David & Lorna Joannes

birthday and villages

2007-08-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

5 hours of the ultimate fighting championship! that's what i call healthy!

that's what lorna set up for my birthday on july 27th. a bunch of guys came over to our house and hung out for a while, watching ultimate hits and ultimate knockouts, etc. it was awesome!

last week we had a team from reno, nv. we went to some villages within 5 hours of our home here in kunming. had a great time. can't be real specific, but ended up having to rush out of the village because the coppers might show up any second.

lorna hangs out with a kid in a village we just went to. david needs to get ahold of xzibit from pimp my ride to get rolling with these hot wheels!

we took a team to dali and passed out balloons to kids, a big hit among villagers.

chicken head and chicken feet: a staple in village life. we tossed them in the bowls of our visiting team, crowning them the "honored guests". thankfully it wasn't me!

[on another note]

our apartment that we moved into is such a blessing to be in. here's a video that shows the transformation from when we first moved in:

lorna also did an extreme makeover for my office. it looks great now. thats where the video editing magic happens!

2 Billion Rats On The Loose

2007-07-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

2 billion rats on the loose!

but as tragic as this all is, some people are getting rich by selling these field mice to expensive restaurants in guangdong province! here comes the next rat flu...

The infestation was caused by some of the worst flooding in 50 years in central China. In the past two weeks, more than 400 people have died, 105 are missing and more than 3 million have been forced to evacuate their homes.

but only a few hundred miles away in kunming city, lorna and i are doing well enough.

2 days ago i (david) went on a trip with another brother here in kunming. we took a team of 10 chinese americans to some villages. lorna wasn't feeling well so she stayed home.

it was raining during the whole trip, so the roads were wet and slippery, which makes chinese traffic worse than it usually is -- a thought that is hard to imagine as it is already the worst i've ever been in!

had a great time though. passed out hundreds of presents from america to the poor village kids. they were pretty excited to get coloring books and yoyos and american candy. i was excited about the candy too. the only other option was what we affectionately refer to as "village slush" -- a common meal in villages, cooked into a slush in a public wok. everyone double-dips with their chopsticks. kinda rough. but no belly problems this time, PTL!

my birthday is next week, july 27th. i'll be turning 29.

we got out VPN up and running! now i am able to access all my blocked webblogs! we'll be staying in touch more and updating our sites a lot more often now. we can even reply to comments again! woohoo.

so: leave some more comments everyone!

2007 June/July China Project Comics

2007-07-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

we definitely dont post as much as we used to or as much as we would like! its tough when all these websites are blocked by the government.

but it's time again for our monthly comic! it seemed to be such a big hit last time. i hope you enjoy! please print it from the link here and stick it on your fridge!

download 2007 June/July China Project Comics here!

we have been good. i (david) got really sick last week. major diarrhea. thats normal here, hence the reason i do not feel ashamed! i had to use the bathroom 20 times before noon. it was rough. something i ate.

we had a huge training, the biggest we've ever had here. underground. it was excellent! very exciting. wish i could go into more detail now.

have lots of people coming in and out of our home regularly. we're pretty busy. i'm also doing lots of video editing. lorna is studying chinese. our marriage life is great! so good to be together. in fact, if i didnt have her, i wouldnt be living in china im sure!

we are going on another trip tomorrow with a team of 10. going to the villages. then we have a number of other trips planned.

we pushed our trip to the states back a couple months. not sure when we're coming. we really need to do lorna's US visa. we've been waiting forever.

drop us a note here! we'll try to update more. but we really need a VPN! can anyone help? we have such a hard time accessing our blogs...

China Project Comics

2007-06-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

here we are back in kunming, china...

it's a weird feeling. manila is so alive and open and democratic and free. china is so controlled. i mean even now i'm openning my blog through proxys and trying to set up a VPN so i can even access this page! ridiculous.

but in the end, we are together. that's what makes any place enjoyable: being with my wonderful wife lorna.

i wanted to post this comic, the first of many to come! we'll be doing a monthly china project comic alongside our quarterly newsletter. please feel free to print it and stick it on your fridge or something! just another way to remember us. click on the link under the photo, download, and print directly.

download 2007 May/June China Project Comic here.

stay in touch! if we don't reply to your emails or comments here, please don't be offended. it is very difficult to access our blogs because of the government control over the internet here. we're doing our best with what we got.

we do plan on visiting the states in august. no dates set in stone yet, but we want to catch up with family in arizona. if anyone in prescott has an extra vehicle we could borrow, we would be very blessed! thanks!

