Wednesday July 29, 2009
Today was such a joyous day! We had another government inspection and had to vacate the school, but they organized it where all the classes could watch a movie in the church in our hotel. We watched Mulan and it was really neat to be able to understand a lot of the Chinese history in the movie because we have either been to certain places that are in the movie such as the Great Wall or have been learning about since we have been here. After the movie we had a little less than an hour until lunch so our class made Valentine's Day cards for their parents who were coming in for the kid's presentation at 2:45 this afternoon. After lunch we decorated the room with the kid's crafts and the parents came around 2:45. I introduced myself, where I am from, what I am studying in school… and also what we have been learning in class. The kids performed their skit and it was precious! My T.A. filmed it so I was able to load in on my computer. The file is too big to put on the blog, but I hope to find a link to post videos because I have quite a few from my teammates from the Great Wall, the bible study/worship on Friday nights, my class, and also from the 21st century church here in Beijing. After the kids performance we handed out treats to the kids and opened up a time for the parents to come and talk to me and/or look around the classroom at their children's work. I got to speak with a lot of the parents, which was a privilege. There are a few families that are believers, which I had figured because of the knowledge that some of the kids had of Jesus so that was neat to have affirmed. One family invited to take me out so that would be neat to get to know them more. I am going on Monday night to one of Melissa's (my roommate's) kid's home for dinner. We are excited about that. It was such a joy to meet, to talk to the parents, to witness them find joy in what their child is learning. It was a special time.

We had our second bible study with the T.A.s tonight and all I can say is God is good! My leader, Kimber, told them a short, simplified version of the creation, Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and what Jesus did for us—becoming the perfect sacrifice so that we may have a chance to live eternally. Nicola, my T.A. had a lot of questions, but the Holy Spirit led me all over the bible from Genesis to Isaiah to Romans to the Corinthians to John to Revelation to Ephesians and to the Psalms. It was awesome how the Spirit completely took over and used me as a tool to speak His Mighty Word. There truly is no greater joy than sharing the love of Christ and Word of God. To be able to witness a nonbeliever spark such interest in His Word is such a joy! Nicola is fired up about the Word and we are going over a couple of chapters in Romans together. The wisdom, understanding, and discernment God is providing for both of us is amazing! God is good and oh so faithful! Our team has continuously been praying for opportunities to be a window for Christ and God has so faithfully provided!

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
Psalm 119:105