A Few Days in the Life of….
July 11, 2008
What a fourth day. Today it poured rain. Our storm alert went to amber which means a severe thunderstorm and heavy rains. The next step is to red and then black. Black means a typhoon is coming, and we had better batten down the hatches. A typhoon did hit today, by way of students. Today, the students went whacko on us. I believe, I hope and pray it was because they received their report cards today, signifying the end of yet another school year.
The married couple on my team that’s around the age of 38 and 40 I think have had enough. The woman said she was ready to pack up and go home, literally. That’s everyone except me that has had a break so far. These kids are, for the most part, little monsters. They don’t obey, they talk even when you are telling them to stop, they use their cell phones, their little DVD players to watch movies, and they even sleep during class. They refuse to participate in activities, and tend to wonder off onto their own activities which do not include English.
Three weeks left, that’s it. I am not seeing God at work here just yet anyway. I know this, if we survive, all of us will be stronger for it, perhaps both physically and spiritually. We want to share the message, we want to be out amongst the people to do so, but we are very much restricted. We have to ride a bus to and from the school one hour both ways. We get back to our dorms and we are just plain tuckered out.
One of the school teachers asked us if we were going to share the message with the kids, but we didn’t know how to answer. The man is a believer and seemed a bit disappointed that the person he was speaking to couldn’t answer him. I am going to inquire more and see if we can be a bit or a lot more open and intentional about it.
This is such a contrast to China proper. Here the kids are not very motivated to learn, not very well disciplined and they are very disrespectful. In China proper, we would be living in less comfortable surroundings, walk to school every day in the heat, and the food would be far less in quality, but the students would be great. Terrie, who has been to China before and I believe we would rather suffer the physical hardships and work with kids that want to learn. Who knows, God has provided for me to be here and the others, there must be a reason we just have to wait and have faith.
July 9, 2008
Whoa, what a day. Today we started off with a big assembly of the entire student body. This was to be a big deal, a real ruckus, controlled chaos. Yea, no…the students stayed true to form, they didn’t participate, at least to the extent they should have. Only one class was willing to sing and sing loud, and to do their class cheer.
We moved on to our classroom events and those went well. Our afternoon activity was conducting a tea party. This allows the teachers to ask the students questions, some very pointed and sensitive questions that could lead to other types of discussions, if you get my drift. I must choose my words wisely even in this forum. For some, the tea party went well, for others it was a letdown. But more and more we are seeing the students open up and respond.
The teachers are getting very worn out. Two had near emotional breakdowns already and today one had a dizzy spell. I keep reassuring them that next week will be easier. They are for the most part doing a good/great job.
My computer problems persist. I am not getting connected as fast or as often as I need to or want to. My doctorate class is suffering and I am hoping/praying that I can catch up. All of us are wondering why we are here. I don’t know, but I am going to guess we are here because we need to be here at least for ourselves. There is at the very least a layer that has to be removed or refortification of a layer must happen. Either way, it probably will be unpleasant as it occurs.
July 8, 2008
Today was a good and bad day. It was our first real day of formal classes. It is funny how none professional teachers will formulate an opinion about a curriculum they’ve never used. On each trip to date, it has never failed that they think the curriculum will not function in some fashion or another. Despite the fact that I have my misgivings about the curriculum, it functions as intended.
For the most part, the classes seemed to run well. Yesterday, one counselor had a nervous breakdown, and today, another counselor suffered a breakdown. Both were to be expected, but I was hoping they would be able to make it. It is tough, and it is hard doing this, no doubt about it. We have to take this one day at a time and exercise a lot of prayer.
I opened up by playing the first character, the Marathon man. This character introduces the beginnings of the Olympics, which is the theme. I played it very physical, running into classes, drenched in sweat, and panting. I run into the room and collide with students and desks, knocking things all over the place. Some students were in absolute shock and horror, but soon got over it. Today for me was a break through with the students. The counselors are having difficulty breaking through because they are too reserved. I’m wrestling with them, talking to them, playing cards with them and poking fun at them. One girl came up and gave me a hand drawn picture of me. Now, if I can only get them, the counselors, to let go.
