Rejoice and be glad

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalms 118:24)

I woke up feeling great this morning. I've never felt so refreshed and easy in these two weeks! David made the egg burito for breakfast. I had it with a glass of milk and an apple. During the lunch hour, a guy came over to look at the car that we are selling. David came home to meet him. He bought the car after the test drive. We were so happy that the car was sold - David has put lots of mileage on his car in order to sell this car.

David is having a second thought about our trip to China. He sensed some concerns from others who really care about us. Is it a wise decision to travel to a far place while I'm pregnant? Will the food and water safe? Will we have emergency care if we need? Will our schedule allow me to rest when needed? Will the jetlag and long flights add a toll on the baby? But the doctor gave us green light; and most of all, we (I included) really want to go! We've been preparing for the trip for months. The only condition that I will change my mind is when the doctor says no. Dr. Robert will see me twice in May before we go. So we should have a better idea by then. Before that, let's still be excited about the trip! !

Yesterday was the first day Melissa took her son to church. Little Jason has grown a lot. I think he favors more Paul's family than Melissa's. But who knows when I see him next time! A little blessing!

Will we let our brothers go hungry?

David and I went to church and did Friendspeak. Many people came over to ask me whether I felt better. I had chance to show off my loving husband for his outstanding nursing skills. I had never been so well taken care of! My reader Maggie's daughter had fever last week too. She was so sorry that she didn't make it to Friendspeak Come and See event. Maggie asked several good questions: what is the difference between "believe Jesus" and "believe in Jesus"; why Jesus called himself "the living bread"; etc. She has excellent understanding as far as what we've read. David felt deeply for Hongyu since he was struggling to believe but can't believe. We just prayed that all these readers will find the light and the treasure soon!

David did the gardening before we went to church in the afternoon. He planted some tomatos, peppers, squash, etc. Streams of sweat rolled down his handsome face as he worked hard in the humid overcasting weather.

We totally enjoyed the singing service tonight. Afterwards, Phil came over and introduced another David, who is going to Russia for 6 years, to us. We could sense this David's passion and energy for missions. Phil invited us to have dinner together. They desperately needed encouragement and ideas for helping with the funding. Phil was so compassionate. One of his comments stayed in my mind for the whole night:" These guys surely will go ahead with their work even without the funding; they are willing to suffer for the good work; but why would we let our brothers go hungry? I wouldn't let my wife or child go out without any money; why would I do that for my brother?" I wished all the churches could hear that!

Phil blamed David and me for causing him to have six more pets: Phil and Rebecca took the golden fish home from our wedding. After one fish died, Sam and Alexandra wanted another one. They bought more fish and on the way to the store, they bumped into a puppy that they absolutely loved. So they ended up with all these new pets. We could tell that Phil loved them all! David and I surely hope to meet these new additions some time soon!

New Car

David got up early to help Ted's friend to move. I know he has had some back pain on and off. So I prayed that he would be careful not to hurt his back. I rested as much as I could. Then I baked the Hash Brown casserole and stir-fried spinach with onions. David came home after lunch. Robert and Gail came in a few minutes after. They delivered the "new car" to us!!! Gail said that she had wonderful memories about the car since their first kiss was in this car. I had some good memories about the car too: when Robert gave me a ride when he first bought the car; when I sat in this car on a snowy day to visit Eddie Couch at Christian Care Center; when I and Cathy and Annabelle sat in the car to watch the Christmas lights in the richest neighborhood, ...

Robert took me (and the baby) for a ride, showing me all the settings and features of the car! Although it is four years old, it looks new to me. David and I were so excited to have the car. We were very thankful for the blessing coming from Robert and Gail.

I rested more while David shopped in Lowe's for our bathroom sink. The book "What to expect while you are expecting" is very informative. I sat in bed and read all the pages up to the eighth week. David said he will catch up with his reading later. It was another day of good rest for me!

A Day of Rest

I took another sick day today just to gather my strength. Maryann called that the dinner party tomorrow night was rescheduled due to her back pain. Fang called before noon to check on me. David and I are so thankful for Fang and Fred, for their genuine care. David bought grocery and came home during the lunch hour. I was worried that all these responsibilities would pull him down. Before he left for work, he grabbed the book Perspectives:" I haven't prepared for the devotional for tonight!" He hasn't had any time to do that these days. But I'm very confident that he will do a great job leading the devotional and the training for our LST team, even with little or no preparation.

