Hello again from China!
We’re really getting into the swing of things (I’m excited to use an idiom as we aren’t able to use them to communicate here) here in Jinan. The Americans and Chinese students know the schedule and are deepening their relationships. As one American said this morning, it’s a real blessing to have fewer students so that the relationships can deep and real. We talk about the students by name and everyone on the team knows which student we speak of. The quality of interaction and attention is unmatched.
In addition to that, another praise to report is the consistent daily addition of students. 3-5 more have registered each day! Every fresh face brings new and exciting possibilities as well as satisfaction that word is getting out about the quality of this camp. The hosts are continually coming up with ideas to promote the camp for both this year and the coming years. Opening up the door to having camps here in the future is a thrilling prospect as we are happy to have an effect beyond the students at this camp.
The teaching and affect is not limited to the students enrolled in the camp either. Our 8 19-25 year old Chinese helpers are very interested to learn better English and build relationships with the Americans. The ease at which we can converse with them has made these relationships grow quickly and the conversations have quickly deepened.
Thank you again for your requests made to Father. Please continue to uplift our health (protection from dehydration), safety, and effectiveness. Also, ask for courage to seize the opportunities laid out before us, but wisdom to determine the timing. Tonight some of the students are going to a park in downtown Jinan to help promote the camp while the rest of the Americans have a night off to rest.
Funny (powerful for today) moment of the day: During last night’s “Challenge Night” (collection of competitive games) we held a ring toss competition. Out of the 120 total rings tossed, only 10 met their mark. One of the younger girls was lucky, or skilled, enough to make ALL 3 of her rings. Her points singlehandedly helped her team win the competition! Her team was so excited they were carrying her around the room and cheering while she lifted her hands as if she had just won the super bowl.
This story is a little but powerful insight into the general joy and excitement that encompasses this camp.
Empowered for a purpose,
The Jinan team