Last, but not least, is Anna, the tiny little dynamo who covered a lot of ground with me the Sunday before I left. (123). Finally you see me as a fire-eating dragon in a Chinese opera set. Dragons are good luck for the Chinese - my good luck comes from a different source. Praise the Lord!

Next is "Sunny" (082), what a perfect name for someone with a bright personality. She is a news caster on one of the local TV channels, speaking in Mandarin, as she is originally from China. In the group photo of part of the team on the Monday before I left, you can see Sunny and Maggie on the right. Maggie is the office manager, who keeps Concordia English Center running, by scheduling classes and doing all kinds of thoughtful things. Sunny and Maggie may surprise us with a December visit to New England - don't tell anyone just yet. In the pink sweater is Marry Eddy U our team leader. Look back through the photos in my blog and you will now see some familiar faces.

Farewell

I'm back in Boxford, MA. My mission to Macau was about people and places - at the heart it was about some very special people - seekers, new Christians and seasoned laborers for Christ. They will continue to be in my prayers, as I share their stories with my friends and family in the United States. First is an interior photo of one of the "canals" inside the Venetian Casino and Resort (014). This casino is spectacular to visit and a good place to enjoy a meal. Casinos are so central to the Macau economy, however, for me the people are what make Macau important to me.

The Altar

Lenten Season

Macau was a Portuguese colony for 400 years, which is what gives it its unique look and flavors. There are several beautiful Roman Catholic churches, so Christianity is not new concept. This is St. Lawrence Church and it's altar as prepared for the Lenten season. (066 & 062) Imagine what it will look like for Easter!

Lenten Season

A Hong Kong parish, Church of All Nations (022), sent a 15 member English speaking team to Macau on March 14. This team provided a lively two hours to meet our students at small tables and speak English with them on any topics they that interested them such as families, volunteering, travel and even American cowboys.

Lenten Season

During Lent the Friday night Bible classes at St. Paul's Lutheran Church have been using the Alpha course, which was developed in England. It gives our students a chance to develop a richer vocabulary and deeper understanding of Scripture. (001)

March 15

Now you see the dinner (113) with Anna and the son as the proud cooks. There are three kinds of cooked greens - that beautiful lettuce was cooked. There is Portuguese style rice with tomatoes, onions, garlic and Portuguese sausage (my favorite). Then you see the whole fish cooked with special herbs, the chicken and chicken corn soup in the bowls. The last photo is the cheerful grandfather. These people opened up their hearts and home to me - none of them could speak English except Anna, which is why I never got to write down their names. Anna's best friend said next time she should bring someone like me to visit earlier in my stay, I would love that.

Jane

March 15

We headed down to Coloane, the farthest point at the end of Macau. We rode in a bus first, then in her friend's family car with the grandmother, husband and wife. They sent me out to the garden with Anna's friend and her 84 year old mother, where we picked beautiful lettuce (111), while Anna and her friend's husband were inside cooking up a wonderful dinner. I also was outside with Anna while she washed and rinsed the lettuce and other greens many times. Soon the son of the family arrived with his eight month old son and his and his mother-in-law. The son also joined in the cooking. A little while later, the daughter-in-law and the grandfather arrived, so we now had four generations of the family in the house on the original farm - one of the few small farms left in Macau. Most of the family now lives in the central part of Macau, but they come to Coloane for special occasions and just to enjoy this beautiful spot.

March 15

My last days in Macau were packed happiness and sadness. Spring and azaleas blooming come a little earlier than in New England. They were in full bloom for March 15. (104) My last Sunday at St. Paul's Church was then. When I told my little friend Anna this, as we were coming out of church, she said I want to take you out to lunch - this was 11:30 AM, we never arrived home until 10:30 that evening! We packed in quite a day, most of the following photos come from that day. We walked to many places that I still wanted to see. She got on her phone several times and arranged for us to go to visit her "best friend" at dinner time and Anna was going to do the cooking. After lots of sightseeing and a a foot massage we went to the fresh or the wet market right in the main square to pick up the ingredients for dinner. (094) You can see the chicken we had for dinner- guaranteed fresh!

