Almost to the Halfway Point

I have been in Shanghai for 5 1/2 weeks now, and am planning to stay
for a total of 12 weeks. It is amazing how quickly the halfway point
has gotten here! I can’t believe that time can pass by at such a
pace. One of the ladies here said, “I kept telling you that 3 months
is not really an ‘extended stay.’ It’s passing much too quickly!”
She has said that the time I’ve spent with her and the group here has
been very valuable for her (she thinks for all of them), and that she
hopes that we’ll manage to do this often in the future, with me
spending a few months at a time here with them.

My language studies are going along well. I’m enjoying the classes
very much, and feel challenged by them. It is good to have a place
to study where the courses are really designed for advanced
learners. Because much of my language learning has not been done
through formal classes, I know that there are big gaps here and there
in my ability with the language. The teachers here are doing a
really good job of seeing where the gaps are, and helping me to close
them up some.

I have two different teachers, one focusing more on oral language,
and the other on written. Both are very good teachers. I get along
with one especially well, and she has already asked me to make sure
that we keep in touch when I return to Singapore. We have spent a
good deal of time talking, and I do think she really wants to stay in
touch over the long term. I am pleased that it worked out for her to
teach me. Overall, the experience with this school has been even
more than I had hoped for, both in terms of the studies, and in terms
of making more contacts with people here.

The schedule since I have been here has been surprisingly busy.
(Probably why the time seems to be passing so quickly!) I’ve seen
some opportunities open up that never have on previous short-term
visits, nor would they have likely ever opened up without this longer-
term stay. One of the very exciting ones is that I have been
invited to teach the teachers in the preschool at the Singapore
international school. One of our members from Woodlands (in
Singapore) has been working with the school for the past 6 years, and
she has arranged for me to offer English lessons to the teachers, to
help them improve their ability to communicate with the parents. I
go once a week to teach them English, and have been able to make some
good contact with them. This Friday night, we’ll be having a bible
study at the home of my friend from Woodlands. Several of the
Singaporean teachers from the school will be there, as will (at
least) one of the ladies from the group I regularly meet with on the
weekends here. So far, I don’t think any of the local teachers from
the school are planning to come to the Friday study, but I do hope we
will see that develop over the next few weeks.

The weekend sessions have been going very well. We are enjoying our
time to study together, and I think the lessons have been
beneficial. I am working with the lady who teaches when I am not
around to prepare the lessons for the time after I have returned to
Singapore. She is glad to have a bit of time to get herself more
prepared for that, and I think it will be very good in the long-term.

One of the families from Woodlands was able to spend their recent
school holidays here visiting me. We had a very good time together.
I enjoyed having them visit, and so did the rest of our friends
here. I think it was a very good opportunity for everyone to get to
meet each other, fellowship and study — and play — together.

Please keep us all in your prayers. There is still so much to be done.

 

Three Weeks in Shanghai

The time spent in China so far has been very productive. It is hard
to believe that nearly 3 weeks have passed since I have been here —
it is flying by! I have roughly 9 and a half weeks left here for
this trip. I know it is going to pass more quickly than I can believe.

My studies have gotten off to a good start — and very fast-paced!
The first week left my head spinning a bit, but I think I am settling
into a routine. I have written 3 short essays already, and have 2
more due soon. It is a challenge to write the essays. But I think
it is a good challenge, and can already see some improvement in my
writing. I will be pleased if the time spent here gives me more
confidence in the language and enables me to express myself better.
It seems that language-learning is a never-ending task.

I’ve had a good time being in touch with the people I am working with
here. Two of the sisters have been especially helpful in getting me
settled in, both to my apartment and into the general routines of
life. Without their help, getting set up would have been a very
difficult task, but they have made it very easy. For that I am very,
very grateful. They got everything ready for me, as far as all the
little daily needs go, and helped me apply for all the various
permissions, passes, and other things that seem to be so necessary
for a foreigner to live in China. All of those procedures would have
been very tough to manage on my own, just because they are things
that are not required in most places I have lived before. For
instance, I was not aware that I had to register my address with the
local police when staying for an extended period. In fact, when I
was told I needed to do so, I had no idea where to go or anything.
But with the help of one of the local ladies, it was done very
quickly and easily. She and another lady from Singapore who has been
here for about 6 years have been such a huge blessing.

The other ladies who we are continuing to reach out to seem to be
very glad that I am here for a longer stay this time round. It has
been good to have some time together, talking and studying and all.
I think the 3-month stay is going to make a real difference for
them. In addition, it is already a big boost to my former Chinese
teacher, the Shanghainese lady who was in Singapore for some time
(and was baptized there) but now has returned to Shanghai. She is
planning to start meeting with us each weekend, and I think that is
going to be really good for her, and also for the other ladies. I
did not think it was going to be possible to pull them all together
during this stay, but it seems that the timing is working out just
right. She is very eager to join the group, whereas in the past
there has always been some obstacle or another. I think that these 3
months will be good for helping them get to know each other, and
hopefully have a bond that they will maintain even when I am not
around. Please do be praying for that.

Next week, I will have company with me from Singapore. My
godchildren and their mother will come to see me. I am really
looking forward to the visit. Arranging the tickets was not easy,
but we managed to get it all taken care of. I will take the week fof
from school to spend time with them. I know they will be a big
encouragement to the group here. It should be a very good week.

Thanks to all of you for your support and prayers.

[I won't be able to check into the website here until I am back in
Singapore. I won't see any comments left here until mid-May, so if I
don't answer them, please be patient.]

 

Arrival in Shanghai

I left Singapore for Shanghai on Monday and have arrived safely. One
of the ladies was able to meet me when I arrived, and we went
immediately to start looking for apartments. By the next afternoon,
I’d found a suitable place, and paid a deposit on it. I’ll be going
this evening to finalize the contract and make sure everything is in
proper working order. One of my Singaporean friends who is working
here will be going with me to help me check the place and the
contract thoroughly.

I am looking forward to a very good stay in Shanghai. I am going to
school this afternoon to make all the final arrangements for my
studies. I am not sure if there are other students at the same level
I am. If so, I will have 2-3 other classmates. If not, I will do
the course alone, with just me and the teacher in class. We’ll
arrange the schedule and all this afternoon, and I should be able to
start classes by next week, at the latest. That will give me just
enough time to get settled into my flat before I start studies, so it
should work out nicely.

Things in Singapore have been going well for us over the past several
weeks. Besides the two new members I mentioned in earlier reports,
one from the Philippines and one from Malaysia, we have had another
man from the US visit with us, and he has recently placed his
membership in Woodlands as well. On the weekend before I left, we
had 2 more ladies visiting with us, with 2 children. They are from
the Philippines, and will be working in Singapore. It looks like
they enjoyed being with us, and one of them indicated that they plan
on being there when I get back from Shanghai in May. It seems we
have a lot of new people coming in from neighboring countries, and
the extra help and enthusiasm is a great blessing.

We began our routine of doorknocking again just before I left. We
covered about 600 homes on the two weekends before I started my
travels. The plan is to continue each week, at a slower and steadier
pace than we have done in the past. We are not necessarily planning
to cover all of the neighborhood in a short time frame, but want to
keep on inviting new people on an ongoing basis. The day before I
left, we had one visitor with us who had received the information at
his home the week before. I don’t know whether he will be back
again, but it was good to see him there this past weekend. We also
had another phone call come in after the second round of
doorknocking. I hope we will see them with us soon too.

I will continue to send my updates back to League City to be posted
here. I won’t be checking in at the site till I am back in
Singapore. I will respond to any comments at that time.

Thanks again to all of you who support the work here. It is very much
appreciated.