Earthquake Update

Hello Everyone,

You have likely heard about the earthquake that struck China today. Everyone here in Jingzhou seems to be fine. We had tremors, but no damage here that we have heard about. Some of the folks felt the shaking and went outside. Evelyn and I were at a supermarket. She saw lights and hanging banners swaying, but felt nothing. I was in a different part of the store and saw and felt nothing. It wasn't until we got home and the Cook's called to make sure we were OK that we learned it was an earthquake.

The quake was hundreds of miles away in the western part of China where the population is much more scattered than in the eastern part. Still there appears to be massive damage and many dead, including a large number of school children in collapsed school buildings. The report below is the most recent report that I can find. I have included only short excerpts. More details are in the full article.

I expect to send the final China News Update from here in a few days. The one after that will come from the US as we will be back in the states by about June 18, perhaps a couple of days earlier if we can get the flights we need.

Pray for the people who lost loved ones and for the hundreds of thousands who will suffer from the loss of homes and work places. We will try to provide more information if anything significant is reported that we do not know yet.

Yours and His,

Ron & Evelyn

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/05/12/ap4997078.html

Death toll in China earthquake rises to 7,600
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN 05.12.08, 10:53 AM ET

BEIJING - A massive earthquake struck central China on Monday, killing more than 7,600 people and trapping nearly 900 students under the rubble of their school, state media reported.

The official Xinhua News Agency said 80 percent of the buildings had collapsed in Beichuan county in Sichuan province after the 7.8-magnitude quake, raising fears the overall death toll could increase sharply.

Xinhua cited the Sichuan provincial government as saying 7,651 people died, but the situation in at least two counties remain unclear.

The earthquake sent thousands of people rushing out of buildings and into the streets hundreds of miles away in Beijing and Shanghai. The temblor was felt as far away as Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand.

The earthquake hit less than three months before the start of the Beijing Summer Olympics, when China hopes to use to showcase its rise in the world.

It struck about 60 miles northwest of Chengdu in the middle of the afternoon when classrooms and office towers were full. There were several smaller aftershocks, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.

A Son's Tribute to his Mother

Hello everyone.

We received a call from our daughter early this morning to inform us that my mother passed away Monday night (Tuesday morning here).

Mom suffered a stroke about eight years ago and has had increasing struggles ever since. She was a strong woman who worked hard all her life to take care of herself and us. She had many heartbreaking experiences in life, but never complained about them much. Mostly she just bore the pain and worked to do the best she could with the situations she faced. I had been a grown man for several years before I really began to realize what all she had endured and to appreciate the grace with which she bore her hardships. She lived in faith and faithful quietness, enjoying the happy times and struggling through the painful ones.

I cannot imagine the agony a mother of four would experience when she became convinced that she could not provide for her children by herself. In the days when few social services were available to single mothers and women's work paid much less than the men's, few options were open to her. She could have married again after my father abandoned her and his children. Maybe there was not the hope or trust necessary to believe that another husband would be anymore helpful than the last. But the grueling work in the cotton mills day after day, and the incessant needs of four little ones, took its toll. Mom faced a future with no good options on the horizon. Others may criticize her choice. Likely they have never felt her fear for children she loved or for her own sanity. She arranged for us to live at Childhaven, a children's home in north Alabama, just two hours away. She moved closer so that we could visit often. Lee Brock, the superintendent's wife we have always called "Mother Lee," pointed out to me a few years ago what I had never realized: Of all the dozens of children that had lived there, no other parent ever came regularly to visit with their children. Mom came ever other weekend. My father came once during my twelve years. Some may think placing us at Childhaven was an act of self-indulgence. I think it was an act of self-sacrifice. She was not seeking deliverance for herself but salvation for her children. And she paid an awful price for it. But it worked. All of her children are Christians and have established stable, happy homes. The cycle has been broken. In that Mom found joy and some peace from the agony of being separated from us so much for all those years. As adults none of us has ever harbored any resentment toward her for the decision she made. We have always loved her and held her in great respect.

