Monday, January 15, 2015
Dearest Family and Friends,
It is always good to know that things are going well at
home. We are so happy that David Kennedy
found a job, that Brigham found an apartment and will be moving this weekend to
San Antonio, TX, and that Becky and Adam are almost ready to have their carpet
laid in their new home in Payson, UT, .6 miles from the new Payson Temple. We are so proud of all of our grandchildren
in their schoolwork and for the kindnesses they show to others. Thanks Audrey and Kaitlyn for delivering
cookies to the neighbors even though your walker got stuck in the grass,
Kaitlyn. We are proud of Alycia for
finishing her classes and beginning her student teaching. I could go on and on! Thank you for keeping us informed. We love hearing from you. Some of you live in the snow and ice….be
careful!
Here are some highlights from our week:
Monday-Friday – Taught our final classes for the first
semester at SDU, then finished and turned in our semester grades. Our students still have two more weeks of
exams for their core subjects, but their Oral English classes are over. We are very proud of them, but are ready for
a rest. Next semester begins March 2nd.
Saturday-Sunday – Took an early morning Bullet Train to
Beijing and met Mark Du, Joan and Richard’s adopted Chinese son (and mine too) who
is now an orthopedic surgeon. He had a
wonderful two days planned for us.
First, we went to the Opera House where “Aida” is showing. I wish we could have seen the stage, but the
building and exhibits were amazing.
After that, we toured Tiananmen Square, then the Forbidden City (across
the street). Each place was different,
but the splendor and history of it all were amazing. Saturday night we met with Mark’s friends and
brother and had a delicious Chinese meal at a beautiful restaurant. Beijing is an endless city of 20 million
people. We were grateful that our driver
had voice activated GPS. He was one of
Mark’s high school friends and was very kind to drop us off and meet us whenever
we were ready to switch places. That
evening, we returned to Mark’s apartment, a 10 minute walk from the hospital
where he works. He lives with another
doctor named Michael and Michael’s sweet wife, Angel. She truly was an angel to us. Even though we were full, they had many
snacks set out for us and the next morning, Angel’s father, who was visiting
from Szechuan, made a delicious breakfast.
Sunday – We hated missing church, but really enjoyed another
wonderful day with Mark. He took us to
the 2008 Olympic Village (Birds Nest).
It was beautiful and exciting to be able to be there. I still remember watching the Opening
Ceremonies and being completely “blown away” by them. We went to the building that was shaped like
bubbles that had the Swimming events. There
was an area where families were swimming in several pools with water slides,
tropical trees and flowers. It was
wonderful. There were also two other
pool areas, one where the events took place.
After the Olympic Stadium and lunch at a Hot Pot restaurant, we visited
a park dating to the 1400’s which had temples and courtyards for
Sacrifices. The buildings were in
perfect symmetry and they even had the centuries old decorated urns where their
sacrifices were burned.
It was hard to say goodbye to Mark. He insisted on staying until we were through
the gate to get onto the train. I see
why he has always been so very special to Richard and Joan and their family. Several times he mentioned Joshua and Rachel
and how he felt enjoyed their visit and felt that he and Josh were alike in
many ways.
I also had my first experience with Chinese acupuncture this
past week. Unfortunately, it didn’t help
my neck and shoulders, but I can say that I did try something “new”. J
We love and miss you all and pray for you and your safety and
happiness. The Lord is watching over
each of us and is very aware of our joys and sorrows.
Love always,
Mom, Carolyn, Grandma, Dad, Richard, Grandpa
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