Too long in coming...

Hey everybody,

It's been way too long. My apologies for the silence, but it's been quite a busy semester thus far. Let me tell you a little about it.
Upon arriving back in China at the very end of August, we all jumped straight into lesson planning. We finished rough drafts for each lesson for the next two semesters together and then jumped into teaching. I have a little more that I'm doing this year. I have 12 two hour classes a week. Now I know that doesn't sound like much because we already planned the lessons, but that doesn't mean everything is totally completed for each lesson. There is still some prep that has to go into it. Basically we nailed down lesson content and prepared powerpoints for each lesson. There's still a lot of modification that goes into each week though. On top of that the extra-curricular activities take up quite a bit of time as well. Before I get too far into the semester and classes, let me back up to the end of September.
As many of you have heard by now, September was an important month. Before leaving home, I ordered a ring to bring back with me. Well, the particular ring I wanted must have been back ordered, and in the end I had to head off without it. Jackie of course is starting to get anxious because she knows we're both in China now, and figures we're going to get something here. So she asks me one day if I'd like her input. Now realizing that the ring has already been ordered I find that to be a very bad idea, so I politely decline. A couple of weeks go by, and I finally receive the ring by way of a very well insured package. I start looking for a good day. Being the irregular ending to summer that it was, there weren't any, so I had to settle on one that was a little hazy. We took a little hike up one of the "mountains" here that overlooks the ocean, and while we were up there sitting on a rock, I did the best I could to get on one knee and present her with a little black box. By this time she's really excited because of course she saw it coming. Before I open the box I warn her that it's not much, and we can get something else later. All the while she's saying it doesn't matter, and yes of course she'll marry anyway. Then I opened it to reveal one of the most ugly pieces of metal I've ever seen bent into a ring. Now she's not saying anything really, so I tell her to wait just a minute while I get my camera out of my bag. She, completely in shock at this point, just sits there looking at it and wondering how I could possibly thing she'd like that. Well I go to my bag, get the camera and an origami rose that I made and return with both. She sees the rose, which really doesn't do anything about the disappointment until she sees something else hanging from the stem of the rose. Then she screamed. Yes, of course the real ring was attached to the rose. We sat on the mountain for a little while longer and then went out for dinner at a nice restaurant in town for a pleasant dinner. All that to say I'm engaged. The wedding date is January 31st and we'll be holding the ceremony in her Meeting Place in Minnesota. The planning is coming along just fine at this point and everything is going smoothly. Back to everything else here now...
Things here are going well. We have not had so many new brothers and sisters this semester. It seems that more of our time is spent training people. I'm eager to finish my study in John so that I can move back into the OT and start laying some foundations for what we've been studying in the NT. As for the other foreign teachers here at school, we have had some opportunities to talk openly with some of them about important matters as well. You can be thinking about Joel, Jonathan, and Christina. They all seem to be open but not necessarily committal. We have had some good talks with some of them, but we realize that our time with them is quickly drawing to an end. They will be leaving this January when their contracts end, and they will not be returning for the spring. Our request is that the seed that has been planted will be watered as they move on to other places. Other than that, you can please continue to remember us as we have regular interactions with Chinese friends as well. Also that plans for our wedding will continue to move along smoothly. Also be thinking of the Chinese here. We do have one friend who was in a meeting last weekend that is being dissolved by the powers that be. Our request is that the individuals as they break up will all be accounted for and that none will get "left out" in the reorganization of smaller groups. As far as I know, no one is in danger. However, it would not surprise me though if they are all now labeled. At any rate, my friend that I talked to who was involved, counted this all a blessing. We would be very grateful if you would continue to remember them and us daily.
In closing, I would just like to apologize again for not sending this post out sooner. Soon after getting back we got engaged, and then it seemed like it was constant running around planning and no time. Things just recently have seemed to let up a little, and I thought it time to sit down and inform you all of what has been happening here. Thanks for reading, and take care until next time.

In Him,
Nicholas