Official November 2015 Newsletter!

Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sin.~ Julia H Johnston 1911

Do you ever get tired of hearing about it? I am sure that I have before, but in my current season I cannot get enough of it. The reassurance that I do not need to strive to earn Father’s love and acceptance is life giving. Last week we sang a chorus of: Your Grace is Enough. I started to think about whether or not I would still worship and obey Him if the only good thing He gave me was my salvation. 

What about you?

There are many terrible things that happen in this world. Just think of how many have happened to you. On the other hand, there are also numerous joys. How many of these have happened to you just today?

His blessings abound. Perchance not perceived by us as miracles in the day to day, but truly they are just as much His grace to us as Christ’s death and resurrection. For we deserve none of it. First Corinthians 1:27 clearly states that Father uses us in spite of us. I can clearly testify to His grace and the fact that He continues to use me in spite of what a disaster I am. 

Current Testimony: My e-bike has been such a gift to me in so many ways. Recently,it has constantly given me reason to be thankful to Father for His grace and for the grace exhibited by others. 

I have left my keys in the trunk at least seven or eight times. How foolish. I haven’t learned from the first time? Each time I am convinced my bike will not be there once I return. Twice I returned to find my keys gone but the bike still there. Once it was missing, only to be found in a special safe place. Each time I am resorted to praise. This last time I felt impelled to tell you all about it. I only hope that I would still praise Him if I don’t find my bike ever again. Like my friend, Liz, who has had eight bikes locked up and safe stolen. Frustrated? Of course, by never forgetting that those bikes were not her’s to begin with, they were a gift from her Father. Do I keep not having my bike stolen because I have been wise and  smart and cautious? Obviously Not!! Does Liz keep getting her’s stolen because she is dumb and a terrible person? Certainly Not. We may live in a world that sometimes seems to operate on karma. But honestly, I am so glad that God doesn’t. 

He loves us too much to let us get what we deserve. And if that were only applied to heaven and hell it would be enough. But I am thankful that that would be too small a matter for such a great God. And so, He lavishes us with His special gifts. Like butterflies, e-bikes, sun showers, unexpected change in pockets, and random notes from good friends. 

Your grace is enough, Your grace is enough, Your grace is enough for me.~Matt Maher 2008

Official October 2015 Newsletter

Hello to all my State Side Friends and Family,

I know that as I have been extremely busy so probably have you. I hope that your summer has been safe and full of fun.  I have news. Lots of news. AS things seem to be in a constant set of motion over here I want to let you in on some of the changes in my world.

1. Meet Ms. Jasmer, the new Biology teacher at MSG. MSG stands for Modular Study Group it is a private non registered international school in Kunming. The reason that it is called MSG is that we don’t have school every day. The students are mostly from rural areas where there are no international schools. This program allows them to be homeschooled but have teachers and a student community. They travel to Kunming once a month and have 5 days of intense class with a teacher and other students. Then they go home and do most of the work from home. Please lift me up as I teach these kids. First time teacher. Life time learner. Lover of Science. 

Denise with fellow teachers

Denise with students

2. Meet Nurse Educator Jasmer, the new volunteer and educator at the Sanford International Pediatric Clinic. This opportunity arose suddenly and may evolve into full time work. At this time I will be working along side Chinese nurses and may be involved in teaching them some small professional improvements as well as medical English.  

3. Meet two of my new teammates. They have recently moved to Kunming and I am in process of training them how to run the program. As I get more involved at the clinic they will take on more responsibility. 

4. Denise is moving. She has enjoyed a rare and delightful situation to have lived in one place for 6 years. Now she is moving to a first floor apartment that has a front and back patio. The last few years I have wanted to have more greenery and nature in my home and Father has given this gift to me.  

In the moving process

5.The SPP is changing once again. Our government partner has notified us that we need to change the format from an assembly to an English Corner. So, the two new teammates plus Angela and I, will all be working this fall to change the curriculum. It is exhausting but worth while. 

 Please join me in thanking Father for the fruit, the growth, and the opportunity to plant.  

Fruit: SPP is still effective and desired by schools and by our gov’t partner. My neighbors are sad to see me go.

