At the Airport

Hey Friends and Family!  Our CST2011 team has made it through china customs and are awaiting our planes arrival to take us home to Vancouver.  We are really looking forward to seeing you all.  

Last night we had a very good debrief as we asked the question, "Having seen what we've seen, done what we've done, and experienced what we've experienced....how then shall we live?  Then we reflected and answered the question in three ways:  1.  in our family 2.  in our church 3.  in our own lives.  

It was POWERFUL to hear each students responses.  We've had so many life-changing and life-shaping experiences here....our goal is to share and process them with you when we get back.  On that note...please be patient with us as we try to do our very best to find a way to share the experiences of the last two weeks with you!  

Please keep us in your thoughts regarding:
-a safe flight
-good final thought and reflection on the plane 
-gentle/patient attitudes towards each other and you all when we arrive (we're going to be VERY tired)

Love you all...and we can't wait to see you!!!!

Love,
CST11

Airport-bound

Just a short iPhone message to let you know that we are spending the morning in shanghai and planning to be at the airport by 1pm!!  See you all soon!!!!!!  Love you :) keep us in your thoughts regarding our travels today! 

in Shanghai

Team arrived in Shanghai in the afternoon. We just had a wonderful meal and will go back to hotel for team debrief. Shanghai is like Vancouver: a busy, big city. We will take our time in Shanghai to think about the question that after what we have seen and done in China in the past two weeks how then we should live our life back in Vancouver. Please continue to keep us in your prayer. We will take the flight back home in less than 20 hours!

news from Nanjing

The China service has arrived in Nanjing safely. Joe and Heidi can't get online as there is no wifi at the hotel. Everyone is doing well but very tired. Please continue to keep us in your prayer. Team is visiting the city with the Swaims and look forward for the trip to Shanghai with them. Joe will try to email you more update when they arrive in Shanghai. 

On the Move

We are sad...to leave this place and these students who we have grown to love. So, just a short iPhone note to ask for your thoughts regarding today's travel. 

Wifi dependent...will post a "yay, we're here" note when we get there :)

Love you all.

Please keep thinking of us 

Love,
CST11

Market and The Project

Does what we are doing here, matter?

No doubt, every one of us has asked this question of ourselves, at some point during this trip.   But it only takes a day like today to remind us why our host organization is such a major part of abba’s work in this village. 

Today, we were part of something called the PProject.  It’s a chance to support a local family in the village with practical help.  Today we visited "Mary".  Her great grandparents were born in the 2-room house she invited us into.  The house was simple:  a bed, a chair, and a counter for cooking food.  Mary’s husband died last year and, for the last 5 years, our host has subsidized her income.  She makes 3000 rmb a year ($500 CAN).  She works 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. picking garbage up off the streets.   She was VERY hospitable and answered many of our questions about her daily life.  We were very grateful.   Today we brought food and cash that will help sustain and encourage her as she lives this new life without the income of her husband and a son who lives far away and only can visit on the weekends to take care of her. 

We also had the opportunity to visit a very cool outdoor market, which hosted EVERY kind of organic food (plant and animal, spice, and handmade accessory) you could imagine.  It was crowded, and VERY popular with the local people.  What a privilege to visit such an amazing place and see what farmers do to make a living.  MUCH respect…for all farmers….it seems like such hard work.  The world needs farmers....without them, there's no dinner, folks.  

As our trip comes to a close, we are beginning to ask the question…”having seen what we’ve seen….how then shall we live?”  Please think of us as we ask this question.  Tomorrow we’ll be leaving our host and traveling through the weekend, meeting up with some GC friends, and then….coming home.

We love you…AND MISS YOU! 

Looking forward to sharing many more stories. 

Please keep us in your thoughts regarding:

-processing our trip together

-traveling safety

-finishing strong at our host

-abba’s protection of our team     

Love you,

CST11

Cultural Exchange

Part of our trip is focused on a cultural exchange intended to help our team members better understand the Chinese culture and the place they have left to come to Vancouver and GC. 

To help us do that, we have experienced food, markets, architectural achievements, and cultural heritage sights.  Today though….we experienced another part of China: it's religious diversity.  We visited a 3-self church, which is a government sponsored (and regulated) Christian church in China.  China is open to Christianity, especially in this form…and the church we visited today was LARGE.  It would be a mega-church by Canadian standards, with a building and a congregation that students described as “epic”.  Get the picture?  People were showing up 30 minutes early to get a seat.  wow. 

The church had strong teaching (which was translated for us into English via headsets), which gave us a real sense of what our mandarin speaking Chinese family at GC experience in our English service.  It was a very good experience for our team and also gave us a big appreciation for the community we are returning to when we get back!

Then to lunch.  Nuff said.  You have seen the pics...  It never gets dull, folks.  Never. 

