Complete Surrender: Part 1

The secret of life is letting go

The secret of love is letting it show

In all that I do, in all that I say

Right here in this moment

The power of prayer is in a humble cry

The power of change is giving my life

And laying it down, down at Your feet

Right here in this moment

Take my heart, take my soul

I surrender everything to Your control

And let all that is within me lift up to You and say

I am yours and Yours alone

Completely

This journey of life if a search for truth

This journey of faith is following You

Every step of the way, through the joy and the pain

Right here in this moment

-- "Completely" by Ana Laura

Recently, I've been struggling a lot with surrender. I talk the talk really well, telling other people to just surrender to God and let Him lead and guide you. After all, wouldn't it be easier to just surrender to Him and let God take care of everything for us?

Ha. It should be, but it is not as easy as I often make it out to be to other people and even to myself. In most things, I'm pretty flexible, surrendering what I want in order to make someone else happy. That's what comes with being a people pleaser. However, that is not the kind of surrender I am talking about -- I'm talking about surrendering the harder things in life. Along with being fairly flexible, I can also be pretty stubborn in lots of things, wanting to have things my own way rather than God's way.

This past semester at Liberty University, my Evangelism professor challenged all of us to say "yes" to God. At first, I kind of felt like I had already done that. After all, I had already "surrendered my life to God" and become a Christian. But then I got to thinking more -- I had become a Christian, but that didn't necessarily mean that I had surrendered my life to my Creator.

I made a list of the different areas in my life that I was still withholding from God, areas I was unwilling to surrender. I am sure there are probably more that I simply did not think of, but the number of areas that I was not willing to give up shocked me. Some of them are things and people that mean a lot to me -- things and people that if God were ever to tell me to give up, I would struggle in obeying.

Well a couple weeks after my professor gave us that challenge, I finally said yes to God. Thus began a long journey (that will probably not come to an end until my death) in surrendering my life to Him. All was great for a while, until God started showing me things He wanted me to surrender to Him that I did not want to give up. I wrestled within myself, thinking that surely there was some way to compromise -- to keep doing what I was doing and still honor my promise to God that I would say yes to Him. But deep down I knew... I couldn't have it both ways.

I have decided to follow Jesus. And I don't know what He will have me do, what he will have me give up. Maybe he will have me let go of a loved one, a dream, perhaps my own life. I want to be like Esther in the Bible, who followed God's instructions saying, "If I perish, I perish." My own happiness is not what I should use as the deciding factor. Other people's happiness is not even the deciding factor as to whether or not I follow God's instructions. There should be nothing to decide between; my answer should always be "Yes, God." I might feel hurt, those I care for might feel hurt... But it in the longrun, it will be better for me and for them if I do what God tells me -- whether it's moving away from loved ones, or letting go of someone and letting them move on.

This is my New Year's resolution: to say "yes" to God in the hard things.

Liberty Life :)

Well, my first semester at college is half-way done. It’s kinda hard to imagine I’ve already been here for almost two months. I’ve really been enjoying my time here – my classes are great, and my professors are amazing, genuinely caring for all of us and wanting to see us succeed.

My favorite class by far has definitely been Evangelism with Dr. Wheeler. It’s not a tough class, but it is probably the one that has challenged me the most in terms of faith and going out and ministering to other people. People often assume that since I lived on the mission field and have missionary parents and a preacher grandfather that I’m well accustomed to sharing my faith with people. The fact of the matter is that I haven’t had much experience with just going out and talking to people I come into contact with throughout the day about my faith. I think a lot of this may have to do with the fact that in China, we couldn’t just go out and do ministry like we can here in the USA – not if we wanted to continue living in the country. I’ve had one-on-one conversations with people about my faith, once we’ve gotten to a certain level of friendship or they’ve specifically asked me about it, but I haven’t had the type of experience of evangelizing in the way most people in the USA think of evangelizing. So, Dr. Wheeler has been challenging me in ways I did not think I’d be challenged, both in evangelizing and also just in my personal life and how I treat others.

My second favorite class is probably either Psychology of Relationships with Dr. Logan or Biblical Worldviews with Dr. Matthews (who does the main session) and Dr. McPherson (who does the breakout session… I don’t like that class so much, just the professor!). All three professors have a great sense of humor and make their classes very interesting. And hey… Dr. Matthews and Dr. McPherson both have accents (Australian and Scottish) which makes it all better!!