One of my junior high girls from last year

Growth: new positions mean new learning opportunities, new leadership positions are stretching and cause us to rely on Father more, the ability to use the gift of hospitality to a greater degree. The SPP is gaining new workers. 

Hosting more groups 

Planting: new friends, co-workers, and neighbors are all someone who can hear the good news from me. Saying goodbye to old neighbors opens a door to tell the good news. Real plants give joy. You are welcome to visit anytime!

front yard

back yard

This is my current junior high small group

Official July 2015 Newsletter

Since the last time I updated you a lot of things have happened,  in April, we went to the same school twice with plans to go another time before testing in June. This school has been very open to us so we are keen to continue going there, teaching more and more students. Our hope is to build a solid relationship so that every year we can teach their students. 

Last time, one student asked me a difficult question. This question puts the Chinese student dilemma into a larger perspective.  He asked me: The upcoming tests we take in June will tell us whether we can go to high school and beyond.  How is my life valuable if I don’t pass my test and cannot go on to high school? What do I do with my life? China’s school system is complicated and the hard fact is, unless you have money, the only way to advance to high school is by your test grades. Some kids are not equipped to pass tests--without a high school education, future options are limited. 

These questions speak to the heart of every kid wanting to do their best but knowing that they have limitations. Realizing those limitations will affect their futures. I had just finished telling them that their future and their dreams were important and if they worked hard enough and believed enough in them then they could accomplish them. Is this true? I reminded them that how the world defines significance is in making money. I told them that if you have lots of money but are not happy or satisfied inside--what kind of a life is that. On the other hand, the man who has little education but who is a handy man and comes to my home regularly to help me and to fix things, may not be rich or “successful” in anyone’s eyes but he is blessing my life and he is happy to bless others by helping them in little ways. He is always full of joy and has kind words for those he works for. I know he is a success. There are lots of ways to make a living that blesses others as well as brings satisfaction. 

 It was hard to answer. But I hope that I was able to influence that class in regards to what is a significant life.

I love speaking into young lives and giving them deep truths regarding what is significant, but at times it is also hard. Please continue to lift me up, asking for wisdom and for the students and teachers stuck in this system.  I would also ask that the hearts and minds of both students and teachers would be affected by the new ideas that I present and begin to view their world in slightly different ways.  Thank you so very much for your support and love. 

Official May 2015 Newsletter

(Written March 2015)

Happy May!

I hope that your spring is growing into a more warm season. I know that many of you have survived a rather harsh and cold winter. Historically, I have used my May newsletter to recap the highs and lows of this past year. So, holding to tradition, I seek to share with you the past year. 

May of 2014 saw my very first birthday spent in Kunming! Every other year I have been someplace else on my birthday! The end of May brought me to America for my second Home Assignment period. 

June, July, August, and September were whirlwinds of catching up with friends and loved ones, catching planes, helping people catch my vision and hoping that the good food wouldn’t catch up to me. 

October, found me enthusiastically returning to KM with the high hopes and great desires to dive into school visits. But the reality is that what happens in one part of China greatly affects the entire country and the activities that began September of 2014 in Hong Kong created a closed atmosphere within the government in allowing foreigners to be involved in many areas of education. So when I attempted to schedule school visits I was put on the back burner. 

November, was filled with good food and good fellowship. My time of waiting for “work” continued but I found that there was lots of little things that I could do for and with other people while waiting.  One person who blessed my life during this time was a woman who was a substitute foster mom for an adorable little girl. During this time we also began hard core planning for Permeate 2015. 

December, happened to be one of my best Christmases here. I was able to spend several days with close friends, including Christmas Eve night and waking up and doing stockings together. It was so lovely.  New Year’s was also an event filled with family feelings. There was maybe eight or nine families together playing games, knitting, talking, laughing and celebrating. So much fun! 

In January, we ran a Shine course with the new women who had recently stopped working as prostitutes. This course was so very good for me personally because it seemed to signal the beginning of starting “work.”

February, Driving license finally obtained I drove into the Permeate rush and ended in an extended stay in Thailand for routine medical checkups and getting pages added to my passport. 