Having been blessed so much myself with a loving and supportive partner, I always longed for Mom to have had the same. But she experienced little of that. First my father, and later my stepfather, both of whom could be very pleasant fellows at times, took much more than than they gave to Mom. She never expressed regret, much less anger toward either of them, and wanted to appear that it did not hurt or sadden her. But it has always been painful for me to think of the stress she bore and the love she was denied in both marriages. The strength of her character and self-discipline kept her on a steady, non-complaining, responsible course. But I fear it was far more lonesome than you would ever get her to admit.

Before her stroke, when she had retired and moved back to the farm where she grew up. She seemed to find a contentment that had often alluded her before. She loved the country around Deason, a small crossroads farming community in middle Tennessee. Many of the people who had been young adults when she was a youngster were still living, though now long time senior citizens. But they were her kind of people and this was home as no place else had ever been. So when she the stroke made it hard, even dangerous, for her to live alone in the country, it was still the only place she wanted to be. These were the people she understood. They were the people with whom she was safe and loved. Only with the greatest pain and sadness did she finally decide she could not remain there alone. But from the first day she left the farm to live in the comfort and supportive environment of "assisted living" she never stopped saying she "just wanted to go home."

Now she has gone home where all the pain and struggle are forever behind her. At last she is in the presence of no one who will take more from her than they give. I look forward to being with her again and, as never before, seeing her completely happy.

Evelyn and I leave in a few hours to return join our family in the US for a few days of mourning and celebration. Funeral plans are still pending.

Time of Sorrow

If you read Ron's report below you know that the work in China is going well. Now for the time of sorrow, we found out that Ron, Brenda, Mike and David lost their mother today. Ron is currently planning to fly in from China for the funeral. Arrangements are not confirmed yet but you can e-mail condolences to him at BigMacTN@gmail.com or post them on this blog site and I will forward them to his e-mail account. As always, be careful in references to his FATHER in all correspondence.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers at this time.

In Him,

David

Celebrations

New Life in the Springtime


New Life

We hope you had a very happy Easter with your family and friends. Spring reminds us of the new life that we look forward to, both now and forever. We have had some opportunities to celebrate here also. So far this school year 88 have been added to those who are speaking the King's English. It is a special privilege to help change lives and futures.

We celebrated the return of the students after the worst winter storm to hit China in a hundred years. It was very quiet here without them. While we enjoyed the time to rest and fellowship with other American teachers from the family here, we are very glad to be back teaching and talking to students. I was curious about how many students we had direct contact with in one week. So I counted up our English classes, the English Corner participants and those who had come to our house for discussions a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to discover that we had contacted 470 students personally in that one week. Last night we had 60 present for a discussion meeting, the largest group so far. I must go buy more stools so people do not have to sit on the floor again! We are very grateful for the opportunity to be here and love all our teaching. Some of it, of course, is more important than the rest. For that part we are especially thankful.

Not only students, but also their family members, and others from the community, want to be in the family. During the winter holidays two students brought their fathers to Gary's home. One man was visiting his daughter here at the university, the other was from a local family. Gary has a big new tub in his bath room and it is great for all kinds of baths. These two men had learned much about the King's English from their daughters and wanted to become participants themselves. After talking with them they wanted to take the big bath also. More and more are sharing the good word and the good books with family and friends.

Because so many of our Freshmen friends have classes on Wednesday night and Sunday morning we have begun another discussion meeting at 2 pm Sunday afternoon. The Friday night group that was meeting at Jordan's home is now meeting here as well. He will be going to a different part of China for the spring to work with his bees and help the farmers there. He will return in September. So we now have four meetings each week at our home.

Saturday is the only night we are not in a meeting of some kind. Monday through Friday we are teaching students from 7 pm until about 9 pm either at our apartment or at English Corner. Sunday evening we join Gary and Signa for the evening meeting at their apartment. We usually eat dinner together afterwards and enjoy a great time of fellowship with them and some of our Chinese family.

