Let's start off with grad school. I am officially 75% of the way done with my studies. So far every session ( my semester are broken up in two 9 week sessions I have earned an A and B of some kind every session. The fact that my GPA is at 3.373 is cause to say PTL, because He is the one that granted me wisdom and helped me through some very hard classes. I am all signed up for my last semester and have my books already so I am excited that I am almost to the end of my studies. For those of you that prayed me through some hard spots (hugs to Grandma Nancy) thank you so much! I have to check with my adviser about when to submit my intent to graduate. If I can pull it off I want to go to APU for graduation and the hooding ceremony. For those of you that don't know what a hooding ceremony is "a special recognition ceremony for doctoral degree candidates during which a faculty adviser and the Dean of Graduate Academics place the doctoral hood, signifying his or her success in completing the graduate program. The ceremony is similar to a graduation in that the faculty and students are dressed in academic attire. The Hooding Ceremony is in addition to and does not replace the Graduate Commencement." (got that from the internet). In this case it applies to my Masters degree instead of a Doctoral degree.
I don't know if it will happen this year but I am hoping that I can swing it since I have worked hard for this MA which brings me to Disney World. I had an old room mate from college get married the beginning of June and since the wedding was in Alabama I was only 6 hours away from Orlando. My parents surprised me with my graduation present early and for a week my mom and I went to WDW (Walt Disney World). I had so much fun...no really I had more fun then the 5-year-olds. My mom and I were the only two people in the park that were enjoying the crazy hot and humid weather. To be honest it reminded me of Wuhan in the summer so I didn't mind. We did go to the China pavilion at EPCOT and yes the minute I walked trough the gates I felt like I was home. There was even milk tea!! It was so good and I hated leaving I just wanted to curl up inside their replica of the Temple of Heaven and spend the night. I will post pictures at the end of our trip. My phone decided to be weird and my camera kept crashing so I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. With the milk tea and Temple of Heaven we come to China.
As I only have one semester left I have begun serious prayer and fasting to know where the Father plans on taking me next. For a while I thought maybe Thailand or somewhere in the Asia Pacific region. But after much prayer my heart is still in China and I feel very strongly that the Father is sending me back. I am searching on ways to get back to the country love. I have been looking at the International Schools across China. There was a school WYIS that was close to where I taught in Wuhan but the main organization that it goes through has schools all over China. I would gladly go wherever they had a need for me to go. I found it so ironic this trip that the last time we went to the China pavilion at EPCOT (2011) the Father called me to China and I was so afraid. This time when I went I was sad to leave and filled with peace and 'being home' even though I was standing the the middle of Central Florida. I would ask for your prayers that the doors that need to be open would be and if there is a different path he wants me to take then the doors would not even budge open. With all my heart I simply want to return to the people I love, even though you have your TIC (This is China) moments there is no substitute for the peace of the Father that permeates the heart when you are exactly where you need to be...even if it's halfway around the world.
So for now I will leave you this this simple update and let you explore some of our pictures:
Got my pirate Minnie ears on ready to relax
My Mom got the cheesecake with caramelized bananas
Mine was a white sponge cake with coconut cream that the cake soaked up
The Tree of Life is huge in person and you can stare at it for hours an still find new animals.
One of the 'islands' as the Caribbean Beach Resort where we stayed.
Our view in the morning on our walk to breakfast
Couldn't resist this one at Animal Kingdom
Hand is there for scale these were about 5lbs.
Walt's own words
Everything tasted better Mickey shaped
At the Coral Reef in EPCOT we sat right next to the tank as we ate
Hello, Mr. Turtle
My Mom got turtle cheesecake so they made it into a turtle.
Home Sweet Home
Milk Tea!!
From here I have Spectro Magic Parade pictures
Kinda in love with Peter Pan
Sorry this is hard to see it's Dopey
