Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Prepping for China

Praise God, all the finances have come in for our China trip!

Life is crazy right now as we try to get last-minute details prepared. Please pray for us, that we will have wisdom in the tasks we need to complete!

2 comments:

joann boswell said...

Hooray! Woot! When do you leave for China? Is Aaron coming with you or staying with a friend? I can't remember...

Cherie said...

Your contribution request letter joins a stack of fund-raising letters from several junior high/high school kids we are pleased to know who ask for similar assistance for their Spring Break 'Missions' trips. How fun that you three have the opportunity to chaperone such a student trip to China this week. You and the kids will have fun playing games and music with the Chinese students while helping them practice their English skills.

For awhile there our local kids went primarily to Mexico. We are pleased to see that they've continued branching out to places such as the Yukon, Central America, South America, Africa, and the inner cities of L.A. and Detroit. The U.S. inner city trips will be quite a culture shock for some of the kids, to find a remarkably different lifestyle within the borders of their own country with the resultant challenges of understanding and compassion within the framework of Christian love. The kids are up for the challenge. We look forward to all the reports when you kids return, normally more impacted than those you set out to help.

I hope the three of you find a way to escape the insular world of your organization so that you can get a real feel for the country, the locals, the culture, and the needs. You live a fairly sheltered life there in Singapore - a western country by most standards - employed by a Christian organization and working with the local church. It will be good for you to be confronted with more of the area and what better way to have an introduction, a brief brush with a far different culture.

We have a friend (also a math teacher) who lives frugally so that he can visit China for a month or so at a time now and then. (He's been to Africa as well.) He was a house parent for the university's International House for several years where he learned enough Chinese to get by. He's made many friends as well. (Uncle Tom has worked on the cars of many of this man's friends, giving us a few new friends of our own. A gentle and kind bunch of people - very smart, too!) We enjoy listening to our friend's stories of his sojourns into the heart of China - city, town, and village - all on his own. He speaks about Christ to many, happy to find quite a few believers among them. The Lord has used him mightily, this quiet, compassionate man of 40, setting out from the energy and love of his own heart and life, a life dedicated to the Truth of God here and abroad.

Have a wonderful trip! We look forward to massive photos and news reports about your students' endeavors over your Spring Break 'Mission.'