An excerpt from my journal is a good place to begin. On July 23, 2001, I wrote:
II Corinthians 1:8-9 “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure far beyond our ability to endure so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”
Lord, for me, this is the experience of China in a nutshell. Not that I ever feared for my life, but that the pressures were far beyond my ability to endure. And you were faithful to “raise the dead.” I feel as if I’ve learned and grown much – yet I haven’t been able to share it. Father, I pray that you will give opportunity if I may somehow honor you in that way.
As I attempt to set down these memories, it is with the prayer that God will perhaps use them to encourage and instruct those who read and mostly that he will use them to bring honor to himself.
In August 1999, I packed and stored most of my belongings in the third garage stall of my Giant Panda house, and with Emily, left Sacramento, California headed to Beijing, PR China to teach third and fourth grades in the brand new International Academy of Beijing. I knew I was heading for an unknown adventure, but I had absolutely no inkling how “adventurous” it would be. Many times throughout those years, I wondered if I had made the right choice in going there. Each time, I remembered the events that had led to my decision and felt a renewed sense of calling.
Nana Tales Goes Online 