Update 7/6/25: Day 39&40

Psalm 107:28-31 “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and He brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man!”

Wayne and Sophia made it safely back to Kentucky. They had a crazy late night and day of flying. He was exhausted when I spoke with him, but glad to be back home. I know I will feel the same way in a week!

7/5/25:

The kids and I spent the afternoon with Wei Wei and Jason. We started out eating a delicious lunch. Micaela was thrilled to get a pineapple bun from Hong Kong that was shaped like a turtle. 🩷

There are so many different restaurants in China. I don’t know how they all stay in business, and yet they do because of the vast number of people. I cannot wait for a huge, fresh salad when I get to the states! I’m tired of eating out. 

A creative food delivery guy’s outfit. His hat cracked us up. 

We hiked partly along the Mountain to the Sea trail today. Next time I come to Xiamen, I would like to do the whole thing. It is about 32 miles, but you cover from the west to the east side of Xiamen Island. We had great weather! The breeze off the ocean was heavenly. You can tell the storm is getting closer. 

This island in the middle of all the Chinese islands belongs to Taiwan. 

Excuse our sweat! Any time you step outside here, let alone hike for 3+ miles, you are guaranteed to sweat. 

The heavens declare the glory of God. The colors were so vibrant today. 

Anyone want to come walk this with me in the future? China has spent a lot of money on this trail. It is all raised off the ground almost like a road.

Joella was brave and sang karaoke at the beach. 

Public transportation heading home. We are getting good at this! 

A little evening treat since it was so hot. 

7/6/25:

We spent most of the day playing games and doing some laundry to pack tomorrow. Then Wei Wei came over and we continued our C2C study together. Afterwards, we took a subway to visit Jimei Village School and watch airplanes approaching Xiamen Airport, as requested by Jason. Wei Wei told us that the airport will be closing on the island of Xiamen and moving to the mainland of Xiamen because land in the island is valuable. We ended our day eating dinner with Wei Wei’s mom, who I haven’t seen since she came to America in 2019/2020 with the family. 

Reunited after 5 years! 🩷

This dish here is called Tusun Dong. Pretty much it is jelly worms. Go google what they do with these. I had told Wei Wei I would be willing to try one and I kept my word. Shan was able to get his down and Micaela was a trooper. It made her sick, and yet she somehow managed to keep chewing and swallow, despite her body fighting it. Joella only got it in her mouth and she couldn’t do anything more. This will be another one and done experience for us! 

Prayer Request:

So here is where my huge request comes in. We are closely watching a typhoon storm (aka hurricane) that is currently in the Taiwan Strait. You can see the arrow in the pictures below that is the direction we will be traveling on Tuesday to get to Changshu. We will be traveling right through the area the storm is supposed to turn over land. Can you pray with us that the storm dissipates, goes a different direction, or passes way before we are to travel here?

Gk

G