Coming home ... but will be back

Hey everyone,
I have been extremely delinquent this year about posting updates. I do apologize for that. I'll try to cover as much as I can since the last time I posted...

Not so current events:
The winter break was great. I traveled to Harbin. If you click here, you'll see some of the things I saw. However, you won't see me because these aren't my pictures. Some of the things I did there include skiing, rollerskating, going to the bing dung jie (Ice Festival), seeing the church of St. Sophia (catholic), and freezing my tail off. While on break I also took up snowboarding, which is 100 times better than skiing. Other than that, those of us that remain here in China laid pretty low and just relaxed and maybe did a little teaching to earn some extra money.
After the break ended, we started up classes again. This semester I had no Juniors which I was a little sad about at first, but in the end, loosing a prep made life all that much easier anyway. I picked up 5 new classes of students that had been taught by various teachers who chose not to renew their contracts that ended at the end of 1st semester. That put me up to a total of 9 classes this semester. Over all, they have been enjoyable. I had a few trying students, but in general the semester has gone well.

Current Events:
Let me begin by saying that where I live is very far from where the earthquake hit in China. Basically, it was across the country. I do thank many of you for your concern though. I should have posted about that a lot sooner than now. I apologize for that.
This past Saturday, we had an English dept. outing where all of the English faculty, Chinese and foreign alike, went out cherry picking, shared a meal, and "climbed a mountain." The "mountain" dubbed Xiao Hei Shan, interpreted "Small Black Mountain" was a fair size hill. It was more like hiking than climbing, though I did have to climb to get to the very top off of the path. In total on average, I think it took the people who climbed the whole way up about 45 mins (maybe a little more) to get to the top. From the top there was a beautiful view. It was the highest hill in the immediate area, so you could easily see a few miles out on a clear day. That trip was then immediately followed by a farewell dinner shared by the foreign English teachers in town.
As of right now, I have one exam yet to give at 1:30 today. All of my other exams are finished, and I am up-to-date on my grades (yes, Dr. Pilger, I do them at work before I get home. I did learn something from your wonderful words of wisdom). The rest of this week will be used for any makeup exams that students need to take (or redo's if they pay money to the school) and signing off on grades.

Future Events:
This Saturday (June 21) I will start my trip home. I start out from Dalian at 10:30AM China time and will arrive back home in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area Saturday (June 21) around 10:00PM Pennsylvania time. In total, that's roughly 24 hours.
While home I plan to do a couple of things. First will be a little recovery from jet lag. Then I will proceed to take part in a motorcycle safety course. Upon completion of which, I should have my license. Shortly thereafter, we will have family reunions on both my dad and mom's sides, so I will see most of my family. Over the course of the summer I will probably work some. I do plan to travel a little and share what I have been doing here. Then in the middle of the break, I will be going to visit Jackie and her family in Minnesota, and she will be coming to visit Pennsylvania as well. Yay! Once all of this is completed, I'll be off once again for China on August 28, and maybe, just maybe, I'll be better about posting updates.

Opportunities:
Last time I wrote I mentioned a Sunday English corner that Jackie and I have been leading weekly. It is here that we have been greatly rewarded! We have had a number of people join the family this semester, and the Word has gone forth. I have been watching many of the guys grow, and it has really challenged me personally. I find myself getting caught up in their excitement as they come to me with questions about what they are reading! It has been fantastic.
Also, for many of you who may remember Steven Curtis Chapman, you'll be glad to hear that the Good News went forth when China actually allowed him to come in and take a tour. His family has adopted children from China (one of whom, sadly, was recently killed in an accident at home), and in the process, established a relationship that opened doors. They have been working to support an orphanage here, and that's where all of the proceeds were going.

Conclusion:
I think that covers most of the big stuff that's gone on. If you have any questions, or you're even interested in coming, let me know, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. If I remember correctly, you should be able to make comments on these posts.
In closing, I would like to thank all of you who stand behind me interceding on a regular basis. Thank you for your support, and may you be richly blessed. Keep fighting the good fight at home.

Until next time,
Nicholas