Our time in the States
This trip back to the US was a lot longer than usual, as we had to get new passports for the boys and get a few more documents authenticated to get our work visas. In the 10 weeks time we were there, we drove 7000 miles and I, Ben, flew to Texas for a board meeting and was able to teach at a youth retreat too. We travelled around to share about our experience in China and to teach cross culture awareness. We visited 8 different States to speak in 12 different community centers and 3 different schools to over 2500 adults and 500 children!
We had so many teachers interested in us teaching about China and doing a Q & A session, that our son Eli helped teach too!
We attended a conference in Wisconsin learning how to better serve the different people groups around the world.
Crystal Nesbit, my older sister, started a work out program to help special needs people to have healthy bodies. The program is called P.O.P’s:People Of Possibilities. You can look it up on Facebook. We worked out with her class to learn how to start these kind of classes in China.
One thing that our family has learned over the years, is to make the most of each opportunity given to us. We will try to squeeze in a fun time wherever we go. I remember our first trip to HongKong back in 2007, we had to stay in HK for a few days while we waited for our passports. We took the boys to the beach, and even though it was February, we all jumped into the ocean to play as this was the first time we ever saw the ocean. Our boys were very young, but can remember that trip to this day!
I don’t think you realized how cold that was dad!
We celebrated Jaxin’s 18th birthday by playing paintball. We visited the college Jaxin will attend next year. We celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time in America in 13 years. We were able to spend time with family members and visit some old friends. We ate different types of foods from Indiana fried pickles & pork brain sandwiches, to Wisconsin cheese curds, Chicago style pizza and even ate tacos for breakfast in Texas. We visited a couple historical sites that we saw on our route. We also were able to see beautiful sunsets & sunrises and a lot of wildlife, such as deer, bald eagles, turtles, coyote and turkeys.
Michelle and I want to thank you for the continued support in spreading hope, love, and joy to the underprivileged children. We are excited about this new adventure in serving. We hope to reach out to more and more children to give them equal opportunity to dream big.