November in Shenyang
December 8, 2012

Dear Friends,

Please forget the delay in reporting on events in November! I admit to being lazy since the cold weather has set in along with snow that has me “confined to quarters” at least as far as walking out on the slippery stuff!

Migyeong and our co-laborer, Alice, an Occupational Therapist from Michigan, have continued to sally forth, though, according to their usual routine, Migyeong almost daily and Alice on days that she is not attending language school! I am taking advantage of my advanced age and my assigned computer duties to stay warm and dry by staying inside!

The kids at the orphanage have been amply blessed with visitors during November including a group of children that attend the German school here in Shenyang. They were accompanied by members of the Shenyang International Club who are regular weekly visitors. The members of this club are usually spouses of foreign experts who are here to help joint venture companies such as Michelin, BMW, etc. Fortunately for our kids, these ladies often come equipped with special skills such as training in special education or similar helpful disciplines that they are willing to share during their stay in Shenyang, which often lasts for several years!

November is the birthday month for LiangLiang. We took advantage of that occasion to take him with us to a holiday concert staged in XiTa, Korean town, by several groups at the Korean Cultural Center. Afterwards, we went to dinner at a neat Korean restaurant that specializes in chicken soup that comes complete with a whole small chicken that is stuffed with rice, ginseng and a date! It is not only delicious but probably healthy, too! Even though LiangLiang does not look overly thrilled in the accompanying pic, he really did seem to enjoy the special evening!

It has become a Thanksgiving tradition to get together with the gals that were the founding members of our small group on Wednesday evenings. These ladies were new Mom’s maybe five years ago and their husbands were willing to baby sit that night so that they could enjoy fellowship and Bible study since they were prevented from attending Sunday fellowship because they needed to stay home with their babies. In the ensuing years, the composition of the group has constantly changed and these ladies have either moved too far away or become too busy in their professions to attend on a regular basis. This is what makes Thanksgiving so special! This year, along with Alice, we were visited by Abraham, Linda and Joy as well as Ashley and FanFan. Unfortunately, LuLu and Jason, her son, were unable to attend but we have high hopes for their attendance at the upcoming Christmas party! Migyeong made chili and the guests brought the rest of the food including a turkey leg! We all had a great time and I didn’t even miss the traditional UT/Texas A&M football game!

Toward the end of the month, I was contacted by a young man who is here on a scholarship to study Chinese in preparation to pursue his chosen career in international business, maybe in Austin, Texas! His intro was from a thread from the past: the Mom of a volunteer from way back in 2002. She is associated with the university in Anderson, Indiana where Brett, the young man, got his degree! He specially wanted to meet LuPing who was the favorite orphan of the long ago volunteer. LuPing has benefitted all these years by receiving Christmas presents every year and being encouraged every month by their love and attention. Brett was accompanied by his Chinese friend and facilitator, Lily. They got to meet all of our super kids such as ZhiLei, YuanLing (Jessica’s buddy), JiaChen (formerly known as “sticky fingers”, remember, Leann?) and all the others like handsome Qing Zheng.

Because of the cold weather, some of the kids have developed colds and such so please pray with us that they will get over them rapidly and not need to receive IV antibiotics any more! We also ask for divine protection for Migyeong and Alice as they make the trip to the orphanage on the slick streets by taxi.

We want you to know that we are very thankful for your friendship and support both financial and prayer. We are happy and proud to be your representatives in Shenyang and we realize that we couldn’t do anything on our own steam! Thanks for sticking with us all these years!

Love,
Migyeong and Elaine

Back to News