Since my last update, I have been settling into my new home. A few homey touches here and there go a long way! My favorite place to be is my kitchen. Not only is the food there, but It’s a bright, open room with a wide window that lets in the sunlight. I enjoy sitting at my kitchen table and looking out the window while writing at my computer, or sitting with a cup of tea while reading a book. It’s proven itself to be a welcome spot of “home” and the best part is, it’s MY home.

Alyssa and I help each other out a lot. Since we’re neighbors, we tend to do a lot of the cooking together, taking turns whose kitchen we use. It’s been a learning experience for me. I can follow a recipe as well as the next guy, but now I’m being forced out of my culinary comfort zone. I’m learning to be more adventurous in the kitchen, and for the most part, I’m doing it without a recipe! Of course, not every meal has ended up as perfectly delightful as it had been envisioned. There was the one time we decided to mix in an egg with our stir fry at the last minute…that turned out to be edible, but not the most visually appealing dish that made it onto our table. Then there was the time we thought we were all set to cook meals for a week, but actually we only had fruits and vegetables. Even today, I sit by my window smelling tonight’s dinner: pot roast. It has been filling my apartment with delectable smells of roasted vegetables and beef ever since it finished cooking…at 2:15. Turns out, what I thought was a crockpot was actually a clay rice cooker. My roast finished cooking in only an hour. Thankfully, these haven’t been the norm in our cooking experiments, but rather, helpful learning experiences. My greatest moment of culinary success was my attempt at fried chicken last night. It ended up tasting *almost* as good as the fried chicken my grandmother taught me to make this summer. 😉

In other news, I bought my electric bike this past weekend! After just 2 weeks of travelling to and from town by bus, I have already come to greatly appreciate the freedom afforded by having my own transportation. Even on campus, it’s very nice. Our college is pretty spread out, so it is wonderful to be able to get to the convenience store a little more quickly, and not to have to carry an armload of water bottles from the store all the way back to the apartment. I’m thankful that the Lord provided the means for me to have a bike to get around!

In my last post, I promised a funny story. Since I’ve just updated you on my transportation status, this seems an appropriate time to tell my bus story. Two weekends ago, I was taking the bus from my campus into town, in order to meet my first prospective tutor. This was my first time to take the bus into town by myself. I had plenty of confidence, because I am always very careful to take note of my surroundings and felt generally familiar with the city. Besides, how hard is it to just get on the bus and ride? Generally, it takes around 35 minutes for the bus to make it into town, but I provided myself with plenty of extra time, because I didn’t want to be rushed and I had planned to stop and see Mrs. Mills before I met my student. I left my apartment at 8:10, and boarded the bus at 8:20. However, I quickly realized that I had boarded the bus on the wrong side of the road! The next stop was the final stop on the route and everyone exited the bus. Embarrassed, I picked myself up and walked across the street to wait for the next bus. There are two busses that run all the way to my campus. I remember being advised to take bus 51, but I also knew that bus 45 stopped right in front of the place I was heading. After waiting for a while, the only busses that had come through were 45’s, so I shrugged my shoulders and stepped on board the next 45, since there wasn’t a 51 in sight. I paid my 5 yuan to the bus assistant and received my receipt. I walked about halfway back and sat down next to the window. As we started to roll out, I noticed a bus 51 driving into the stop behind us. “Oh, well,” I thought.

As we progressed down the bus route, I watched carefully from the window for familiar buildings and landmarks. However, the further we drove, the less familiar everything seemed. I also watched the clock. After about 45 minutes, I still recognized nothing. The next thing I know, the bus assistant walked back to my seat and started speaking to me in Chinese. I smiled, and responded with one of the few Chinese phrases I have memorized: “I don’t understand.” The lady nodded and walked away. She started to write something down, and a few minutes later, she was beside my seat again with 10-12 characters written down to show me. Again, I told her that I didn’t understand. Nodding, she began to write again, simply, the number “38.” She pointed at the number, then at the approaching bus stop. I understood that, for some reason, she wanted me to take bus 38. I looked up at the bus stop, and (finally!) it was one I recognized. I knew that I was only a few stops away from my final destination. I shook my head and pointed at my seat, in an attempt to tell her that I didn’t need to change busses. The bus began to screech to a halt, and the lady, smiling, pointed all the more emphatically to the number 38, then back at the bus stop. I continued to shake my head, so she took me by the hand, and pulled me from my seat. Confused, I rose to my feet, and allowed her to escort me off the bus, where I was met by dozens of curious stares at the white girl who had just been escorted off the bus by the overly helpful bus lady. I turn, my mouth agape, and saw the bus lady smiling and waving at me as the bus doors closed and the bus rolled away.