I did the laudry and went to bed. Finally I finished reading the book "Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret". I shed lots of tears as I read - sometimes I thought I needed to put the book down, for my baby's sake. But those tears were good tears. I was so touched by the difficulties, persecutions and sacrifices the early missionaries experienced. David asked me many times while I was reading the book:" What is Hudson Taylor's spiritual secret?" After reading it, I summarized it into:"Abiding in Christ; Amazing faith; and drinking deeply". Comparing myself to him, I saw how little I pray and how little I read the Bible. Under extremely difficult situations and overwhelming responsibilities in China, Hudson Taylor spent average two hours each day in prayers and he read through the whole Bible 40 times in 40 years!

David went to the China trip training after he came home. I stayed at home resting. I prayed that the training will be encouraging to everyone! Robert and Gail bought a new SUV. He will take his four years old SUV to us tomorrow. Yeah! We'll have a new SUV tomorrow!

Three Things to Pray About

I've been feeling cold these days. With bright sunlight beaming through the new blossoms on the trees, I am wearing a sweater with a wind coat. Finally, David found me having 102 degree fever after I got home last night. David had come home to cook for me before he left for Friendspeak at 5:30pm. He made my favorite vegetable pancakes. "OK. I'm going to be late. Have a good rest and call me if you need me!" He went to read with Jerry. I went into bed. Twenty minutes later, Bobbie called since she heard that I was sick. She said I might have infections and asked me to take some medicine. That alerted me - "Infection!" It's not good for the baby. So I called my Genycologist right away. He called back and asked me to take two pills of Tylenon and then go to the Emergency room to find out what caused the fever. I called David. We went into the Emergency room at around 7:00pm. We didn't get out until 2:00am. It was not a very good experience since the nurses worked with me were students who were practicing. It hurt! While David and I waited for the results, David drew on the white board the Chinese characters he learned these days. It was a lot of fun! The doctor came in and said:" You are drawing the hanging man! That's good!" What he saw was the Chinese character "out" which looked like hanging man. That was funny!

Luckily it's just the viral infection. Everything else is normal. David stayed at home this morning. We visited the genycologist at 10:30am. He did overall check on me and everything was normal. The lab results came out normal too. Dr. Robert Thomas talked to David and me for a long time and gave us two books: What to expect when you are expecting; What to expect for the first year. He was such a kind doctor. We all like him.

David went to work in the afternoon. I slept. Mike came over for Friendspeak after dinner. David studied with him in the patio. I prayed that they would have a wonderful study and that Mike's heart would be touched. I could hear laughters on and off coming from the backyard. I was so proud of David! After the study, David came in and said:" I want to pray for three things: one, I want to pray that our baby is healthy; two, I want to be a good husband; three, I want to be an effective worker!" I said:"You already are good husband and an effective worker. " I couldn't think of anyone who is a better husband than he is and who studies with so many Friendspeak readers. I'm so lucky to be his wife!

We Can Certainly Do It

David and I were talking about the baby names last night. The first name popped up in my mind was Caleb for boy. I haven't picked a name for girl yet. David said we can put it on the list. Before we went to bed, I saw David brought in a piece of paper. I asked what it was. He gave me three chances to guess. I guessed:" 1, to do list; 2, Bible verse; 3, printout from website." It turned out to be 2 and 3. A printout of Bible verse: Numbers 13:30 (the verse of the day)"Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, 'We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.'"

David was doing the "background check" for the name "Caleb" - I thought. We both admired Caleb from his limited appearance in Bible. What a faith he had! Out of the twelve spies, ten voiced negative opinions - the opposition and difficulty were too big although it was a nice piece of land. They said to Moses "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan." The difficulties did seem overwhelming. But this courageous young fellow Caleb silenced all the negative voices and proclaimed:"We can certainly do it!" - because God is on our side.

Looking at the land in front of me, I see the fruit and milk and honey (a loving family of three). At the same time I see the difficulties: the knee pains, the fatigue, the sour body, and all the uncertainty and worries. But I was very much encouraged when David said it again and again with a joyful voice "We can certainly do it!" Yes, we'll do it.

David got up and played piano in the living room. I lifted up the corner of my covering and said to the baby:" Hi Baby, Did you hear Dad is playing piano for you?" It was the most beautiful music in the world!