When it comes to non-academics, I’ve been enjoying getting to know people (on and off campus) better! A couple of families had me over to their homes for a nice home-cooked meal a few times which I absolutely LOVED. I enjoyed connecting with them, especially as I have a feeling that they will become my families away from home while mine are absent. I’ve also been getting to know quite a few students on campus. The people I have connected with the most are in my dorm and my brother dorm, especially a girl right across the hall from me, Kim. My roomies are also quite amazing, if I do say so myself.

Some of the fun things I’ve done since being on campus include participating in Open Mic Night, going Moonlight Horseback Riding/Bonfire, hammocking (so far I’ve only used other people’s hammocks, but… I just got my own hammock from my dear family so I’ll have to try that out soon!) in our hammock tree, going cliff-jumping at Panther Falls, and tenting at Gillville (ironically without a tent… which meant a very cold Rachie). Each of these have been SO fun and I look forward to participating in a LOT more!

When it comes to church/Bible studies… Each Tuesday, we have prayer groups and/or prayer group activities. My prayer group is so awesome and I’m getting to know them all, slowly but steadily.  Each Sunday morning, I catch a ride down to Roanoke to go to church. I have started attending the college Sunday school class and afterwards leading the 3^rd graders’ small groups in children’s church. It’s a lot of fun… I’m really enjoying it; I’ve missed being around kiddos since being at LU.  Every Sunday evening, I attend an off-campus Bible study with several other Liberty students at a couple’s home.  I’m loving it – I think it’s one of my favorite times of week. We have great discussions about so many different things.

Anyway, that basically sums up my first couple of months at LU. It’s not always easy, don’t get me wrong. I still get really homesick at times, and often feel very lonely, despite being around so many awesome people. But, I’m working through it and this place is starting to feel like a home away from home. :)

Long Time No See!

Hey you guys,

I'm working on a blog post right now, but I've been so busy transitioning into campus life and my studies that I haven't been able to post anything on here for a while. Sorry about that! I promise that one is coming soon, and that I'll tell you about some of the things that's been up with me lately.

Until then, suffice it to say that, while there have been different struggles, I'm really enjoying my time here at Liberty! The professors are amazing, and so are my friends and spiritual life leaders/prayer leaders.

See y'all soon!

College Bound!

Well, the time I've been nervously and excitedly waiting for is finally here: I'm going to college!

I'm more nervous than I thought I would be, for sure. But my excitement faaaaaar outweighs my fear. Today, my family will be leaving my grandparents' house in South Carolina and start driving toward Lynchburg, Virginia. We'll be able to stop and see a few people along the way, including my best friend Young-Hyun who is currently studying at Duke University. I'm excited about that.

Tonight we'll be staying with some friends in the Lynchburg area, and then tomorrow -- after having lunch with another great, old friend -- I will be moving into my dorm on Liberty's campus! :O It's kind of weird to think that tomorrow night will be my first night of many that I'll be spending at Liberty.

Though I'm pretty nervous about everything -- okay I'll admit, I'm terrified! -- I know that even though my parents will be leaving me in a week's time, my heavenly Father will never leave me. And so in Him, I will place my trust. I'm not about to claim that will be easy... but if I can do that, I have nothing at all to fear. :)

I don't know when I'll be able to type up another blog post, as I'm pretty certain the next few weeks are going to be reaaaaally really busy for me. Can't wait to see what God has in store!

Adjusting . . . Sorta

My family has been in the States for about a month now. We spent a couple weeks with my dad's family in South Carolina and Tennessee (we had a WONDERFUL family vacation in TN with all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents). Then we drove down to Mississippi, which is where we currently are staying, to be with my mom's family for a few weeks.

We've had a wonderful time with all of my family. I've loved getting to spend time with everyone and getting to know them better. I have also been able to practice a lot of driving since I've been back in country, though have only ventured out by myself twice (about a 3-minute drive each time). My dad has been threatening to send me out driving on my own more often though, so I should be getting lots of experience pretty soon.

Since arriving back in the States, I've also been busy getting ready for college. Classes start on August 19, and I move onto campus on the 15th, which gives me a month left to have everything ready. When I was in South Carolina, I began working on the final stages of my quilt for my bed in the dorm, with the help of Mimi. I still have a few things left to do with it, but it's turning out very well! Below are some pictures of my quilt from when I was working on it in China... I have yet to take pictures of it's current stage, so you'll have to excuse me. :)

Also, there were certain required immunizations I had to get before going to college. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me... I'm not a fan of vaccines anyway, but the fact that I have to get them or I can't go to Liberty (unless I have religious reasons for not getting them... which I don't) is a little sad. Anyway.

