Announcement Letter
WE'RE CHINA BOUND!
Dear Family & Friends,
Y a n j i is located in the far northeastern part of Ch.i.na & is the capital of Ya.nbian K.o.r.e.a.n autonomous prefecture. The city is about 30 miles from the N.o.r.t.h K.o.r.e.a.n b,or.der & a few hours from the Russian b,or.der. It is embraced by mountains as it sits at the foot of Ch.ain.gbai Mountain. Nearly half of the city's 400k population are ethnic K.o.rea.ns. The city mainly speaks Ma,ndarin Chi.nes.e & K,o,r,e,a,n (fortunately this will not be a problem for us in our schools because we will be teaching in English). The cost of living is very low so that this will be financially easier for us. The city has some western style foods like Italian restaurants with pizza & even a few KFCs. We will mostly be using the low cost cafeteria at our schools, running about $1.25 USD per meal. It is open every day & will provide us with a very convenient way of survival. We will be living in a faculty dorm that is a 10-15 minute walk to our schools. Other transportation needs will not be a problem due to the many affordable bus routes. Concerning the weather, Y a n j i has four distinct seasons. The temperature peaks around 85F during Summer but reaches -5F during the very windy Winter, giving it a yearly average of about 35-40F.
There is much about the religious/spiritual condition of the city that we have yet to discover. There are both Pro.testant & Cat.holic c.h.u.r.c.h.e.s in Y a n j i in the native languages of Man.da.rin & K.or.e.an. There is also an English speaking gathering at YIA—we hope to attend services in each language as often as possible.
We believe our classrooms will provide one of the many windows into the lives of the people of Y.a.n.j.i. We see our classrooms as a m,i,s,s,i,o,n,f,i,e,l,d that will provide multiple unique opportunities for the betterment of people's lives. We feel so b.l.e.s.s.e.d to have this before us! We foresee ourselves being in Y.a.n.j.i for one to two years. After this time, we will prayerfully & wisely reassess our goals & opportunities to make a well-informed decision, probably applying for teaching positions within ISC (International Schools of Ch.i.n a) or ACSI (Association of C.h.r.i.s.t.i.a.n Schools International).
We ask you to deliberately consider symbolically joining us in Ya.nji in two ways: (1) generously pray for us & the city of Y,anji &/or (2) prayerfully give a small one-time financial gift. We are so thankful & blessed for you being in our lives & sharing in this experience with us! Your blessing, support, & excitement in this means so much to us! We want to make a difference in the world just like you have made a difference in our lives! So do not stop but continue to "shine like lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15).
Praising G.o.d Forever,
Dozier & Michaella Lee
Stay connected with us at TheLeesOverseas.blogspot.com Facebook dozier.lee@gmail or michaella.lee523@gmail.
Financial gifts are accepted through the YUST PUST foundation in two ways (in the appropriate line write "Dozier Lee at YUST" or "Michaella Lee at YIA”):
Written in July 2012
Yes! China!
So, you may be thinking, "This is a little out of the blue Doz!"
Well, to some...yes...to others...no.
For about the last 5 years Michealla & I have had Ch,i,na & So,uth Kor3a in our minds.
Going overseas was one the earliest things we talked about in the progression of our relationship--communicating to each other our goals & dreams & such.
The story of us getting job positions in Chin,a is pretty simple but awesome--
Michaella went to a women's luncheon & sat next to a lady whose brother who is a close friend with the headmaster of a school in Yanji China. Emails/resumes were tossed around, applications, until word was received that Michaella's application became approved as 5th & 6th grade homeroom teacher!
My story is similar; The headmaster of Michaella's school in Yanji China has close ties with a nearby university. Emails/applications tossed around and many pr,aye.rs were lifted up and finally, Dozier's application was approved in the Conversational English Department.
Many many details were left out of this deeply complicated process. We're currently working towards getting our work visas to teach in China; wow is this process complicated!!!
We're making progress with the visas, our positions are secured, housing is secured (faculty dorms--will talk about that later), & we're scheduled to leave AUGUST 18/19th 2012.
We're very excited about this & hope each of our family & friends are too! We'll just be gone a little while or so.
We're very excited about this & hope each of our family & friends are too! We'll just be gone a little while or so.
More details to come :)
Dozier
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