Questions

Recently someone asked me what it is like living in Macau. Actually it's quite modern. All the teachers live in high rise apartments - not luxurious, but decent. I live on the 25th floor with my roommate Kali (021). Our balcony looks out at another high rise balcony. We recently were the third house in a house blessing/progressive dinner. We served the main course, lasagna, for the entree. We had to go to three stores before we had all the ingredients. Western food is readily available, just a bit scattered. Lots of food products come from Hong kong, New Zealand and Australia.

As you can see the kitchen is tiny, however, we have made some great meals. We have a gas cook top. The picture where I am serving lasagna is in the dining area, where we have our cupboard space - though it's just open cupboards with a portable oven, it's kind of like dorm living. We have bunk beds, but we each have our own bedroom.

We have a wash machine, but no dryer. For drying clothes, we hang them on the balcony, as the rest of our neighbors do. There is a problem lately, it has gotten so humid, that wash takes two days to dry! So we have been doing some improvising. Kali has put up an expandable shower rod in her bedroom, so we can hang some things there and run the air conditioning on "dehumidify" during the day or we can hang them is the bathroom and put a dehumidifier in the shower over night. I will really appreciate my dryer when I get home!

My final photo for today shows the humidity we have have had for the past two weeks - it lasts like this they tell me for two months, then the rains come. This is the Macau tower and the Sai Pan Bridge to Taipa.

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon for spring time in Massachusetts.

Blessings,
Jane

Jane Moody
in Macau

Real People

It hasn't been easy thinking of the blog since March 1, but I'm back in gear. You are all in my prayers and I hope to be in church on March 22.
Now for the blog and one more will follow this one, then a final one next week.

These four photos show some dear people in Macau. The first two are at the senior center at Coloane which is at the very end of the second island. We did a craft project that could be used as a bookmark or for a wall hanging. The red part in the middle says "God is Love" in English and Chinese. Many of these people over sixty were never taught to read. The lady in the hat is 87 years old. She is one of the most responsive ones in the group - she did get an education.

The church picture shows part of the deaf choir that sang at Christmas and family members. The couple in front are deaf and she is holding their baby. They are related to members of St. Paul's Church. Pastor Yung has on a black robe and red stole. One of the the things that troubled me when I came to Macau was that their was no sign on the outside of the building that showed that to show this was St. Paul's Church. I questioned and talked about t his, until finally the church and the English Center contributed and the sign went up in time for Christmas. Praise the Lord! Continue to pray for the mission/vision of St. Paul's. They are also praying for OSLC.

Blessings, Jane

Jane Moody
in Macau

Feb 22 - Birthday, Relationship building #2

Now the relay teams are really into competition ((033). It was all good fun with people of all ages learning new English words, including, "God's blessings on you."

Finally the cakes made by the teachers with a total of 70 candles - that was blaze to blow out. It's fun to be blessed with 70 years.
Jane


Jane Moody
in Macau

Feb 22 - Birthday Party in Macau - Relationship building

Did we have the birthday party at the the glitzy Lisboa Casino? (053)


No! The February social event at Concordia English Center was an awesome birthday party for me with American style party games. Here is Jeff an archeology student making a birthday card (018). Then there was a contest between four teams making a "structure" out of 70 pieces of different shapes of macaroni, peanuts, colored markers (029). The same four teams had to deposit their shoes, which they did all very neatly, until Jan our "party director" mixed them all up (038).

More in next e-mail.



Jane Moody
in Macau

Relationship Building

Right now at the English Center, we have eight teachers, so I am not assigned any students. Now my focus has changed more to Relationship Building, which is also part of my mission. There are three people here more or less permanently, so the English Center depends on short term volunteers to do most of the teaching. Right now we have too many teachers, however during the April-May term there will not be enough teachers. We are praying for a few more volunteers.

