Visit with the Bennetts

First ~ thank you for your encouraging comments, Cheri and Aunt Carol and Kendal. :) I'm still in a frustrating place but learning in deeper ways that I depend on God every day. I guess we all do, don't we? :) I was reminded again today that God is the one who does the work. I simply can't do it in my own strength. And so often when I get up in the morning I start right into my to-do list without asking God for strength and grace for my day. Not very smart... Good fruit rarely (okay, never) results from independence from God.

Anyway... This past Thursday and Friday I was able to see the Bennetts who are visiting from China! I hadn't seen them in at least two years, some of them longer than that. They were staying with my parents in Lexington on Thursday night and leaving on Friday, so I went down for that time period too. Jeff couldn't come with me since he was working and all.

Kim Bennett is who invited me to go to China back in 2004, and he and his wife Jing are still in ministry there. They have two sons, Elan and Ray, and a little four-year-old girl, Angie. Angie was born after I left China and I find it highly unfair that she knows more Chinese than I do! :) She is a sharp little girl and definitely has a gift to be a teacher. She very attentively corrected my Chinese as I tried talking to her. Love it! I had a ball getting to know her and reconnecting with the rest of the family too.

On Thursday night we had a big dinner with the Bennetts as well as the Schneiders, Grandpa & Grandmom, and Patrick (a VMI cadet who spends a lot of time with my parents). A full house, good food, good fellowship, even the celebration of Kim's birthday which he had forgotten about... :)

Here's Grandmom with Kim and little Angie:


Angie and Maggie on the back porch... Gorgeous girls!
The whole crowd, minus Patrick who was taking the picture:
Grace, Jing, and Angelika Grace (who was named after Grace Schneider)
Angie and I spent a good amount of time on Friday playing with Rummikub tiles... I practiced my Chinese with the numbers and colors on the tiles and other things throughout the room, and she corrected me as needed (which was often)... and she was meticulous about getting that row of tiles in perfect order. So cute.

My new friend and me about to say goodbye:
We love you, Bennetts!