Home for Three

I'm having the taste of God's unconditional love from David everyday. I have to admit that it is not easy to just receive without striving to give back. Last night, David made the vegetable pizzas (he put olive oil, sliced tomatos, sauted spinach, shredded cheese, and other seasonings on the top of the tortilla and baked them). They were so delicious and nutritious! Then he lovingly put me into bed:" Your job now is to rest and make a nice home for three: God's (Holy) Spirit, your spirit, and the baby's spirit." It suddenly dawned on me that resting and receiving can be as holy as giving. Afterwards, David went to buy some auto parts and have the window motor and battery of my car fixed before we sell it. I read a few pages and fell asleep. When I woke up, David was not home yet. I began to pray for his safety. How I wished I could go out with him in the darkness! Now he's almost having another job at home after work. I wished I could share some of the errands!

I was waken up by the alarm. David left for work already. I cleaned up and saw the scrambled eggs and steamed sweet potato with a pair of chopsticks on the plate! Thank you, my dear husband, for helping me to make a nice home for three!

When Did This Happen

David and I tried to figure out when the baby was conceived. We traced back to the time when Bill Kidd, our dear friend who married us, passed away in a hunting accident. Also it was around the Chinese New Year. When we mourned the loss of our dear friend, we didn't have any idea that a new life was forming at the same time!

Bill was the kind of man that all of us young Christians look up to. David and I met him and his wife Owana from Friendspeak. We hit off the first day we met. Since then, we had countless dinners, parties, concerts together. When I asked him to do our wedding, he ran to the phone, laughing and leaping from the garage. What I remember about him were the 100 times wedding ceremony he performed in front of his TV (he joked that he married Owana 100 times); the many delicious dinners followed by the hearty talks; the Banjo performance he started in his 80s; the medical mission trips he made to Cambodia; his life in the Northwest ministering to the local Indians; his plan to take his granddaughter to China this summer; his calls to David to discuss how to effectively study with his Friendspeak readers; his love for his readers that he helped them to move when he was 82 years old himself ... I thought about his "eager to listen" face; I thought about his gentle voice and warm hand; I thought about his prayer for our marriage before our wedding; I thought about what he joked about the most important words for a husband were "Yes Dear"... We will miss Bill. The loss is irreplaceable. But I looked at my tommy with greater joy and hope. A set of new feet will follow! I told David that I wish our child will be like my dear husband - kind, gentle, loving, handsome, friendly, compassionate, motivated, wise, diligient, disciplined, spontaneous, and having a wonderful heart for God. He always says "He/she will climb higher!"

Peng called during the lunch. She has the same due month as mine. It was great to have someone to experience the same thing and to encourage each other. Fang called after work to share her experience and give me some advices. Amy emailed that she was tired too during her early pregnancy. That made me feel better for not doing things. I'm so grateful for their love and care toward me!

Easter Sunday

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here's the facts: 1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!). 2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

I put on the yellow sweater Robert and Gail bought for me for my birthday. Surprisingly, both David and I thought it was the maternity sweater since the top half only has three buttons and the bottom half is loose open! The Hargroves didn't have any idea that we are expecting a baby when they bought the sweater. "It's prophetic!" David said.

About 10 international students showed up for the Come and See class. Gene and David did a great job in the class! After the service, more people joined us for the Easter Dinner, egg coloring, and egg hunt. The Stoltes did a great job decorating the tables. The food was delicious! Everyone had fun!!! We just wished more students could show up. By the way, did I tell you that David bought me a beautiful cute red casino camera as birthday gift? Here are some pictures taken by the camera: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=qu0dq1t.28alcpl1&x=0&y=-c064ic

I was tired after all the activities. I rested for the rest of the day since my reader couldn't come to Friendspeak due to her sick baby. I really enjoyed reading the book "Hudson Taylor's spiritual secret". Mr. and Mrs. Taylor's faith and total dependence on God just inspired me so much! Although the language is the old English, kind of hard for me to read, I held the book for hours in bed. What an example! I really admire the early missionaries in China. I can't wait to finish reading the whole book!


It's going to be an adjustment for me to rest and to retreat from the activities we used to do. I wanted to get up early to prepare breakfast for David; I wanted to be the one who cleans the kitchen and takes the house chores off David's shoulder; I wanted to participate church activities as usual; I wanted to have friends over to our house for dinners or meetings ... I wished I had the energy to do all of these. Now I need to get used to doing nothing for the the precious life in me. David said he wished it was him who carries the baby. I feel like he is doing that, not by carrying the baby in his body, but by taking on the extra responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc.


