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  • Closing Ranks

    Closing Ranks

    When I made my first visit to China in the 1990s, a group of friends gathered around me in support. Since then, that group has grown both in number and encouragement. Their greatest support has… Read more

  • Double Eleven

    Double Eleven

    On a Sunday morning here, I was listening to a recording of a sermon from an American church. The pastor had been addressing married couples and switched her attention to others in the congregation: “Children… Read more

  • “Waistful” Moments

    “Waistful” Moments

    At the beginning of a culture course I taught, students would turn in anonymous questions which were answered throughout the semester as appropriate. One year, a student asked, “Why do Americans always carry a large… Read more

  • Oasis of Hope

    Oasis of Hope

    A drive through my Chinese province affords a clear picture of life on the edge of the Gobi Desert. Swaths of sandy ground stretch out toward a border of brown, craggy mountains. On windy days,… Read more

  • Unsung Women

    Unsung Women

    This year reading through the events of Jesus’ last week, the unsung players stand out. The women. Throughout history, their role has been downplayed, going all the way back to the Resurrection when they brought… Read more

  • Donkey Sunday

    Donkey Sunday

    On one of my sister’s many trips to China, I took her to visit a student’s countryside home. If you asked for her memories, she’d mention eating all our meals outside, the hole-in-the-ground toilet which… Read more

  • Tooting Horns

    Tooting Horns

    My grandpa colored his speech with a variety of sayings, some his own grandpaisms, others familiar adages with grandpa characteristics. Grandparents world round seem to be full of such witticisms. In fact, my sister and… Read more

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