Tonight they are going to the store, I think I will stay behind and let them go on their own. They need a break through as much as the Hong Kong students. I must say that while I am enjoying this trip, I would prefer roughing it somewhere in China proper. Hong Kong is way too westernized and modern. There is a lot of work to be done here for sure, and I am here because He sent me here.
July 7, 2008
Well, today was our first day at school. Things did not work out as planned, it seems someone forgot, or neglected to tell me that the students would be very standoffish. Picture yourself standing there with a microphone in your hand yelling, “Good morning Camp Hong Kong,” and the audience just sits and stares at you. Yea, that is what happened.
To start the day off, I woke up about an hour early because I had a dream about Hoa, in which we were talking again. I woke up slightly depressed. Then our opening at school fails. Our afternoon activities didn’t go as well either. To add to the burden, one of the girls on my team had a meltdown. She didn’t know how to handle the failure of the first day.
Upon arriving back at the dorm and talking to other team leaders, I discovered that this was common. The students are nonresponsive at first, for about the first week. After that, they open up, supposedly. Thus goes the first day. I believe it will get better and that it will take time for the students to open up.
My doctorate program is taking a big hit. I cannot access the internet as freely as promised. I am not sure what is going on with my team, and I haven’t read anything I am supposed to have read by now. However, there is a bright side to all of this. I just don’t know what it is yet.
July 6, 2008
Today was a real blessing. We went to church. This was a particularly nice church. One of the worship songs we sang was another “Hosanna” named song. However, the words in this song struck me. Although I can one quote the words, they said something to the effect, let me love as you love, and to have a broken heart as your heart has been broken.
The thoughts in this song are correct. God so love the world…He loved the world, he loves you and I. He loves unconditionally. He is not our physical father, yet He is our father. He loves us as the same. His heart is broken because we cannot obey him, always opting for our own comforts, our own selfishness, placing our own needs and desires first.
This song confirms what I already believe. It is okay to love, even if others do not understand it. What I am referring to is how Coy and I loved a girl as if she were our own daughter, only to be told by others that she is not during a time of crisis as if they were comforting words. We did the right thing in loving this girl as our daughter, and you know what? It was okay. Even though she was not our flesh and blood, we loved her unconditionally.
The second part is a broken heart like Gods. Yes, we suffered a broken heart from this same relationship, and you know what? It was okay. Our hearts would not have been so broken if we had not loved her. Can you image how much more God’s heart hurts? Each day for thousands of years he has had his heart broken by his children. Millions of times over, yet he continues to love us. We continue to love the little girl that broke our hearts.
Later, we managed to have a team meeting and prepare our week’s lesions and activities. It is difficult because I am starting to bump heads with one of the older adults on my team. There were two incidents just today. Oddly it is the one Chinese person on my team. I am not going to give ground however, I did that last year and it didn’t work. I will give ground but it will be on my terms. She is a great gal and admitted that they were very much use to being independent and that learning to be part of a team is a challenge for them.
Please continue to lift us up in prayer, for peace and unity in the team.
July 5, 2008
Today we went on a whirlwind tour of Hong Kong. Joyce, our site supervisor took us to Victoria Peck, a must see, the number one must see tourist stop. Joyce has come to Hong Kong for four years now, and she knows her way around.
Hong Kong is a transportation city, moving millions of people around daily. Despite the ability to ride just about anywhere one wants to, we walked, and walked. We toured Hong Kong Park, and many malls as we zipped in an out using them as short cuts, and an opportunity to cool off.
Hong Kong is vastly different than mainland China, and is much more modern and organized in a western fashion. However, there is still a lot of Chinese left in the people. There are tons and tons of shops, and tons of tourists to frequent the shops.
It is good that we went all over town; it gets it out of our blood. Now we can focus on the task at hand, teaching English, amongst other things.