Here's a little on how we go about relationship building. I am involved in conversation in English with students at our two hour lunch times Tuesday through Friday. Friday at lunch we got into a big discussion of American history , starting with beginnings of the American Revolution in Boston, Tea party etc. Then there was a question about African American history and we got into the causes of the Civil War and finally up to Obama being president. One of the young men is studying archeology, so that led us into the history discussion. He brought in a textbook showing how they have traced the migration of various people groups through their DNA. We are encouraged to find creative ways to form relationships with people who are interested. A girl named Candy, from mainland China, works at the security desk where you enter our building. She often comes to our lunch get togethers. She is trying very hard to learn English. She has an accounting degree, but her job doesn't really make use of her skills. Today, Valentine's Day, is her birthday, so we gave her a book of devotions, signed by all the teachers. Candy's bright smile graces our comings and goings.

I am also involved in the Tuesday and Friday night free Bible Classes. Last night for the Friday class, which is at the church we started the Alpha course. Are you familiar with that? It originated in England. We have a video in "British" English with Chinese subtitles, then discussion. We divide into smaller groups after the video, according to those who know a lot of English, some English and no English. I was with the group that know some English last night. The groups are led by Macanese, who are fairly fluent in English, and as teachers we can jump in and clarify if needed. It went quite well.

Another way we build relationships is through monthly Sunday afternoon or evening social events. The event for February is to celebrate Jane Moody's 70th birthday! My birthday was on February 6, so I celebrated in Singapore with my friend Eng and family that was 3 days of non stop celebration - I needed a rest after that vacation! It looks like the BIG 7-0 will be a long celebration, including my family and grandchildren when I get back home.


Blessings,
Jane

Year of The Ox

January 24 began the Year of the OX for the Lunar new year. This is the best rendering of an Ox I have seen so far. (064). Standing near the Ox was this little boy celebrating the holiday with his family (063).

Blessings,
Jane

There are many recent archaeological discoveries in old Canton. (058) Remains of streets from several eras going back to the Ming dynasty were discovered when they were rebuilding the main street.

When they were digging the foundation of a new building they discovered a huge area of an old palace and a man-made brook of how it may have looked flowing through the grounds. There was a highly developed system for lowering and raising the water level of the water way. A rendering of how it may have looked is what you see in (058) I found this dig nearly as impressive as the dig in Xian with the Warriors.

Beijing Street is the main shopping street. It is decorated for Chinese New year, so you see lots of red, including the flag of China. It is a very crowded street. (054, 057).

Happy Lunar new year and more Guangzhou scenes

The days we visited Guangzhou were very overcast and cloudy (046, 047), so the Pearl river has a silvery gray look. We crossed the Pearl river River on a ferry to get to some of the older parts of the city. It's a very watery city with many bridges.

If you are a reader of Chinese literature/novels your view of Canton may be like (059). Most of Canton looks much more modern, which you will see in my next entry.

Blessings,
Jane

Alina and I are hugging a lion in front of one of the modern buildings ((037). Notice the reflection of more modern buildings.

The main gate is at the North entrance bordering the River. (039 and 043).

The University was formerly Lignan University started by Presbyterians in the early 1900's. The original red brick architecture and layout is very beautiful with gates at the north, south east and west entrances. (010) This is one of the original buildings, now in some disrepair, but still very beautiful. Many buildings had/have blue tile roofs.

Back in Macau - Blog on Guangzhou (Canton)

Here are blog entries for my visit to Guangzhou (Canton) on January 28-29.

I visited Sun Yat-sen University with Alina, David and their son Jerry. Alina and David both have degrees from this University. It is named for Sun Yat-sen, who was a native of this province, and an early Chinese leader who saw the importance of uniting China into one country. He spent time in his childhood in Hawaii and it had a great impact on his ideas. (068) is a statue of Sun Yat-sen at his Memorial Hall in the city.

Back in Macau

Greetings from the Concordia English Center in Macau,

I'm back! I arrived back in Macau last night after spending Feb. 4-8 in Singapore. It's the end of a two week break, so I'm back at the Center catching up on e-mail and finally getting a chance to use my own computer!

We officially begin again tomorrow, however I had lunch today with Mary Eddy U, our local center manager and John Bowerman, one of the permanent teachers here. I found they are in desperate need for a short term teacher for the term beginning April 7 and going until May 23. It would be good to arrive at least 5 days before the classes begin. You need to have a current passport. The cost is the cost of a round trip flight, plus $250 a month for utility costs and food, which is quite minimal. Do you think someone from OSLC would be interested?