Adventures In Manila

2007-06-04T03:58:00.000-07:00

we've been here in manila, philippines for almost 2 weeks now. time flies! we have really been having a good time here. really, its so healthy to get out of china and be refreshed. see the bigger picture of life. remember all the people who are lifting us up as we live on the front lines of the field in a communist nation.

the wedding was great. beautiful. always good to share in the family's joy. but i feel like i'm able to do that more here in the philippines than in america. we really need to get back to the states for a while...

but we go back in only one week. [mixed emotions]

this week we are helping our parents move out of the house they have been in for 22 years. they really need to move. the house is falling apart and plus they need a new environment. the only problem is, accomodations are really so expensive here in manila. but we found a decent place and they should be moving this week, before we go back to china. lorna has been helping them pack the stuff today.

[tattoo]

i'm pretty happy with my first tattoo! the chinese character surrounded by the chaotic soundwave means "righteousness". it's my favorite chinese character, packed with meaning. break it down and its 2 elements mean "I, myself" under the "lamb" = "righteousness".

Welcome To The Real World....

2007-05-24T01:02:00.000-07:00

wow! we have a little reverse culture shock being back in what we consider "the real world". where:

the internet actually works fast there is no internet censorship we can actually watch movies eat ice cream be somewhat normal

not used to that kinda stuff...

we watched shrek 3 last night with our family! that was fun. now we are preparing for my sister in law's wedding this saturday.

it is hot as hades itself here though! killer. we're trying to find an apartment to stay in that has aircon.

actually something you can pray for us about: we are really wanting to purchase a place in manila that we can rent out while not in the country and stay in when we're back. like a small condo. it's about $40,000 to $50,000. of course we dont have that money at all, but something to pray for us about. thanks!

stay in touch! we love you all and want to be connected. always thinking about you! blessings from asia!

make sure you check out our sites:

myspace
xanga
blogger
youtube

Youth Explosion

2007-05-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

this week has been extremely busy. as usual i guess. on top of all the discipleship training we have going on, and the video editing, we decided to help remodel one of the rooms in our fellowship and make a youth room for the young people.

in one week we knocked down walls, built a stage, painted walls, and fixed the whole place up from top to bottom! it looks sweet!

lorna painted all the flames on the wall. she's such an artist!

the first service was this morning at fellowship. it rocked! complete with videos and a rocking youth band. tiring but i am still charged up!

tomorrow we are on our way to the philippines for 3 weeks.

14:00 kunming - shenzhen
15:30 shenzhen - hong kong turbojet
19:00 hong kong - manila

Our 10th Year Anniversary!!! kinda...

2007-05-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

today is our 10th year anniversary!!! kinda...

it has been exactly 10 years to the day now that lorna and i first met in the hong kong airport! i was living in hong kong with a small team of graduates from teen mania ministries, hosting short term teams, etc. lorna's team arrived from the philippines, and we went to pick them up at the airport and lead them around hong kong and china.

you won't believe this but the first time i saw her walking into the airport waiting hall in her pink dress, i leaned over to my friend kyle and said, "i think i can marry that girl!"

ok. ok. it took a while. 7 years of chasing her! but it was worth every moment!

last night before we went to bed we were reading our journals from 10 years ago. it is amazing! sometimes we can still not believe that we're together. my life is enhanced in every way because of my wonderful wife!

Help Set Up My VPN

2007-05-12T02:44:00.000-07:00

can anyone out there help me set up a VPN or a tunnel?

i really need to get this up and running. china blocks so many sites, and i have a real tough time navigating through the net, and especially updating my blogs. even here on blogger and myspace, i cannot see my own site except through the previews!

if anyone can help me i basically need a server in the states for anonymity here in china, and for full functionality for my blogs, especially xanga.

i have a macbook pro by the way, so apple already has a VPN client installed.

thanks in advance!

Video Editing

2007-04-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

right now i am in the middle of two big video editing projects:

for a ministry among prostitutes and
for a farming business/ministry harvesting olive oil

this is basically a way for me to make some cash for my wife. some extra spending money, which is nice for those of us living on financial support from donors. it can be tough sometimes, not being able to simply make money. that's why i'm really enjoying video editing.

thanks so much to all of you who have given into this ministry here in china! you have made it possible to capture and chronicle the things happening in asia.