March, started with going to the South of China to train eight sisters in facilitating Shine. It was a marvelous time of growing as a trainer. From there I went to Vietnam where I was trained on how to facilitate and train others in Flourish, a program similar to Shine. This was exciting because I got to see the differences between Shine and Flourish and see where each program could be used to its greatest potential. 

Since it is not quite the end of March yet I can tell you my plans for the rest of March and April but cannot guarantee that I will accomplish everything I set out to do. 

I have been greatly disappointed to visit no schools until recently. At the current writing of this letter no schools have been visited since April 2014, but we do have plans to begin visiting schools starting the end March and running on a weekly basis into May. We also have been asked by a couple contacts, who work with migrant communities, how and when we could come teach at their schools. So the hope is that by the end of March or beginning of April we may be “back in the game!” 

At the end of March a colleague from a different city in China will come and visit to see if she is a good fit with our team because she is very interested in the prevention program. I have high hopes for her to be one of my teammates. 

So all in all my 34^th year of life was a busy one. Not everything went as I planned but Father orchestrated many things in order for His plans to be carried out. I have learned much about myself and about Him as I continued the path He set before me. Thank you for your involvement and your thoughts for me as I continue to follow Him.

Happy 35^th Birthday to Me!!  

Official March 2015 Newsletter

(Written in January 2015)

Praise the Lord that my season of waiting for something to occur is over. I have been on a whirlwind of activity. Currently, the end of January, we are in the middle of a fabulous session of Shine. There are 8 young Chinese women and 2 foreign women who are participating in this session. We are already seeing some deep heart work happening. Thank you for your support and thoughts for my work as well as for these women. By the time you are reading this, I hope that I will have traveled to a border city to train several women both nationals and expatriates. Plus, there is a strong possibility that I will have also traveled to Vietnam to get trained how to facilitate a program called Flourish. One that is similar to Shine but designed for more rural areas. All this traveling and training is very exciting. Fear Not however that I have forsaken the Prevention work. It is still very heavy on my heart and I have high hopes that I will get to go and teach at a school in March and especially in April. 

I know that my last newsletter was somewhat vague and I also know how irritating that can be. I am still not able to discuss the situation behind it all but I want you to know that my heart is still very much engaged to the ministry before me. If and when anything does seem to be changing I will be notifying you all and asking for your thoughts regarding it all.  Waiting is hard but the rewards of it are very great.

I took and passed my exam to be given a Chinese driver’s license and this upcoming weekend will be my first outing by car. I am frankly frightened. But I know that my faith in the Father is strong because I am going to do it. Hooray!! I went to the rental agency this afternoon and answered all their questions. The very concerned owner wanted to know if I was English or not. When I informed him that I was American he became much more at ease and proceeded to tell me that he was very glad because in England they drive on the other side of the road. I then understood his previous concern. 

So as I embark on this new exciting new driving adventure please continue to ask Father to protect me and those around me. Please ask for the women who I have taught and trained that His power would be upon them as they teach and train others! 

Permeate 2015!!

Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD." 

Jeremiah 9:23-24

I have been waiting to post something related to how Permeate went until I could post pictures from it. So this is later than I anticipated. I waited and I waited and cannot wait anymore. These pictures are curtesy of Amber Goodloe who was a special guest this year at Permeate. 

Permeate 2015 started out as it always does with a flutter of new people, old friends, moving equipment and frustrated retreat employees.

But this year there were some major changes. The retreat center had done quite a lot of updating and renovation to the place that affected us. Usually we get a conference room for our leaders' room but this year they were giving us a series of three-two story houses to use. So we housed the band and some additional leaders in one house and used the main room as our leader room. It was a nice change but took some getting used to. 

The girls' side of the retreat center was also in the process of getting a new face and so all the girls' rooms were moved into a new area of the retreat center. This was exciting but also posed some complications for the Permeate Planning Team. The up side to this new development was that there were two hot tubs in the girls' area of the campus. The down side was that leaders had to all sleep in one room where in the past we roomed with some of the girls in our designated small groups. This made the "connecting with our students" part of our job slightly more complicated.

