Sunday Thoughts: October 26th 2008

It amazes me how consistent our Father is:

Before we were created, “He is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

When He walked the earth, “He is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

When my Great Grandfather was working as a doctor in China, “He is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

When my friends first introduced Him to me, “He is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Now that I am working in China, “He is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

My entire world had to change for me to realize that He is the only true constant. Whether I’m in China or America, speaking Chinese or English, walking or driving, eating rice or pizza, He is still the same.

Why we are grateful this week:

1) Peter and I have completely recovered from the Beijing Marathon and I have already started running again in preparation for another race.

2) Last Friday afternoon was filled with fun. Jess Shamblee went to lunch with the same 9 girl that she taught to make pancakes. Peter and I ate lunch and studied with a couple students, and Jessie Distad prepared for her education lecture. Around 2:30pm, I went with Jessie to her lecture to help with the question & answer section and run the power point for her. About 50 English teachers were in attendance. It reminded me of a WCBOE In-Service Day, but the Chinese administrators and teachers loved it.

3) Our trip to the Philip Hayden Foundation went well. Jess Shamblee, Jessie Distad, and I took three students and spent about 2 hours with the children. We have already scheduled a second visit on November 22nd.

4) Saturday night we went to the Student Union’s annual Halloween Ball. We judged dancing, costumes, and jack o’lanterns. We danced with the students and posed for pictures like celebrities. Peter & Shannon preformed “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and I performed “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” because they love John Denver!

Please continue to “think” about us:

1) The leaves are starting to fall off the trees and the temperature outside made it down to 34 degrees Fahrenheit last night. The heat in our apartments and classrooms will not be turned on until mid November. Shannon and Jessie have been ill this past week, Shannon with a sinus infection and Jess with a bad cold, but they appear to be recovering.

2) This Monday night, we have been invited to another student led English Club. The students are a bit worried because their club is being evaluated by the college administrators that night.

3) I will be spending at least a couple Friday afternoons each month learning how to play Chinese Chess. The Assistant Dean of the English department has volunteered to be my tutor. It’s different then Western Chess, and I’m excited to learn, but most of all I’m happy that I’ll have more time to spend with our administrators.

4) Our administrators have also asked me to tutor a graduate student in math. He’ll be going to Canada for his post-graduate degree, but he needs to improve his math scores first. They assure me that his biggest weakness is understanding the English math vocabulary. I’m a little worried because I’ve never taught above Calculus, but they tell me that there are no other English teachers in our city that know upper level math.

5) Next Monday we will have our second IECS English Club on the Main Campus.

He has come that we may have Life, and have it to the full,
Brad

PS: Feel free to click on anything in blue to learn more about us!

Sunday Thoughts: October 19th, 2008

“Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to The Son.”

Running a marathon is all about two things: lightening your load and fixing your eyes on the finish line!

“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on The Son, the author and perfecter…”

As I ran the Beijing Marathon yesterday, I was reminded of these two things. I saw runners that were weighed down by backpacks, large water bottles, and jeans, and thought, “How can they effectively run the race when they are burdened by all the extras that they think they need?”

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize…”

I also noticed runners who did not seem to know where the finish line was. Before the race, there were runners jumping around to an intense aerobic workout, they had fixed their eyes on the spectacle. At the start, many runners sprinted ahead, only to fade within the first ten miles; they had fixed their eyes on the first couple miles. In the end, it was those who had their eyes fixed on the finish line that finished strong.

Throw your cloak aside, jump to your feet and go to The Son!

Why we are grateful this week:

1) Peter and I finished the Beijing Marathon on Sunday without injury, and we both had personal bests for a marathon!

2) The entire IECS team, along with a couple of Chinese students, came to Beijing for the weekend. We met for dinner on Saturday night, had a time of sharing, and toured the city. While Peter and I were running on Sunday, they traveled along the course to encourage us. At the end of the day we took a train back to Langfang with the Corders, and the Baoding team made it home safely.

3) On Friday afternoon, Jess Shamblee had about 9 students visit her to learn how to make pancakes. They ate and played games for a couple hours.

4) Last Monday, we were invited to the “Non-English Majors English Club.” It is called the VAN English Club, although nobody seems to know what “VAN” stands for. We had a great time; Jessie and I organized the games, while Peter, Shannon, and Jess Shamblee led the music.

Please continue to “think” about us:

1) Peter and I will be sore this week as we recover from the marathon. Most of all, we do not want our soreness and weariness to affect the way we care for our students and our team.

2) This Friday, Jessie Distad has been asked by our administration to give an Education Lecture to the Chinese faculty of the English Department.

