Twinsight 48 of 50: Make a New Friend

Chloe, Steve, Dandan, me, Leah

Today we said farewell to our dear friend, Dandan. She is finishing her graduate studies at the University of Minnesota in a special chemistry/physics program, and is going back to Jilin University to complete her PhD. Her graduate work here has primarily been doing experiments to try to create a faster superconductor. You now know the full extent of my understanding of her work!

We met her about a year and a half ago after hearing about an opportunity though our church to be a welcome family for a Chinese student via the Chinese Hospitality Center. For the month before she came, we exchanged emails and photos so we'd recognize each other at the airport. On the day she arrived, I pulled up to the agreed-upon baggage claim door and immediately recognized her standing alone with her suitcase and backpack that contained all the possessions she brought for her entire stay.

I quickly learned three things about her. 1) This was her first time outside of China. 2) She had learned English in school, but this experience was going to be her first real chance to use it. 3) She had a kind, sweet, curious spirit about her. I knew it would be a fun adventure helping her get settled.

And it was an adventure! All in one long weekend, we had to find her an apartment, a roommate, basic furniture (especially a mattress), a cell phone, and food for the week. As we sat at our kitchen island with her laptop staring at the U of M apartment website (all in Mandarin), I had the sinking feeling that it was going to be impossible to get all of this accomplished. Where do we start? I prayed for wisdom and a few practical miracles to come our way. What ensued in the next few days was pretty miraculous. We just drove over the U and went to the first apartment on the list, happened to meet another Chinese student who also needed an apartment (and spoke impeccable English and had superb negotiating skills), secured the apartment, got to the mattress store five minutes before it closed and got a great deal, and found a group of other Chinese students who helped us figure out the best cell phone deal with a Target employee who has never had to answer so many questions in her life.

Over the past year and a half, we've shared a wide range of experiences together and have talked about everything under the sun from God to physics to traditions and families. She and one of her roommates even made us a delicious Chinese dinner that involved lots of chopping! These photos capture some of our memories.

Chloe, Dandan and Leah at Punch Pizza

Dandan and Chloe at our house

All of us at Yum Bakery

Dandan and Leah at Big Bowl

Dandan, Sonia, Andrea, Christian, Chloe, Leah and Autumn on Thanksgiving 2010

All of at the Holidazzle 2010

We don't have a photo of my most memorable experience that involved Dandan. The fall after she came, we volunteered to have a group of Chinese students and their host families over for dinner and boating. We expected 30. Just to be safe, I prepared barbecued pork sandwiches and baked potatoes for 60. As we quickly figured out, these students have a tight-knit community and probably each invited a few extra people. As we result, we had more than 100 people here! (Now you understand why we didn't have a moment to snap a photo!) We completely ran out of every scrap of food, but Leah had the brilliant idea to order Dominos. We ordered 8 larges and every slice was gone in 10 minutes. But everyone got a boat ride, a little food and the chance to hear about God's love. It was our craziest party ever, but we will never forget it.

More importantly, we will never forget our friend, Dandan. We hope we'll be able to make a trip to China and see her again. But for now, we rejoice for the journey she is on and for the joy and growth she brought to our lives.

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