In Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring

It's been a while since I last posted on this blog (last post in 2020)! Time has flown by so quickly. For 2020, 2021, and 2022, our family has been blessed to do a fun summer road trip from CA to the east coast. We've been blessed to visit the OH Scriptorium, dear friends, and fun places along the way. This year, we weren't able to make it to the east coast again, but we are doing a short 1-week trip up to northern CA and Oregon.  My family and I were blessed to visit Lava Beds National Monument again! When we visited in 2017, I posted about our visit: http://insummerautumnwinterspring.blogspot.com/2017/07/lava-beds-national-monument.html On Tuesday 6/27/2023, we visited Mushpot cave again and Valentine's cave. Mushpot is a beginner cave with paved paths and lighting inside. Valentine's cave was named for the day it was discovered and has bumpy lava paths, pillars, and sections with low ceilings where you need to duck walk or crawl. Anabel has been so brave and pers...

Pray for the peace of Wuhan, China! As the coronavirus outbreak spreads, please continue to pray for the people of Wuhan, China (where the outbreak is concentrated) and for all those suffering from the outbreak. I would like to share a Chinese hymn written especially for the people of Wuhan.  Click here  for the link to the audio recording of this song (http://www.zanmeishi.com/song/41507.html). Below are the Chinese lyrics along with the English translation by my sister Catherine. "Wuhan, Wuhan, You Are Not Alone!" Written and composed by Xiao Ming English translation by Catherine Chen 武汉！武汉！你不孤单！ 武汉！武汉！擦干泪眼！ 武汉！武汉！你要壮胆！ 你的名字牵动着华人的心弦！ 成千上万的天使向你走来， 血脉相连的同胞与你肩并肩。 上帝已兴起亚伦站立天地间， 瘟疫必止息不见！ 灾难中要闭门思过， 逾越节的羔羊为你被献。 我们有责任为你昼夜求平安！ 武汉平安！ 中国平安！ Wuhan, Wuhan, you aren't alone! Wuhan, Wuhan, wipe your tears! Wuhan, Wuhan, be courageous! Your name touches the hearts of your people. Tens of thousands of angels descend upon you, Shoulder to shoulder ...

"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" -Psalm 34:8 God is truly so good to us! On our flight to China in December, we received an unexpected surprise! God blessed the morning of our flight so that everything went quickly and smoothly – the car ride to the airport, the security check, and finding our boarding gate. We arrived at the gate of our departure over 2 hours early! While we waited for our flight, I read my Bible, wrote in my Bible journal, jotted down a few paragraphs in my diary, and then walked around the airport with my mom. While we were walking around, we found a bookstore! I started reading books, and then I lost track of time... "Grace, we need to go!" called my brother. I glanced at my watch. Wow! It was 10:00 am! I had been reading for a long time. I knew that boarding started at 10:00 am, and the gate closed at 10:40 am. There was no need to rush, especially because we are in economy class an...

We're up in the air again! This time, from Beijing to Vancouver (we'll be transferring there)! The wind was big and strong today, but the sky was blue and the clouds were white and puffy. We waited in the plane for a while, because it was not safe to fly in such a strong wind. Meanwhile, we were busy taking pictures! Freckles the bunny on the plane:  Anabel: As usual, there was a Safety Booklet that taught you about what to do in the case of an emergency. Also located in the pocket of the seat in front of you was a magazine: Air Canada's magazine. The magazine was mostly about duty-free items for sale, advertisements, and news articles, but there was also a fun puzzle inside! There was also a description of the planes in the Air Canada fleet. The Boeing 737 MAX-8 plane was one of them, too. Finally, after a long period of waiting, our plane took off! In the air... at last! Good-bye, Beijing! I...