The Road Less Traveled

So this October Holiday (9 pleasant days off from school) our entire staff and the families of our staff attended a retreat near LaoShan. I recently just made a new investment in a bike so I decided to join the group of men riding to LaoShan some thirty miles away. Being that Qingdao is VERY known for its mountainous terrains and killer hills, it was SUPPOSED to take us three hours to get to the retreat, but little did we know....There were two groups of riders, the first being the 'follow the rules' kind of riders which chose to go the normal route via the highway. The second group (which I was a part of) chose to go the road less traveled. Our group of 10 triumphant athletes decided to follow our nose to the sea and create a new way to LaoShan (the hotel was on the sea so if we could FIND the sea, we could find our hotel, right?) Well after the first 20 miles we were ready for a new and more scenic adventure so we cut off the highway and started climbing through a nearby village. There was only one small road so we shared it with bikes, chickens, goats, tractors, and horses. After riding up and up and up through random villages we finally got to the end of the road and hit an almost vertical climb to the top of the mountain (and we still had no idea where we were-we were still trying to find the sea). During this time we were not able to ride our bikes because of the severe and drastic degree of incline and the lack of ample road to ride on. So, we created a new sport-bike hiking. We then for the next 3-4 hours CARRIED our bikes up the remaining portion of the mountain to the saddle and then down switchbacks on the backside of the mountain. After no more switchbacks we were on to plan C. We decided to follow a river bed (which was thankfully dry) and our poor bikes became our springboards for bouncing from boulder to boulder. We knew that all rivers lead to the ocean, so why not? After SIX hours and almost FIFTY MILES of biking and bike hiking we were able to find some farmland to ride down and FINALLY able to see the ocean. Our hopes were HIGH!!! During this time were were able to use what our bikes were created for=MOUNTAIN BIKING! Man, it was a rush! Our top speed was 40 mph although this was probably one of the most risky things i've been apart of. I loved EVERY minute of it. These are a few pics of the weekend and the special people I got to hang out with. The last picture is of Anderson, Eric, and Gloria (my co-workers at QMIS). Mom sent them Texas hats to wear as a gift for Mid-Autumn Festival. They are now converted to lovers of this great state, thanks mom. Enjoy!!

International Day

These pictures are from the QMIS annual International Day. Mostly the pictures are just of me and the guys but there are some of traditional Korean Dress, Chinese Dress, American, ETC...enjoy!

KT

Shenyang ISC Volleyball Tournament

Well first of all, I'm TERRIBLY sorry for not being able to blog as much as I would LOVE to do. I know some of you have been WAITING patiently on pictures and I have TONS to share, yet no time for commentary. Here's a quick update for those of you who have been waiting on pins and needles. As most of you know, at QMIS one of my many job titles is the head coach of the varsity volleyball team. Although I PLAYED varsity sports, coaching them has been QUITE the humbling experience, and its a little difficult to spit out the right words at the right times (if you know what I mean). I think the COOLEST part of being the coach is that at certain times, I have the ability (from father only of course) to inspire, encourage, ignite, and to teach truth to these girls at perfectly created instances. It's so neat, really. For example, this past weekend we traveled to Shenyang, China for our ISC (international schools in china) volleyball tournament and I had the opportunity to coach my girls into placing FIRST OVERALL of the entire tournament!! It was the coolest thin g because at certain divinely appointed moments it was like I could say ANYTHING to my girls and they would listen and cling to it as if it were their last words of instruction before heading to the battlefield. I could see it in their eyes. It is such a new feeling to me because my entire life I've spent on the outside of the huttle, never on the inside with the power of the white-erase board and the expo pen. It was DIVINE! So yah, these are pictures of the tournament-most of which I did not take. Thankfully my students and players have an obsession for photography and they do all the picture-taking for me. Enjoy!















































































































I forgot to mention. Look above through the pictures and you see the one with the covers and blankets up around my head? Ok, that is some of my favorite girls, Miriam on the left and Mary on the right. Now, in China we have no Physical Therapy, right? Well Mary (on the right) has a partially torn quad. after our brilliant game and what does the coaches say we should do? ready: GET. A. MASSAGE! So, I'm the coach and I get to go with her and she brings a friend (and we all live happily ever after). This massage was over TWO HOURS long and boy was it GLORIOUS. You get to wear LOVELY grandpa night-gown type of clothes if you don't have leisure clothes so I got the pleasure of experiencing 15 year old pajamas (worn by every man, woman, and child that has come through that massage parlor probably! ) No worries, if you know me-you know that was fine-as long as you BRING ON THE HOT STONE MASSAGE! Besides school, practice, and games all the time, I have been VERY VERY tired. I knew that being a coach and a teacher would take up lots of time, but man-it really does. It's at these times that I thank FATHER for being single. I would really feel lost if I had to balance a 24 hour job as a coach/teacher and a 24 hour job as a spouse. So, in these troubled times, thanks Father for allowing my eyes to see more clearly and my heart to love more freely.

...things you can YAPR for...
1. that father would bring supernatural strength and energy to our school and to me
2. for a decision to know father for my friends Echo and Sunny
3. for a 'down-n-dirty' opportunity. This sounds crazy, but if you know me-you know I love the VERY wounded, the VERY weary, the VERY sick, the VERY nasty type of things, people, places, etc. I was CREATED to have a heart that has a never-ending capacity to love these sometimes unsightly people, places, and things; my personality THRIVES in these times of crisis, famine, disaster, etc. (For those of you that know the Meyers Briggs Personality Test, I'm an "SP"-you know what that means). My heart YEARS for those situations and times and opportunities. Would you lift up to father that I would have eyes to see the needs around me. I feel sometimes that I neglect that huge part of my heart and I never want to forget that special gift that he has given me. I get clouded with tons and tons of relationships, you know me, and first I should to contribute to the Body as a whole instead of just being a few limbs.

I love you all more than you know.
Coach Tater (since my kids can't pronounce 'tatum' they say 'tater'...gotta love it)