I glanced at my watch…only 25 minutes until I was supposed to meet my tutor! I gazed down the street, hoping that another 45 bus was close behind. Unfortunately, bus 45 is one that tends to require much patience while waiting at the bus stop. There was no way I was going to catch a bus and get to town to meet my student in time. My only option was to hail a taxi and take it to town…but my heart sunk as I remembered that I couldn’t communicate in Chinese, and I had forgotten to pack my address cheat-sheet! I dug frantically through my purse and I saw “the golden ticket!” Triumphantly, I removed from my wallet a Starbucks receipt from earlier that week. I was supposed to meet my student at Starbucks in 15 minutes. I waved down a taxi, and showed the driver my receipt, praying that she would understand. She glanced at the address, then smiled, waving me into the car. Five minutes later, we pulled up in front of Starbucks, with 8 minutes to spare. Lessons learned? Number one, remember that just because two busses end up in the same place does not mean that both of them take the most direct route. If someone says take bus 51, take bus 51. Unless you’d like to detour through Texas, in which case, by all means! Take bus 45. 😉 Lesson 2: it is helpful to keep addresses and phone numbers on your person…they do very little good packed away in a suitcase. Lesson 3: Save your receipts. You never know when they might come in handy!   J Since that day, I have managed to avoid the dreaded bus 45 and have labored even more to memorize the layout of the city and the location of the bus stops that I frequent.

After finishing the two workshops I was a part of, I have mostly been settling into my apartment and getting into the routine of tutoring. I have begun to tutor the boy I met the day of my bus misadventure. I tutor him twice a week in an effort to help him prepare for an English exam he will take in order to enter senior highschool. I plan to take on at least one more tutor by the time school begins. This will keep my weekends busy. I don’t have my official schedule yet for the school year, but classes will start sometime during the first week of September.

This month has been fairly quiet. Although my bus story was exciting, most days are much more peaceful. It’s been nice to have some down time to relax and mentally prepare for the school year ahead. However, I do very much look forward to getting into the swing of things with classes and students and especially having a little bit more structure in my schedule. Until then, I’ll just keep enjoying the quiet moments and keep learning. I think these last couple of weeks, I’ve been simply learning how to “live life” here in China. How to shop, how to cook, and how to stock my kitchen. It’s amazing how many things I don’t think to purchase because mom has just always had them around! Then, I start cooking and realize that the “kitchen staple” that I need is still missing from my pantry. 🙂

Not all of the lessons I’m learning are related to buses and kitchens, however. In these days of peace and rest and solitude, I’ve been able to read the Word and sing praises and talk aloud to the Father. It’s been a wonderful time to deepen my fellowship with Him. Unfortunately, some days I am less faithful than others in using my time to its fullest potential, but little by little, I’m attempting to discipline myself and my time. In fact, I’m currently reading “Discipline: the Glad Surrender” by Elisabeth Elliot (what a wise woman!) and am becoming more and more aware of the areas in my life that need to be disciplined further. I think of 1 Samuel 12:21 & 24, “And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain…Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.” There are so many things that tempt me to turn aside—things that are vain and empty. However, when I consider HIM and the wonderful things He has wrought in my life, how dare I turn aside to that which is unable to meet my needs, unable to satisfy my longings, and unable to draw me closer to my Savior. How dare I turn aside from His face in order to follow empty things which consume my time and energies for that which will not profit? It’s with these verses in mind that I have been attempting to order my life in an effort to serve Him and to live each day to its fullest potential for His glory. Some days I am more successful than other days. It requires a lot of purposeful thought and above all, His help As the psalmist wrote in Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

So, how can you be remembering me now, as you talk to the Father? First, please ask that I will be able to effectively teach my tutors as I work with them each week. Along those same lines, be remembering the students that I will have in my classes over the course of this coming semester. Ask that they will have good understanding of the material, that I will be effective in my teaching of the material, and that as I teach I will also be able to make genuine relationships with my students. I am here to teach, and I want to teach WELL. The Father knows the needs that are in each life and He knows what needs to be accomplished. Please ask Him to strengthen me so that I would be a ready vessel, fit for His service, in whatever capacity that may be. Also ask that the Father would help me in my efforts to discipline my time, my body, my mind, and my spirit for His service.  Finally, ask that He would help myself and all of the teachers that are here this year to have clarity of mind, good health, unity of spirit, and humility in relationships.

Thanks for reading and walking with me on this journey. Until next time!

