Progress

We're seeing progress today, although some of it on rather surprising fronts.

The U.S. Foreign Service:
As you will recall, Dave began the testing process a second time this summer. We had already learned that he passed the test. Today we learned that he also passed the essay section. At the end of the month, he will schedule his interview in DC. We're rooting for December, and to include the interview in our family's journey home for Christmas.

Shenzhen:
A house is being readied for us as I type, with furniture moving in and bugs hopefully moving out. Our shipment will arrive tomorrow, and I will have keys to the house to let everything in. By Saturday night, we will sleep in our new home.

We have also managed to localize our phones, although we had to sacrifice our phone numbers. We began the first steps toward our new residence permits, although we may need to leave the country to finalize them as the process seems longer than the time we have available. Luckily, Hong Kong counts.

In an ugly step backward, our contact at the hotel where we currently reside and had originally planned to stay has again begun to cause us problems. You may recall that postponing the movers cost 5,000 RMB (nearly $1,000 USD). The hotel eventually agreed to pay that cost, knowing that they would have to incent us strongly for us to continue living here. They have now returned saying that they can only return the moving cost should we continue to live in this hotel. In essence, should we choose to leave, they can not be held responsible for their own mistakes. If we stay, they have offered our friends and colleagues 5 free nights at the hotel in lieu of paying the movers. My guess? This charge comes straight from the pocket of the employee who made the mistake - this would explain his wiley moves. He has also asked housekeeping to move us out while we were away (lucky for us, ayi was here and stood our ground). But, in a rush of endorphins while I pounded the elliptical in the gym this morning, I prayed and regained some peace over the situation. No matter how inexplicable or how unjust, I need to trust that God is in control. The end.

Career Change:
When it became clear that the foreign service may not work out, Dave sent out a flurry of resumes to non-profits. A flurry may be the wrong term, and most jobs posted asked for someone vastly more qualified or someone vastly less qualified than Dave. Dave needs to make a lateral move at this point, because he supports a wife and 3 (soon to be 4) children. This week, one of those resumes turned into a phone interview for a position with an exciting non-profit in Chengdu. Dave's excited about the opportunity and the president of the board seemed excited about him. Of course, a process remains. But please keep this in your prayers - the girls and I have undergone a lot of change, and would be quite happy to settle here for a few months before the next move. Pray that God's will is done overall, and that we can trust in His providing for us wherever we are.

Kids and Family:
Lilly comes home from school talking about a new friend nearly every day. Yesterday she told me that she plans to marry Sepi, a boy who I believe she only began playing with the day before. Relationships move quickly in these types of places, though! She is happy, and I have faith in her teacher.
Sophia comes home from school hungry, tired and often grumpy. I have yet to figure out if she is simply exhausted from going to school every day and being the oldest in her class, or if she is simply not feeling settled yet. Either way, I hope to see her become happier over the next few days and weeks.
Annika is as easy as ever, and needs another trip to Hong Kong for her 4 month doctor visit. She has gained a reputation her as well as in Shanghai as a blessedly easy baby. Praise God for that!
I am thrilled to say that I have some good friends here - people I am looking forward to getting to know better, and feel quite comfortable calling and asking to meet for coffee right now. We've fallen into the simple life, and that suits me fine.
Dave just saw much of his travel canceled for the next month, which thrills all of us to no end. He spent the last 3 weeks in Shanghai, and having him around for the next 3 will be absolutely lovely. He will begin working as the on-site consultant (the position we moved here for) in about 2 weeks time, and it will be interesting to see how that lays out. He still has some transition ahead of him, making it hard for him to feel settled here and now. The new job possibility doesn't make that any easier on him.