Due to a Level 10 typhoon (the highest possible level) in Hong Kong, all of the schools were cancelled today. The typhoon began yesterday morning (Monday) already and reached a Level 8 by 5 pm on Monday. Our team waited in line to catch a taxi, but since no one else wanted to walk in the rain either, the line was incredibly long and we waited for 40 minutes before deciding to simply walk the 10-15 minute walk in the rain! We arrived back at our dorms soaked, but I kicked off my shoes, embraced God's powerful storm and LOVED running through the downpour and insane winds with a couple teammates! Plus, I'm not sure there's going to be another time that I can say I ran across Hong Kong barefoot during a typhoon!
Later that night, the storm reached a Level 10. We woke up the next morning (Tuesday) around 6:30 to find out that the storms were cancelled and several windows of our building had been blown out. All of the ELIC teams are on floors 15-17 (I'm on 17) of the building, and we're all safe! It still rained for most of the day, and the typhoon stayed at a Level 3 all day until tonight when it changed to a Level 1.
Today was a wonderful day off! As much as I wished I could be at school with my students, several of them ended up chatting with me one-on-one via facebook, I was able to post some photos from back during training week (you should be able to check them out here--https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3864838657683.2155997.1179990101&type=1), and I was able to spend a large part of my day in God's Word and prayer for several different things going on in my life. I've read through tons of the Psalms today and last night, and I'd recommend Psalm 148-150 to you all especially!
Tomorrow we begin our third to last day of classes, and it's amazing how fast time has flown! I've been loving on my students and getting to know them, their joys, and their sorrows so much lately! These Chinese children are SO HUNGRY for Truth. They are SO HUNGRY for anything that can answer their questions, calm their fears, and take away their sorrows. I'm praying continuously that God will provide me with opportunities to share the Truth I know with them in these last few days. Please join me in praying for that and opening their minds and hearts to hear the Great Truth!
The Lord is GOOD. He is GOOD To all.
"The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made."
My dear brothers and sisters whom I love SO much, rejoice in that truth. Pray for this city. Pray fervently for these children. And keep seeking Him, trusting Him, and experiencing the Truth He alone is able to give us.
Some individual needs--
Vincent is a 15-year-old Christian. I've heard him be openly mocked by some of his classmates for believing in Jesus. He's smart, so smart, but he can also lean towards breaking the rules and following the wrong leaders. He desires to learn English and become a doctor so that he can share of the Good News with others in Hong Kong. He'd love to study in America someday, but in order to pass the test to become a doctor in HK, he must learn better English.
Hercules is a broken, angry, and stressed out 14-year-old. He's done much of the mocking of Vincent. He's an intelligent boy. Some of the vocabulary he uses are words I don't even use! However, he is also SO in need of the Truth and Light. His life is too full of sadness and darkness for a young boy to experience.
Angel is probably my quietest and shyest girl. She's also only 12 in a class dominated by 14 and 15-year-old boys. We were told that we'd all have shy students because speaking English to a native English speaker is often quite intimidating. I figured this was simply Angel's problem. She told me early on in her journals that she is a Christian and loves that God loves her and that she is able to love Him back. However, I was reading her journal today. In response to the prompt, "What do you fear?", she replied, "When my mother punishes me, I feel afraid. She punishes me very loudly. Also, she beats me." Pray for this brokenness and her pain. Pray for me to have the words to share with Angel and love her unconditionally.
Finally, Iris is a 13-year-old girl with the attitude of a 16-year-old drama queen. When I asked the class how much they would probably spend on various things in order to determine and learn more about what we valued and what we should value, she replied, "I don't buy things. My daddy just buys me whatever I need to make me happy." Iris and I haven't exactly clicked. No matter how hard I try to love on her, she just seems to test my patience, roll her eyes at me, and whisper secrets to the girls next to her. Her attitude even reminds me a little of my own high school self, but I simply can't figure out how to get through to her. From her journals, it sounds like Iris's idea of love is a love that is bought with nice things, not a love that is patient, kind, and everything else 1 Corinthians says it is. Pray that I might be able to show Iris the depth of real love, a love given in response to undeserved love from my Savior.
Love,
Kristin, the teacher of some wonderful 12-15-year-old Chinese students, Jackson, Wilson, Oliver, Peter, Hercules, Edmund, Vincent, Tom, Stephen, Steven, Mike, Justin, Hayes, Candy, Sindy, Katie, Katy, Angel, Iris, Karen, and Alice.
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