China Day 51: Another Great Day...

Today was AWESOME! We had a wonderful day at church today – we had some special guests visit us in our little Branch and it was a really neat experience. The take-aways from church today are that we need to be willing to do the hard things in life and how this will ultimately help us to grow and become more like our Savior. Our afflictions can be consecrated for our gain...(2 Nephi 2:1-2). I needed to hear this because sometimes we pray that our pain and suffering will be taken away and that life will be easy for us... but sometimes it is hard, and that is ok. I am going to quote Missy Ashton (mother of Jeremy – who came over here to China not long ago with Jeremy to receive stem cell treatment) “What's wrong with hard?” ...that is what she says – and I think it is a good quote to keep in mind. Hard things help us to grow, and if we didn't have hard things in our lives, we could not reach our potential.

As we look to the future in hopes of Dan's recovery, we believe that we must do our part if we are to expect the blessings from Heaven. We must 'do the hard things' like daily, repetitive therapy and not get distracted or give up. It will take time and a lot of hard work on Dan's part to see the benefits from this amazing treatment that he is getting, We are committed to do our part, and we appreciate all of the support that is offered through prayers, comments, emails and phone calls. When we are discouraged and the progress seems slow, we remember all the people that are behind us, cheering us on... and that gives us the courage and strength to move forward! Thank you all for your support – it really does make a difference for us!!

Here is a picture of the building that where we go to church – it is called the 'Golden Tower'.






We went over to our hometeachers (Mac and Janet Coleman) for dinner again today – they are so great – we get a FABULOUS meal there every week! Today they invited the young, single adults over as well – and I think there was about 34 people there total! As you can see the food was great!



Mac and Janet Coleman – Mac is dressed in his military uniform as today is Armistice Day / Veteran's Day. He reminded us that on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month the agreement was signed to end World War 1. As we appreciate our freedoms and all that we have been given, we should take some time to remember that we have this because a soldier fought for us to have this blessing. We should take a moment to remember and honor those soldiers and appreciate all that we have because of them! Thanks, Mac, for reminding us of how lucky we really are!