Playing "catch up" {China}

Here's part two.

We flew out for China with 24 students the Friday school ended (which meant no down time before leaving). After one little hiccup, I'm proud to say that we got all 24 of them From Jakarta to Xi'an, to Beijing, and back -- accomplishment in itself!

Here's a picture of our group.

Lots of personality in that bunch!

Personalities that we got to know. Chris obviously knew them all before, but a different kind of bonding happens on trips like this when you're with the same people for 10 days straight. Goofiness abounds, inside jokes are formed, and fun is had.

The sights of China were amazing, and we still find it hard to believe that we stood in some of the places that we did. But both of us look back on the trip and thank God for the relational part of the trip as well. It's not like I was "buddy buddy" with all the girls on the trip, but I got to know them outside of school, and have real conversations with them. We had girls' nights in the hotel rooms that were full of laughter and stories about boys, while those very same boys were down the hall getting wrestled to the ground by Chris. Those guys seriously ate it up. Chris had a tough job on his hands of maintaining his position of "teacher in authority who deserves respect" while still having a good time with the guys, but I think he did a great job, and earned their respect even more than before.

Most of our pictures were of the places we went, and we spent most of the time behind the lens, but here's a few with some of the students. . .

Gotta finish with this funny sequence

So, China was great. I got to know the students that Chris talks about every day, and we got to interact with them together. We had a blast! And for me specifically, I now had built relationships with some of the girls who backed out the first time we were supposed to meet for small group. By the end of our China trip, they were asking when the next one would be, because they wanted to come! Praise the Lord. He knew how crucial that timing was. There's no way the small group I now have with some of these girls would have started, if I hadn't had the chance to get to know them first. 

Next post: a little bit about the direction God has led us with these small groups since then. . .