3) Next Saturday we will be visiting the Philip Hayden Foundation with students. Wil and Courtney Corder should also be able there, and we are looking forward to spending more time with them.

He has come that we may have Life, and have it to the full,
Brad

Sunday Thoughts: October 12th, 2008

“Some wandered in desert wastelands,

finding no way to a city where they could settle.
They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.”

We visited the Western Campus this past Friday for English Club. 350 plus college students hanging out the doors and windows of a fourth floor room vs. five foreigners, four songs, three chords, two games, and the Truth! It was a landslide victory, and the Truth did not even need the five foreigners!

The students’ hunger for Life was apparent. I remember what it was like to be that hungry, that thirsty, and willing to give anything for just a small taste of Life. I remember what it was like to wander without hope. Like a convict sentenced to death, I would have gladly traded anything for the Life I saw ebbing away! I would have given anything to know Life & Hope, but what I did not realize at that time was that it had already been given for me.

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Come to the Father. Feast on Life. The table is prepared!

Why we are grateful this week:

1) Tony & Lily had a healthy baby girl, Zhang Xi Mei, on Thursday afternoon. 8 lbs, 1 oz!

2) Newt and Claire returned home safely this week.

3) Both English Clubs went extremely well. Jess Shamblee gave a great talk on “Hope,” Shannon proved that Chinese students still love John Denver, and Jessie & Peter were able to keep everybody free of injuries during the games. Feel free to look at our pictures or video! For further details you can read Jessie’s note, "A City On A Hill".

4) We also spent an evening at KTV with some of our Chinese friends this week. It was Peter’s 26th birthday party, and it was a blast!

Please continue to “think” about us:

1) As the semester has progressed, we have fallen into a pattern of eating lunch with students every Friday. Peter and I eat with a couple students, and the three girls also meet individually with students for various reasons. This has been a great time for building friendships, and we are eagerly anticipating the fruit that will come from this time.

2) We have learned of a native family who serves on our campus. Please remember them and their spouses.

3) Please continue to keep the other IECS team members in your thoughts: Wil & Courtney Corder in Tianjin, and Tim Phillips, Amelia Martin, Emily Green, Jon Allison, & Ryan Bettwy in Baoding.

4) Shannon’s Grandmother passed away recently. Please remember Shannon and the whole Lively family.

5) As always, please remember the “communication guidelines” when communicating directly with any of us in China.

He has come that we may have Life, and have it to the full,
Brad

October 12, 2008: A City On A Hill

Langfang City, Hebei Province, China— The atmosphere is charged with energy as over 350 students push into classroom 408. The air is thick with the warmth of breath and bodies, despite the windows open wide to the cool air outside. Hours before the Club begins, students save seats and prepare their cell phone cameras for this special night. Every chair, desk, aisle, windowsill, and empty space is occupied by students eager to catch a glimpse (and hopefully a few photographs) of the exotic visitors.

Around 6:30pm a van arrives, and the much-anticipated visitors disembark. There are two Chinese students and five Americans--two men, three women, and one guitar. The visitors climb the stairs to whispers and stares. A small crowd forms behind them as they ascend. As they enter 408, the classroom explodes in spontaneous applause for each American.

The visitors each introduce one of their foreign friends: Jessie Distad, Brad, Jess Shamblee, Peter, and Shannon. Their light skin, light hair, and light eyes attract every camera in the room. They can hardly finish a sentence without boisterous applause. They tell funny stories and compliment their friends with obvious affection. They follow their introductions with a game of “Finger Fencing” and the two winners leave one chocolate bar richer.

Jessie introduces Shannon, who pulls out a guitar to teach her attentive audience “Lean on Me” and “Country Roads.” She reviews the words with them and then slowly sings the song with them, gradually picking up the pace as she goes. As the other four exit, Peter challenges four students to eat a mantou (steamed bread) and drink a bottle of water as fast as possible. The winner celebrates his full stomach and full mouth by raising his empty bottle high over his head in triumph, and happily accepting his chocolate bar prize.

Peter then switches to teaching and explains to the students the meanings of three words: immunities, “getcha,” and species. He says that his four friends like to use these words, and that they like to listen to music. A moment later, there is a commotion in the back of the room as two costumed characters enter the room to “Hips Don’t Lie”. What follows is a humorous play in which “Bubble Boy” (Brad) attempts to woo his friend Paula (Jessie) with his Shakira-like hips and the help of two hip-hop “Dahnce” Instructors named Gloria (Shannon) and Stefani (Jess). Gloria and Stefani have little tolerance for Bubble Boy’s sweet moves, warning him that “The Rhythm’s gonna getcha, getcha, getcha…” The crowd laughs heartily at their antics, and cheers enthusiastically for each character.

