Qi Gu update from Lee

(This was written last Thursday but wasn't posted because we lost our Internet connection.  We are now in Chungli doing our final debrief and will be returning home tomorrow.  Lee will be staying behind in Taiwan to begin language school, teach English and live with family.  - Chuck Schumann, editor)

Here we are, at Qi Gu, in Tainan County, for our third camp. All of us – Chuck, Linda, Andrew, Allison, Cody, Dorcas, Carlie, Anna, Frances and I have been together during this last week : ) and overall it has been great.

It is Thursday evening, and about 11:20 PM. We had worship and sharing not too long ago, and now most of us are taking a break, writing responses to our students in their workbooks, having a quiet time, or preparing for tomorrow. There is a typhoon hereabouts … and as I write this I can hear the rain falling hard, and the wind making its way through the walkways right outside, complete with sweet sounds from the other side of the auditorium – Dorcas and Allison are preparing for worship tomorrow … and I can just hear … my soul Lord to you surrender, all I have is yours… above the rain.

The first day of camp was Tuesday. We did multiple outdoor activities, and there was much fun had by all, as there was an unlimited supply of water balloons, approximately 60 elementary schoolers, all of us co-workers, and of course a particular Joe Kelly with a curiously acquired super-water-spraying apparatus.

Though things have been going well, a lot of this week has been quite difficult for a l ot of us. The spiritual attack here has been strongly felt, and earlier in the week, including yesterday and today, there have been feelings of depression, uselessness, tiredness, and disappointment. We have been praying a lot, and sharing what has been going on in our classes. Strength has been given to us, and we have been able to endure, and see God working in the hearts of our students.

As for today though, at least for me, it has been amazing. Tiring, but amazing; God is great.

For any of you who want to read what has been going on with some students, here’s a bit from Cody and my class.

I have 6^th graders in my class. The girls are shy, and the boys are boys – way hyper, but this is how they should be =) To make long stories short, both of my coworkers were sad because of incidents, misunderstandings and student behaviors – including one of our students running off for a while – and at around lunchtime it appeared that all of Cody’s pictures that he’d taken in Taiwan had been erased – and thus we were quite sad. We prayed, and went on with the day … and after hyper active skit practice, we were sitting in a circle welcoming a new student [parents couldn’t pay for it, but it was ok for him to join!] and all five of us coworkers – Cody, Me, Chara, Tommy, and Emma – shared about Jesus in our life. When Tommy shared that his father had passed away from liver cancer, one of our students started to cry … and Tim, who was the only student not intently listening [these are boys here!] said that his father had also died of liver cancer. We didn’t know if he meant this or not. We prayed for the students … they were so touched. And William crying still …

We visited Tim’s home, and found that what he said about his father was true. He lives with his grandparents, and his mother visits once a week as she must work in the city. His grandparents favor their son’s children more … and hope that Tim will become independent… They are worried that he will not excel in academics, and shared that, as well as the fact that they take him to a temple community-after-school program, but that it was far, and the people not as nice. Chara told them about the church’s program, which is extremely close to the school.

Please pray for the students, including Tim and his family.

After we got back to the school, we read the children’s responses to today’s activities. All but one student said that they either learned that God or Jesus is their friend!

We are excited about tomorrow, and thankful that God has worked in these precious children’s hearts =)