祝你生日快乐李果!!!

Привет!

Tuesday was our dear friend Ruth's birthday. Ruth is an English teacher here at ZJ Normal, and her father is a retired professor of this college. Ruth also is the Chinese tutor for all of the foreigners here (except for David and myself). She also is one of our good friends, and an all around helpful person to have around.

In a lot of ways Ruth is like the big sister I never had. She takes good care of all of us, but I am especially grateful for her gentle spirit. Ruth's faith is as strong as anyone I have ever met, and she has been a true gift from above this year. Her words of encouragement, her commitment to the Word, and her desire to grow in her beliefs have been a real inspiration to me. I am so grateful to my Father for allowing the two of us to spend this year together. Our time together has been, and continues to be, a real blessing in my life.

So to celebrate we got together at Linda's place for a meal. Linda cooked a delicious spread of North American cuisine (Linda's Canadian ;-) and we were all stuffed by the end. Below are some pictures from the nights festivities. Happy Birthday Ruth!

The Birthday Girl!

Ruth and her friend Nancy

Linda is quite the cook....

Make a wish....

...and blow!

Talk about a useful gift. That scarf will really come in handy in Zhanjiang. Especially with all those sub-70 degree days we have here. Brrrr...

There is nothing "Normal" about this group of teachers...
(l-r: Russel, Linda, Kevin, John, moi, Ruth, MJ, David, Ben)

-高占阳