Hey Everyone
Jesse and I have been busy out of our minds. It’s not a bad thing but it has kept us from some of our school work. We have been finishing up with our tutor he had to go back to school on the other side of the country. Thank Dad for all the times we manage to share with him and the book we were able to leave him with. Hopefully the book can answer some of his questions. Please continue to talk to Dad about him. A funny story about our tutor is that we took him to a more tourist spot in the city where we can get some western food if we are crazing it. Our tutor is kind of skinny, but that did not keep him from eating a monster of a burger. The funny part is I did not even finish all off mine.
We have also been preparing to switch our visas from tourist to students, so we can go to school here. Dad has really blessed me in particular, because the student visas get here the day we start classes and my tourist visa expires two days after that. I am very thankful about Fathers timing. In preparing for the application to go to the school we had to get tested for HIV and needed our livers checked. Each person was responsible for making sure the nurse used a clean needle, and writing your name on the tube of your blood. Of course I got a little light headed after having my blood drawn and needed to have a seat for a while. We were told to return on Monday to get the results. When we went back they only gave us the liver test, so tomorrow we are going back again to try to find the results to our HIV test.
My parents came to visit me and Jesse this week. We took them all over town to the area that we do the majority of our work, to the village where we did our home stay, and had them climb the small mountain close to where we live. One day Jesse left my parents and me to do some home work, as I showed them around town. We came by the apartment to pick Jesse up for dinner. Apparently he had been locked out. I realized I had left my key inside as well. No one has a key besides us, there are no locksmiths, and the whole door is one big metal lock. We had to call someone to break our window and then replace it the next day. Oh yeah we live on the fifth floor of the building. Dad was defiantly watching that guys back. We made sure to give a key to our land lady and SV.
On the weird food topic the only thing I have had recently that most westerners don’t like is stinky tofu. I was out with our tutor for lunch. He wanted to take me to a place close to a park to eat. We got a variety of fried foods potatoes, mushrooms, ect. The tofu came out and he was explaining what the meaning of the name was. It literally translates “smelly tofu, because the smell is not so great”. I had heard that this was one of the worst foods hear from some of the other westerners, but to be honest it was not that bad.
In the part of town where we do most of our work we are working hard to build relationships with the people. One day we went out there with our SV to talk to some of the teacher at a elementary school about teaching English, and to talk to the local government about doing a health clinic in the area. They gave us permission to do whatever we needed to help the people. The clinic will be the center of our work here. Please talk to Dad about us meeting people that will be excepting of our message.
Your Brother, Justin

Ni hao, we have been here about a month and are starting to learn how to put together sentences. We are still eating some weird things. The funny part is that the things that Jesse does not like I can handle pretty well and vice versa. Jesse ate about half a plate of small dried fish, some unidentified raw meat, and all the loa jiao (hot peppers) he can handle. I drank almost two cups of yak butter tea at a meal, most of the fried tofu, and tree fungus. We thank DAD because we have gotten through all of our meals, and we have split the grosses plates between us.
I was sitting with our host family and some of their friends. They were teaching me some vocabulary, and asking me some simple questions. The question about what I believe came up, and I told them I was a C. The conversation continue and I was not able to keep up, but the man who ask me the question seemed to be interested in what talking to DAD was about. I told that when we talk to DAD we are thanking him for the people around us. I hope my language was clear enough for the people to understand. We try to meet almost every day with our language teacher. Last week Jesse and I got to talk to our language tutor about what we believe. He had some misconceptions about what Cs believed that we could clarify it better. After that we watched the Chronicles of Narnia and were able to explain some of the meanings.
The thing that is bothering the most at this point is that for the past two days my bike has been locked up to another bike, so I can’t use it. I have to remind myself that I am hear the represent Father; He might be using the situation for His good. Not having a bike for awhile might lead me to new people that I would not have got to talk to. It is frustrating, but I know that it is Father that is in control and it is His purpose that I’m here. The situation just reminds me that I need to praise DAD for everything not just the good.
One of the greatest things has happened since we have been here is our host family got to hear the entire message. A lot of times our family would call our supervisor for interpretations, and to find out what we were doing. One night they invited him over to eat dinner with us. He brought over a film and a track in the language. They listen to the whole thing, and were able to answer questions about the message. Jesse and I were just excited that Father allowed us to be involved.
Dad is testing us in many different ways. Please keep us in mind when you talk to Dad. We need all the help we can get when it comes to the language, and meet new people that we can make connections with. Will you also talk to DAD about opening more doors with our tutor?
Love your brother
Justin