Since I met you,

I've watched my mouth,
controlled my anger,
remembered to take my medicine,
found a firm church family,
become secure in my appearance,
enjoyed being a woman,
revoked my wrath against skirts and dresses,
been challenged in my spiritual walk,
changed my shampoo,
found and loved true brothers in Christ,
been lifted by my hands,
flown by your hands,
improved my wrestling techniques,
watched the sunrise over the Atlantic

I've severed ties with my old life and clung firmly onto a new one.

My heart aches for China. My spirit breathes for the lost there, my heart beats for those persectuted there. These persecuted I will soon join.

China: Country Profile

Total Area: 9,596,960 sq. km

Language: Standard Chinese or Mandarin
(Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect),
Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei
(Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese),
Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages

Religion: Officially Athiest.
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%,
Christian 3%-4%

Government Type: Communist State

Capital: Beijing

Population Below Poverty Line: 10% (2001)

Persecution News Foreign Church Leaders Deported from China (March 9, 2005) Chinese Leader Tortured; Campaign to Free Catholic Leaders Launched (March 9, 2005) Vatican Denounces Arrests in China (April 6, 2005) Seven Underground Chinese Priests Arrested (May 4, 2005) Seven Priests Released; Elderly Bishop Sentenced to Re-Reducation (May 11, 2005) Update: Zhao KeXun (June 8, 2005) One Hundred House Churches Raided (June 15, 2005) Nationwide Crackdown on Chinese House Churches (June 29, 2005) Chinese Catholic Bishop Arrested Again (July 6, 2005) Update: Date Set for Chinese Pastor's Trial (July 6, 2005) Chinese Pastor and Family Await Verdicts (July 13, 2005) Chinese Priest Released from House Arrest (July 13, 2005) Update: Continued Harassment of Chinese Bishop (July 27, 2005) Catholic Mass Raided, Priest and Ten Others Arrested (August 3, 2005) More Than 210 Christians Arrested (August 10, 2005) Allen Yuan Passes Away (August 17, 2005) Chinese Church Leaders and Americans Arrested (August 24, 2005) Chinese Bishop Dies (August 31, 2005) Chinese Priest and Seminarian Arrested (September 7, 2005) Christian Chinese Historian Released from Prison (September 28, 2005) House Church Pastor and Evangelist Arrested (October 5, 2005) Christian Businessman Seriously Beaten (October 5, 2005) Chinese Leader Arrested and Beaten for Providing Aid (October 12, 2005) Hospital Pressured to Release Beaten Chinese Businessman (October 12, 2005) Business Closed in Retaliation Against Chinese Businessman (October 19, 2005) Two Catholic Priests Arrested (November 9, 2005) Six House Church Leaders Arrested in Henan (November 9, 2005) Pastor Arrested for Printing Christian Literature (November 9, 2005) Law Firm Ordered to Suspend Operations (November 9, 2005) Bishop and Two Priests Arrested (November 16, 2005) Update: Pastor Cai Withdraws Appeals (November 16, 2005) Priest And Seminarians Arrested (November 23, 2005) Lawyer Faces Removal of License (November 23, 2005) Two Priests Released, Six Others Arrested in Hebei (November 30, 2005) Nuns Injured in Attempt to Stop Destruction of School Building (December 7, 2005) Christian Businessman's Court Case Rejected (December 14, 2005) Protest Against Confiscated Property Turns to Violence (December 21, 2005) Christmas Services Raided (January 4, 2006) Assassination Attempt Against Lawyer (January 18, 2006) Several House Churches Raided in Recent Weeks (January 18, 2006) Prisoner Released; Another Suffering (February 8, 2006) Bible School Raided (March 1, 2006) Priests Arrested for Reasons Unknown (March 1, 2006) Church Leaders May Face Death Sentences (March 1, 2006) Torture Revealed as Trial Concludes (March 8, 2006) Bible School Leaders Released (March 8, 2006)

Reflections of Group 4

Day before our Group 4 project, I get sick. Weee. And to top it off, I'm still sick. Hurrah. And to make it even better, my mom blames me for getting sick. I'm not taking care of myself. Which I can't help because of that damned IB school. Oh yes, it's damned. I damned it myself. It's going straight to the bad place.

So through Group 4, I realized how just how many people in my class I never connected with, nor ever want to connect with. So many stuck up, egocentric, direspectful, whimsical yet ignorant sons and daughters of rich parents grace our presence everyday at Bartow. The worst part is they don't even realize how lost and mixed up they are. Life is good for them because they continue to follow in their wide, demoralized path of self-indulgence and self-righteousness. Thank goodness I refuse to be influenced by them. I realize I am leaving high school, hopefully making a difference in a few lives, yet leaving with just a few close friends, with only one of whom I am certain I will never lose touch. But after yesterday, my certainty has been more doubtful than ever.

The best part of Group 4 by far was sleeping on Rahul's arm on the bus. He has the most comfortable arm - yes, even more so than David Bowers'. We planned in the cafeteria, had some breakfast, and I took some drugs to allow the color to come back to my face. The day started off badly by waking up late, and leaving for school with wet hair, arriving late, and then being bad-mouthed by an unrespectable physics student about how the biology students are not prepared with our part of the lab. Three problems with this: 1) She was not the brightest one in the bunch as she complained about me - right in front of me. 2) She had no idea that Mrs. Kennon had only given us a portion of the lab we were to do that day, and she had never given us instrustion about the rest. 3) She takes physics, and holds nothing up to a biology student who can endure more, last longer, succeed first, and most importantly, actually pass the IB test.

There was discord between timers and the ones who dropped the flag for the physics portion. Apparently, it was too much to ask to blow the airhorn and drop a flag at the same time. Incompetency is a marvelous thing, and runs rampent in the area of physics students and their leadership. This of course, does not apply to all phyics students, nor does it exclude those from other sciences, since a certain other from chemistry is also quite confused as to how to give an effective insult. The saddest part is she fails to recognize the lacking in her own judge of character of others, and fails to recognize also the lacking of her own character.

Mr. Keers took many a picture of us during the day- much of those times he took pictures of us either lounging in the grass, or sitting around talking about nonsense after we have already finished our lab.

During the biology section, well, nothing newsworthy really happened.

I wasn't allowed to participate in the chemistry portion. Nope. I volunteered to do something, they looked right through me, and asked someone else to do it. Very kind, wouldn't you say?

I'm sorry that my respect and opinion of the seniors in my IB class is diminutive now, but it can be no other way. There are simply no more redeeming qualities to be appraised for their meaninglessness.

I drove Lisa home and then to a party that I wished I could be a part of. But alas, I had no gift. Nor was I up to the excitement.

It upsets me that our financial state cannot simply stay in one place. Either we are broke and we have no money for excursions such as a gift for a friend or gas money, or we have enough to splurge at a nice restaurant come the weekend. I don't like it.

My headache has returned. And I have complained about people enough for today. I found my nice little anti-psychotic pills finally, and I am learning to be more independent from Rahul.

I just need to continue to persevere.

Courage, Rita. Courage. Aquamarine = Courage.