a word from...

Greetings from Kunming! Our names are Steve and Patty and we have lived in China since 1993. We are like-minded American friends who live in China with our kids. We became acquainted with Dave and Linda and they told us of their love for the Chinese people...we share the same love. This week it was our pleasure to welcome Dave, Linda, Stephen and Lauren to our home in Kunming on Monday evening. We enjoyed a meal at a Tibetan restaurant along with traditional Tibetan music, singing, dancing and even an appearance by a couple of yaks.

On Tuesday we had a leisurely breakfast together and thoroughly enjoyed our time of conversing and fellowship with Dave and the rest. They were such a blessing to our family. The kids were thrilled with the candy and goodies that Uncle Dave and Aunt Linda brought. And Patty and I were literally moved to tears by the generosity of Dave and Linda. They gave us a very special gift to cover the remainder of our debt that we had incurred with the adoption of our Chinese daughter Sarah.

Kunming is famous as China's "City of Eternal Spring" and I think the milder temperatures, blue skies and fluffy white clouds were a pleasant surprise for our visitors after a couple of weeks in the sweltering heat and humidity of Guilin. Kunming is also known for the large number of ethnic groups that live in and around the city. The province of Yunnan, of which Kunming is the capital, is home to 27 of China's 56 ethnic minority groups. So we decided to take Dave and the others to Kunming's Minority Park. It's a bit like a toned-down version of Epcot with, VERY toned-down.

But we still had a great time looking at the different displays, with the different ethnic groups dressed in their traditional clothing, authentic homes that have been built for each ethnic group and even a few performances by some of the groups. In the middle of the park is the section devoted to the Miao people (we usually refer to them as Hmong in other places like Laos, Vietnam and in the USA). The Miao have a very high percentage of people who know our dad. And right there in the park is a fully functioning building that seats about 150 people. One of the Miao men told me that there are approximately 60 like minded there in the park among the different people groups.

Dave and Lauren also had the unique experience of being lifted up in the air on the trunk of an Asian elephant. The Dai people live on China's border with Thailand and use elephants for heavy labor in the steamy tropical jungles. The elephant was in the Dai section and for a buck fifty, you could have your picture taken while being picked up by the pachyderm.

Overall, it was such a blessing to have Dave, Linda, Stephen and Lauren with us. We know that they really have a heart for the Chinese students and they exhibit a very humble, gracious and friendly spirit with everyone they meet here. We look forward to the next time that we have the privilege of seeing Dave, Linda, Stephen, and Lauren and hope that they will have an opportunity to come and see us in our new location on the Tibetan border where we are moving next month.

From Kunming...

Steve, Patty, Josiah, Emily, Jacob and Sarah