Sunday, September 11, 2011
Dancing Queen
I would like to share with all of you my favorite Dance playlist. I recently had opportunity to have it used in a popular club here in China. So in my humble opinion my music taste has international popularity. Dancing Queen playlist. If you want to listen to it or have it for your own: Enjoy!!!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Home Assignment Needs!
Hello Dear Family and Friends,
I have been talking and planning with people for my time when I come back to the States. At this time I have no huge needs but I am aware that there may be things I will need as well as some things you want to provide for me. Some brilliant individual thought that I should just post a list of opportunities you could help me with as well as things I would love to be involved in while I am home. I have been very blessed by your generosity in the past and I know I will be again.
South Dakota: (December 1-Jan 6 2012)
* I want to have lunch or coffee with you.
* Any Fellowships or small groups who want me to speak.
* I would love invitations to Hockey games, Birthday parties, or other family or community events.
* An Automatic Vehicle to borrow.
Nebraska: (Jan 7th-Feb 4th 2012)
* I want to have lunch or coffee with you.
* Any Fellowships or small groups who want me to speak.
* I would love invitations to Hockey games, Birthday parties, or other family or community events.
* An Automatic Vehicle to borrow.
Casper: (Feb 9-13th 2012)
* I want to have lunch or coffee with you.
* Any Fellowships or small groups who want me to speak.
* I would love invitations to Hockey games, Birthday parties, or other family or community events.
I intend to travel to Chicago but am not sure at this time what my schedule will look like. Please email me at DeniseJ@worksmail.net to begin to setting up appointments or if you have any other ideas.
I have been talking and planning with people for my time when I come back to the States. At this time I have no huge needs but I am aware that there may be things I will need as well as some things you want to provide for me. Some brilliant individual thought that I should just post a list of opportunities you could help me with as well as things I would love to be involved in while I am home. I have been very blessed by your generosity in the past and I know I will be again.
South Dakota: (December 1-Jan 6 2012)
* I want to have lunch or coffee with you.
* Any Fellowships or small groups who want me to speak.
* I would love invitations to Hockey games, Birthday parties, or other family or community events.
* An Automatic Vehicle to borrow.
Nebraska: (Jan 7th-Feb 4th 2012)
* I want to have lunch or coffee with you.
* Any Fellowships or small groups who want me to speak.
* I would love invitations to Hockey games, Birthday parties, or other family or community events.
* An Automatic Vehicle to borrow.
Casper: (Feb 9-13th 2012)
* I want to have lunch or coffee with you.
* Any Fellowships or small groups who want me to speak.
* I would love invitations to Hockey games, Birthday parties, or other family or community events.
I intend to travel to Chicago but am not sure at this time what my schedule will look like. Please email me at DeniseJ@worksmail.net to begin to setting up appointments or if you have any other ideas.
August Newsletter!!
What is new with Denise? Funny you should ask that for I have been wondering the same thing. She feels like life is just marching on along. But there are some very fabulous things going on in her life. Her trip to Colorado in May was exciting but she still doesn’t know what to do with the education and information she received, the month of June she started to study Medical Mandarin, July looks to be full, very full, of school work, and August holds the second annual Yunnan Wai Guo Ren State Fair and the reuniting of her entire team. So much to talk about and so much to look forward to.
Colorado was so beautiful and it snowed while I was there. I learned about the slow but rewarding process of ethnographic research. Research has always been a big part of Our Company. It really took off when we were apart of the DAWN movement in 1985 in the Philippines to discover where the national fellowships were and areas where there is no fellowships. I learned about mapping technology with gmi.org and how they were a part of the Operation World movement and I got to meet the entire staff of Joshua Project. I got to hear about what Our Company is involved in scattered through out the world. Which was so exciting. A little overwhelming because this kind of research is difficult to do in China. It is a little difficult to even tell you all about this from here. So, if any of this intrigues you please check out the above organizations via the web.
