Sunny skies

What were you doing at 9 p.m. last night? Well, I don't know, but I can tell you what we were doing. Our whole team, plus an assortment of students, were balanced on desks and chairs in the total darkness on the school's basketball courts. As some sort of community service, our team leader decided we would put nets on 16+ basketball hoops on old campus.

So, in the shroud of darkness, we worked to loop the nets through tiny little holes on the rusty, net-less basketball hoops. I'll try to provide some pictures soon. But just imagine people standing on desks, sitting on someone else's shoulders, standing on chairs on top of desks, and/or standing on desks stacked sideways on top of other desks. It's China. For some reason, nobody felt unsafe. I guess teaching in shoddily-constructed buildings, and crossing traffic going 26 different directions makes you less sensitive to safety issues. But it was a lot of fun, and I think the students were surprised to see brand new red, white, and blue basketball nets mysteriously appear by this morning.

Anyway, our first week back is almost over. Every day I feel so exhausted at the end, but not in a burnt out way, which is new for me. It is a kind of exhaustion that is like, "I've tried my best and have relied on Him for this crazy/wonderful/unexpected day." After my first day of teaching again I was crying, because I didn't feel like I could do any of it. I couldn't teach, I couldn't pour love into these students, I couldn't be there for my teammates, I couldn't embrace the culture like I should. So I just gave it all to Him. I told Him that I couldn't do anything on my own. I am so inadequate, especially when I try to lean on my own abilities and strength.

That has seemed like a turning point for me of some kind. I've been more peaceful in my heart, and I don't feel so paralyzed by all the need that surrounds me. He has also given me such amazing energy to teach for several hours straight, and to be more intentional with my students.

He also paved the way for a very encouraging interaction that I can't fully explain here. In short, I went to lunch with one of my students and a few other people on my team, plus somebody else's student. I also visited my student's dormitory, which is always fun. She lives in a tiny room with 5 other girls. I was browsing through her bookshelves, when I saw a book, which turned out to be the word. She said she has been reading it, but doesn't understand it. We had a short discussion, and it turns out we are going to start studying it together this weekend. How amazing is that? He is so great. Please remember to lift up our time together, and that there wouldn't be major communication barriers, etc.

I have been hanging out with her for several months, so this is sort of what it looks like to build relationships in China. It is a very slow process, and it certainly doesn't happen over night.

In other news, it got up to almost 80 degrees here today. I wore some lightweight pants and a three-quarter sleeve shirt. Since it is still technically winter, all of our students continued to wear their wool sweaters and heavy coats. I was sweating during class, and I imagined all of them getting heat stroke. I wanted to scream at them to be sensible and to take off those horribly heavy coats. I politely suggested it, but they wouldn't budge. It seems that if it is winter in China, you dress like it is winter. The actual temperature doesn't matter. There are still so many things here I just can't wrap my head around!

Tomorrow it should be pleasant for one more day before it rains for the next week, with temperatures back in the 40s.