Special Events

Jen Jen is the Headmaster's secretary who takes care of any needs we have in our apartment. In a previous news update I included photos of her and her boyfriend when they took me fishing last fall. In December the were married and we were invited. It was quite an honor to be included. The wedding was held at a large hotel restaurant as the ceremony is entirely secular here. The participants dress much as American wedding parties. The more traditional red wedding dress is rapidly giving way to the western white one, but red is still a prominent color is any celebration here. Guests are served a family style dinner, beginning even before the wedding and they continue eating throughout the affair. There is much toasting of various family members who come to the stage briefly to be honored including parents, grandparents, and other family relatives. Several songs and a few small fireworks entertain the guests. The whole event is loud! And I do mean LOUD! Huge speakers were booming so loudly that I thought every hotel guest in every room could hear most of it. After the party inside, the new couple leaves in a flower decorated car, followed by several others. Often this include a videographer, standing in the sunroof opening, filming the procession.

Also, we recently attended our first Chinese funeral. A close friend and brother lost his father. He is the youngest of five brothers, but his parents lived with him, so the funeral was at his home. However, since he is the youngest brother, others decided the details of the four day funeral. Each day a large crowd of thirty to forty people spent much of the day with the grieving family, and ate one or two meals at their home. Buddhist monks held some ceremonies including chanting prayers, incense, and burning money (actually only blank paper). Guests give the family money to help pay the large expenses for feeding so many people for the four days. Firecrackers were exploded by the hundreds every hour. This seems to be combination of the traditional belief that firecrackers will drive off evil spirits and the general practice of using them as to celebrate any significant event.

Time Is Flying By

It doesn't seem possible, but we are beginning to make plan for our trip back to the states for July and August already. Evelyn's classes are only 12 weeks long so she will come home a month earlier than expected. She needs the time to help her father, now 95, who has decided to go into assisted living. She should arrive home at the end of May. I will follow about June 25. We will work out our schedule as to when we will be in the Northeast and when in the Southeast in the very near future. We will be in touch with all of those who are helping us here to plan a time to report to you in person about the year and our plans for next year. The one thing we hope to be able to do next year is to raise a little extra money to allow us to come home at the Christmas or New Year's holiday. During the end of December and all of January the students have gone home. We did not anticipate such a long time here without students present. We miss our children, especially the grandchildren who are growing up so fast, so we really hope it will be possible to return home during the winter break.

Will You Be An E-Pal for a Chinese Student?

Many of the students from our classes or from English Corner would like to have an English Email Pen Pal, or E-Pal as we are calling them.. They will email you once or twice a week. Chinese students want to improve their English and love all things American. They will tell you about their families and you can share about yours. Share your life events and learn abut their culture and special activities. While their English will not be perfect, you will be able to understand their message easily. Your messages to them will also help them to learn to read and write English more correctly.

If you would like to exchange email messages once or twice a week with a Chinese student they would love to hear from you. The process is simple. Just email me at BigMacTN@gmail.com and tell me you want an E-Pal. I will reply to you with details about them and will give you their email address and some other information to help you.

Feel free to pass on this information to others in your local family, or maybe even in your family weekly bulletin to let others know they can get involved.

Ron & Evelyn McFarland

Home: 011—86—716—802—0513 Cell: 011—86—1592—797—1720

Email me for information on how you can call us for free.

(Mailing Address: Please include phone number below on all mail)

• Department of International Exchange & Cooperation
• Phone 806-0039
• Yangtze University
• 1 Nan Huan Rd.
• Jingzhou, Hubei 434023
• P.R.C.

China News 1-28-08

Happy New Year to All of You!

It doesn't seem possible that we are already most of the way through January in the new year. We are approaching the midpoint of our first year of teaching in China and it seems like we just began. On the other hand we have had so many wonderful and / or interesting experiences that sometimes it seems like much longer.

We have met hundreds of students and many of the university staff. Learning the Chinese names is very difficult as we have only heard of a few before, so all of them sound strange and unknown. Fortunately, most of the students and staff that we deal with also have adopted, or ask us to give them an English name. Some of their names are very interesting, but uncommon or unknown as names in America. Do you know anyone named Horse, Rain, Swallow, Orange, Apple, Franly, Love Me, Penguin, Echo, Fish, Ocean, or Polo? Many names are adopted from movie stars or characters they play, hence, James Bond, and, Sucre and Michael, from Prison Break (an American TV series I had never heard of, but very popular in China). We have jokingly said we feel like we have a hundred new children that we have had to name. We are often reminded by these students that we gave them their English names. That is very honoring, or embarrassing if we can't remember what we named them. After a couple of reminders we usually remember.