After their exit, Peter teaches the students some voice modulation through shouting, and has them in stitches. The other four return, and Shannon teaches two more songs with her guitar.

“I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun-Shiny day!”

“If I gave it all away for one thing…If I knew all about this one thing…Wouldn’t that be something…”

As the last notes fade away, Peter introduces Jess Shamblee to the audience again. The crowd is silent as Jess takes center stage and shares a message of hope. She tells the story of a man named Andy who had hope. Andy believed that “hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. ...” Her rapt audience tracks along with her, knodding and smiling, wordlessly attentive to a message that crosses all cultures and all boundaries.

The speech and Club completed, the students surge forward and swarm around the American English teachers, eager for photos to show friends and family back home that they met a foreigner. After about 10 minutes, the Americans pack up their belongings and return to the curb for their van ride back to the city. It’s cool and quiet outside, and they breathe in the silence. Back in the van they are common folk again, English teachers in China. Earthen vessels raised up for this very purpose:

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men…”

--Jessie Distad

Sunday Thoughts: October 5th, 2008

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of ‘the father’ belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of ‘the father’ like a little child will never enter it.”

As I get older, I wonder if I still chase after the Father with a childlike enthusiasm. I wonder if I still find the same joy in the simple pleasure of fellowship with the Father. Then, I wonder why I now consider those pleasures to be “simple!”

Life is not meant to be difficult for a child; the parents provide, and the child survives. It is only when I forget who I belong to, who I trust, and who my provider is that it becomes difficult. When I attempt to take the place of the Father, I see that life is much more complicated. I was not meant to be the Father, I was meant to be the child. So, I hope that I never forget what it means “receive the kingdom of the Father like a little child.”

Why we are grateful this week:

1) This is the end of the week long Chinese National Holiday, and it has been a great week. We spent the beginning of the week catching up on rest, we went to a hot air balloon festival with other local teachers, and than we visited the other IECS teachers in Beijing.

Please continue to “think” about us:

1) This Tuesday night will be our 1st English Club on the main campus, and Friday we will have the same club on the western campus. Shannon is leading the music, Peter & Jess Distad will be leading a couple of games, I’m organizing the skit, and Jess Shamblee will be speaking.

2) Please remember Tony & Lily. Lily is due to have the baby any day now!

3) We have learned of a native family who serves on our campus. Please remember them.

4) We visited with the other IECS team member on Saturday. Please keep them in your thoughts. Wil & Courtney Corder are in Tianjin, and Tim Phillips, Amelia Martin, Emily Green, Jon Allison, & Ryan Bettwy are in Baoding.

5) As always, please remember the “communication guidelines” when communicating directly with any of us in China.

Going the second mile and loving it,
Brad

September 29, 2008: Dancing in September

“Ba de ya – Say, do you remember…
Ba de ya - Dancing in September?
Ba de ya - Never was a cloudy day”

Wow! I cannot believe that we have already been in China for an entire month! The days have passed like the shifting seasons. The team here at Langfang Teacher’s College in Langfang City, China has been dancing joyfully through the first month of the new school year!

Moving In
Returning to Langfang for a second year has not been half as difficult as moving in for the first time. Yet moving in is still a lot of work! Our first few weeks have been full of tasks like unpacking, cleaning, sewing, buying groceries, paying bills, shopping at Walmart, filling our water cooler, setting up Skype, and decorating our apartments. Vera took us out to have our photos taken (twice), took Jess to the police station, and took us to Shijiazhuang for the day for our physicals. We’ve had our printer and our toilet fixed, clogged another toilet, and flooded our kitchen with our washing machine. We’ve met with Wayne a number of times about classes, schedule changes, books, English clubs, and supplies.

Team Schedule
Soon after our arrival, Brad began working on creating a monthly team schedule, including visits to the orphanage, visiting with the other teams, celebrating holidays, running the Beijing Marathon, and IECS English Clubs on our two campuses. We have also established a weekly team schedule, including Sunday meetings, meetings with students, Ladies’ Lunch, and Date Night. This week we are taking advantage of the vacation time to share our individual stories with our team. We’ve had some great times as a team recently:

• September 13—Beijing English Club


• September 14—Mid-Autumn Day Festival


• September 14—Shannon’s Birthday Celebration and Game Night


• September 16—Freshmen Welcome Ceremony


• September 18—Jess Shamblee Welcome


• September 21—Tianjin Day Trip & Corder Family Welcome


• September 22—LFTC English Association Club & Freshmen Welcome


• September 27-28—LFTC Annual Sports Meeting (Members of the team participated in the 100m dash, shot put, and 4x100m relay.)

