The first few days in China were very full and busy as we adjusted to the 12-hour time difference. On Friday, we visited the Great Wall where we drank in the glorious view along with thousands of Chinese people crowding onto this ancient wall. Interesting fact: Chinese women see nothing wrong with climbing the Great Wall in a dress and four-inch heels. I, on the other hand, about died in shorts, a t-shirt, and my Chaco's!
On Friday night, the Chinese team took us to dinner at a restaurant called the Upper Room. Yes, to our astonishment this was indeed a Christian restaurant in the heart of Beijing. There we were sitting in the middle of a Communist country singing praise songs like "Your Grace is Enough" with the worship band! I think it's safe to say we all felt goosebumps that night!
On Saturday morning, we toured the seminary where we would be holding our English camp during the week. God used the rooms of that humble seminary to bring the Gospel to over 500 boys and girls that week. When we first arrived, I couldn't help but notice the stench coming from the bathrooms, a stench only made worse by the humid 90-degree weather. By the end of the week, that place took on a different meaning as we watched the Gospel changing the lives of these beautiful children.
I was pulled out of my comfort zone that week. Way out of my comfort zone. I really enjoy working with children, but I usually prefer younger children that are in kindergarten or first grade. I found out a few weeks before we left that I would be the group leader for one of the green groups which would be the 10-12 year olds. I was terrified. I really wasn't comfortable talking to kids that age. I have to admit, I panicked a little when I heard that this was the group I had been assigned to.
For those of you who know me well, it won't surprise you to hear me say that I don't like to talk a lot around strangers or be thrown into situations with people I don't know very well.
Well, now I found myself in China with a group of twenty 10-to-12-year-olds. I didn't know where to begin or even have the benefit of the same language!
But, God is faithful just as He always is. I made it through the week and learned to carry on a conversation with these kids. It was usually limited to a discussion on their favorite colors or animals, but I was talking, and they were talking, and we were getting somewhere. Because of the one-child policy in China these kids don't have siblings, so they were fascinated by the fact that I had not one, not two, but four younger sisters. We talked about them a lot and giggled over silly pictures on my camera.
By the end of the week, I had a hard time saying goodbye to these kids. Yes, I would miss the child who was constantly having to be told to stop teasing the little girl sitting next to him.
I would miss Angela's sweet smile and inquisitive fingers in my hair.
I would miss tiny little Charles who didn't even have an English name at the beginning of the week.
I would miss Jason who could bring a smile to my face with his boyish antics no matter how frustrated, discouraged, or tired I was.
I would miss my children - all twenty of them.
I was thankful for the hours I had to spend with them that week. I was thankful for their sweet voices singing "We All Belong to the Y" and "Pharoah, Pharoah" at the top of their lungs. Each of them had impacted me in a different way. It was hard to imagine that I might never see their sweet faces again on earth.
I couldn't believe that it was Friday once again, that I had been in China for just over a week, and that I would be getting on a plane the next day and flying to Luoyang to visit Mariah.
To be continued ...
