In the words of rock legend John Michael Osbourne: "MAMMA I'M COMIN' HOME...."

Yes, its true. We are moving back to America.

To make this post a bit more "out of the ordinary" and in order to answer all of your questions, imagine that you are reading the latest "Relevant" magazine interview of some really famous people. Yah...that sounds good. (Thanks for the inspiration, Gitzel's!)



RM: Justin and Shelli, thanks for meeting with us today. I know your schedule is pretty crazy.

J: Yah, things have been a bit crazy, but actually, we have quite a bit of free time this week due to being on a break from teaching at "Jerry's School".

RM: "Jerry's School"???

J: Ha ha ha...yah, that is the name of the English school where we teach. I [Justin] am an english teacher and she [Shelli] teaches music to the kindergarten classes. We've been at "Jerry's" for nearly two years now. We started teaching there after we studied ch!nese for two years at the local university.

RM: Got it. Well, I'll just get right to the point. Rumor is that you guys are leaving Ch!na? Tell us more about that...

J: Wow, yah. It still seems a bit strange to hear someone say it. But, yah, we're moving back to America. Our plan is to land in NorthWest Arkansas around the beginning of August.

RM: Fayetteville?

J: Yep, Fayetteville. We've got a furnished apartment reserved for us at "Woodway Apartments" until January. A total blessing for sure.

RM: Why August? Why not sooner?

J: Well, we both wanted to honor our contract with Jerry's school, which ends this summer. So, we'll finish up our semester there then head back to the states. The ch!nese school schedule is a little different than the American school schedule. Our semester doesn't end until June 30th.

RM: What about the different projects that you're involved with? How are you bringing closure to those?

J: I'll let her [Shelli] take the lead on this one.

S: Projects. Ok...well, that is a good question, and one that is a bit hard to answer. Because, is the "work" ever really done out here? And what exactly IS the "work" these days? It certainly looks a bit different than it did, say, 20 years ago. As for what we are involved with? We have a complete peace in stepping out. Like, for instance, the jewelry business that I'm involved with....the outreach to women trapped in prostitution. Well, this month we are actually hiring our first girls to come out of the brothels and work with us. Its SO amazing! And, I feel really honored that God is allowing me to actually see the fruition of the hard work I've poured into it.

RM: You've been at that for awhile now, huh?

S: Yah, like almost 4 years! As soon as J and I landed here in our city, I immediately started going out with a fried to visit the girls. We (me and my friend) both felt that we needed to do SOMETHING! We were soon a team of 5 ladies going out every week to visit these girls that were, for lack of a better word, TRAPPED! How could we help them? How could we give them hope? So, after about a year and a half, we partnered with a jewelry company to offer these girls jobs. Fast forward to this month...ITS ACTUALLY HAPPENING! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RM: Originally, you all said you were going out with a rug business to help offer jobs and provide a better living for the "K" T.betan people. What has happened with that?

J: The work among the K people is still very much alive and flourishing. Yes, the rug company left Ch!na and we had to kind of scramble to figure out what to do, but the work is still pressing forward. There is a group of about 30 or so individuals (not just westerners!) here in our city that study and speak the K dialect of T.betan. These people have firmly planted roots and relationships. They are doing a much greater work that we ever dreamed that we could. This work among the K is in very good hands. Also, the local Ch!nese people are starting to reach out to the T.betan community more than ever before in history. It is a miraculous story of forgiveness.

RM: Wow, that's great. Ok, moving on...Beer. You both love beer. We heard that you were trying to start a business to export barley (for beer making) from T.bet to the international brewing market. What happened with that?

J: Ha ha ha ha! Oh, yah. That! Well, our business idea is still moving forward...kind of. We partnered with two business guys here in town to get this business up and running. We met together once or twice a week, every week for over a year. Unfortunately, we just weren't making much headway. We needed foreign investors, but couldn't get them. We needed good test results for the barley, but it didn't come back as the "miracle" grain we had hoped for. We needed local investors and we had some interest, but none that were fully in or committed. Therefore, we decided that we would completely hand this dream off to our partners and let them run with it.
IF it takes off, we will be the stateside sales team. That is an agreement we've had from the beginning. So, it is still very much a possibility.