I hardly know where to begin to explain all that has happened since I updated one month ago. We spent the first week here in Haikou for orientation. After that, five of us went to Ding’an for our workshop, while others went to other workshops. Our workshop was for teachers and I taught a teaching reading class. I was able to share a lot of the things that I learned in my own college classes. We spent the morning hours in classes (three hour-long sessions) and the afternoon we taught songs, played review games and then Jack White taught a lecture session on the book “Teach Like a Champion.” For seven days, I taught my students techniques and the final three days they presented their final teaching projects. They did a wonderful job and I really enjoyed teaching them and working with them. Most of my students are English teachers, so we were able to communicate with each other very well. Overall the workshop went very well, and at the end the educational leaders expressed interest in bringing more foreign teachers to that area.

Our hosts were great and they took care of all our meals. They also made sure that we were busy each evening with various activities. One of the first nights, we visited a local middle school and played sports with their teams. While the others played basketball, I played volleyball with the school’s team. These girls recently won an international volleyball competition in Brazil!

Some of the other nights we walked along the river, visited a lake, played badminton, biked, sang karaoke (KTV), visited an ancient wall (dated from 1430s), and some cool springs, where fish came and nibbled our toes. We had a great time with them and we also enjoyed a wide variety of foods. I ate a lot of animals that I had never eaten before and for the most part, the food is really delicious.

After we got back to Haikou, we took a few days to unwind before jumping into a second round of orientation just for those of us who are staying the full year. That has kept us busy for the last 2 weeks. While we have been here we have done our best to become familiar with the city. I am starting to understand how the different parts of the city are connected and which buses to (or NOT to) take to get around. (There is a story to go along with this, but I’ll save it for later)

Beginning tomorrow, we will be working a second workshop, this time with kindergarteners. Actually, we went on a field trip to the zoo with these students yesterday. I had my first encounter with a liger and I was able to feed an elephant! We also led the whole group of children through “monkey mountain” where dozens of monkeys were crawling around on the ground around us. I wasn’t such a fan of that part, but it made for an interesting experience!

We will take another field trip with the children this week to the Coca-Cola factory here on the island! I wonder how much it will be like the one back home in Atlanta. After this workshop is done, we will be able to purchase our e-bikes and fully move into our own apartments on the Qiontai campus. The Mills have taken great care of us in Haikou, but I am very excited to be able to unpack my bags and stop living out of a suitcase. 🙂

I met my first tutor today and will begin teaching him later this week. So, things are slowly falling into place. I haven’t quite found a routine yet, but look forward to establishing one sometime within the next month. I do wish this post wasn’t so sporadic! I wish I could write every single exciting detail and funny story, but that would take a really long time. 😉

Soon, I will update with pictures of my apartment and some stories that will be a little more fun to read. Until then, please keep praying for me. It has been a wonderful one month and two days in Hainan, China, but there is still so much ahead that is unknown and unfamiliar. Classes will begin the first week of September and until then I will continue exploring and having those kind of adventures that only happen when I’m around. After all, wherever I go, a good story usually follows! Next time I’ll make sure to include one or two, for your amusement. hehe

Sending much love, all the way from China! ❤

Today, I celebrate independence day in my home country the United States of America. Tomorrow, I leave this home soil for an entirely new country and culture. And the nerves have finally started to hit me. 🙂

But on that note, I just started to read in Joshua chapter 1 this week in my devotions. Let me share some of the verses that have greatly comforted my anxious heart these past few days.

Joshua 1:5-11:

⁵ There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

⁶ Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

⁷ Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.

⁸ This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

⁹ Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

¹⁰ Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,

¹¹ Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.

Another verse that has been a great help is Deuteronomy 33:27a (ESV): “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” No matter where He takes me, my HOME is in Him.

Thanks for being a part of this journey! Please keep Alyssa and I in prayer as we travel.

Find me on Skype!

Hello world! I wanted to provide a way for those of you who are interested to follow my adventures in China! This website will be a way for me to provide a window for all of you faithful supporters at home to journey with me on this new venture to Hainan, China. While in China, I will have access to most forms of social media, but I may not be accessing them as regularly as I do now.

I am on Skype as well (Erin Butler, ebethbutler15@outlook.com) and this will be a good way to communicate with me while I’m away.

Otherwise, I’ll post here and will do my best to keep you updated as often as I’m able.  When I arrive, I’ll spend my first few weeks doing an English workshop, so don’t expect my first post from China until late July or even August.

I fly out in only 10 days! All these months of planning are finally coming to fruition. I’m enjoying the journey and looking forward to what’s in store.

Until next time,

Erin