A Special Christmas Dinner

It is traditional that the university hosts a big Christmas Dinner for all foreign teachers. This year it was at the King Kowloon (cow loon) Hotel. It is probably the finest hotel in the city, certainly on of the best. The hotel tried to have an international meal since there were foreign teachers from the US, Wales, and Japan. The food was very good, but some of the items were a bit unusual, like the Chinese interpretation of spaghetti, BLT sandwiches, and mutton stew. The head of the Foreign Affairs Dept., who is the supervisor for all foreign teachers, and the Vice President of the university that oversees his office, were present. The university officials were especially joyful to announce that the university had successfully achieved accreditation by the Provincial Education Department this fall. The campus had been spruced up and the street vendors removed for the week long inspection.

After the meal and many "toasts" (a big deal at meals here) the officials decided that they would sing. We toasted with tea or orange juice. They were drinking something somewhat stronger. I did not understand a word of the songs, but I heard ever word, especially the VP's. I think the people passing by on the bus also heard it. I decided I do not want him yelling at me for anything, so I am going to behave!

Then they started around the room asking all the foreigners to sing for the group. We had no warning that this might happen so were taken a bit by surprise. Gary Cook has a dramatic flair not previously know to me that came out in his rendition of Elvis singing "Blue Christmas." With backup from Hannah he was very good. Fortunately, Evelyn and I had been singing Christmas carols with students for three weeks so we had become quite familiar with "Silver Bells."

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was a very busy one. It started with a 7:30 AM meeting to begin decorating for the evening Christmas party with four freshman classes. This would prove to be very interesting as none of them had any idea what you do at a Christmas party other than have a decorated tree and have everyone wear a Santa hat. More on this later.

About 9 AM I rejoined Evelyn who had remained at home to finish preparations for our Open House. Guests had arrived early, as they often do here. For the next three hours we hosted a fairly regular stream of students and other friends from the community who came to visit and see the Christmas decorations. Signa had purchased a large number of gloves to use as Christmas gifts for students at English Corner and shared these with us to give our guests. We had purchased about 500 cookies to supplement the eight dozen oatmeal cookies Evelyn and a couple of students had baked on Christmas Eve. With these, a huge pan of hard candies and about 200 oranges, we were able to provide our 150 guests a taste of Christmas in America. Most of our morning visitors were students we had met at English Corner, from our classes, or from our discussions at Jordan's or at our apartment. Many of them had never seen a Christmas tree up close and none that we could find had ever helped decorate one.

In the afternoon we went to the Cook's to join a group of American teachers, and one from Wales who also brought his Chinese fiancé for a traditional Christmas dinner, complete with turkey and dressing. We had purchased the turkey at Thanksgiving in Wuhan. Since the only ovens in our apartments are toaster types, Gary took the turkey to a large bakery with a big oven to have it cooked. What a treat that was! After a big meal together we settled into a round of game playing. "Settlers of Catan" has become our major pastime game and several of our Chinese friends have become quite good players.

Most Chinese have never eaten turkey as they are very rare here and not available in the stores in Jingzhou. A friend purchased a live turkey and prepared it for cooking as a gift for my birthday. I teased him when her brought it to me, "Jordan, this is not a turkey. It just a big chicken." It was about the size of a larger roasting chicken and was very thin. No plump "Butterball" turkeys for sale here. Wuhan, a city of 9 million, has some huge supermarkets that have some western style foods available, so that is where you must go to get one you would recognize.