So yesterday, my family took me to the Health Center so that I could get my required shots. We got there at 1:00 PM and sat for about two hours while they tried to make sense of my immunization records. Turns out the only required immunization I'd had previously was the first dose of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella). Which meant I still had to get the second dose of MMR, as well as shots for Tetanus, Meningitis, Polio, and get blood drawn for TB. And they decided that it was a good idea to pump all of those vaccines into my system within 10 minutes of each other, which left me very very sore.

The blood-drawing probably took a good 20 minutes for the entire process. Apparently I do not have easy veins. The first nurse couldn't even find the veins on the inside of my elbow, so she had another nurse come in to try and draw my blood. She first tried drawing it from my left hand, and while a little bit of blood came out, it stopped very very quickly. So she tried a little bit further up my arm, in which case I didn't bleed at all. Both nurses then decided to go ahead and give me my shots, having me down two bottles of water while they did that. Apparently drinking water helps the blood flow and I didn't drink enough that morning. So once I began to resemble a water balloon, they decided they would go ahead and try a third location to draw blood -- my left hand. It worked!...kinda. It worked as long as they were working at it and moving the needle around the inside of my vein (ouch!). Finally, they got the blood they needed and I was done!

You know, my dad always said that I didn't have blood in my veins, but rather the thick red Korean pepper paste -- which would explain my love of spicy Korean food. After yesterday, I'm starting to believe that might be true, because my blood came out sooooo slowly, as if it was really thick. Well, at least I won't have to worry about any more immunization shots. :D

I'm really looking forward to starting college, moving into my dorm, and meeting my two awesome roomies. There are moments when I just wish time would hurry up and fast-forward to that day I move onto campus, as I can be quite restless whenever I don't have a good routine. But I'm also enjoying spending time with my family and making memories. I haven't fully adjusted to being in America, because I haven't been able to just settle down in one place as of yet. But that's okay... that'll come. Right now, I'm just gonna enjoy where God has me. :)

The Next Chapter

Goodbyes. They're not something I look forward to... In fact, I really dislike having to tell people I love goodbye. But they are something that each person has to go through.

Last week, some of my closest friends (the Chang family, Moon family, Stirling family, Yoon family, Phillips family) all came and helped take us and all of our bags to the airport in Yanji. Saying goodbye... wasn't easy. I'm not one of those people that does well with goodbyes in general, and saying goodbye to these people in specific was even more difficult.

Thankfully I was able to keep my tears from escaping while I hugged each of them and promised to keep in touch. Then we went through Security and that was the last time I saw their faces for what could be a very, very, very long time.

Sitting on the plane, watching my little hometown of Yanji grow smaller and smaller, I felt an ache in my heart. I was very thankful for the overly talkative lady across the aisle from me who kept me distracted for at least half of the flight to Beijing.

But, with every goodbye... comes a new hello. Around 7:00-7:30 PM on Tuesday evening, my family landed in North Carolina and were greeted by my grandparents. It's been sooooo good to reconnect with them. We've gone to the zoo, had water fights, played tennis, and just hung out. This weekend, we leave for a big family vacation in Tennessee with all of my dad's siblings, their spouses and kids, and my grandparents. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again.

On August 15th, I will move onto Liberty University's campus, and classes will begin on the 19th. I'm a little nervous, but... my excitement far outweighs what fear I have inside of me. I cannot WAIT to meet my roommate (who is AWESOME, by the way) and get to meet new people and make friends. I'm also looking forward to my classes, though maybe not quite so much as the actual social aspect of college life.

Though I am nervous and insecure and have absolutely NO idea of what is in store for me, I can have peace in knowing that God is with me. As my friend Young-Aeh reminded me and as Psalm 139 says, "You hem me in-- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. [...] If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

Please be praying for me as I start this next chapter of my life. My parents and sisters will be living in Colorado while I'm at Liberty for my first year, which is a lot closer than China. So, I'm very thankful for that. But it will also be a big transition for my family as I won't be there and as they adjust to living in America, so please keep them in your prayers as well.

Time to turn the page and see what happens... :)

Hong Kong

About a week and a half ago, Torie and I had to fly to Hong Kong. My Chinese visa was about to expire, which meant I needed to leave country. So we went to HK and stayed with our dear friends, the Covingtons, while we awaited the processing of my new tourist visa.

