China has been keeping us busy!  Much of our time here is filled by teaching classes, and trying to learn as much Chinese as we can.  I think that our teaching has been going fairly well so far and our students seem quite eager to learn.  Our efforts to learn Chinese on the other hand don't seem to be yielding results all to quickly.  I'm getting better at numbers, hello's, good-byes and a few other basic words and expressions, but other then the few extra words I learn every week my speaking and listening skills aren't going anywhere fast.

Me Helping Out at Firm Foundations

A side from working with language, Lisa and I have been looking for other ways to serve the Lord while were here.  One place that we are hoping to get more involved with while we are here is called Firm Foundations.  They are an organization that helps people with disabilities learn skills needed for everyday life.  Skills from cooking and cleaning to finding and keeping jobs.  It is extremely rare for people with disabilities in China to get support like this.  There is no government funding for such people here and so this organization is completely run from the support and generosity of people who care.  We heard about this organization because one of the ladies in Nate's host family works for this organization and asked us if we could help them with moving some of their furniture and equipment from an old building they were no longer using. (Nate is another member of our team in China) We got to meet a few of the people who are currently enrolled in the program and saw pictures of a few who had graduated from it.  There was one guy we saw pictures of, he had no arms but he had learned to do just about anything with his feet: chopping vegetables, writing, even playing the piano!  It was quite amazing!

Lisa and I have also started leading a weekly Bible study for several of the other foreigners (westerners) here.  I think can be hard for foreigners here to really connect with the Chinese Church due to a combination of cultural barriers and language barriers.  We do quite like the Church here but it's nice to study the Bible in our own language too!  I am quite excited for this opportunity and I pray it will be a meaningful and encouraging time for everyone involved.  Who would have thought I would come all the way to China and end up leading a Bible study for Westerners!

The Farm!

Another interesting experience was a visit we had out to a farm about 20 minutes outside our city.  We went to celebrate the birthday of Wang Ying's husband, Duan.  Wang Ying and Duan have been some of the main organizers for our stay here in Nanchong.  The farm was absolutely beautiful!  Sichuan country side is rugged, very green and speckled with little fields and farm houses everywhere.  We had a great time visiting and for the center piece of our meal we had a goat cooked over and open fire and basted in a delicious and spicy sauce.  It was a great opportunity to meet and visit with people, Chinese and foreigners alike.  We had a great time!

MMM Goat!

So, it seems the Lord has been giving us lots of opportunities.  We would appreciate your prayers that he would continue to present opportunities to serve and also that we would be good servants with the opportunities he has granted us!  Thanks!

Mark

teaching!

Well, after much preparation and anticipation, we have started teaching.  I have only had one of my three classes so far. They seem like a good group of students (most of whom are 18 and 19).  It is an oral English class.  Their writing is quite good for the most part, but their spoken English is not as good.  A lot of them are very nervous about making mistakes and so are reluctant to try speaking.  I hope I can make it a fun, productive and comfortable class.  All three of my classes have about 35 students each.  Of the students that Mark and I have met so far, most of them are very excited to meet foreigners.  It is a new experience for a lot of them.  They are all very helpful and excited to show us things around campus.  In our first classes, Mark and I had the students fill out an information form for us so that we could know more about them as well as to check the levels of their written language.  In the forms, most of the students wrote a note saying that they hope that they can get to know us on a personal level as well.  I think there will be a lot of opportunities to form good relationships, as well as practice our Chinese.  We started our Chinese classes as well this week.  We have two language courses and one Chinese culture course each week.  Not only will we be learning to speak Mandarin, we will also be learning Chinese characters.  I feel that this is a very overwhelming task.  10 months is not long enough to learn how to speak let a alone recognize and write Chinese characters.  I hope that I will have time to be studious while I am here! Things are starting to get very busy.  I will be teaching at Sea Turtle ( run by Wang Ying, a lady who is connected to Mennonite Partners in China) two evenings a week.  This will mean that Sunday is my only completely free day.  You can pray that Mark and I will have a lot of energy this year for teaching and building relationships!

Lisa