What a fourth day. Today it poured rain. Our storm alert went to amber which means a severe thunderstorm and heavy rains. The next step is to red and then black. Black means a typhoon is coming, and we had better batten down the hatches. A typhoon did hit today, by way of students. Today, the students went whacko on us. I believe, I hope and pray it was because they received their report cards today, signifying the end of yet another school year.
The married couple on my team that’s around the age of 38 and 40 I think have had enough. The woman said she was ready to pack up and go home, literally. That’s everyone except me that has had a break so far. These kids are, for the most part, little monsters. They don’t obey, they talk even when you are telling them to stop, they use their cell phones, their little DVD players to watch movies, and they even sleep during class. They refuse to participate in activities, and tend to wonder off onto their own activities which do not include English.
Three weeks left, that’s it. I am not seeing God at work here just yet anyway. I know this, if we survive, all of us will be stronger for it, perhaps both physically and spiritually. We want to share the message, we want to be out amongst the people to do so, but we are very much restricted. We have to ride a bus to and from the school one hour both ways. We get back to our dorms and we are just plain tuckered out.
One of the school teachers asked us if we were going to share the message with the kids, but we didn’t know how to answer. The man is a believer and seemed a bit disappointed that the person he was speaking to couldn’t answer him. I am going to inquire more and see if we can be a bit or a lot more open and intentional about it.
This is such a contrast to China proper. Here the kids are not very motivated to learn, not very well disciplined and they are very disrespectful. In China proper, we would be living in less comfortable surroundings, walk to school every day in the heat, and the food would be far less in quality, but the students would be great. Terrie, who has been to China before and I believe we would rather suffer the physical hardships and work with kids that want to learn. Who knows, God has provided for me to be here and the others, there must be a reason we just have to wait and have faith.
July 9, 2008
Whoa, what a day. Today we started off with a big assembly of the entire student body. This was to be a big deal, a real ruckus, controlled chaos. Yea, no…the students stayed true to form, they didn’t participate, at least to the extent they should have. Only one class was willing to sing and sing loud, and to do their class cheer.
We moved on to our classroom events and those went well. Our afternoon activity was conducting a tea party. This allows the teachers to ask the students questions, some very pointed and sensitive questions that could lead to other types of discussions, if you get my drift. I must choose my words wisely even in this forum. For some, the tea party went well, for others it was a letdown. But more and more we are seeing the students open up and respond.
The teachers are getting very worn out. Two had near emotional breakdowns already and today one had a dizzy spell. I keep reassuring them that next week will be easier. They are for the most part doing a good/great job.
My computer problems persist. I am not getting connected as fast or as often as I need to or want to. My doctorate class is suffering and I am hoping/praying that I can catch up. All of us are wondering why we are here. I don’t know, but I am going to guess we are here because we need to be here at least for ourselves. There is at the very least a layer that has to be removed or refortification of a layer must happen. Either way, it probably will be unpleasant as it occurs.
July 8, 2008
Today was a good and bad day. It was our first real day of formal classes. It is funny how none professional teachers will formulate an opinion about a curriculum they’ve never used. On each trip to date, it has never failed that they think the curriculum will not function in some fashion or another. Despite the fact that I have my misgivings about the curriculum, it functions as intended.
For the most part, the classes seemed to run well. Yesterday, one counselor had a nervous breakdown, and today, another counselor suffered a breakdown. Both were to be expected, but I was hoping they would be able to make it. It is tough, and it is hard doing this, no doubt about it. We have to take this one day at a time and exercise a lot of prayer.
I opened up by playing the first character, the Marathon man. This character introduces the beginnings of the Olympics, which is the theme. I played it very physical, running into classes, drenched in sweat, and panting. I run into the room and collide with students and desks, knocking things all over the place. Some students were in absolute shock and horror, but soon got over it. Today for me was a break through with the students. The counselors are having difficulty breaking through because they are too reserved. I’m wrestling with them, talking to them, playing cards with them and poking fun at them. One girl came up and gave me a hand drawn picture of me. Now, if I can only get them, the counselors, to let go.