We left on a Sunday morning and arrived in HK that same evening. As we walked out of security and into the area where people waited for their loved ones and friends, I was desperately trying to cover up my neck with my hair. For good reason.

I had a pretty large red spot on my neck. It was a sore... ringworm. We had been treating it with this extremely powerful healing shampoo. But instead of making it less obvious, it the shampoo had drawn out the ringworm around the small area and had made the skin around it extremely red. It honestly looked like a large hickey. It wasn't a hickey, but it looked like it. And I did not want people, even people I didn't know, getting the wrong impression. So, out I walked, trying to cover it with my hair (it was mucho painful), and gave Mikayla and Miriah Covington a hug. Of course the first thing that came to Mikayla's mind when she saw it was that it was a hickey. So I had to explain to her before her imagination went wild.

Then as we waited for the bus, they gave Torie and me our Octopus Cards. These cards each had money on them, and were to be used for buses, ferries, and sometimes small stores. After sitting for about ten minutes, we went outside to finish waiting for the bus. Luckily I noticed that my Octopus Card was missing. Miriah and Mikayla started freaking out 'cause they'd put a good amount of money on the card. I'm pretty sure I was more scared than they were though. Miriah went back inside and found it on the floor or on the seat I was sitting in, so all was good.

We rode the Airport Express bus back to the girls' house in their area of Discovery Bay. Then we ate at Subway for dinner. I got a 6-inch sandwich, but I probably could have gone for a foot-long. I had not really eaten all day. I'd had a banana before leaving for the airport, and a Starbuck's caramel frappachino in the Beijing airport. But other than that, I'd not eaten. ...Airplane food is not anywhere close to my list of favorite foods. At all. I'll just go without eating if it means I don't have to eat that food. ;) I did have a roll that was filled with bean-paste that was delicious. So, I finished my sandwich very quickly and filled up the rest of my stomach with two cookies and a cream soda.

About five years ago, Torie, Mikayla, Miriah, and I acted out and filmed our own silly version of "The Phantom of the Opera." It was extremely silly. Well I'd finally finished editing it on my computer, and had made it into a movie. I burned the movie on two discs (one for each of the Covington girls) and brought them with me to Hong Kong. We all decided to watch it that night. What can I say... It was a night full of laughter. Couldn't ask for much better.

The next day we decided to go to Hong Kong Disneyland. We probably would have gone on Wednesday had it not been for the fact that it was a holiday and there were supposed to be about half a billion people coming from Mainland China to Hong Kong. So we decided to go on Monday. The weather was good, so I'm glad we went. We rode all the rides (...all the good rides anyway): Space Mountain (we got the fast passes so we didn't have to wait long in line) twice, Grizzly Gulch, a ride in Toy Story Land, It's A Small World, and Astro Blasters. We also got our picture with Goofy. :D We were able to to go every show... "The Festival of the Lion King" and "The Golden Mickeys" and also an interactive theater show with Stitch. Oh, and we got to see the parade, too. By the time we finished everything, it was about 5:30 pm. This also meant that there was still about 2 1/2 hours before the fireworks and none of us really felt like sitting for 2 1/2 hours. So we just all went back to DB and had dinner.

"It's a Small World"

"The Golden Mickies" show

The parade. :) I loooove Eeyore and Tigger.

Simbaaaaa <3

"The Festival of the Lion King" show <3

On Tuesday we went swimming in the morning and then took a ferry to the main island in the afternoon. It started pouring down rain though, so we didn't stay for very long.

On Wednesday, I'm pretty sure Aunt Brenda and her friends tried to kill us. At 10:00 in the morning, we left on a hiking trip. Thank goodness it was cloudy and looked like rain so we only did the 1 1/2-hour hike instead of the 3-hour one. Unfortunately for me, I'd not been hiking in a very very long time, and this particular hike was pretty much straight up and straight down. Let's just say.. I found out just how out of shape I really was. We rewarded ourselves afterwards with yummy food. ;)

Thursday and Friday were probably the worst days I had in Hong Kong, only because I was sick with a headache and fever. I spent most of Thursday sleeping, and quite a bit of Friday as well. By Saturday, I was feeling a lot better. We watched American Idol auditions all day (...we needed to laugh) and then went to the main island to eat dinner with Miriah's friend Mark and another friend we'd met about four years back, Matthew. Matthew was a counselor at a TCK camp we all attended in 2009. After dinner, we all went up to a place called the Peak. It's pretty much the #1 location tourists go to in Hong Kong.

