May 2009 was certainly a blessing to the three teachers from Western China and to all of us.
When they arrived at Katie’s place from the airport on Thursday evening, yummy fried noodles and a hearty welcome awaited them. The next morning, they tried their very first bagel at Shoreline Community College where Philip arranged a wonderful campus tour for them. They had a chance to talk with some students with cerebral palsy who aspired to be social workers and teachers – something that’s impossible in China. Roger treated them to lunch afterwards and Philip took them to visit the school for the blind in the afternoon. We also visited the talking book library as suggested by Thomas’s coworker. In the evening, Christine took them to try Thai food for their very first time. On Saturday morning, they had their first taste of a Western breakfast at Denny’s. Afterwards, Julie and James took them sightseeing at Seattle Waterfront, Coleman Ferry Terminal, Port of Seattle and Pike Place Market. They also shopped at various places like Westlake Center and Bellevue Square. Many of us had hot pot with the teachers in Katie’s place on Saturday night. It was no joke that the teachers even brought their own super hot and spicy hotpot soup base! While we had breakfast at Katie’s place on Sunday morning, Katie continued to exchange cooking ideas with them. Katie was literally photocopying recipes for them until the last minute before they left for the airport.
One of the teachers, Betty, told me that she has never experienced such fun gatherings in her life. She remarked that our fellowship was so genuine and warm. She concluded, “This is a gift from God.”