Last night in China!

Well, tonight is our last night in China. We have had an amazing time for the last 38 days, but now it is time to go back home. The last week has been a whirlwind of tracel and meeting with Christian leaders in Zhoukou, Xi'an, Lin You, and Beijing. Seeing more of China was exciting and interesting, but being able to spend the last few days in Beijing, without moving around, has been nice. We hope you have enjoyed reading our blog posts and seeing the pictures we have posted these last few weeks. It has been a pleasure sharing our adventure with you all.

~ Erik and Kim Free

The music class at Zhoukou's Gospel Church and Bible school

All of us at the Great Wall.

Our group at the Yinjing Thelogical Seminary in Beijing.

Erik and Kim in Tiananmen Square

Tour with the CCC

            This week has been going by so quickly. It was a new hotel every night for a few days as we ended our time in the SEP program and began our journey with the China Christian Council (CCC). Meeting so many new people for the first time, and then saying goodbye, has taken it's toll and I have gone to writing things down as my memory for names and places is becoming jumbled.  Still, I am learning so much about the situation of the church in China and the CCC.  It was a delight to visit the Gospel Church in Zhoukou with Pastor Jiao. There was a music class in session during our visit and we got to see their agricultural training center. It was also a surprise when our group got invited to tour the Gospel Hospital that was opened a few years ago on the church property. It has been steadily growing and has a specialist for respirator and gastrointestinal medicine. They also have an emergency room that services the community and sees around 100 people a day.  They were proud to report that 80% of the hospital staff are members of the church. The doctors' and nurses' uniforms had red Chinese crosses embroidered by their names and above the doors in Chinese was a saying about God's love and the hospital's love for the patients. 

            The church and training center has also been seeing growth. This is a unique Christian Bible school and training center, as the government recognizes the certificates earned there because of the computer technology and agricultural technology classes that are included in the instruction.  They teach this way because most of the people attending the school are coming from the surrounding farms. These classes help them to be able to live a more self-sustaining life by farming the land they live on.  The school also provides continuing education courses for the lay leaders of the surrounding churches in a program that lasts 5 years. Most of the churches here do not have their own pastors and rely on lay ministers and elders to lead the church. The program offers training on running a church and Bible knowledge. This course helps to prevent heresy and cults from developing in the church by increasing the standards of religious education of the church leaders.

            We still have a few more days here, more places to go and people to see. I am excited that the church is doing so well in China and look forward to coming home and sharing what we have learned.

 

~Kim Free

The former President of the China Christian Counsel, Pastor Cao, standing with us in from of the Grace Christian Church that we attended Sunday morning in Shanghai.

welcome to Shanghai and the city lights!

Ya'an at night on the river, the last night walking and saying goodby

Ya'an, we'll be missing you.

We have finished our last days teaching in Ya'an, and have said our good-byes. Our last week in Ya'an was a very memorable one. I don't think we realized how much of an impact we were having on our student teachers until it was time to say good-bye to them. In fact, we did not say good-bye at all, but rather, taught them a final English phrase, "Farewell!", which we all decided was a much better way in which to depart from one another. We were both glad to have completed our task there and a bit sad to have to go. Thankfully, we live in a digital age teeming with social-networking options for staying in touch with friends in far away places. For that is the best thing that we both gave and received during our time in Ya'an, friendship.

Thursday night we celebrated with another round of Hot Pot for dinner followed by ice cream at our friend Nancy's favorite place. Afterwards we were somehow convinced to go to KTV, China's version of karaoke. Some of the students rented a private room and we all sang our hearts out. Kim was even able to convince me (Erik) to sing a couple songs. In the absence of any Johnny Cash music I opted for Elvis' "Blue Suede Shoes" and could only keep up for about half the lines. We both sang the Ting Tings "Shut Up and Let Me Go" to everyone's wonder and amazement. (our first duet!!!) Friday was a nice meal with all of our assistants, our host, and his family. On Saturday we were driven to the airport and ushered through the departure process by Mr. Li, his son, and Nancy. As we went through security I looked back to see them waiting behind the barrier, hoping for a last glance and a wave which we all cheerfully provided. The last I could see, they were still waiting there, seeing us off to the last moment, just like in some old black and white movie. What wonderful memories and friendships we have from our adventure here!

Today (Sunday), we have reconnected with all the other Amity teachers and shared our stories with one another. We all shared some good and some not so good experiences, but we all shared happy memories, despite the struggles of living in another country even for a short time. Along with our new Chinese friends, we have also made new friends from Canada, England, Ireland, Germany, and various states in the US. What a rich experience this has been!

Tomorrow, we embark upon a week of travel with our new host, David, from the China Christian Council. We will visit, Zhoukhou, Xi'an, and Beijing to see some more mission projects, tourist sites, seminaries, and churches. Stay tunes for more pictures and descriptions of our experience!

Erik's Classroom

A picture of my class performing some role plays.