today was the last day of class and the closing ceremony of this week's english camp at neli elementary school. we will be moving to baifu/wudu elementary on saturday to begin our service for the next week. our team devotions today was 2 corinthians, chapter 9. there were a passage that stuck out to me, verses 6-8: "r
emember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. and God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." it was certainly a good encouragement from God for today, and certainly will be an encouragement everyday for the rest of the trip.
closing prayer/passage for everyone we have met here at neli, from ephesians 3:14-21.
"for this reason i kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. i pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. and i pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
bernard & karen:now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! amen."
team member's thoughts:
Bernard Wen: "Alright one week down!" - is something I don't want to think or say. Even though today might have been the most tiring day of the week, I wanted it to keep going because I felt that I had so much more to give to these kids. And so I also felt regret on the last day (and at the end of the other days too...) that I should have done things better, been more organized. Nevertheless, at the closing ceremony, God showed me I had no reason to doubt myself as long as I lean on Him (that would be doubting God's strength anyways). My class sang really well, Jamie gave a great "speech" on stage, and I truly felt sad leaving these kids.
But I want to continue to learn to rely completely on God. Sometimes it's hard with PJosh and Deacon Katy there always to help. Of course, it's a blessing having their continual help, but before arriving here, I had always expected it to be a huge challenge, where I would then be forced to rely on God. While others might have been nervous thinking about the trip, I was not because I knew that by putting myself in a challenging position, I could trust in God to get me through. Now that I'm here though, I feel like I've been relying on myself and others for the most part. After a week of experience, I have a much clearer picture of what I should be doing for the next two weeks.
however, at the same time we were very sad to see the kids leaving already. i think we both teared up after we all had to part ways at the ending of our evening event. we hate how it was a crazy swing of emotions.
we wish to end our post with some hilarious/cute/hilariously cute? pictures, but that'll have to wait for another day...
shing chow: i thought i would add that i made a kid cry today...the kid, earl, had a spray bottle to cool down but he wound up using it to spray other kids in the class. in a stern voice, i asked him to stop and stand up-- instantly the tears started to flow. it was just one of those moments where i wasn't sure what to do, lol. but it was all good, because he definitely straightened himself out after that. to be honest, i haven't found too many problems with the kids. they are light-years ahead of my students back in columbus, ohio. i would love to have these kids as my students back at home. granted they take a little prodding, but they accomplish a lot. one just has to realize that kids this age are just a little squirrely and you need to pick your battles. there are two things that i continually fall back on when i really need to get a message across- blowing my whistle or start counting to 3 in a direct tone.
pastor josh:
We ended our first week in Taiwan, and will be moving on towards Keelung. God has been very gracious to us. When we first arrived at Nei Li, the Dean of Student affairs was not very responsive to us, she came in Monday late, and her attitude was not very co-operative. However, last night, she came up to me and told me that her son starting from Wednesday night would hold onto her leg and cry saying "what am I gonna do! the teachers are leaving Friday!". With this reaction, her attitude towards us changed dramatically. She wanted to see how we being with her child for 3 days, could build such a lasting impression. God is good and God is faithful. We merely demonstrated God's love in our lives, and the love overflowed into the children's live and thus the name of God was glorified. Immediately after we had our presentation, the Principal of the school asked us to come back next year. We hope to build a long God glorifying relationship with the Nei Li Area. Please continue to pray for us, as many of us are exhausted and it is only week 1. Spiritually we are doing great, morning devotions at 630 every morning, and we are refreshed in the Lord and thus able to serve God by loving these Children.
deacon katy:
Praise the Lord, we had a pretty good closing program tonight. The principle invited us to come back next year right after the closing program. Although we are exausted physically, we are filled with joy and thanksgiving. It's amazing to see kids memorize all 6 songs in five days. Thank God for providing helpers from local seminary. The class ran smoothly with their help in both Chinese and classroom management. We do need God's help for having more opportunies to share gospel.
Goodbyes are always hard, and sometimes I think that a vocation where goodbye-forever is an annual occurrence is the greatest test of my faith. That you are questioning whether you did enough is a sign that you cared, and rest assured that God recognizes your sweat and tears on behalf of these children...and exceeds us in His love for them! Prayers and blessings for your second week...sometimes that is MORE difficult than the first, but God will provide. Love and miss you all!
ReplyDeletehaha, Shing, we will forward this comment to your class here:
ReplyDelete"they are light-years ahead of my students back in columbus, ohio. "
That might be the joy no one else can have from this trip :)