On Sunday, Counter Clockwise (our 4-girl band consisting of the Covington girls, Torie, and myself) performed a special a cappella song. The rest of the day was spent relaxing... It was our last day with the Covingtons.

All in all, it was a very good trip... I got my visa (though, not the kind I thought I was getting), and we had a wonderful time with the Covingtons. There were up and down moments... Last Fall, the Covingtons' had a loss in their family when their dad and husband passed away. They're still adjusting to their new lifestyle without him, and their grieving process if far from over. But God is giving them the strength to overcome different obstacles as they come. And He's also placed people in their lives who have helped them immensely. It was good to see God working like that in the lives of my friends. :)

Torie and I are now back in Yanji, and the Covingtons are not far behind us. They'll arrive in Yanji in about 2 weeks for Mikayla's graduation. Can't wait to see them again! :)

Hanissa Language

So, Hanissa is a very fast learner. She repeats EVERYTHING she hears. Of course... she doesn't always repeat things correctly.

For example:

1. Correct way: Thumb
    Hanissa way: Tum, dumb, gum


2. Correct way: Bellybutton
    Hanissa way: Bellybutt


3. Correct way: Cat
    Hanissa way: Mee-ow mee-ow

4. Correct way: Big
    Hanissa way: Big, pig


5. Correct way: Pig
    Hanissa way: Big, pig


And then there are those words and phrases she says which... need a translation.


1. "Water play." Translation: Swim.

2.  "Shame on you!" Translation: Rachel is wrong/did something wrong/thought something wrong/....you get the picture. Most often used on moi.

3. "Funny!" Translation: Shame on you! <--- see definition above.



My reaction to most of the things she says: ...You keep saying that word/phrase. I do not think it means what you think it means. :D

You must never misunderstand the child. If you do, you risk the wrath of the Hanissa. Good luck if you endeavor to enter a conversation with her. Yours will be the death that comes from laughing way to hard. May the Force be with you. . . .

Things About MK's/TCK's That Might.... Surprise You

Howdy y'all. So, I realized that I have not written much about MK's (Missionary Kids) or TCK's (Third Culture Kids). And while, in many ways, we are no different than your average kid or teenager, there are some aspects to us that might come as a bit of a surprise.

Some examples:

1. "Where are you from?" ...I don't think people understand just how difficult it is for us to answer that question. Our parents are from one country (and, very possibly 2 different States if they're from the USA); our home church -- if you're in the States -- is very possibly in a totally different State; we live in another country; many of us were born in a different country. And if you include the places where our grandparents live... Oh boy. Not to mention the various other countries in which we might have previously lived. The locations for us to choose from very quickly add up. Honestly, if you ask us this question, you'd better be prepared to listen to our entire life story. A better question to ask would be, "Where have you lived?"

2. We can speak with authority on the subject of airline travel. When it comes to airports and airlines, we all have our favorites. We know the pros and cons. This airline always has "good" food (I put the quotation marks because in my opinion, almost all airplane food is disgusting... not all, but most) and service, while this airline shows free movies. This airport has free WiFi and the security area is easy to get through, while that airport is easy to maneuver around and has excellent restaurants/coffees shops. In my opinion, one of the greatest airports in the world is Incheon International in South Korea because it has all of the above. Not to mention, it has cultural things you can participate in, as well.

3. We have passports before we ever have a driver's license.

4. We know that "knowing how to pack a suitcase" doesn't just mean knowing how to put things in a suitcase. It mostly means that we know what needs to be packed and what will just be extra weight. We also know that many people in our sending countries do not know how to pack a suitcase.

5. We pass geography class with flying colors. You wouldn't believe how many people I know in America who have gotten countries and continents mixed up.

Comments from non-TCK's/MK's: "Africa's a big country." "Where in Africa is Peru?" "...there's such a place as Korea?"

Explanations from TCK's/MK's: "<enter country> is located directly above <enter another country>." "...*hands the other person a globe/map* I live here."

6. We use the phrase, "It has about the same time zone as..."

7. There aren't many questions that people have asked that haven't been answered a hundred times before...in one month. 

8. We have many "Aunts" and "Uncles." These are not our biological aunts and uncles, but rather friends of our parents. We are often closer to these people than we are to our family in our passport country. I love my parents' brothers and sisters to death, but due to living overseas for my entire life, I am closer to people who are non-related. So, though we are not related, they become something like aunts and uncles.