This year we had more students attend than ever before-154!! As we continue to grow we ask for you to keep lifting this up to Father. We want it to be a place where these TCK's can truly meet with Father and connect with one another.

We had a phenomenal band this year. One student commented that one of the leaders would turn into an angel when he began to sing. Our musical team was twice the size it usually is and one of the blessings to me was that one of the band mates was himself a student at Permeate in the past. One of his dreams was to return to give back to something that had made such an impact in his own spiritual walk. 

As if one returning student as an adult wasn't blessing enough, we were doubly blessed because there were actually two returning Permeate Alumni. One was in the band as mentioned above and the other came and volunteered his time as a small group leader. 

Permeate 2015 was the 7th annual Permeate and there were some seniors who had been at all seven. One of our returning alumni had been to all seven and it was exciting to sit down with them and listen to how Permeate has changed as well as how it had changed them. 

As the resident Nurse at Permeate, I get to see a lot of things and this year was no different. As usual we also have a doctor on campus but usually the problems are minor and don't involve him. PTL!! This year things became a bit more complicated when my phone found its way into the hot tub.

One person asked me if injuries were up this year from last and I answered that I didn't think so. That same person said that he felt he just heard over and over all weekend-Do you know where Denise is? Um I need Denise. I told him that it was because I didn't have anyway of anyone getting a hold of me this year.  One young woman told another girl in her small group that she didn't want the ibuprofen that her small group leader had because she heard that Denise had magic pills. I promise anyone who asks that my pills were only ibuprofen or tylenol. I did nothing magical. The same young woman told me personally that I was worth way more than hugs. 

There is nothing like the gratitude of a teenage to melt your heart. 

We had a couple kids who had the 24hr flu and we muchly appreciated all your prayers for them.  They both were able to regain health and rejoin the larger group after rest and water.

Other than physical injuries I was very encouraged and refreshed by my junior high girls small group. Usually it is very difficult to keep junior high girls on a spiritual discussion for longer than a half hour. So imagine my surprise when I had to end our first day's discussion after and hour and 15 min. It was an amazing indepth and passionate conversation regarding-If there is no sadness in heaven will we remember the people whom we loved on earth who are not in heaven? That question spiralled into other questions they had and the girls themselves took turns posing answers based on their own personal opinions as well as some of them using scripture to back their thoughts up. It was so very encouraging. We were very careful to listen to everyone who had an opinion as well as to reassure those who didn't know that it was okay to not know. 

By the last night I was deeply blessed that one girl felt safe enough to share that up until this year's Permeate she had been living her life as a Christian because that was how she was accepted in this community but that inside she had still been an atheist. This weekend though-through the messages shared in the sessions and listening to the discussions something clicked inside her and now she believes.  Please praise Father for this young one and ask that He would grow her faith ever stronger. 

What a revelation to share!!!

A second girl shared that her life is mostly going to school and trying to get good grades and that there is a lot of stress and pressure from her home. She said that she has been listening to everyone this weekend and she thinks that maybe that having Jesus in her life would make her inner self be better.  At the time of sharing she wasn't ready yet to make a choice but she is so close. Please ask that Father would show her His way clearly and help her to see how His burden is light!

These are only two girls from my group of 12 who were impacted deeply. There are several others in my group and in others' group who were encouraged to hold tightly to what they already know and strive to press on-relying on His strength. Some other students who were struggling to know what they believed were touched by the love and faith they saw in the leaders as well as in their peers. 

One thing we would love for you to pray for these kids is that as they return to routines and normalcy they would not loose the enthusiasm and joy of their faith. That Father would ground them in His word and with His love. 

One of my special joys during this years Permeate is that my brother designed this year's Permeate logo. Every year we have a theme and this year's theme was: Boast in This. Up until this year we have always had the same woman design our logo but for various reasons we needed to ask other volunteers to submit options for a logo. I feel very blessed to know several of you how sacrificed your time and energy to submit us logo options. Thank you again!

I was excited and proud that the Permeate Planning Team picked my brother's logo out of all the submitted options.  He graduates shortly from art school and does a great job in graphic design in my opinion.