Our last few weeks in China were filled with final exams, lots of packing and cleaning, and many goodbyes. We also spent a lot of our time with our brothers and sisters, trying our best to encourage them to stay faithful and to dedicate themselves to being active members of the Family. They, as well as our other friends, showered us with gifts, goodbye letters, and hugs. It is a huge understatement to say that we will miss them. The small Family we left behind grew to be just that -- family.
Now that we are gone, four new teachers have replaced us in our work, joining our co-worker, Jessica. In some ways, we feel like we've left our children behind to be taken care of by someone else. Still, we know that the new workers will dedicate themselves to the work in China, just as we did. We hope you will keep them in your thoughts like you did for us.
In our short time in China, we were able to see our Father working even in difficult circumstances. We are confident that the work we started will continue to grow in the future. In short, we feel that the two years we spent in Yichang were productive and successful. But, as the Word tells us, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." And for us, the season of China is over, and the season of life in America is beginning. We have begun our job searching, and we expect to be settled in to our new life by the end of October.
Now that all is said and done, we will probably end up closing down this blog. There's also a pretty good chance that we will each end up with a new blog at some point, so anyone who wants to could probably keep up with us that way.
We're so thankful for all the support and encouragement given to us during the past two years. Without all of you, our work would have been extremely difficult, even impossible. So, thank you!!! Lastly, if any of you is interested in continuing to support the work in China, you can contact us. Even if you'd like to send a care package or a note of encouragement, we can point you in the right direction. Blessings to all of you.