RM: So, what does the future hold for Justin and Shelli?

S: I don't know. Are you hiring??? ha ha ha ha.

RM: Ha ha ha ha ha!!!! Hmmmmmmmm.

S: Well, the short answer is, seriously, "we don't know". We have "dream jobs" and "dream places", but we're just not sure at the moment. As of now the only thing on the horizon is leaving Ch!na and Justin starting his Masters.

RM: Oh yah? Where are you getting your Masters, Justin?

J: I've just applied at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. The program is a Masters of Science in Non-Profit Management. I'm also looking into programs in England and one in the Chicago area. All of these programs are online and can be done from anywhere, which is nice.

RM: What do you hope that you'll do with a degree like that?

J: Again, we revert back to "dream jobs". I would love to someday work for a large scale non-profit dealing in social justice issues. Like IJM (International Justice Mission) out of D.C. or something similar.

RM: So, you mentioned "dream places". Where are these places?

S: Denver, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; London, England; San Diego, California; or you know...India!!!!!. Ha ha! Or, maybe even just something back in Oklahoma or Arkansas.

RM: Do you have any job opportunities on the horizon?

S: Yah, actually, we've both been offered a position in Oklahoma City but are still praying about whether or not its the right fit. I applied for a position with the jewelry business I work with here, but stateside in Dallas. However, they decided to move the location back to Indiana, and that isn't necessarily a place that we see ourselves. So, that's off the table for now. But, who knows...

J: Well, as for me personally, I love of beer. Ha Ha Ha! And, I love brewing beer and am really good at it. So, a "dream job" for right now, while getting my masters, would be working in a brewery somewhere. Not sure if they're looking for a small scale home brewer though. But, who knows... Maybe they need someone like me with a background in media, a love for social justice and a self proclaimed connoisseur of good beer.

RM: Awesome. OH!, before I forget: The adoption...where are you guys with that?

J&S: (grumble grumble grumble grumble)...

J: Oh, the adoption, the adoption, the adoption. Unfortunately, we have no news. They say "no news is good news"? Well, in the adoption world, it is the opposite. Bulgaria has all of our paperwork and we are just waiting to be matched with a child.

RM: Is there an expected wait time?

J: We've been told "anywhere from 2 months to 3 YEARS". Ugh.

RM: Wow. Ok...so, you're waiting.

S: Yep. Waiting.

RM: What about your financial support?

J: The short answer is "we'll keep you posted". The long answer is: We would like to ask for people to please stay on financial support until AT LEAST the end of 2013. This will allow us to transition back home well and set up a new home. We have some counseling and cultural re-entry support lined up for September and October in Colorado. And we will be job searching during this time as well. However, as stated previously we do have a position offered to us in Oklahoma City. This is a full time ministry job and will require that we still remain on full time financial support. If we take on jobs that are PAID positions, then, obviously we will no longer need support. So, I guess the long answer is also "we'll keep you posted".

RM: Moving back home is probably pretty expensive, huh?

S: Yah. We'll need to buy plane tickets, a car, furniture, appliances, etc. Not to mention that American rent, utilities, and food costs are significantly higher than in Ch!na. Significantly! Luckily, we have that furnished apartment at "Woodway" to live in until the end of January. It's only $150 a month and includes utilities. A major blessing!

RM: How can your friends and family help with "stuff" that you'll eventually need?

J: Donations of "stuff" will be certainly be appreciated and considered. For instance, we'll need a loaner car as soon as we get home if we are unable to buy one. We would like to raise around $10,000 to help with moving expenses, purchase of a car and other things.

RM: How can people give money to help?

J: They can go to www.beautifulfeet.us , click the "donate" tab and choose "0250- Jones2ethne" in the drop down box.

RM: If our readers have questions or things to donate, how should they contact you?

J: They can email us at thejones2ethne at gmail dot com

RM: Well, thanks for your time. We look forward to seeing you stateside.