Dear friends and family,

Guess what! We’re engaged! For some of you this will come as a complete shock because you didn’t even know that we were dating! But after almost a full year of enjoying each other’s company and getting to know each other’s heart, we decided to make it permanent. So, here’s the story…

---

October 26. 2006

Emily was a very unsuspecting victim, since she was supposedly spending the evening celebrating her roommate, Julie’s, birthday. But after dinner Tomoko, another roommate who was enlisted as an accomplice by Matt earlier that day, took Emily by Covenant Seminary to return a book that “had” to be returned that night. She dropped Emily off and then zoomed away, much to Emily’s confusion.

So, Emily went to drop off the book in the return slot outside. Looking through the glass entrance of the library, she noticed that there were lit evergreen trees. “Why are they decorating for Christmas already?!”, she thought.

Then, Matt appeared at the entrance and beckoned her inside where a bench sat in the middle of the room surrounded by a twinkling forest. This was the very room where Matt had asked her to dance when they met for the first time almost a year prior at the Seminary dance class!

Matt sat Emily down on the bench and began to tell her all kinds of wonderful things that they both forget because their minds were freaking out. But somewhere in there was a question and a yes! He then placed the ring on her finger and asked her to dance to “How Sweet it is to be Loved by You” (It’s true!!!) by James Taylor. After celebrating with Matt’s parents and grandpa who were hiding nearby, they made their way to the chapel to express their joy to their Father in heaven and their need for His continual help through the journey ahead.

---

We are so grateful for the miracle that the Lord has worked in both of our lives to bring us together after the difficult times that we have separately walked through in the past. Each one of us is a tangible representation to the other of God’s amazing love and grace in our lives.

We care for each of you and wanted you to share our joy!

With grateful hearts,
Matt Wicker and Emily Magee
(soon to be Matt and Emily Wicker!!!)

ALF targets tiger, takes rabbit
October 23rd, 2006

Animal rights activists who broke into a circus to liberate a rare white tiger changed their minds after seeing it - and took a bunny rabbit instead.

Campaigners from the Swiss faction of the Animal Liberation Front had earlier told Circus Royal director Oliver Skreinig they planned to steal the Siberian tiger and hand him to a zoo. But when they broke into the circus enclosure and saw the animal they changed their minds - and stole a rabbit instead. The liberationists then posted pictures of themselves online wearing black army uniforms and balaclavas and holding the rabbit.

Skreinig said: “The pet rabbit was not even in the show, it belonged to our clown’s six-year-old daughter.”

Check out their website, especially the photo in the top-left corner. Does it get any funnier than that?

I can just hear him now … “Ha ha ha! I kill me!”

Too often we get worked up about things that don’t really matter or things that we don’t understand. When I saw this street salesman in Shanghai, for example, I hurriedly grabbed my camera, because I thought he was selling dead mice as a snack … I was wrong.

“If I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t buy nice things for her. I’d spend all my money on Transformers.”

– One of Marisa’s students

One of the things that has really bothered me since coming to China three months ago has been the depth of my interactions. I can barely speak the language, so most of my conversations are very utilitarian and superficial. I’m foreign to the culture, so usually I’m simply trying to understand what’s going on. And I’m finding that Chinese people hold their hearts very closely … they’ll gladly share who, what, when, and where but are hesitant to delve into why and how.

So even though I’m teaching something very valuable (English!) to over 1,000 students, I sorta feel disconnected. My mind wants to know what the passions, fears, and insecurities of these people are … but instead, it’s been occupied by language study, lesson planning, and learning the simplest details of this culture. My heart wants to pour out kindness, but it’s been forced to have restraint and patience, serving practical needs instead. And my spirit longs to connect with other people, sharing the peace and hope and love that I’ve found … but I’ve had to wait patiently, praying for a chance to connect on a deeper level.

On Thursday, however, I got an email from Jennifer, an American with a daughter who was adopted from Loudi. She asked me questions about the city, the culture, Chinese perspectives, and ethnic minorities. She told me that there is an orphanage in the city where hundreds of parents from around the world have adopted children from, and she told me about a charity, Love Without Boundaries, that works to provide foster care, surguries, nutrition programs, and education programs to orphans in Loudi. Jennifer even showed an interest in my photos from Loudi … apparantly these families are eager to learn more about their child’s heritage and former home but most haven’t been able to visit or find resources about Loudi.

Wow. I was absolutely floored. I had been praying for months for this very thing … a practical and tangible way to serve a deeper need in this community and beyond. And here it was, laid out right in front of me … Provided.

