Praying Friends,
This has been a hard, but good week. If I could sum it up
in one sentence, I would quote the old hymn: “Jesus, I am resting, resting in
the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.”
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| quai, quai, quai! |
The first two days of camp, our English team mentioned
during Bible study time that the kids were very emotionally draining this week.
This class was exceptionally loud, even though they were obedient in class.
Also, their inter-personal relationships were harsh. Cliques, quarrels, and ethnicity
divided the class.
As I entered the room to teach English on Tuesday, the
kids erupted with “Yinguan Ke! Yinguan Ke!” They were SO excited. -And they
listened and learned so fast, that I finished early and had to think fast for
more activities. What usually takes 40 minutes took about 20!
One girl who had a foreign mother drew every one’s
attention right away. The other children ostracized her because of her
ethnicity and poor personal habits. The children would actually go out of their
way to avoid her or ignore her. She
seemed to soak up any love given her. Half way through the week, I decided to
write her a note of encouragement. However, my Chinese is bu hao, so I asked a
teacher to translate and write the note for me. When she got the note, her
whole face lit up in a smile (the first one I had seen all week). Later, she
wrote me a note back, which I got on Friday. She didn’t agree with the
principles I had shared with her, but the seeds were planted. Pray that God
would continue to show her His love.
On Wednesday, I woke up at 4:45 so that I could prepare
for the test at the doctor’s office. At 8:00 I taught a class, but I had an
empty schedule the rest of the day. My doctor’s appointment was at 1:30pm. The
hardest part, actually, was enduring their attempts at trying to find a vein for
the IV 9 times. Though the pain overwhelmed me, especially when they hit a
nerve, I found myself quietly praying “Oh Jesus, I’m not strong enough for
this. You have to be strong for me.” Of course, once the anesthesia kicked in,
I don’t remember a thing; but upon waking up, my first thoughts were talking
with Jesus. He sustained me throughout the whole day.
Thursday and Friday were extremely hard for me, as
anesthesia always has a long affect on me. However, as I leaned on Jesus, He
helped me through these days. To be honest, I don’t know how I made it through
with a smile on my face, other than that Jesus took over. The other teachers,
saved and unsaved alike, mentioned how watching me encouraged them. They saw
God’s strength in me, and that is WELL worth the pain. Praise the Lord!
Happy in the Service of the King,
Barbara J. Sutton
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| funny face! |
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