David brought home my favorite Tortilla chicken soup and soft taco from Taco Brueno after the dinner with Mary and Ted. We are going to have the third LST training in their house this Friday. David and I talked about how to effectively work with our Chinese readers before we went to bed. We prayed for patience and guidance to be a better instrument for God.

The Best Birthday Gift

I love it when my birthday is spreaded out! Dawn started the early birthday celebration during the accountability meeting last Saturday at my house. Kyri and Angela were here. We had a big cake with flowers. On Wednesday, my group at work had a birthday party of me and Ron and John whose birthdays are in March. We had cake and icecreams. Friday morning, the receptionist Elizabeth called:"Happy Birthday! You may be wondering how I know your birthday... You have a birthday gift delivered to the frontdesk." It was a pizza size sheet of cookies decorated with beautiful flowers! It was from Amy, Kendall, Chloe and Presley!!! My coworkers all said that I had wonderful in-laws! I can't agree more.

David and I decided to share the baby news with family. We called Dad before we went to dinner with Robert and Gail Friday night. Dad had a cold. But he was so happy to hear the news. We also told Robert and Gail during the dinner. They were so thrilled. Robert said, "I feel like running up and down every street in town and knocking on the door and saying 'Hey, Wendy and David are going to have a baby' God is sooooooo good!!!! ... Gail is so excited she can't even talk!!" Four of us talked for a while in StarBucks after the dinner and prayed before we left their house. We thank God for Robert and Gail's constant love and encouragement.

David and I started the Birthday by the birthday song. It was so happened that we are thinking to buy a used SUV and Robert is thinking to sell his SUV. We are considering to buy from him. I called home. My 5 year old niece Deng Qi said Happy Birthday many times. She asked her dad (my brother) to send me an e-birthday card. She is so cute!! I told mom and my sister about the baby. They both were very excited. My sister said that was the best birthday gift I've got. Of course! I thought - nobody can outgive God!!! I asked them to pray for my baby. My sister asked:" Will God listen to my prayer since I'm not a Christian?" I said Yes, if you believe!!

I guess David called Amy and Kendall while he was washing my car. Kendall sent a congratulations email. We are all looking forward to the Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. It will be great with kidos! Dawn and Fang called to say Happy Birthday. Mary called about her reader Ming. She is seeking suggestions on what to study because Ming is really searching for God. Karen asked for my conversion story because she wanted to understand more about her reader and work more effectively. I am so happy about what's going on in Friendspeak now!

David has been in the kitchen all day long: preparing, cooking, cleaning, organizing. He made shrimp pasta, vegetable cake, and banana milk shake for lunch. They were so delicious! The house was decorated with Easter Lilies, red and purple tulips, and white crythesemums. I thank God for a most wonderful husband!!!

Can You Believe It?

Today's verse that David picked is from James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

When David and I hoped that our first appointment would come sooner yesterday, we didn't expect it to be this soon. At 2:30pm, I called my gynecologist about my concern of the baby. She asked:"Can you come in now?" I popped into her office at 3:00pm feeling sorry that I kept them working late. They normally don't see patients after 3:00pm. But nobody cared. They happily drew my blood, examined my body, weighed me (gained 5 lb since marriage), and did the sonogram. That was the most amazing and unexpected experience. I could see the baby clearly on the computer and I could hear the heartbeats for the first time - Puh!Phu!Phu!... Strong and clear!! I almost cried. The nurse said it made her almost want another baby- She is a grandma now! Everything came out normal! I heard "Congratulations" from everybody. I just loved the staff there.

David couldn't believe the sonogram and the specification were our baby's! It's only 5 weeks along and we already heard the heartbeats!!! Suddenly David realized:" It's not a twin!" "Yes, the nurse said so ..." We laughed. That's God's perfect plan for us!

David studied some Chinese, worked on the Easter Sunday "Come and See" event before we concluded the day. I admire his diligience and self-discipline everyday. And I know he will be the most wonderful dad for our child!

The 1st Sonogram!!!

Keep The Secret

Probably every parent can tell you that it's not easy to keep a secret of the baby to others, to hide the bundle of joy only in our own hearts. David wanted to tell others the first day he knew about the pregnancy. But he wouldn't until the baby is safe. It's scary to know that one out of five pregnancies ends up miscarriage. We just don't think that way! Luckily we are buried with all the videos, websites, newsletters about the baby to educate ourselves. Just relax and pray! April 9th (our first doctor appointment), please come quickly!