While I was in the United States for this conference I flew to Chicago to see my family. It was really good to spend four days with them. The two best parts of this short part of the trip was when I first stepped foot in Ben and Molly’s home and Henry rushed me for a hug and the baby shower I got to attend for Ben and Molly. I got to take Henry to the park “just the two of us” and all 6 of us went to the Chicago Children’s Museum. There is just something magic in being with your nephew.
Medical Mandarin is not easy. It is very exciting but if you thought it was hard to remember what a fenestration was in English imagine how much harder it is to remember 开窗术 (kai chuang shu). In reality I am pretty far from learning these words yet. I am still trying to master doctor examining room-医师诊疗室 (yi shi zhen liao shi). I have had some really interesting discussions with my teacher about eastern versus western medicine as well as the pharmaceutical laws of China. And today (6/22/11) I gave my teacher an anatomy lesson.
July only holds study, study, and more study. I will have regular Chinese class from 8-10 on Monday through Thursday and then from 1-3 on Monday Wednesday and Friday I have Medical Mandarin and then from 3:30-5:30 on Tuesday and Thursday I have a third language lesson. Therefore, I look forward to August when my team leaders return and I can sit down with them and discuss both my work options as well as my language skills. I fully anticipate that my language skills are not as advanced as they need to be. Hopefully I will also be able to get my feet wet in some sort of medical context. August also holds the exciting event of the second annual Yunnan Wai Guo Ren State Fair. Where all of the foreigner students from my school get together and pretend to be at a State Fair at home. Last year I took home second place prize for the largest vegetable.
Thank you all for your thoughts and your care for me. Love, Denise
Colorado was so beautiful and it snowed while I was there. I learned about the slow but rewarding process of ethnographic research. Research has always been a big part of Our Company. It really took off when we were apart of the DAWN movement in 1985 in the Philippines to discover where the national fellowships were and areas where there is no fellowships. I learned about mapping technology with gmi.org and how they were a part of the Operation World movement and I got to meet the entire staff of Joshua Project. I got to hear about what Our Company is involved in scattered through out the world. Which was so exciting. A little overwhelming because this kind of research is difficult to do in China. It is a little difficult to even tell you all about this from here. So, if any of this intrigues you please check out the above organizations via the web.
While I was in the United States for this conference I flew to Chicago to see my family. It was really good to spend four days with them. The two best parts of this short part of the trip was when I first stepped foot in Ben and Molly’s home and Henry rushed me for a hug and the baby shower I got to attend for Ben and Molly. I got to take Henry to the park “just the two of us” and all 6 of us went to the Chicago Children’s Museum. There is just something magic in being with your nephew.
Medical Mandarin is not easy. It is very exciting but if you thought it was hard to remember what a fenestration was in English imagine how much harder it is to remember 开窗术 (kai chuang shu). In reality I am pretty far from learning these words yet. I am still trying to master doctor examining room-医师诊疗室 (yi shi zhen liao shi). I have had some really interesting discussions with my teacher about eastern versus western medicine as well as the pharmaceutical laws of China. And today (6/22/11) I gave my teacher an anatomy lesson.
July only holds study, study, and more study. I will have regular Chinese class from 8-10 on Monday through Thursday and then from 1-3 on Monday Wednesday and Friday I have Medical Mandarin and then from 3:30-5:30 on Tuesday and Thursday I have a third language lesson. Therefore, I look forward to August when my team leaders return and I can sit down with them and discuss both my work options as well as my language skills. I fully anticipate that my language skills are not as advanced as they need to be. Hopefully I will also be able to get my feet wet in some sort of medical context. August also holds the exciting event of the second annual Yunnan Wai Guo Ren State Fair. Where all of the foreigner students from my school get together and pretend to be at a State Fair at home. Last year I took home second place prize for the largest vegetable.
Thank you all for your thoughts and your care for me. Love, Denise
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Someone you can Think About!!
Please do not post in any public place and only share as confidential requests.
So my dear friend and I had coffee last week and we swapped stories. See, she has been living in the United States for the last school year. Going to an American High school. Talk about scary-cute little impressionable innocent 16 year old Chinese girl living in California and going to a public high school. Yikes!! She told me that the thing that was the most shocking at first was the Public Displays of Affection in the halls at school. She also complained that the only thing someone her age can do is go shopping. Such funny and correct assessments of high school. We laughed when she shared how she tried to make Yunnan food for her host family and what a disaster it was.