After 5 PM we returned to the South Campus where we live and began final preparations for the first ever Christmas Party hosted by students on this campus. Early in the morning, considering all the activities we scheduled, we made a plan for setting up the room, only to discover, when we returned, that none of it had actually been followed. The seating was altered so that now two large posts obscured the view of many of the students from the front of the room. The two Christmas trees along with two large speakers and a CD player system were occupying half of what was to have been an open area for games for the 200 expected students. The tables for making Christmas tree decorations that were to have been set up in the back behind the main seating did not exist. The supplies for decorations had been set up amid the main seating area. Given that the culture allows anything left out to be picked up, I knew instantly that as people arrived they would begin to use these supplies without any guidance as to what they were for or how to use them. So the planned period for making tree decorations was going to be very different from what was planned. After a few minutes of wanting to pull my hair out, and that of a few other people, I calmed down and figured they did not know what was supposed to happen and would not realize that it was all being scrambled beyond my ability to fix. It was a constant battle to communicate with the leaders how to keep the party under control and moving so as not to make this two hour party a disorganized, boring event. The party went well and many students told us how happy they were to attend their first ever Christmas party.

Our first activity was making of decorations for the trees. We muddled through this and each tree soon had dozens of snowflakes, origami cranes, or folded lotus flowers added to the lights and tinsel. Each student put their name on their decoration before hanging it on the tree. A part of the Chinese culture includes a great love of "performing," especially at parties. Performing includes mostly singing or dancing with an occasional poem. So we used a game that capitalized on that. Everyone wore a Santa hat and I was leading the singing of Christmas carols. Whenever I removed my hat, which I did with no mention of it, everyone was to remove theirs. The last student with their hat on had to perform for the group. They thoroughly enjoyed this. Later Santa Claus, a student volunteer in full costume, took five decorations students had made earlier from the tree. . Each one drawn had to perform and then received a nice special gift from Santa.

Students who brought gifts received one in the gift exchange. This was not as successful as we had hoped because the leaders did not realize how much instruction needed to be given to those coming about this. They had no concept as to what it involved or how to prepare. Nonetheless, those who did catch on really enjoyed receiving a gift.

We were told by the student leaders who monitored the tickets, required in order to limit the attendance to a manageable number, that about 250 attended the party. It was a grueling experience as we were very concerned that the communication barrier and the newness of these activities would cause much confusion and disorganization with such a large group. Both the student leaders and we learned a lot about how to plan such an event . . . and a lot about what not to do.
All of this gave us a great opportunity to contact many students that we would not have not met otherwise. This as a priceless benefit, helping to fulfill our purpose for coming to China.

The New Year

The students do get New Years Day off, but this is a very small event in China. The New Year for them is celebrated as the central part of the Spring Festival. Chinese New Year, Feb. 7 this year, is like Thanksgiving and Christmas all rolled into one. Everyone tries to be with their family for special meals and all the associated activities. Fireworks, an essential part of all celebrations in China, even including weddings, are especially big during Spring Festival. New Year's Eve begins their holiday and the Lantern Festival closes it. One of the special parts of this holiday are the Sky Lanterns (KongMing Lanterns), a kind of "hot air" lantern / balloon combination. A candle inside the lantern causes the air to expand and the lantern to ascend like a hot air balloon. Last year during our preparation visit we witnessed dozens of these floating hundreds, even thousands of feet into the sky. They are beautiful to see.

This is a very slow period in our work since all the students have gone home for the spring break and will not return until after the Spring Festival. Classes will resume about Feb. 20. Meanwhile, we have time to plan for our next teaching session. Since we were given no textbook or objectives for our first semester, we just had to do the best we could to figure out what needed to be taught and how to do it. We have learned much about both. Some of our lessons will be repeated, some modified, and others replaced with better plans. This break will be very helpful to improve our teaching plans.

For the past two weeks we have been battling some severe cold and snow. The snow is not that deep, but the combination of it with enduring cold has crippled transportation in our area. Many of the students were delayed one or two days because the buses could not go to Wuhan, where they must make connections to flights or, more commonly, to trains for trips home. Some travel as much as 30 hours by train to get home. News reports say it is some of the worst weather to hit China in 50 years. Wuhan, population 9 million and the capital of our province, had 300,000 that had to change travel plans because roads were closed. The local primary schools shut down early, postponing final exams until the resumption of school after Spring Festival. Dozens of falls on the ice resulting in injuries are reported from the local hospitals. At one or our five local hospitals on one day 18 people were treated for various broken bones. One young boy in Jingzhou died from injuries suffered in a fall on the ice. We have heard reports that four students from the university were involved in a car crash and some were hurt seriously, be we do not know the details. We are glad when we receive messages from our student friends that they are safely home.