After lunch we got up close and personal with some Olympic sites and learned about some of the architectural achievements such as “the birds nest” and the “7 star hotel” (which is actually only a 6 star…lol). Elizabeth never ceases to be the center of attention on these outings…..with MANY Chinese tourists wanting to take a picture with her (we really don’t understand it, and frankly, Joe is starting to think we should start charging $$ to make enough cash for a return trip!)

This afternoon is about Sabbath and rest…while we prep for a thought tonight and our day’s debrief which will have an extended time for thoughts regarding the filling and the refreshment of the H.S.

We look forward to another week of service here with our Host.  Please keep us in your thoughts for tonight (happening at 6-8ish AM your time).  Also, please keep us in your thoughts regarding a new week of work and good (deep) sleep for tonight. 

We love you!  Thanks so much for everything!!!

Peace,

CST11

our team members convinced joe that bald men do better ministry....so he thought he'd give it a try.   NOT. 

Touring

This place never ceases to amaze us.  Imagine a cultural history captured in timeless stories of emperors and dynasties and engrained in the Chinese mind through the use of architecture, art, color, and engineering.  It’s REMARKABLE. 

And now, a place rapidly globalizing and urbanizing creating a fascinating blend of ancient and modern.  This is a place a person could study for….A LONG TIME. 

Today we visited the Great Wall and spent time near a beautiful lakeside shopping area.  We also were treated to a family cooked meal and even invited to eat in their home.  What a special day.  Lots to say here….but since we’re all so tired, we’ll keep this short (more tomorrow…including pictures). 

Our team did really well today.  Now, there were challenges…i.e. you know you are in youth ministry (or a parent of a teen) when you’re standing on one of the 7 wonders of the world or walking through a museum carrying 5000 years of recorded history and a teen says, “this is boring”!  ahem….biting my tongue...I’ll let that one go…

But these students are WONDERFUL.  You have amazing kids.  All of you.  It is such a privilege to be here with them.  They are serving hard and they are playing hard.  They are SOAKING in this experience…and it shows. 

Tomorrow we are going to a three-self church (government registered Christian church) in Beijing and really looking forward to experiencing that.  Then, in the afternoon we will be taking a rest day and trying to keep some kind of a Sabbath.  We will be having extended time for thought and a long debrief to help us start the week well.  We are looking forward to getting back to serving, and doing the things we came here for.  It’s hard to believe we only have about a week left.  Has it really gone this fast? 

We would like to continue to ask for your thoughts regarding:

-team dynamics. 

-sickness (this seems to be getting better)

-for our leaders (they are working hard…and it shows) 

We really love you guys.  Thanks for following and supporting our journey

Another post coming tomorrow….with pics!

Peace,

CST2011      

The Learning Center

Every day has rhythm.  We need that.   The routine….and expectations to meet.  It’s good.  It helps us maintain a sense of purpose and vision and team unity as we go through each day in such a different culture.

One of the things we do, every day, is serve in a learning center. It’s an English school with many students who range from junior high to middle-aged male and females.  Our more adult students have left families, jobs, and children to pursue mastery of the English language.  It’s amazing what they’ve given up for something that most of us for whom English is our first language, have taken for granted. The very English words we use casually (and carelessly) represent struggle and sacrifice for these English students.

Each day, members of our team are divided up into 4 groups and enter 4 classrooms. Each of these classrooms represent different level English classes:  4 being the lowest and 1 being the highest.  The highest-level speakers are conversational and largely working on increasing vocabulary and working on pronunciation.

Every class has a different curriculum, but there are some similar characteristics for each class.  First, what’s being worked on is “oral English”.  They are not working on spelling or reading.  Second, each day there is a different theme.  Themes like:  “how to go to the doctor” or “different types of transportation”.  Students practice using new vocabulary and go through scenarios that require oral English skills such as using vocabulary and speaking in complete sentences.

That’s where our jobs take flight.  We sit in groups, and pair up with students and work on vocabulary and help with pronunciation.  With our low level English speakers, this requires extreme creativity and a lot of acting skills.  With our more advanced students this requires speaking slowly as to help with their pronunciation.

Working in the English school may sound “easy”…but make no mistake, it’s not.  It’s HIGHLY relational and demands a lot of patience. After 4 days here (is that all?) we have begun to make good connections with students and we are starting to remember each other's names.  This has created a good environment in the school.

Tomorrow we are going with the school on a field trip to visit Beijing World Park.  This is a real treat and we look forward to deepening our connections with these students.  They are a great group, old and young, and we look forward to spending more time with them.

Would love for you to keep thinking of us.  We need it!
Please keep us in your thoughts regarding:
-sickness.  there’s a bug, and it’s going around:  diarrhea and
headache.  It seems to only last for a day or so….but we are doing everything we can to quarantine, keep water intake up among team members, wash hands, and remind each other to take naps and get good rest each night.  This concerns us because it’s now affected 4 students and 1 leader over the course of the week.  We want NO MORE SICKNESS.
-  energy.  today, energy levels seemed lower.  We are helping people
take naps during our “self care” free hour and a half after lunch.
- team dynamics.  As people get tired (and more comfortable with each other) frustrations come to the surface (think about the dynamics in any family).

