“Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials… because you know that the testing…develops perseverance.” This week has been a lesson in joy and perseverance! It started with the earthquake on Monday, a huge disappointment concerning English Week on Thursday, and finished with eight hours of The Great Wall on Saturday.Why are we grateful this week:
1) Our dinner with students on Thursday night went well. The four of us worked together to make an American style breakfast to serve to our students for dinner. It was great to see our students get excited about eating pancakes and French toast for the first time! It was also fun to share childhood stories after the meal as we reminisced about some of our favorite holiday memories.
2) Jess and I completed the Great Wall Marathon on Saturday! The landscape was beautiful, and I probably spent more time taking pictures and shooting video than I did actually running. We ran the whole way together!
3) Newt and Claire made it safely to Langfang today and, as always, they have been a great encouragement for us.
Please continue to “think” about us:
1) We have run into opposition with English Week. A few days ago our administrators informed us that English Week would be canceled. At this late notice, all arrangements have been made, and the 17 teachers will arrive in Beijing next Friday. Unfortunately, there was a recent notice from the city authorities restricting events on college campuses in Langfang. We are obviously very disappointed with this news from the city authorities, but we are investigating other options and hoping that these restrictions can be lifted within the next couple days.
Most of all, this experience has helped us realize how much we appreciate our Authority. Our Authority, the Authority we answer to, does not change! Our Authority does not speak without acting, he does not promise without fulfilling! Like a home built on a solid foundation, we can stand strong even in the midst of any storm.
Please continue to think about the English Week team: Joe Paolella, Brian Kough, Tim Phillips, Jeffrey Guinn, Emily Guinn, Beth Rivera, Stephen Rivera, Ryan Betty, Laura Sauvain, Dana English, Bethany Thornton, Nancy Suter, Damond Lassiter, Jessica Samblee, Claire Hetrick, and Newt Hetrick.
2) As many of you already know, there was a devastating earthquake in China last Monday afternoon. Our lives have been relatively unaffected since we were about 900 miles away from the epicenter. Jess, Peter, and Shannon were all teaching at the time. Some classes were evacuated during the brief moments of mild tremors, but others did not even notice. I read about the earthquake on the Internet 15 minutes after the fact and was surprised that it had happened because it was so mild that I did not notice.
However, even though the earthquake has had a minimal affect on our lives, many others were not as lucky. As I read the daily news, I am heartbroken; we feel like we are so close to this tragedy, but there is so little that we can do. The pain and suffering is obvious in the photographs and video of Chengdu. Yet, I am reminded that this is the same pain that many of our students are experiencing for various reasons, and we are here to attend to that suffering. Please continue to remember our students as they struggle with the meaning of life in the face of this great tragedy.
Thank you for your thoughts,
Brad and Jessie