She asked me why I would come to China when being a nurse in the States is so lucrative. I shared with her that I am a follower of the Only Way and that as a believer I want other people to know that the Father loves them. I had heard that some people in Yunnan had leprosy and that many people didn't want to help them but that I wanted to help them because Father loves them. Although, I know that before she left for the USA I had told her of my beliefs but she had forgotten and so she shared with me that her host mother in California was also a follower and that she often would go with her host mother to services.
I would love for all of you to hold her and her host family in your thoughts.
So my dear friend and I had coffee last week and we swapped stories. See, she has been living in the United States for the last school year. Going to an American High school. Talk about scary-cute little impressionable innocent 16 year old Chinese girl living in California and going to a public high school. Yikes!! She told me that the thing that was the most shocking at first was the Public Displays of Affection in the halls at school. She also complained that the only thing someone her age can do is go shopping. Such funny and correct assessments of high school. We laughed when she shared how she tried to make Yunnan food for her host family and what a disaster it was.
She asked me why I would come to China when being a nurse in the States is so lucrative. I shared with her that I am a follower of the Only Way and that as a believer I want other people to know that the Father loves them. I had heard that some people in Yunnan had leprosy and that many people didn't want to help them but that I wanted to help them because Father loves them. Although, I know that before she left for the USA I had told her of my beliefs but she had forgotten and so she shared with me that her host mother in California was also a follower and that she often would go with her host mother to services.
I would love for all of you to hold her and her host family in your thoughts.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Bugs Anyone?
So in my pursuit of Medical Mandarin I have discovered a highly disturbing fact. Most Chinese Medicine includes insects. This enlightenment has cemented the fact that I never need to subject myself to taking Chinese medication.
I stopped at the local Chinese Medicine Clinic yesterday to look into their numerous brown bags and what did I see?
Cicadas. After we moved away from the counter neither my friend nor I could recall if they were just the skins or if it was the whole thing.
We asked the woman mixing the mixture (of herbs, nuts, flowers, furry items, and white balls) how you eat this kind of medicine. She said that you boil it and then drink it. After an extended conversation with my language helper and friend I learned that they will grind the insects up with everything else in that pile of mystery and then you will put it in your tea and drink it.
In this same conversation Ruth Anna assured me that cicadas are only the beginning for bugs/insects/creepy crawlers in medication. Grasshoppers, Scorpions, Millipedes, Spiders, and Earthworms are all part of the giant modpodge that makes up Chinese medicine.
Chan tui is the name of the medicine created using Cicadas. If you want to read in-depth on the ins and outs of the philosophy of how cicadas can be a healthy life choice click on: Chan tui. I will give a brief over view here. Cicadas are a cold substance. I am still trying to determine the logic behind what is cold and what is hot. It is supposedly good for the liver and the lungs. Some of the highlights of its medicinal attributes are: reduces fever, relieves restless sleep or nightmares, antispasmodic, and treats rashes and eye issues such as-cataracts, pink eye, or blurred vision. The only problem associated with taking cicada treatment seems to be possible miscarriage.
All in all Chinese Medicine is still very interesting but slightly strange and there is no way I intend to eat cicada.
I stopped at the local Chinese Medicine Clinic yesterday to look into their numerous brown bags and what did I see?
Cicadas. After we moved away from the counter neither my friend nor I could recall if they were just the skins or if it was the whole thing.
We asked the woman mixing the mixture (of herbs, nuts, flowers, furry items, and white balls) how you eat this kind of medicine. She said that you boil it and then drink it. After an extended conversation with my language helper and friend I learned that they will grind the insects up with everything else in that pile of mystery and then you will put it in your tea and drink it.
In this same conversation Ruth Anna assured me that cicadas are only the beginning for bugs/insects/creepy crawlers in medication. Grasshoppers, Scorpions, Millipedes, Spiders, and Earthworms are all part of the giant modpodge that makes up Chinese medicine.
