“Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see…And don’t you remember? Remembering the blessings of the past is not always easy! I can focus on the present or the future, and forget the amazing blessings that just happened or, worse yet, not even recognize the blessings. I overlook the blessings, and I worry about everything. But everything is just mere “bread” to him who is in control. I am learning that it is easier to be at peace when I realize that I am not in control. Why would I worry about “bread” when I know who created bread?
Why we are grateful this week:
1) Peter and Shannon Lucas-Roberts arrived safely on Saturday.
2) With the addition of Jessica Shamblee, we now have five English Teachers in Langfang.
3) Our first week of teaching went well!
4) We went to Shijiazhuang on Tuesday for our yearly physical, and it went well!
5) We had dinner with 8 students on Thursday night. There were 11 of us total, and we barely fit around the table! It was a great evening, and we had fun reconnecting with some of our friends from last year.
6) Our schedules are falling into place, and we have tentative dates for English Clubs on the Western Campus.
7) It has been fun to talk with students as we walk around the campus. This has been particularly exciting for me, because a vast majority of my students were on the Western Campus last year, but they are on the main campus this year. Everywhere I walk, I run into at least a couple of students from last year.
Please continue to “think” about us:
1) We are still trying to arrange dates for visits to the Phillip Hayden Foundation, and we are still discussing the possibility of English Club for the main campus.
2) We will continue to spend at least one night a week with students in a large group setting, and that will most likely be on Tuesdays, so please remember that in your thoughts.
3) The rest of the IECS team will be leaving on September 15th, and arriving in China on September 16th. They are: Will & Courtney Corder, in Tianjin, and Amelia Martin, Emily Green, Ryan Bettwy, Tim Phillips, & Jon Allison, in Baoding. There have been some passport complications, but we are hoping that everything goes smoothly as they move forward.
4) Culture shock has been a little different this year since we are more familiar with our surroundings. Instead of everything being “new and exciting”, there has been more of a realization of the difficulties that we will face during the year. It has helped to remember the blessings from the past year!
Going the second mile and loving it,
Brad