I live here … and I can easily provide an insider’s perspective, asking the local people about issues, finding information about the city, and taking photos of important places and events in Loudi. I can be a resource for families who want to visit, answering questions, connecting them with a local guide, and even providing a place to stay. And finally, I can help to support a charity that is doing something significant in this city, something that I identify with and believe in. Maybe it’s not a mistake that I’m virtually the only waiguoren (foreigner) around!

So the ball is rolling. I’m in the beginning stages of planning a fundraiser that will benefit the orphans of Loudi. At this point, I’m thinkng about using my photos to create prints, books, postcards, and calendars … then selling and distributing them to families in the States. It’s a complicated idea … especially while I’m still living in China … but something that seems to have potential. So if you have any ideas, or know anyone who has done something similar, or have any connections in the printing/publishing world … let me know!

They’re the perfect place to hide your cash, your keys, your diary, or your top-secret classified documents … and they blend right in with the other books on your bookshelf. Truth is, every successful secret agent has one. So should you!

[via digg]

I just created a new set of photos called Young and Old. It features fourty faces of children and the elderly … glimpses into the bookends of life in China. Thirteen of these photos are new, taken during my recent trip to Zhouzhuan. Enjoy!

In my Junior 1 classes this week, I have been asking the students to tell me their favorite English words. I had done this activity already (here and here) with my Junior 2 and 3 students and found that it was a nonthreatening way to get each individual student in the class to speak individually.

I love the Junior 1 kids (6th graders) … their English abilities are very minimal (except for a few bright kids in each class), but they are so eager and oh-so-cute. Because some of the classes are so big, I can’t always get through the entire class in one period. But it’s still worth doing this activity, even if it’s only to hear their cute responses.

This morning, as I was doing this activity with Class 391, I was very impressed by the quality of some of the words. valuable, bamboo, dictionary, imaginative … these were good words! Some of the others were more ordinary, but still good … season, children, quickly, pencil case, backpack, program, potato, cartoon. And some were just funny … Mr. Bean, W.C.

Then I got to one of the brighter kids, one with a pretty good English vocabulary. She stood up, and in a strong and confident voice proclaimed, “My favorite English word is impotent.”

I was sure I had heard her wrong. “Im-po-tent?” I asked, slowly enunciating each syllable to be sure that she understood. With answers like cigarette and W.C. (water closet), I’ve learned not to be too surprised.

“Yes, im-po-tent.”

I totally lost it. I’ve been laughing ever since. When I had the rest of the class repeat the word out loud, I was rolling. When each subsequent student said a word, I laughed. All the way home, I cracked up. And even as I type this, I can’t wipe this stupid grin off my face.

It wasn’t until just now that I realized it … she probably meant important.

I haven’t gone to bed before 3am all week.

[What’s bugging you?, by lance webel]

I just received the following email:

Dear Lance Webel,

I came across your photo called What’s bugging you? on Flickr.com. I found it very interesting and I would like to use it for educational purposes in a book I’m currently editing for my publishing company, Richmond Publishing, Santillana Group, in Argentina.

This photo would be appropriate as supporting graphical material for an interior page dealing with related subject matter. It would be included in a book for students 9-10 years old and over learning English as a foreign language in Argentina, to be used in public and private schools. More specifically, it would illustrate either situational dialogues or reading passages. Again, the use of your photo would be strictly educational and I would give you full credits for your contribution in the book.

I would greatly appreciate if you could inform us on the use of your photo. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Paula
Editorial Team
Richmond Publishing
Argentina

My first reaction? That’s sweet! Not only can my work be published, in a real book, but it’s a book that will help little kids in Argentina learn to speak English. I hope I can get a copy, if it ever makes the cut!

It’s also pretty cool that this publishing company is scouring Flickr for photos to include in their publications. Genious. Why pay hundreds and thousands of dollars for stock photography when you have an enormous collective of eager and talented amateurs cataloguing their work for you? Plus, Flickr makes it easy to find these photos, mark your favorites, and directly contact the photographers. Bravo … I highly applaud this strategy of leveraging the collective efforts of the public.

[via hp]

Hmm … it’s quiet around here. Too quiet. Eighty unique visitors per day, three or four at a time, and nobody’s talkin’. Was it something I said?

In the States, everyone knows that dropped food is still safe for 5 ticks of the watch. Unfortunately, however, that rule doesn’t quite apply in China … although the grub is terrific, the ground is one giant trashcan.