Chan tui is the name of the medicine created using Cicadas. If you want to read in-depth on the ins and outs of the philosophy of how cicadas can be a healthy life choice click on: Chan tui. I will give a brief over view here. Cicadas are a cold substance. I am still trying to determine the logic behind what is cold and what is hot. It is supposedly good for the liver and the lungs. Some of the highlights of its medicinal attributes are: reduces fever, relieves restless sleep or nightmares, antispasmodic, and treats rashes and eye issues such as-cataracts, pink eye, or blurred vision. The only problem associated with taking cicada treatment seems to be possible miscarriage.
All in all Chinese Medicine is still very interesting but slightly strange and there is no way I intend to eat cicada.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Ma Ma Hu Hu
So I was reminded today that I haven't blogged in a while. I apologize. I forget that you all cannot read my mind or tell what is happening a gagillion miles away.
Life right now is just a week in and week out of class and tutoring. It is pretty mundane. But I am very thankful for the steady stream of busyness. The routine is nice and I am really enjoying strengthening my relationship through conversation and sharing. It is not a stressful existence. For which I am very thankful. Because only 7 months ago I was a very stressed language learner. Tomorrow I have a tingli. The listening portion of my lesson. Which means the first part of the lesson will be me listening to a story being told by my teacher and then after the story is done she will ask me a string of questions I have to answer regarding the story.
When I first started those days were my most feared classes because usually I would get like 20% of the story. Now I am more confident and even if I didn't catch some details I will have caught the majority of the large details. So that is always encouraging.
Today I want to teach you some of my favorite words in Chinese. The three most useful phrases in Chinese (for me) are: Ma Ma Hu Hu, Ma Fan, Zen Me Yang.
Ma Ma Hu Hu: (马马虎虎) these characters are literally Horse Horse Tiger Tiger. The deeper meaning is a combination of: so so, just okay, not great, or mediocre. I use this often in my daily life. It is an easy explanation of many things.
Ma Fan: (麻烦) these characters are literally Numbness Annoyed. The deeper meaning is a combination of: troublesome, annoying, too much effort, irritating, or not worth your time. This phrase is probably used at least once a day. Because so many things in China are mafan.
Zen Me Yang: (怎么样) this phrase means-how do you like it, what do you think, how are you. If I were to say it alone it means-How are you? If I say Green tea zen me yang? it means what do you think of having green tea. or if you already drank the green tea I would be asking how you liked the green tea. I use this phrase daily as well.
I have been here almost two years now and I find that some days I feel like this life is so natural and other times I wonder what in the world am I doing here. However, the sun shines here, the moon shows itself, we have rain and the flowers grow. We have good days and bad days, people are born here, and some die. I am grateful for each meal I have and every friend in my life. I have become used to the isolation/difference from people in America and am thriving. I feel at home here and yet am not at home at all. Indeed, all is the same under the sun.
Thank you for your continual thoughts for me.
Life right now is just a week in and week out of class and tutoring. It is pretty mundane. But I am very thankful for the steady stream of busyness. The routine is nice and I am really enjoying strengthening my relationship through conversation and sharing. It is not a stressful existence. For which I am very thankful. Because only 7 months ago I was a very stressed language learner. Tomorrow I have a tingli. The listening portion of my lesson. Which means the first part of the lesson will be me listening to a story being told by my teacher and then after the story is done she will ask me a string of questions I have to answer regarding the story.
When I first started those days were my most feared classes because usually I would get like 20% of the story. Now I am more confident and even if I didn't catch some details I will have caught the majority of the large details. So that is always encouraging.
Today I want to teach you some of my favorite words in Chinese. The three most useful phrases in Chinese (for me) are: Ma Ma Hu Hu, Ma Fan, Zen Me Yang.
Ma Ma Hu Hu: (马马虎虎) these characters are literally Horse Horse Tiger Tiger. The deeper meaning is a combination of: so so, just okay, not great, or mediocre. I use this often in my daily life. It is an easy explanation of many things.
