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!
