Well, boys will be boys.....even in Yanji. We had dinner at a Korean restaurant last night where kids were able to cook their own little meat kabobs at their tables. One table of six which included Eric Kohler (he is our 275 pound offensive tackle), Dan Nelson, Trent Holland, Grant Ramos, and Andrew Brown ate 300 of those skewers. We watched them closely today just in case their arteries clogged up while they were teaching.
We were spread out this morning over three schools. I took a group of several students to a small rural middle school where the students are somewhat poor. Most of their parents are migrant workers from other areas of China. The Oaks students included Spencer Daly, Kylie Sreden, Kristen Randol, Heidi Hsing, Dan Nelson, Tina Boskovich, and Michael Henahan. So far, this has been their favorite school because the Chinese students showed extraordinary attentiveness and hospitality. Their English was not as good as the city kids, but their kindness won over our hearts.
I then went off to the orphanage to check up on the small team of Susi Thompson, John Helmy, Kaitlyn Lupo, Clancy Wasson, Natalia Dabdoub, and Colleen Raab. Most of then were holding abandoned babies when I walked in the front door. Their accomodations are excellent but I could tell the food was a bit of a challenge: not because it was unhealthy, but because the food is relatively simple compared to that of the amazing restaurants we have been frequenting. But no one is complaining, and these kids will be impacted in ways that those of us who are teaching in schools will not. Something amazing happens when you are holding an abandoned child or playing with a four year old with a mental handicap. They will rejoin the group on Thursday night.
That's it for now.....I'll tell the story about our karaoke experience later.
Keep the thoughts coming!
Sincerely,
Jim
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5 comments:
We are thrilled to receive updates about this amazing experience! Awesome pictures. The Oaks team and Chinese students are in our thoughts continuously. Thanks for this fabulous experience for Cat. Our love to Cat and the rest of the group. Our Easter phone call was a treasure. Go Lions! The Prices
It sounds amazing, my husband and I are lovers of China and the Chinese people though we have never been there. Does it sound strange. Our dream is to eventually move there and work with abandoned babies. In fact thats what we are doing at the moment in South Africa. Your story of olding those abandoned babies really touched my heart and I can fully identify with that experience.
We are so glad that the boys (including our Trent) are getting enough to eat--at least last night! We love hearing about the adventures of each day! We miss Trent and are looking forward to hearing more stories about this wonderful trip. As Haley says,"it's very quiet around here this Spring Break!!"
Our Love,
The Holland's
hrllo all last night 3.26.08 around 11pm our time i receieved a call from Savannah it was so good to hear her voice, it sounds like everyone is having a great time, she said they finally got American food the night before PIZZA which she was very happy. It sounded like they were having so so much fun. Just an update to us parents. The Dunhams
Hello all, around 11pm our time I received a call from Savannah it was so good to hear her voice. It sounds like they are all having a great time. The night before they received their first American meal PIZZA which she was very happy. This was just a little update for us parents, from the Dunhams
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