Tonight they are going to the store, I think I will stay behind and let them go on their own. They need a break through as much as the Hong Kong students. I must say that while I am enjoying this trip, I would prefer roughing it somewhere in China proper. Hong Kong is way too westernized and modern. There is a lot of work to be done here for sure, and I am here because He sent me here.
July 7, 2008
Well, today was our first day at school. Things did not work out as planned, it seems someone forgot, or neglected to tell me that the students would be very standoffish. Picture yourself standing there with a microphone in your hand yelling, “Good morning Camp Hong Kong,” and the audience just sits and stares at you. Yea, that is what happened.
To start the day off, I woke up about an hour early because I had a dream about Hoa, in which we were talking again. I woke up slightly depressed. Then our opening at school fails. Our afternoon activities didn’t go as well either. To add to the burden, one of the girls on my team had a meltdown. She didn’t know how to handle the failure of the first day.
Upon arriving back at the dorm and talking to other team leaders, I discovered that this was common. The students are nonresponsive at first, for about the first week. After that, they open up, supposedly. Thus goes the first day. I believe it will get better and that it will take time for the students to open up.
My doctorate program is taking a big hit. I cannot access the internet as freely as promised. I am not sure what is going on with my team, and I haven’t read anything I am supposed to have read by now. However, there is a bright side to all of this. I just don’t know what it is yet.
July 6, 2008
Today was a real blessing. We went to church. This was a particularly nice church. One of the worship songs we sang was another “Hosanna” named song. However, the words in this song struck me. Although I can one quote the words, they said something to the effect, let me love as you love, and to have a broken heart as your heart has been broken.
The thoughts in this song are correct. God so love the world…He loved the world, he loves you and I. He loves unconditionally. He is not our physical father, yet He is our father. He loves us as the same. His heart is broken because we cannot obey him, always opting for our own comforts, our own selfishness, placing our own needs and desires first.
This song confirms what I already believe. It is okay to love, even if others do not understand it. What I am referring to is how Coy and I loved a girl as if she were our own daughter, only to be told by others that she is not during a time of crisis as if they were comforting words. We did the right thing in loving this girl as our daughter, and you know what? It was okay. Even though she was not our flesh and blood, we loved her unconditionally.
The second part is a broken heart like Gods. Yes, we suffered a broken heart from this same relationship, and you know what? It was okay. Our hearts would not have been so broken if we had not loved her. Can you image how much more God’s heart hurts? Each day for thousands of years he has had his heart broken by his children. Millions of times over, yet he continues to love us. We continue to love the little girl that broke our hearts.
Later, we managed to have a team meeting and prepare our week’s lesions and activities. It is difficult because I am starting to bump heads with one of the older adults on my team. There were two incidents just today. Oddly it is the one Chinese person on my team. I am not going to give ground however, I did that last year and it didn’t work. I will give ground but it will be on my terms. She is a great gal and admitted that they were very much use to being independent and that learning to be part of a team is a challenge for them.
Please continue to lift us up in prayer, for peace and unity in the team.
July 5, 2008
Today we went on a whirlwind tour of Hong Kong. Joyce, our site supervisor took us to Victoria Peck, a must see, the number one must see tourist stop. Joyce has come to Hong Kong for four years now, and she knows her way around.
Hong Kong is a transportation city, moving millions of people around daily. Despite the ability to ride just about anywhere one wants to, we walked, and walked. We toured Hong Kong Park, and many malls as we zipped in an out using them as short cuts, and an opportunity to cool off.
Hong Kong is vastly different than mainland China, and is much more modern and organized in a western fashion. However, there is still a lot of Chinese left in the people. There are tons and tons of shops, and tons of tourists to frequent the shops.
It is good that we went all over town; it gets it out of our blood. Now we can focus on the task at hand, teaching English, amongst other things.
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