Overall, things are going very well.  We are debriefing every night, encouraging each other through written notes, and spending a lot of time finding ways to live up to our vision to “sacrifice and serve”.

We love you all very much. Thanks so much for thinking of us.  It means A LOT to us.

Love,
CST2011

Request

no blog update for today....just a request:

Keep us in your thoughts regarding:

There seems to be a 12-24 hour illness going around which includes: headache and diarrhea and body fatigue.  A couple students on the team had it (they are doing well now) and we are concerned it will affect more.

Thanks!  We NEED your thoughts!!  

A Day in the Life

You have amazing kids. 

Period. 

Each one of these amazing students is a testimony to your hard work and labor of love, known as the “mystery of parenting.”  My wife and I have lived with them for three days (honestly, it feels MUCH longer…in a good way) and we feel like we are really getting to know them.  We are seeing their passions, gifts, moods, maturity, and growth…in a way we’ve never seen in many of them.  This is VERY cool. 

It is now our second day with our host and you’ll be glad to know things are going really well.  We feel comfortable here and our accommodations are excellent.  I wish I had enough bandwidth to send you lots of pictures but a few will do.  Let me take you through our day.

After a 7am start, we meet for a morning thought and a group song to start the day (i.e. the Johnny Appleseed song).  Your kids are not…shall we say…morning people.  haha.  It always makes us laugh to see some of them come ready for the day with puffy cheeks and dazed eyes…when we’ve been up since 5:30 with a child who’s ready to start the day (if they only knew what awaits them.  muhaha).   BUT, what they lack in “get moving” power they make up for in passion.  They are eager, servant-hearted, determined, and hope-filled.  Our days start with a punch.

Breakfast is always wonderful.  Enough said.  We are WELL FED.  No complaints from anybody.

Each morning at 8:00am we have a different staff worker talk to us about his/her story.  Today was very meaningful and the team members were really interested to hear her story. 

Then the serving starts. For the rest of the day we….well, you know.  Our team is split up into different small groups with different tasks.  It’s like shift work: for part of the day we are teaching English then another part of the day we are doing something else – either playing and caring for children, bringing food to families in the nearby village, or working in the manufacturing centre. We’ll highlight each of these areas of service in the coming days.

Lunch is around 11:30 and it’s usually hearty with lots of rice and noodles, chicken and a variety of main dishes with a couple side dishes like American fries.  Water and pop are plentiful and when team members are tired of those choices, there is a gift shop only steps away, which sell lots of other items (like ice cream bars).  A word on the ice cream bars:  there is now a small group of boys who have created something called “the 50 club” which is an elite group of ice cream eaters.  50 is the number of ice cream bars one must consume in 2 weeks to get the very prestigious title:  50 club member. The prize is an extra 5 lbs of body weight.

But don’t let the fun fool you….these students are working hard, and it’s showing.  At the end of the day, they are tired - REALLY tired - and we haven’t had any issues with enforcing lights out. 

The afternoons are full of work, until an hour before dinner (which is at 5pm).  This is free-time to hang out with the language students, many of whom are the same ages as our team members.  Free time includes playing basketball, volleyball, card games, ping pong, and just hanging out. 

After dinner, we have team member free time.  This lasts for an hour and a half.  Some people take naps, others showers, others go get snacks (ice cream bars) or visit the local village, others play sports, and some read.

From 7:30-8:30 is their personal time.  They are working through daily readings in their team packet.  We have seen our team take these very seriously and we are expecting that this daily rhythm will shape each person significantly. 

Then, we have our team debrief.  Here we sing songs and think about our day.  It’s a great opportunity to share and learn from one another.

This lasts for a couple hours and includes life-together details.  For example, last night we talked about “house rules”.  We put them into an acronym called:

R - rest

E – entertaining guests (home/rooms)

S - speech

P – practical jokes

E – emergencies

C – cleanliness

T  - timeliness

The night ends right after our evening debrief with bed.  And by then, we are very much ready for it. 

Well, that’s a day in the life!  Please think about us regarding:

- yesterday was a humbling day for team members.  walking through the village, serving the host, and the full-day makes for big culture-shock.

- some students are still jet lagged

- we are mostly healthy (but the team leader…the tall curly haired one, may have torn a meniscus in his knee playing basketball…yes, apparently I am getting to be that age.  bummer).  I can still walk fine (in a straight line….but lateral movement hurts). 

- think about us regarding team energy and adaptability to a full day’s schedule

- think about us regarding living up to our team vision, stated on both the front and back of our shirts. 

We love you!  Thanks for thinking of us and please know that everyone on our team is doing well and we’ll blog again in a couple days!

Love,

CST2011