Climbing the Dragon’s Back

Longji titian—the “dragon’s spine rice terraces”—are one of the most impressive sights we ever found in China.

Where Red Meets White: A Chinese Wedding in 2020

Seven years ago Jarek and I were just married and living in Xi’an China as exchange students. One evening as we sat studying in our cramped, dusty apartment, we heard a knock at our door. We opened it to see a bright-eyed Chinese girl with beautiful high cheekbones and a contagious smile. “Hello! My name…

38 Hours: A chronicle of our grueling journey home

Home. What would you give to keep it? Your comfort? Your peace of mind? Your DNA? We chose to give all three of those things in order to get back to our home in China. We did all we could think of to prepare mentally and physically for the trip back home, yet at some…

Evacuated. (1)

I wrote this months ago, but did not feel it was the right time to post it. Now that things are moving forward, I will be posting updates more frequently, both to inform loved ones about what is happening, and to help me process what we are going through. “Wouldn’t it be crazy if the…

Friends Across Fences

I was invited by an incredible lady that I met at church to accompany her to the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok. I wasn’t sure exactly what we would be doing, but I agreed to go. As we drove to the center I asked for a little more clarification on who these people were and why…

Next stop…

Thailand! We are four days away from take-off! On Tuesday we will embark on a four month journey to Southeast Asia as Jarek does an internship with the political science department of BYU-Hawaii. We are so excited for this new adventure! It will be a little different from our last trip to China because we…