.  They offer services in 7 different languages!! WOW!!  We ate lunch at Peter's Tex-Mex and then took the Springfield team to the airport.  It was very sad to see them leave.  Our family really connnected, or maybe invaded, their team.  We love and miss you-Karen, Bryan, Julie, Blaine, Jaylee, Heather, Ruth and Pat. You guys blessed our family-Thank you!  Oh, and PAM, just so you know, the Texan Burrito does NOT beep when it backs up!! We returned to SFCV and had a fun evening creating beads out of Sculpey clay with one of the older girls that lives here-Stacey.  She was burned as a child and has had multiple surgeries to repair her face.  For those that know her...she looks great and has been out to dinner with us 4 times!  She had a great time making beads.  Jewel and Clay are living here at SFCV for 1 year helping out in the Inn and teaching English to the kids and teachers.  Jewel is also assisting with The Store that is onsite here.  Jewel wants us to teach Stacey and possibly Wendy-another older girl here- to make jewelry to sell in the store.  Stacey really enjoyed making the beads. She came over tonight by herself and started making beads on her own. (I am typing this Monday pm China time)
 
We are blessed everyday by these precious kiddos at SFCV.  We are counting the days until Jeff gets here.   More later!

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