We have been holding up in our apartment most of the past week. After fighting a cold and bronchitis for a week, the snow came. It was only about four inches, but has been followed by two weeks when every couple of days another inch falls over night to replace the one that melted the days before. The forecast is for another week of cold weather with additional snow flurries. Since we have no TV channels available here ("maybe" next year) we watch DVD's of American TV series we did not watch there. After watching several seasons of West Wing this winter, we feel like White House insiders.

Thanks Again for This Opportunity

Our work is slow now with the students gone. But the time gives us more time to reflect on our decision to come to China. It is a humbling and happy reflection. The opportunity is so great and so important. So many have sacrificed to make it possible for us to be here. So many here have been blessed.

Since the school year began seventy five have joined the team. I love my weekly sessions to help local Chinese teachers to learn the King's English better.

This is a very slow time for our extra curricular work as all students are at home for a five week winter break. Evelyn and I feel especially blessed by an unanticipated benefit; so much more time together. There is no way to express the depth of our appreciation to our Father or to you for making it possible. We will only try to be as faithful and effective as possible. You are in our hearts and in our prayers.

Ron & Evelyn McFarland

(Please include phone numbers on all mail)
Home: 802-0513
Cell: 159 279 717 20
Department of International Exchange & Cooperation
Yangtze University
1 Nan Huan Rd.
Jingzhou, Hubei 434023 P.R.C.



P.S. If you want to read more about:
- Chinese Spring Festival / Chinese New Year
http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Festivals/78322.htm
- The worst winter weather in 50 years and it came at the busiest travel time of the year,
stranding hundreds of thousands http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0129/p04s01-woap.html
- Death and damage in Hubei, the province in which we live http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/29684




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Christmas Update

Our 1^st Semester Is Nearing An End

It doesn't seem possible that the first semester of our teaching will end next week. Our classes have 16 weeks here instead of 18 as is more common in the US. We will have a long break from teaching from Dec. 22 until Feb. 15. This will give us even more opportunity to spend time with the students who will continue to take a courses until January 25.

Since the beginning of this term 64 have been added to those who are in the game with us. It is exciting to see so many interested in having their own good books, which we have been able to give them because of the support of so many back home. They read, and we discuss, what they are learning. We are very thankful to the coach for such blessing and the privilege of being here to help.

Thanksgiving

We made a Thanksgiving trip with Gary and Signa Cook to Wuhan, the capital of our province, Hubei. Although it is a city of 9 million, I found only one person in the US who had heard of it. It is an educational center in China with more than 60 universities. So there are many American teachers there, most of whom are family members. It was a very special day with a traditional dinner; turkey and all the trimmings one could imagine. The teachers in Wuhan provided the food and invited those of us from out of town to be their guests.

Christmas In China

Christmas is not a national holiday in China. However, the widespread interest and curiosity about all things American, and Christmas in particular, gives many opportunities to share the story and traditions of Christmas and its celebration in America. Many students will have classes on Dec. 25. Since our classes will have concluded we will have the day free, but will still have a crowded schedule. More on that later.

As I was doing some shopping in Shashir, the adjoining city to Jingzhou, I notice one of the very large department stores with a huge "Merry Christmas" sign was playing very loudly over their outdoor PA system "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," both in English. Both English and Christmas are growing rapidly in popularity in China.

