Thursday, August 16, 2007

Some Good News


Well, there are still a lot of unanswered questions here as training begins to wind down, but I have had some good news come my way lately. We had to turn in all of our lesson plans yesterday. Thank goodness that is done! Well, at least for now. They will need to be tweaked in country, but I finished the full year's worth of classes. As an added bonus, my instructors told me they were very pleased with my lesson plans and thought they would serve me well.

My other piece of good news is that it seems God has already been faithful in transforming me into the teacher I need to be. Just recently we had another practice teaching session, and it seems I've come a long way since our first practice teaching session. My nerves calmed down a good bit, my examples were relevant, easy to understand, and were conducive to discussion among the students. I still need to slow down my speech pattern a bit, and I will need to be diligent about repeating information several times over to make sure the students know all the words I'm using and understand the concepts I'm talking about before I go onto the next idea. But, according to my instructors, I'm really quite ready to go teach abroad! Thank you, Lord, for being so swift in revealing your goodness in me!

We are beginning to wind things down here, and the thought of going abroad is just now starting to sink in. Wow! It's a little intimidating, honestly. Comfort zone, get ready to be blasted away. But, man, God's faithfulness to me has been so abundantly present to me during this time of training, there's no way I can be fearful about what's ahead. Obviously He has already had His hand on me, blessing my steps and me with constant outpourings of His goodness and glory. And for those of you who know me well, you know that I am not the most optimistic, happy-go-lucky person in my times of reflection - so for me to be this pleased with my circumstances is a true testament to the fact that God has gone over and above to meet me in this time.

Alas, training isn't over yet, and I have another class to attend RIGHT NOW. Ah! Hope you're all doing well. Write me when you can. I'll do my best to return the courtesy :)

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Week 3 - Closed for Repairs


Are we there yet? No! In fact, I have 1 more entire week devoted to lesson planning before I get to rest. And by rest, I mean get on a 10+ hour plane ride, have a little more orientation, and then get on a 10 hour train ride. Woo hoo! Hahaha. Nah, it's not that bad, really.

In all honesty, I am pretty tired of making, refining, refining, and refining lesson plans. But, as always, I know there is a lot of value in getting these things mapped out before I depart. This week was also a little more difficult because I have actually gotten sick. I am definitely trying to get in rest where I can, but there isn't always a lot to be had. I am eating well and taking my vitamins, but I guess with allergy problems and sleep deprivation, I could only expect to go so long before I was hit with something. Let's hope it passes quickly.

The friendships that I've been building here have been great. God has truly brought together some great people with great visions to this place. The only disappointing thing about it is that, after we all get on our planes, I won't see any of them again (except for my teammate) until our first retreat, 90 days into our time abroad. But for now, they are here, and I am truly enjoying my time with them.

What else? I am reminded of how much I really, really love having a world filled with music. When you find yourself going from class to class all day long with few breaks in between, there isn't a lot of time to hear and sing along to some good melodies. I guess one of the good things about lesson planning time is that I can generally put on my headphones and enjoy some tunes for a while. It's great to see how much peace and enjoyment I get from these times. I hope God will always keep a good song in my heart or in my ears, as it is something that instantly reveals His goodness to me.

For those of you who can, I would love prayer for a strong finish. This upcoming week is our last one here, and things must be wrapped up before I go. So, as I continue to get well, I hope that God will bless me with increasing mental vigor to really come up with some great lesson plans to share with my students. I think I will enjoy the challenges of teaching, but I will definitely need some divine guidance to help me become the teacher I need to be.

How are things in your world? Let me hear from you if you have time!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Training, Week 2 - Preparations


Week 2 is down, and I'm already in the midst of the excitement of week 3. And while the weight of the world seems to be resting on my every lesson plan, the image that keeps coming to mind is a scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. I believe Pippin is talking with Gandalf as they look over the Pelennor Fields. I can't remember the exact line, but Pippin basically says that it's almost harder being on the edge of an inevitable battle than being in the midst of it. This is about how I feel.

I have never really been one who cared a lot for the necessary steps of preparation. Whenever I'd buy a new game, I'd want to start playing it immediately with no regard for reading the instructions. Same situation with things that require assembly or time to put in order. Maybe this is just part of being a guy, but I'd much rather head straight into the battle to see what I'm up against than to have to spend excessive amounts of time dealing with the "theory" of the battle, prior to engaging in it. But it seems I have much to learn from this time of being patient, being molded, and finally (hopefully) being transformed into a real, honest-to-goodness overseas business teacher.

I am thankful that, at this place, there is much encouragement and plenty of affirmation among all the critiques. They do not bloat our egos, but they do not crush our souls either - a fine balance, indeed. And I am thankful to see that, even though my teammate and I are very different people, it seems we actually do work pretty well together. I'm sure we'll face many hardships once we're abroad, but it's great to see true community here, and I hope I will remember it in the hard times ahead.

Thanks to all of you who have been sending me some really, truly wonderful notes of encouragement, in addition to keeping me up to date of what all is happening in your lives. I will do my best to respond to each of you personally as time is available.

But for now, I am still finding out just how important sleep is. Don't worry, Mom, I'm not sick - but I would greatly appreciate any of you who might offer prayers for continued health. Some days I feel a good bit sluggish, and it becomes hard to give 100% to all the tasks of the day. But the crazy thing is - I actually WANT to give 100% to them all - how often does that happen?!?!?! Okay, well, maybe a few exercises I'm not too thrilled about, but you get the picture.

Love you all. Get some rest for me, too :)

Friday, August 3, 2007

Teaching...Knowing really is only HALF the battle


Today I had my first trial run as a business teacher. My instructor encouraged me by telling me in confidence that he wished he had 20 of me to send to China. However, that kindness aside, the other comments from him and the rest of my reviewers were overwhelmingly that my teaching style is best suited to American students, not Chinese ones. I am realizing that I’m going to have to be retrained in my presentation skills. And, while I know that over time these things will gradually be worked out in me, I figured I would post some prayer requests on here that you might consider offering for me in the meantime. I would truly love if God’s heart was moved to see my instincts supernaturally changed. Here are the areas where it seems I need the most change/prayer:

Use shorter sentences
Use smaller, less complex words
Use more relevant examples from Chinese culture
Wait for more responses from students, despite their silence
Incorporate less complex logic into conveying ideas
Learn to use the chalkboard as often as possible

I realize that there may be many good things for the Lord to show me through this transformation process. So, I will certainly be patient as my instincts are changed. But, as quickly as I can progress through this process and not miss the critical lessons He has in store for me, I would ask Him to bless me with an expedited path to proficiency as a Chinese teacher. I hope, if you remember me before Him, you might ask for similar things, or feel free to offer your own insights.