holiday time!

a very quick note to let you know that we're off to the Lake District tomorrow morning! we are taking some of our students from english corner, others from church as well as a couple of families for our 6-day holiday.

Lake District: http://www.lake-district.gov.uk/

Please pray

- for safe travels (most of us are travelling by car and using our superduper red mini-bus)
- for good times/fruitful conversations together
- for the team as we look after students, lead devotionals every morning and share our testimonies
- for students, that they will have a great holiday and be able to relax
- that everybody present will have a personal encounter with Jesus!

thank you for remembering us!

the planning committee
:-D

first english classes!

Hulloooo again!

As promised, here are a few pics of us and our students. We started meeting for English classes last Monday.

Meetings usually start at around 10.15am and finish at 12pm. We welcome our students, drink pots and pots of tea & hot water, get ourselves warmed up with a Grammar Rap or some kind of game (i.e, "Simon says") and give a 1,5hour English class (in groups of 3 or 4), All followed by a lunch together somewhere then some in/outdoors activity.

I am glad to see the progress that some of our new friends are making with their English. Let's thank God for each one of them and for all the opportunities that he has given us to share Him with those who are seeking him whether or not they know it yet. As usual, prayers are mOstly welcome :)

Thank you!

love,
us all

the local Christian Chinese church let us use their building.
we have all of our lessons here. we also gathered there to watch a film
the other day, "chariots of fire" followed by a discussion

cup of tea anyone?

our students are very open and will often come to you
with deep spiritual and theological questions...
to Christopher's great delight :-D

my Girls! :)

Barkley & his new friends chatting on the parking lot
before heading off to Chinese buffet...

Bangor meets China!

out at Christopher's historical home in Shropshire

So, as you can see the last few days have been quite FULL and we are starting to feel pretty tired physically. We do recognise our limitations and need for prayers and to rely on God alone for strength and everything else. He has been so good to us, providing us with precisely what we need right down to the smallest detail, and we have tasted of his goodness and faithfulness. We trust that without him and without prayer none of this would be happening! After all, it's because and for him that we are here doing what we are doing, so please pray that he would keep us on our knees, with humble and thankful hearts, looking to him for strength and the grace to persevere and love one another well. :)

We appreciate your thoughts and prayers very much. Thank you for lifting us up and partnering with us. :)

the diaspora freaks

first weekend!

Helloooo!

Not-so quick post to update you on last weekend's adventures. Below is a picture of team mate Barkley fresh off the plane from Belfast last Friday! time for a quick picture and we and our lovely hosts all headed to Tai Pan for dim sum! (Cantonese style lunch). HAPPINESS :)

(representing Ireland, ROI and NI!)

yummy chicken feet!!

Our leader, M, and other team mate Christopher arrived on the Saturday and Sunday (in that order). We all made it to Manchester safe and sound, thank God, and have enjoyed so far living life, eating, praying, laughing and doing all sorts of different things together! (lots of giggling involved)

first team meeting (look how serious and concentrated we are!)

We attended a Chinese church meeting on Sunday. The worship time moved me to tears. The only words I could understand really were "God" and "Jesus" but it was enough. :) It was beautiful and I enjoyed this unity we all experienced---one that only the true God of the universe can offer despite language and cultural barriers. Praise him!!

(the sermon was in both english and chinese. a bit hard to follow with the translation, which explains the super concentrated faces again! :D)

Sermon was followed by a Chinese buffet organised especially to welcome us. More culinary adventures! We've been blessed with amazing food since we got here in the first place and are very thankful for being fed both physically and spiritually.

(queueing for food!)

My taste buds did remind me at some stage that me and my Asian friends ARE in fact very different---pig's ears and seeweed dish didn't really do it!---so we can praise our Father that ultimately, what brings us together really is not just our interest in food but our common love for Jesus. :) Please pray that our friends who work with students here will continue to enjoy good relationships with them, that together they may keep on serving one another and reach out to the Chinese who come over to the UK. :)

(Christopher and Bao Qing(?) chatting away!)

Also, on the accomodation side of things God has taken care of everything again! Our house is lovely (see pic below) and belongs to a couple who works with international students in the region.


We are very grateful for it and are sharing it with a young Chinese couple who have recently become Christians and Toby, the family's hamster (who got out of his cage the other night!!! gave us a bit of a fright, but thankfully got safely and promptly redirected to his quarters).

(Meet Toby, gnawing machine)

The weather hasn't been too horrible so far and we have been able to run all our activities without having to make any crazy changes in our schedules. I have absolutely no trust in the British weather forecast, though, and so am not sure whether or not this will last! What reassures me is that behind the sun and the clouds is the same loving and powerful Creator God, who has in his grace sent us here for a purpose and is at work! So forget the forecast, God loves those students too much! :-) surely that won't stop him. Praise him for his hand at work and for giving us little glimpses of all that he is doing in the hearts and lives of some.

I'll put up more photos of all our activities with our students in the next post!

a few items for Prayer if you would like to join us in thanking and praying to God for help:
Please pray for us as a Team, that the Lord would keep us united, prayerful and give us wisdom regarding rest/time management etc. That we will rely on his strength, not ours!
Pray also for our students! Many meaningful conversations were had and I believe there will be more to come.
Pray that God will continue to bless and grow the relationships that he has formed, that our students will find their lessons helpful and will improve their English.
Above all, pray that we will keep a humble attitude and love them well, as we should, and point them to Jesus not us!

thank you! :)

Sandra, Barkley, Christopher and Mel
aka
Mulan, Barkleth, Monsieur Corbeau and Mel la belle,

...and our official mascotte and team dog, Faidy!

almost there!

only a few hours away!!!

Only a few hours left before I'm in Manchester! I must confess that apart from more or less successful football stories (sorry fans), the ever-increasing crime rate and the terrible local accent I don't know much about the place, which could make you wonder, "Why are you so excited about going there?!".

Well, sometimes our Father takes us to what may seem like the most random places to us to achieve His will in us. So here I am, being sent out by my Father to "go forth and tell" in one of those new places.

What me and my team mates will be doing is reaching out to some of the Chinese students there through the means of English teaching. This will take various forms and colours and I will do my best to try and keep you up-to-date on our activities!

I'll be there for a couple days before the rest of the Team arrives and we will all be reunited on Saturday. I really look forward to seeing what He has in store for us and the people we will be meeting and loving there. Please remember us as we all get ready for this exciting adventure!

Thank you! :)

Sandra
(on behalf on the Diaspora Team)