Storms can be exciting, fun, and dangerous. In the midst of a storm we might struggle, panic, cower, or foolishly believe that we are in control. We are not in control, and until we realize who is in control, we will always be fighting against the storms in our lives. He calmed the storms!Why are we grateful this week:
1) If you do not know yet, we were able to alter the plans for English Week. Unfortunately, it will not be in Langfang, but we were able to switch colleges at the last minute. The team is now about two hours away in Baoding. Although we are disappointed that they were unable to come to our college, it is amazing to us that they were able to find a new location with such short notice. 17 teachers, $2000 each, and nowhere to go; “He calmed the storm!”
2) The English Week Team made it safely to Baoding. They had a five hour delay in Chicago, but other then that there have been relatively few problems. We took the two hour bus ride to visit them over the weekend, and they were doing well. They are very excited about the upcoming week, and have been jokingly referring to their trip as “Operation Flex.”
It was great to see the team! We talked with old friends, played basketball with students, toured the campus, participated in the first English Club, and went to a leadership seminar for the Chinese teachers. It was revitalizing to see the excitement of the English Week teachers!
We had to return to Langfang for 8am Monday morning classes, but due to a slight miscalculation, there were no more buses leaving from Baoding to Langfang until Monday. So we went to the train station, and found the same results. We finally settled on an overpriced taxi. We were tired, sad to be leaving our friends for the week, and our driver insisted on smoking. When we arrived outside of Langfang, our driver refused to take us into town, and left us in the middle of the highway to find our way back to the college. When we finally got back to the campus just before 10pm, we stopped at the local convince store and bought some ice-cream. As we walked the final 100 yards to our apartments, I enjoyed my ice-cream and thought, “He calmed the storms!”
3) A wise man once said: “Don’t tell Him how big your storm is, tell you storm how big He is!” We are grateful that He calms the storms in our lives!
Please continue to “think” about us:
1) Jet-lag is in full force for the English Week team. Please keep them in your thoughts! The English Week team is: 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) We are trying to finalize our contracts for next year. We return home in less than 20 days, and we are worried that this will not be completed before we return to the United States, even though we started this process over a month ago. Finalizing our contracts also includes the reimbursement of our airfare, $1500 each.
3) The college has agreed to have five full-time IECS English teachers next year, and they have also said that they are looking for a Native Japanese teacher. We have been pushing for a sixth teacher, but it looks like there will only be five next year. The odds are slim, but if you know somebody who is Japanese, like-minded, and interested in teaching in China, please do not hesitate to recommend them. Otherwise, please keep it in your thoughts.
Thank you for your thoughts,
Brad and Jessie