Ma Fan: (麻烦) these characters are literally Numbness Annoyed. The deeper meaning is a combination of: troublesome, annoying, too much effort, irritating, or not worth your time. This phrase is probably used at least once a day. Because so many things in China are mafan.
Zen Me Yang: (怎么样) this phrase means-how do you like it, what do you think, how are you. If I were to say it alone it means-How are you? If I say Green tea zen me yang? it means what do you think of having green tea. or if you already drank the green tea I would be asking how you liked the green tea. I use this phrase daily as well.
I have been here almost two years now and I find that some days I feel like this life is so natural and other times I wonder what in the world am I doing here. However, the sun shines here, the moon shows itself, we have rain and the flowers grow. We have good days and bad days, people are born here, and some die. I am grateful for each meal I have and every friend in my life. I have become used to the isolation/difference from people in America and am thriving. I feel at home here and yet am not at home at all. Indeed, all is the same under the sun.
Thank you for your continual thoughts for me.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
May 2011
Happy Birthday to Me!!! Happy Birthday to Me!!! Happy Birthday to Me!!!
Hi Friends, Last year at this time
I had just taken my very first vacation in China.
I spent my 30th birthday in Dali with a good friend.
I like to look back over my last year of my life when I am celebrating a birthday and thought I would lay out some lows and highs of my 30th year for you!!
-LOWS-
School progress feels regressed.
I know in previous notes I have mentioned the fact that my last semester of school was not very productive to my learning and I have now changed some details of my schooling. But for a period of four months I really felt like I was drowning in language studies.
Christmas was harder than last year.
Last year’s Christmas was my first Christmas away from friends and family so everything was new and different-this past year was harder for me because I was realizing that me being away from family at holidays is not something new but soon to be a way of life.
A close friend left Kunming for good.
My closest friend in Kunming went back to the States at the end of November with no plans to return. Now, I look forward to seeing her when I on Home Assignment.
A close friends had a miscarriage.
One of my close friends had been trying to conceive and did but then lost the baby. This was very difficult to be included in but I felt privileged and thankful that our friendship is that close and real. PTL they now are pregnant again. Please ask for safety of the little one.
-HIGHS-
Being a part of my brother’s wedding and holding my nephew for the first time.
This provided me a brief reprieve from China and allowed me to be a part of a very exciting and important event in my family’s journey. Needless to say it let me spoil Henry just a little as well.
Having a visit from my friend Jill.
Jill’s visit allowed me to see China again with new eyes and appreciate once more all the little quirks. Jill also brought with her many lovely notes and gifts from all of you at home and those were very encouraging.
Going on a well digging trip and visiting the leprosy clinic.
These two trips into the villages refreshed in me the true reason I am here and learning Chinese. Being with the villagers also awakened in me the desire to learn how to do Ethnographic Research.
Meeting and Spending time with Teammates from Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan, and Taiyuan.
Our Company has teams in all four of those cities as well as where I am and it was really great to get to hear what is being done in those places as well as get to know some of the people who live there better. You can click on the above link to see pictures of that time.
I have been able to look over my life as a whole and see the hand of our Heavenly Father pulling me and shaping me into a different person.
This is weird.
I know that my plans are not always His plans but I want our plans to merge into the same plan. I am excited to see where this plan comes from and where it leads. What I do know is that as I accomplish it I intend to give all Glory to Him who sits on the Throne in Heaven.
So, despite all the hard times this past year-which really were not that hard-and because of the good times I want to Thank Him for this life He is leading me in and Praise Him for bringing me this far. Please stay tuned to the ways my plans and His plans unite in the future. At this time I have yet to know, but I go forth-“Praying for the Merge!!”
I intend to come back to the States in December of 2011 through February of 2012 for my Home Assignment. For the month of December I think I will be mostly in South Dakota, but after that doing some traveling to various places. I look forward to talking to many of you about these past two years, changes to my personal life, as well as changes in my bigger picture. You are all so wonderful and I hope that there will be opportunity to see you all, so as I begin to arrange this trip home, please send me an email with dates and such so that I can plan ahead.
Love, Denise