We Have a Lovely Christmas Tree

We have been working with two different groups of Freshmen classes. One group has been coming on Sunday at 2 PM to watch videos and discuss the good book we read together. After being at our apartment last Sunday for two hours, and showing no signs of leaving, I asked them if they would like to go to town and help us buy a Christmas tree and the trimmings for it. They were very eager to do that, with the intention of returning and putting up the tree as well. Three hours later, about 7 PM, we were returning on the bus with our treasures when they surprised me by saying, "We have a class we must attend now." Because the university is short on classroom space classes are held seven days a week, beginning as late as 7 PM each night. This had not been mentioned when we discussed buying and setting up the tree. So, off they went to class, but they wanted to come after class ended at 8:30 and fix up the tree. We were glad they would return as we wanted to share the experience with them. We promised them supper when they returned, which they did promptly after class. It was like watching kids in a candy store as they hung tinsel and shinny balls that reflected the flashing lights. None of them had ever helped decorate a Christmas tree before. After enjoying their handiwork, they left for the dorm rooms about 10 PM. They will be back next Sunday to discuss more readings and sing more Christmas songs.

Christmas Day for Us

On Christmas Eve we have been asked by people in Jingzhou to sing some Christmas carols at a local theater, which we are glad to have the opportunity to do. These will include both secular and sacred songs.

Christmas Day will be very busy. We will have an "Open House" for students and friends to visit from 9 AM � Noon. In the afternoon we will visit with Gary and Signa Cook, and some other American "family" members who teach here with us for traditional Christmas Day activities -- dinner, visiting, games, and some presents, too.

In the evening Evelyn and I have been invited to attend a Christmas party for four classes of Freshmen, the other group of Freshmen with whom we have been working. We were invited to attend the party, but soon learned that they really meant for us to host the party and plan all the activities. They will help, but really have no idea what to do. So from 7 � 9 PM we will lead a party for 170 students and faculty. About 20 of them will come on Saturday before Christmas to learn how to make decorations for the Christmas tree and learn some Christmas songs. They will each lead a group of 8-10 students as they make ornaments to hang on the two trees they bought last Saturday. Other activities will include singing, a gift exchange, and Christmas foods. They also said they would like for us to play some games. I am at a loss to know how we can play games with 170 people who only understand about 1 in 10 words I say in English. I believe it would take an hour to make them understand the procedure for the simplest of games. This should be interesting. If any of you have any ideas about "Christmas games" for large groups please write back and tell us.

We Are Enjoying the Discussions - and They are Growing

We have the opportunity to hold different kinds of discussions with students; some at the university academic building and some in our apartment. We also go to J's apartment for others. English Corner is what they call it when we stand in the foyer of the main academic building and talk in English to interested students. We do this on three nights each week for 1 � - 2 hours. For the past two weeks we have sung Christmas songs, which the students love. Everyone knows Jingle Bells and many know Silent Night. Along with We Wish You a Merry Christmas, these seem to be their favorites. We sing Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Silver Bells, Rudolph (which they have never heard before), O Little Town of Bethlehem, Joy to the World, and others of both types. They always want to know how Christmas started and what it is all about. Since they asked we are free to tell the old, old story � at least the beginning part of it quite often.

We have four other discussion meetings each week. This week the participants totaled about 120, many of them frequent participants. Another 22 from one of Evelyn's classes came to our apartment for a class party on Saturday, December 15. We gave them stamps from America, a highly desired item here for many, and Delaware state pins which State Representative Nancy Wagner provided to Lee Shanks for us.

Merry Christmas to All of You!

We will miss being with our family in America for Christmas for the first time ever. But we will enjoy the phone calls and letters from all of you. And we will celebrate a unique opportunity to share the spirit and message that this time of year is all about with people eager to hear it, usually for the first time. All of you who have made it possible for us to be here share in the blessings we are receiving and giving. And we thank our Father often for you. Please continue to remember us and our new friends also in your talks with him.

Merry Christmas to you from China, and from our hearts!

Ron & Evelyn McFarland

Work Update - Nov. 17

Hello Everyone,

Things continue to go very well for us here. We feel so very blessed to be in China and are constantly thankful for the open door made available to us and all of you who made it possible for us to come. So far during this school term another 51 have decided to speak the King's English. (Thanks, Dan Oden, for the unique phrasing!)

