Dear Friends, We asked you in our last newsletter to lift up our decision about next year. The time has come to let you know that we will be leaving China at the end of this semester and not returning for the fall semester. It was not as hard a decision as we thought it might be because the school stopped negotiating when we asked for clarification on what we would teach the following semester. We have known for a couple of years that the end was in sight and now it is just over a month away. There were several things that caused the breakdown in negotiations. The biggest was that we wanted to know who and what we would teach next semester but they would not tell us this until after we signed the contract. This was a major departure from past years. Perhaps, even if the negotiations had gone well, the fact of the continued decline of the air quality and our worsening allergies would have led us to not sign the new contract. However, our nine years here at Qingdao Agricultural University and the total of 17 and a half years at all three universities have been good, so we end knowing that we have been in the right places at the right times. First, our time is short. We ask that you lift up our final days here in Qingdao. We were hoping to make a somewhat quite exit but already our departure has been posted on several Chinese social websites and former students and friends have already started to call and appear at our door. Saturday two former students from 14 years ago took us out to lunch and brought juice, cookies and fruit to us. In the afternoon one who graduated in 2012 came by with thankfully no food. Then that evening one from eight years ago took us out to eat. We hope to make it home without too much of a weight gain, but that’s beginning to look unlikely! Second, in the short time remaining we will bring to a conclusion the four studies that we are currently conducting. Ask Father that the three seekers will make the decision to follow the Carpenter, and that the other studies will end with the participants stronger in their faith, better prepared to serve Father here in China. Finally, there is a lot to do in a short time. There are two weeks of classes left plus final exams to give and grade. We have been packing, sorting, giving away and throwing away, and will continue this process until the end. Ask Father to give us the strength and ability to get it all done. We do not yet know what our future holds but that is not the biggest concern we have at this point—we desire to end well. We will have one final newsletter once we arrive back in the states to sum up these 17 and a half years in a way that we cannot do easily from here. Until then -- Love and Upward Thoughts, Paul & Tanya
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 01:58:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015