It is teaching adults conversational English. The main requirement is to be on current events and enjoy talking to people.

If this sounds like something that may be possible, please contact Jennifer Mustard at LCMS World Missions in St. Louis. Any more questions, let me know.

Blessings,
Jane

Chinese Lunar New Year

I've been in Zhuhai, China since Jan.25. I am visiting my friend Alina and her family, David and Jerry. I hosted Alina when she was a student at Harvard. It has been a fairly quiet time, as they are on vacation, as is the English Center in Macau. Everyone takes off one to two weeks for the Lunar New Year. It is a family time, so families visit each other. Alina and David's families live in Kunming, Yunnan Province. It didn't work out for us to visit them.

We did go to Guangzhou (formerly Canton) on January 28-29. We visited and stayed at Sun Yat-sen University, where Alina and David went to school. It is a beautiful campus with red brick buildings in Chinese style. It is laid out in two main tree-lined boulevards: north to south and east to west with four gates at each end. The original buildings built around 1905 are still in use, but of course many new modern buildings have been added, as about 20,000 students are enrolled. Some of the new buildings are also red brick. It was originally Lingnan University founded by the Presbyterians. Lingnan is now in Hong Kong.

We also visited an archeological site going back to the Ming Dynasty and the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Guangzhou. Our mistake was having dinner at a restaurant where there weren't too many patrons. Jerry (age 12) and I got very sick that night from contaminated food. In the morning we went to a clinic and were given antibiotics. It has taken us several days of careful eating to get back to normal. We are calling our return to Zhuhai on Thursday, the "Flight from Guangzhou."

Next I will visit Singapore from Feb. 4-8. I will visit Eng Titus Yong, another Harvard student I hosted six years ago. His wife Li Ching had their first child, Aron, in Boston at Brigham and Women's. They have a two year old daughter named Chloe. This is a Christian family. Eng was converted in Malaysia when he was 14 years old.

February 8 I will return to Macau, classes at the Concordia English Center begin again February 10. Then I am on the home stretch: I return to the States March 27. More stories and pictues will follow once I return to Macau and have a better Internet connection and can send photos.

I appreciate your prayers and e-mails. I am also praying for many of you, as I know there are many feeling the loss of jobs, income and facing serious illnesses. We pray for missions around the world, and our new president. God bless you all.

Jane
Jane Moody

in Zhuhai

The Kids are great!

-- 058 --


-- 051 --


-- 028 --


-- 013 --
-- 027 --

-- 057 ---

Greetings,

Last week we spent one whole morning visiting two local museums with our classes
to a visual arts museum and a provincial museum - the province of Gyenonngi,
where Yongin si is located.

(#057) The Nam June Paik Visual Arts Museum is a place to experience art. Paik was a contemporary artist, especially known for his video art. He was a native of So. Korea, born on in 1932 and died in 2006. The building in Yongin was completed in 2007 and is itself a work of art.

In #027 you see my class viewing themselves in a constantly moving video - sort of like a moving fun house mirror.

#013 Feel like meditating? He is is a TV emptied of all its parts, just a burning candle to meditate on.

#028 Kids having fun

#051 Enjoying the sunshine on the stairs

#058 Denny, who has been to the provincial museum many times and gave me his own version of a special tour. His enthusiasm was contagious.

I am writing this on January 23, the last day of classes at the ESL Camp- an awesome experience for all involved. I will write more about my experiences, but not tonight or even in the next few days. Tomorrow I fly back to Hong Kong, then take the ferry back to Zhuhai, China to be with my friend Alina and her family for Chinese or Lunar New Year, which is the biggest holiday in this part of the world. Families gather from far reaching places. I think I will be traveling with half of Asia. Tomorrow night is actually the Eve of the new Year. It's a celebration which lasts several days.

I wish you good fortune in the New Year.

Blessings, Jane

Korea: Kimchi, Kulture, Konrad and Kids #4

Topgol Park in Seoul is where Korea protested the Japanese invasion of 1911 and made their Declaration of Independence. The bas relief shows the declaring of independence of the Korean Republic.


Modern Seoul is a bustling place, prosperity returned beginning in the 1960's after the Armistice was signed to end fighting between North and South Korea.