[pricless]

and for those who are interested we still have lots of china project DVDs. they are still brand new, completed in december 2006. a total of 25 videos. get in touch if you wanna catch what's going on here in yunnan province of china!

and finally, here's a lifechanging website for you:

www.hairy-mail.com

Lorna's Sleeping Problems In Kunming

2007-04-26T16:37:00.000-07:00

lorna is having such a hard time sleeping on and off for the last few months. i mean, there are times she falls asleep at 5:am. it's been really hard. she has never had this kind of problem before. it's a couple things.

she's lacking some vitamins, etc in our diet here. she has the symptoms of restless legs syndrome. and also, we're under spiritual attack here.

we are actually seeing so many things happen everywhere we go that we can sense it's spiritual. many youth are coming to Him regularly. in fact last night we saw 5 young people join the gang at english corner! amazing! also we are extremely busy with village trips and working among unreached peoples.

so we could really use your prayers. we are going to the philippines on may 21 for three weeks for my sister-in-law's wedding, and to take a break from china. maybe thats when we can catch up on sleep.

one can only hope...

This Proposterously Mundane Life

2007-04-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

theres like a fire starting in me again...

i mean, i've been here in china 10 years now, and sometimes, i have to admit, it wanes. what is proposterous to you in america might be mundane anymore here in china.

police raids because we passed out a balloon?
dog meat sticks on the side of the road?
old grannies being beaten down?
pretty girls hocking loogies?
gutterside headwashes?
cat tacos?

yea. that's what i'm talking about. is it normal for me to believe that these things are actually normal? i see them every day now. my mind has been tricked. my standards have plummeted.

but even spiritual things tend to become mundane. until this last week, when lorna and i really felt a breakthrough.

really if we step back we would be amazed with all the things He is doing around us. it truly is a harvest time! i wish i could go into more detail here, but suffice to say, as we go to the corners of china, we are seeing huge breakthroughs!

crippled brothers traveling up mountains to share.
whole tribal families trashing their idols.
university students being dunked.
a tear trickling down a cheek.
newness.

and we've been seeing these things for a long time, but it just struck us again. how He's moving. how He's rocking peoples' lives. and how exciting it is to be right in the midst of it!

UFC and trip to USA

2007-04-11T02:51:00.000-07:00

watching ultimate fighting championship 67 right now: mirko crocop and rampage jackson the new UFC fighters. i love this sport! i bought over 200UFC VCD's on china ebay! i know i know. i'm crazy. but that's what you get when you pray for the heart of david: a fighter's heart!

i know there's some of you guys out there who want the whole UFC collection for yourself too! just let me know. i'll hook you up...

[anyway]

we are really wanting to come visit america soon. but here's the thing:

lorna has a 2 year green card for america with a conditional residence. we need to go in for an appointment to remove the conditions of her US green card, and get a 10 year visa. but who knows when that appointment will be. we were actually given a 10 day notice to be in reno, NV in feburary, but had to reschedule. as soon as the government sends us our appointment date, we'll plan a trip to america around that date.

i personally really miss my country. the longer you're outside america, the more patriotic you become. they used to ask me, “你从哪里来？” “where are you from？” and i would say say, “我来自加拿大” “i'm from canada!” because everyone love canadians eh. with all the problems around the world, americans are not the most loved people. the chinese definately fall into that category. but the longer i'm here, the more i proudly say, “我是美国人” “i'm american”.

all that to say, i can't wait to go back for a visit. eat some taco bell. sip some starbucks. enjoy the states for a while. good break from the chaos of china...

it's rainy here in kunming today. lorna is at the bird and flower market with our neighbor. i'm going to a guy's night out at a british buddy's home tonight. just hang. relax.

married life is great!

6:30pm. gotta go. stay in touch!

2007-04-08T05:03:00.000-07:00

we really do want to stay in touch! because xanga and many other blogging sites just got blocked by china, we are feeling a little isolated and out of the loop. we appreciate your emails and comments!

make sure you check out our chinaproject youtube videos!

also continue to look out for our xanga. we are also working on our myspace.

if anyone wants to help with our blog situation , please let us know...

the craziness never stops. and these videos only show a portion of it.

today had a great service in our international fellowship. lunch at a thai restaurant.

we want to stay in touch more! we are trying to get our blogs back up and running. soon. stay in touch!

2007-04-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

its already begun. my xanga site has been blocked. sometimes i cannot access my youtube videos. even my bank account is hard to reach. i can feel it. its only a matter of time before this site is blocked as well.

the china government are a bunch of tools!

its the great firewall of china. its the digital cultural revolution. but i better stop talking about it now before big brother decides to shut me down before his scheduled date...

anyway. enough rambling.

lorna is having her chinese class right now. we are having a bunch of chinese friends over today to watch the passion of the christ, then do dinner. easter party. i'm in the middle of editing a big video project for another ministry here.

we'll be posting to this site soon. stay in touch! i'll try as well.