Now We Wait...

From my understanding, we had our LAST interview last night!! The interview was for me and Andrew, but done separately. My interview was about 35 minutes and Andrew's was about 40 minutes. You will all be happy to know that we are not insane (not clinically anyways). This interview was a follow up from the 344 personality/stress questions we answered about 6 weeks ago (scroll down and see the post i did about the tests).


We were asked to clarify some background information, such as, how many siblings we have, their age, what our upbringing was like, what are parents were/are like. It was pretty basic stuff. Glad i had a good childhood! I was also asked about my church life, and what I'm involved in with that. She came to the conclusion that we are a busy family. Um, yeah! After we went through all this, she got to the the results of the 344 questions. I hope you're sitting down, as this may come as a surprise (ok, not really). The results showed that I am an over achiever and a perfectionist and that Andrew has a big heart and is a people person. I know you are all completely shocked by these results! lol At least we know they are accurate! We were told that we were just out of the normal range for these things, but not so much that it was concerning. She said that we both have to be aware of our boundaries and we have to be able to say NO if we are getting over whelmed. She also said that I have to be comfortable if people do not do things as I would or I do not do things perfectly in a foreign country. I understand. I'm WAY better then I was a few years ago! 


Too bad we had to pay $380 Australian dollars to find out what we knew already. Oh well.


So now we wait. Again. The lady will type up our results by the end of the week and send them to our contact person, Jannene, with International China Concern. Hopefully Jannene will get the results by next week. Once she gets them, she will have to review them and then give us, as she said, 'the green light'. Its coming to end, and a beginning. So much more to do once we get the 'okay'.


In preparation for going to China, we have started our Mandarin lessons. So far we can say 'Hello', 'How are you?', 'I'm good', 'I am (insert your name)', 'Good night' and 'Good evening'. We are also learning the Chinese vowels. There are 6 vowels. Each vowel has 4 tones (sounds). Then there are a double vowels. We've learned 3 vowels and about 10 double vowels. Yeah. Wish us luck!


So, that my friends, is all I have to say for now. Hopefully we will know by Christmas what our future looks like. Thanks to all of you for praying for us. We really appreciate it.

Time For An Update

I heard the other day our packages arrived in Australia!!!! Yay!!! Apparently it will take 2 weeks for the agency to tally the results and give them to International China Concern. I'm hoping those 2 weeks includes our Skype interviews we need to have with Compassion Services (the agency that tallies our questionnaires). If I'm counting the days from the time they said they received the packages, then by November 18, 2011 we should be done with the main paperwork and should have our 'yes' or 'no' and a potential arrival date in China.


We began Mandarin lessons last week. We learned what we already knew: how to say 'hello' and 'how are you?'. We learned how to reply 'i am fine'. Lets hope that is really how I'm feeling when they ask! LOL We are taking lessons from a girl who lives in Calgary. We are doing the lessons via Skype and we are following along on a website. Click here to view the website. Yes, it is in Chinese. Click on START. Then go to 01, then the first link under that. That is what we learned last week. Mess around with the links on the right side and see what you may learn. (When we pulled this website up on our main computer, it came up in English. I'm not sure how that happened, but maybe it will happen for you too) Andrew and I are taking the lessons then will teach the kids. They are excited to learn! So if you call here and we answer 'ni hao' just repeat - we are just saying 'hello' :)


Hopefully in 10 days or so I can write again saying ICC wants us to come out in August 2012. We are feeling very confident that they want us to come work for ICC, but there is that side of us that feels we should be a little cautious. With all the time and effort we have put into this, combined with all the positive feedback we have received from ICC, we cant believe this will turn out any other way.


Anyways, check back in a couple of weeks...
Until then, we continue to covet your prayers for clarity, contentment, peace, patience (I hesitate to ask for patience as God always gives you a lesson in patience! lol) and protection. Thanks everyone! We love you all.

Time For A Video :)

A friend of mine found this video and sent it to me. I think it is a really good over-view of China. It covers different cultural norms and also some information about China. I am pleased to say that while watching this, I didnt really learn anything new. This is good for me because it means I know stuff about where I hope to be living. LOL I hope you will all take time to watch this and learn a little about China. 


Andrew and I start Mandarin lessons on Thursday. Hopefully we will be able to take the lessons, learn them, then teach the kids. Everyone is excited about learning Mandarin. There may be a new language being spoken if you ever enter our home.


We still havent heard back from Compassion Services (the questionnaires). Its only been 10 days. Hopefully they will receive the packages by the end of this week. We are so anxious to hear back. I have started to purge and post things on Kijiji to sell in hopes of hearing "We want you guys in China next summer".


I know God is teaching us many things through this process. One thing He is teaching us is to be patient. He is also teaching us to grow together as a family and to rely on Him. We are learning what its like to live on minimal income. One thing we were asked in our interviews was how we felt about living on faith, in regards to our finances. Well, for the past couple of years that is exactly what we have been doing. God has slowly been taking more and more income away from us and showing us (ok, me) how little we actually need to live with. As I said, I'm even starting to sell things on Kijiji. Dont be surprised if you come to visit us in the spring and we are sitting on the floor because we have sold everything. We are really learning how to live with less. And it feels great!


Anyways, thats all for tonight friends. Hope you all have a great week. Hopefully I will have an update for y'all next week :)