June 4, 2006: I got to church with time to spare today, for the first time in weeks. Sometimes I’m just disorganized, but sometimes Lanzhou’s version of the "big dig" is to blame. It causes unpredictable bus detours. On a good day, it takes about forty minutes to ride the #82 bus from my stop to the church.

The Day of Pentecost. Wow! I have come all the way around the Christian calendar in China. I came to Xiao Gou Tou Jiao Tang, my present church home, in ordinary time, and here we are again. It was soothing to sit in the big sunny nave as the congregation flowed in and prepared for worship. The young man sitting next to me became a new friend, keeping me on the right page, literally, throughout the mass. At last, I can follow the liturgy and make the responses – but if I lose my place, it’s nearly impossible to recover. There were more baptisms today and enthusiastic applause.

After mass as I stood chatting with the kind young man, whose English is far better than my Chinese, a parish woman came along and began talking excitedly to him. I could tell she was talking about me and that it had to do with haizi, children, and yingyu, English. He interpreted her request; would I be willing to teach the children in English? I was able to tell her myself in my limping Chinese that it would be my pleasure to do it. Just then Deacon Paul, who is bi-lingual, joined the conversation, and we all talked about starting the project when I return to Lanzhou in August. Other parishioners joined the conversation, and we chattered on in a jumble of Chinese and English. Without a doubt, the Holy Spirit was there with us.

Beginning at the end of this week, thanks to the generosity of my supporters and the hospitality of friends and family, I will be in the U.S. for nearly two months. I am wildly excited to come home, and at the same time already missing Lanzhou, my Chinese home.