We have met hundreds of people from the university and the community. Because Jingzhou is not a place tourists visit, folks here are not accustomed to seeing foreigners. This makes us a constant curiosity, but provides surprising opportunities. Yesterday I rode the bus from town out to our campus (South Campus). A young man sat in front of me and we began to talk. His name is Lio Lee and he teaches Chinese at the Central Campus of the university. I will try to see him again. I invited him to stop by our apartment any time he was free just to visit and talk. I hope he comes, but the Chinese are very reluctant to accept the first initiation. It usually requires two or three invitations before they will come. I think they are accustomed to people being polite, but not necessarily really meaning it. They discount the first one or two as just a courtesy.

The two freshmen boys I met last week riding into town were different. As we talked I asked them when they were free later in the week. They said they did not have an 8 AM class on Wednesday. Free time for the students, especially freshmen, is very limited. Almost all freshmen, and many others, have three or four classes during the day and another at night. Classes here last 90 minutes. I invited the two boys to come to our apartment on Wednesday at 8 AM. We have installed a wireless doorbell because the entrance to our building always locks when the door is closed and we cannot hear people knocking on that door. But the wireless doorbell sometimes fails to work. When they had not arrived by 8:05 I wondered if they were coming since they tend to be very prompt, and if they are eager to come, may arrive 30 minutes or more early. Afraid that the doorbell had failed again, I went to the front door to check on them. Outside stood the two boys and two other friends. In China it is not unusual for someone invited to dinner to bring along a friend or two. If you only want two people to come to dinner, you must be very explicit that they are to come alone, and even then you may have two or three others come too.

I got to know the four boys and answered many questions they had about us, our family, and our experience in China. After about a half hour I thought I would introduce them to the game of Pit. We have taught several groups of students to play this game and they love it. If you are not familiar with it, it is a boisterous game. Just as we were about to begin playing Jim said he had to go to an exercise class. Michael said he also was in that class but the teacher would excuse him since he was visiting a foreigner. A few minutes later when the teacher phoned Michael, they all decided they should leave. They asked if I had free time later in the day so they could come back and play the game. Promptly at 2 PM they returned and we played Pit for an hour. Two of the boys already had English names, but two did not. So we gave one the name of Fred and the other we named Jim. They adopt an English name with foreigners because we cannot pronounce Chinese names, and they love all things English.

While we played cards one of them said, "We have many classmates who want to come to your home." Most of them have never met a foreigner before and are very curious and excited at the possibility. We told them to bring their classmates for an hour or so on Sunday at 2 PM and we would have a party for them. Ten of them arrived on time Sunday and stayed until 7 PM. We had not planned for such a long visit, but it was a great afternoon and we enjoyed them tremendously. We had snacks for them, played some games, gave a few English names and just talked getting to know them. (See the attached pictures. The "unusual" English names, James Bond, Sucre, etc. were not from us.)

About 5 o'clock I decided they were in no hurry to leave and we were having such a good visit that they may as well stay for dinner. I asked Evelyn if she could fix dinner for 12. Always the trooper, she simply said, "Sure." The students pitched in to help cook and set up the two folding tables we purchased for such a time as this. Soon the living room was transformed into the dinning room. We served a combination of American food and Chinese food (cooked American style). We would have had more food on hand if we had expected so many for dinner, but everyone had a good meal and the fellowship was great.

During their visits they noticed several of the good books lying around our house and were curious about them. In China, if something is where it can be picked up and examined it will be. So we always have the books out as conversation starters. Only one of the boys knew anything about the books. For the others it was all new. We also have a couple of DVD's about our older brother. After answering several questions I told them if they wanted to know more to come back next Sunday (tomorrow) at 2 PM and I will show them a DVD about the book. I have seen several of them this week and they always say that they are looking forward to coming to see us on Sunday at 2.

It all started with a conversation with two students on a bus ride into town. I believe we came to China "for such a time as this." Thank you for making it possible.

I am working on setting up a blog so that we can write short notes about our experiences here and share more photos. I will let you know as soon as that is functional. Meanwhile, continue to remember us and all our new friends and family in China when you talk to the coach.

Yours and His,

Ron & Evelyn