9. We suffer from culture shock on a regular basis. We do not only experience culture shock when visiting our passport country for the first time in three or four years (or more). It is experienced every time a short term team arrives. Music and humor are constantly changing. One style of music and clothing suddenly comes into fashion, and goes out of fashion just quickly. For those of us living overseas, by the time we get accustomed to a certain style, short term teams are coming with humor from the newest movies, TV shows, listening to the newest music, dressing in the newest styles and we feel out of place. We cannot contribute to conversation as easily because we do not understand the humor and even the culture.

10. Most of us would rather move to another foreign country than back to our passport country. I honestly would prefer moving to South America, Africa, or somewhere in Europe than go back to live in the United States. The US is more of a foreign country to me than any other place. Don't get me wrong. I love the US, and support those who fight for it. My family is quite patriotic in that we love and will fight for our passport country, and we pray for our leader. I enjoy going to the States for a few months on visits... but after the third month has passed, I'm ready to come home. Our sending country is not home to us. So many people have asked me, "So, are you happy to be back home with your family?" Excited to visit America? Yes. Excited to see my family? Yes. Is it home? No. Am I excited to go back to China? Yes.


And last but not least...

11. We. Are. Not. Perfect. You may be reading this and thinking, "Of COURSE they're not perfect." But we MK's often get a different vibe. Our parents are Missionaries. The high and mighty Missionaries. So holy. Such good Christians. They can do no wrong. ...you think I'm exaggerating. Our parents are Missionaries, and because of that, people often believe what I wrote up above. That they are more holier, that they are better Christians. Because we are the children of the Missionaries, we are often put upon the same pedestal. Yes, we know... "People look up to us." "We need to be good examples." We don't feel like there is room for us to slip up, even once in a while.

In all reality, cultural differences and titles aside, we MK's and TCK's are just the same as every other average kid, teenager, and adult out there. We have struggles. We hurt. We enjoy life. We enjoy simple things like reading a book... we don't have to be out hunting tigers to have satisfaction in our lives. Sure, we might enjoy different sorts of things than those people in our sending countries, but we're still people like everyone else. We make mistakes. We yell and get into arguments with our parents and siblings. We can be lazy. We can be struggling in keeping up with our personal Quiet Time with God. We might even be at a point where we don't necessarily like or want to do what God is telling us.


So were you surprised by any of the things I've mentioned? There are many other things I could have chosen, but alas, my post would go on and on.

Land of Aloha

Aloha! Yes, yes, I'm back from the nice warm beaches of Hawaii!

We were gone from Yanji for two weeks, and had short stops in Beijing and South Korea on the way to and from Hawaii. So, the time actually spent in Hawaii was really only about a week long. We felt so abused... We were really suffering for Jesus. ;)

One of my favorite things we did in Hawaii was visit Pearl Harbor. My family is really into history, especially the history of our own country, so we were really excited about going. I have to say... I did not expect it to be such an emotional experience...

We first sat through a video with real footage of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I may or may not have shed a few tears, hehe... Then we took a boat out to the USS Arizona Memorial. The ship is now a coral reef, and in the water we could see bright fish swimming around. It felt slightly strange walking above an underwater cemetery...

Another fun thing we did at Pearl Harbor was explore a submarine. Pure awesomeness, right there. ;) I'm still trying to figure out how people moved around quickly on those things...

We also visited beaches. In fact, our guest house was right on the beach, so I was able to wake up every morning to the view of the waves crashing. Our beach adventures included snorkeling, swimming with sea turtles, playing pirate, and Hanissa squealing and shouting, "NAKED NAKED!" every time she saw a woman in a bikini.

...Oh yes... we had to teach her very quickly to keep quiet when she saw something like that... So, in the end, she simple got wide-eyed and pointed. What can I say, though? The child comes from a country where they dress very conservatively. The poor thing had never even seen my family members in tank-tops and shorts (because in Yanji, it's cold during the winter), much less seen people in swimsuits. Needless to say, it was amusing.

Between beaches, Pearl Harbor, shopping, "The Hobbit," and spending time with family, our time in Hawaii was wonderful. It was relaxing and warm and beautiful. I wouldn't have minded staying there an extra week, though I'm happy to be back home in China.