over the hills and through the city...

to Yangshuo we go!

two and a half weeks ago, Allison and I braved several buses and a sleeper train to reach Yangshuo on the famous Li River in mainland China. It's known for it's dramatic and unique looking peaks (with names such as "seven fairy maidens coming to the human world" and "nine-horse hill"), and the scenery was remarkable. A few of the peaks are on the back of the 20 Chinese Yuan note, which would explain why people were waving the bills around and taking pictures. We took a raft to meander down the river surrounded by peaks that faded into the distance, and that alone was worth the confusion of the Chinese transportation to get there. But our trip wasn't over yet! We also got to bike through the countryside and some farmland (and even more farmland when we got lost...) which was somewhat old and yet also very charming and beautiful. Add in some famous beer fish, brief frustration with my camera not working, dried sharon fruit, watching the sunrise while listening to worship music, new friends on the train, and a crowded night market- that was my trip to Yangshuo!

A song that was in my head pretty much the entire time I was there was "How Great Thou Art" - seeing some of the awesome works of our God was humbling, and a reminder that He is worthy of all our worship!

Since then I've been back in Macau... doing the usual work stuff, still finding new discoveries and adventures (from killing bugs in the kitchen to visiting the food festival and eating snails and milk tea ice cream), hanging out with Allison and Hannah, and getting to go to church and Bible study. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we have been scheming of how to cook a Thanksgiving dinner in our primitive kitchen, it should be entertaining to try anyway.

Well and I am thankful for all of you! Thanks for your love and support- I love you all and I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

-Bethany

How Great Though Art-

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder

Consider all The works Thy Hand hath made,

I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,

Thy pow'r throughout The universe displayed;
Then sings my soul,

My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul,

My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

hello again!

Well it looks like it’s a new month- Happy November everyone! Only I beat you all to it, since here in the East I am in the future-no flying cars here yet though… or if there are I’m not giving away the secret ;)
I’m doing quite well here these days, thanks for asking. The weather is getting a little cooler which I’m grateful for- though I know it’s not as cool as back home!
Today I was a scorekeeper for Macau’s English speech contest, and I got to hear a day’s worth of talks about Macau’s role as a cultural meeting point for the East and the West. It all sounded very important for this tiny little place that I’m currently calling home! It’s interesting to see the mix of cultures here: you can see old and simple neighborhoods with people burning incense at street side shrines or simply sitting on the sidewalks, and this is just a few blocks over from huge lit up and glitzy casinos and recently built McDonalds. I’ve been enjoying my time seeing more of this mostly laid back and somewhat quirky place. I can find items such as dried jellyfish or pure MSG at the grocery store- though I tend to gravitate towards the colorful fruits and vegetables I can find at the street market a short bus ride away...
Work with MPI keeps me busy mostly with debate and literature classes but then with various other projects as well. Wednesday lunches are always fun as we meet with student who want to practice their English in the cafeteria- this past week they tried teaching me Cantonese instead which was not very successful but very entertaining. Cantonese is a challenge, though the ever popular “mm goi” which means “thank you” “excuse me” or “please” has proved to be very helpful in pretty much any situation. At least then I can pretend to know what is going on ;)
Recent adventures have been attending a Portuguese festival with music and dancing, cramming onto crowded buses to visit Taipa and attend Bible study, and practicing my pantomiming skills in order to borrow a kayak to go out on the Nam Van Lake. Life is always interesting here for sure!
Verses of the day would be Psalm 62:1-2 “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” and Psalm 63:3 “Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You.” Amen.

Love you all! and know that I am sending you hugs and smiles and prayers from Macau :)
-Beth

pictures: Macau lighthouse, field trip with Xinjian students at the communication museum, A Ma statue, daytime city view, night skyline

.