I couldn't help thinking about Mary who was pregnant in her teens. How did she know she was pregnant? Who did she talk to? ... Bible said she went to see her cousin Elizabeth right away, to share the good news, to get encouragement! Today we don't have to travel too long to get to a close friend who can give us comfort and advices that are needed. Thank God for "Elizabeth"s in our life!!!

Whose Angel You will Be

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. So one day he asked God: They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?

Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you.

But tell me, here in Heaven, I don't do anything else but sing and smile, that's enough for me to be happy.

Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And you will feel your angel's love and be happy.

And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don't know the language that men talk?

Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.

And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?

Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.

I've heard that on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?

Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.

But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.

Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you.

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard, and the child in a hurry asked softly: Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.

Your angel's name is of no importance, you will call your angel: Mommy

(Author Unknown )

Boy or Girl

David and I have tried to memorize one verse a day. Today's verse (picked by David) was from Psalms 127:3. When we were still in bed, David thought about the seed. The Word of God is the seed that planted in people's heart. When the heart is right, it will bear new life. He compared that with our human life. I thought I need to remember that when I talk to my Friendspeak readers next time. We also talked about the water and baptism, through Jesus' name and in Jesus' name. These are all the good questions my reader asked last Sunday.

Fang emailed that she was sure David and I would have a girl. We will see... David doesn't have preference. I know he will be a happy dad regardless it's a girl or boy. But he is hoping to have twins! For me, if it's a boy, I am happy because I know he will be growing up like David. If it's a girl, I'm happy too because girl is easy to bring up - at least from my own experience. And she can share a bed with Chloe when Amy and Kendall come to visit. Psalms said "Children are a heritage from the LORD, a reward from him". Whether it's a boy or a girl, we only have one goal - that is to raise the kid of true greatness, a true servant of God.

What's next?

I found myself on baby's website all the time. This is the Spring Break week. Only two people in our team are in the office. Work is really slow and quiet. I had planned to learn to use the new Photoshop to edit our wedding pictures. But first things first. My total focus is to know more about our baby now. Fang told us that her other friend who we met a month ago are in the same stage as us. Their baby's due date is in November too! Our house is full of joy, peace, and hope. David and I have to think about many things that we didn't think before. Our life is changed!

The biggest thing now is to balance work, church, and family life. Right now, we are planning for the Friend Speak Easter Sunday "Come and See" event. We pray that many students will come to this event. Next thing will be my Birthday (yes, it's a relief to be pregnant right before 35 years old, even it's a month before!). Then it's the China LST trip. That might be the thing that I concern most: 20 hours of flight, busy working schedule, far from the gynecologist, ... But God will lead the way! “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6)

My tummy was a little bit sour and full. After dinner, David put me in bed. I slept while he was cleaning the kitchen and do all kinds of other things around the house. I had a really good rest!!!

Finding Out

It's another beautiful spring day! As a small token of the love I have for David, normally I would jump out of bed as soon as David gets in the shower to prepare for the breakfast. But today I felt tired. David tugged me in bed and kissed on my face: "Sleep!" I must have had another dream before I woke up again. The sweet smell of the cinnamon toast floated in the air. After I cleaned up, I saw two delicious-looking toasts on the griddle with a note "I Love You". I couldn't help thanking God for my most wonderful husband again. He not only prays that we would have the best marriage and be the best couple, but also does that in every way in our daily life. What a blessing! As usual, I put the cherished love note in my love box that's reserved only for him... Every day is honeymoon. And everyday we thank God for it!

Something told me that my body is changing this month. I looked up Internet and confirmed that. During the lunch hour, I called Fang. She suggested:" Forget about going to BBB. Get a pregnancy test kit from CVS and let me know the result." I did. And the result was positive! I didn't know how to tell David. Neither of us had thought we would have kids, and so quickly! Fang called again telling me all the Dos and Don'ts during the pregnancy. David and I met at Chili's for dinner. Right after we sat down, Fang called again. David asked:" What did Fang have to say?" I said "Nothing." He looked confused. I held his hands and told him:" I'm pregnant!" David screamed with excitement. He couldn't contain himself. Fred called and talked to him. Our dinner wasn't the same any more.

For the whole night, David was looking up the information about baby. Next morning I found a piece of paper with a 3D picture of the baby of 5 weeks! Miracle is under the way!!! We are blessed!

Aknowledgement

This Blog is dedicated to my beloved husband and our first baby, who is still under construction by God's loving hands ...