Each member of the LFTC team has been contributing to making this a great September!

Brad —Brad has been our planning guru for the autumn as he has been busily making schedules and getting permission for various activities. He initiated a free Fantasy Football league for twelve of the IECS team members, which is developing friendships and friendly competition in the team. When he’s not buying coffee ice cream, he’s practicing his guitar, marathon training, and editing Shannon & Peter’s wedding video. His friendship with Wayne continues to bear fruit as they plan English Club dates together. Last week Brad took four boys from his class out for lunch, and came home with a list of new foods for all of us to try. His friendships with Forrest and Pan continue to deepen as they spend time together. Brad also competed in the Sports Meeting this weekend, though his long-distance stamina was humbled by the short-distance sprinters in the 100m dash. He hopes to prove his true strength and endurance in the Beijing Marathon next month.

Me —I have been the China “welcome wagon” for the month of September. I have enjoyed typing up documents, lists, schedules, foods, and tips for the newcomers to China. With the help of my teammates, I’ve had fun welcoming the newlyweds home from their honeymoon, and welcoming Jess Shamblee to the team. I’ve had a great time showing Jess Shamblee around, introducing her to the city and its ways. I’ve been eating lunch weekly with a student named Danielle, who shares my interests in art. We are planning to add weekly art-making together to our Friday schedules. I’ve been doing a lot of reading, writing, drawing, painting, and photography lately. I invited Cassie, Melinda, and Vivian (Forrest’s girlfriend) to the Beijing English Club, and enjoyed spending the whole day with the girls. You can be thinking of me as last Monday (9/22) a heavy metal water bottle full of water on the second toe of my right foot, causing bruising, bleeding, and not a few tears. We are not sure if the toe is broken, but a week afterward the swelling has gone down and the pain has decreased enough to make walking easier. I’ve really felt blessed by the thoughtfulness of my students and team during this time.

Jess Shamblee —Jess Shamblee has been a delightful new addition to Team Langfang! An ardent Steelers fan, she has already decorated her room with Steelers memorabilia, named her fantasy team “The Steel Curtain,” worn a Steelers jersey to class, and taught her students to throw an American Football. Jess keeps everyone laughing, including her students whose laughter, singing, and outdoor activities are already the talk of the English Department. Jess has shared her great games with the Beijing English Club, and shared about herself for the LFTC English Association Club. Recently she’s been eating out with Victory, Lindy, and Danielle, baking pancakes, and getting to know the cats she inherited from Newt. At this weekend’s Sports Meeting, Jess was our team hero, bringing home second place in the 100m dash, and third place in the shot put. Jess and Shannon together also took third place in the 4x100m relay. Jess is also great at being the “welcome wagon,” as she traveled to the Beijing International Airport alone to greet the incoming Baoding team and then traveled with them to their new home to help them get settled in.

Peter —Peter and Shannon arrived in China on September 6, after returning from their honeymoon in the Northwest United States. Peter and Shannon have been busy settling into their new lives as a married couple, consolidating all of their possessions into one apartment. They were pleasantly surprised to find new furniture and a new mattress when they returned—a fitting wedding gift from the college. Peter has been training for the Beijing marathon on October 19. He has made a new Chinese friend, who loves to run as much as he does. Like Brad, Peter’s freshmen classes on the Western campus only began last week, so he has enjoyed getting to know his new students. Peter really enjoyed the Sports Meeting this weekend, as he was the only one of us with real experience in track and field events! Peter took home a second place in the 100m relay, and a second place in the 4x100m relay.

Shannon —Shannon and Peter have been delighted to share their wedding story with their Chinese friends. Two nights after their arrival in China, they hosted the team and some Chinese friends to watch their wedding slide show. At the English Association Club, they were asked to share their wedding story, to thundering applause from the audience. Shannon has been getting a workout keeping up with Peter as he runs on the track, or riding her bike alongside of him as he runs around the city of Langfang. Shannon and Peter continue to meet regularly with Allie and Allen, and Shannon has also met with a new girl who came to our campus from Qinhuangdao and enjoyed a growing friendship with a friend named Sunshine. Shannon has been enjoying her new life as a wife, busying herself with making their apartment a home.

“Ba de ya – Say, do you remember…
Ba de ya - Dancing in September?
Ba de ya - Golden dreams were shiny days.”

-Lyrics courtesy of Earth, Wind, and Fire “September”

Thank you for caring about China! We value your thoughts, and how you have helped us in so many ways. May you be blessed for your partnership in this work!

Love,
Jessie