let's start from the very beginning...

has it really been two weeks since i posted something? i was doing so good...i guess my life got boring...well here goes: my last post was just before i left to go visit some old A&M friends in Inner Mongolia, it was Curt's birthday so we celebrated in fine Mexican style (meaning with mexican food). I got to stay almost five days so it was a blast to get away, see a different culture (Mongolian), and catch up with friends that I haven't seen in almost 2 years! after i got back i worked for another week in pediatric surgery, the chief surgeon really took a liking to me so it was a great opportunity, i saw lots of good stuff and he has really tried to make my time here worthwhile, i got to be a part of his laproscopic surgery training program (surgery where they use a camera and a few instruments to do surgery without cutting you open much) so i got to get a feel for what it's like to try and stitch something up while only watching a video screen (i got real frustrated folks), he asked me to come back for another training in may and also to meet a 'world famous' surgeon who will come for a visit from England, on top of that i am helping him refine a paper that he translated into english to publish in the U.S. and he said that he will list me as a special thank you on the paper when it gets published; anyways, this past weekend (through my contact at the embassy) i got to go with the deputy secretary of the U.S. department of health and human services (visiting for the week) to some field hospitals to observe the 'chinese medical model' the experience was good because i got free transportation out of the city and i was able to see all of these things that i wouldn't otherwise get to see; oh yea, and the secretary (dr. g) was an incredibly cool lady; she is from texas, and if that didn't seal the deal she turned out to be an awesome beli-v-er who wasn't afraid to be who she was in front of anyone; in the afternoon we visited an orphanage also run by beli-v-ers and she was incredibly bold in encouraging them, it was great! it turns out that she is in town for a conference on teaching adolescent sex ed (if you'll remember the Bush admin. policy is an abstinence approach ; ) It turns out that the other five speakers who i met today (i changed my schedule and attended the conference) were like minded as well and were not afraid to say it to a room full of chinese people! after the lectures i hung out with them in the 'green room' and we talked about how the new gov't website for sex ed. is being attacked (all of the authors were in the room) they were talking about how they would have tons of email when they got home (the site just launched) and how Rush Limbaugh did his show about it last friday; pretty sweet..someone had an article printed off of CNN.com and they were reading it and it quoted several people and they were all like "have you met that guy?" "yea, only once at the white house.." and stuff like that; the best part is that dr. g adopted me as her son while she was here (she's my mom's age) and she gave me lots of hugs and 50 rmb to 'help me get home' and gave me her home address so i can stay with her if i want to visit d.c.; let's just say it's been a cool experience...i think i need to go to bed, sorry this is so long, but i'll end by saying that this latest episode with the gov't officials along with other happenings throughout my time here have really started to give me a picture of how really, truly fai--thful G--d is and how he really, truly is in sover-ign control of this world; i used to think that i thought that until i got here; now he is starting to show me for real, i used to think fa--th the size of a mustard seed wasn't such a big deal, but i am realizing more and more how completely fai--thless we are in ourselves, save for His gr--ce...in the (last) words of martin luther 'we are beggars indeed'. you can be thinking/yarping/rapping/pr--ing/'singing opera' (my girlfriend is funny) for my situation here and i seek to grow and bring truth to my chinese friends by seeking Him through His power and grace...{i am going to post a bunch of pictures from the preceeding events in the next couple of days, stay plugged in!}