Mid-June Updates

An unusual view of Macau: from the top of the lighthouse
which is often closed to the public.

It is already past mid-June.  That went fast!  The count is down, and there are 3 weeks and 5.5 days until my departure to the states!  I hope that those of you who are graciously hosting me are eagerly anticipating seeing me and hearing about Macau this summer, because I am eagerly anticipating sharing about it!

This month has been so busy.  I worked on creating a video to send out to the summer camp that I worked with for a long time, and that was a lot of fun.  I just have 2 things to edit, and I can then send the video out to everyone :)  I might get some help from my brother at home, as he's an editing major, and it could look much better than my amateur work!  (I'll upload the video to the internet soon.  I seem to have misplaced the file, and it took a LONG time for it to upload to the blog, so I aborted and left work.)

A roller coaster that I was able to ride!

I also had a few Skype presentations.  If I am not able to see you or your church or group when I am at home, please consider scheduling a time with me to present via Skype!  Also, there are a few other missionaries that I could possibly send your way who would love to share, and who are in need of funding for next year!

Last Friday during our free class, I was able to talk about Pentecost. (Yes, I know..we're a little behind in the calendar!)  We had fun putting flames of fire on our heads, and creating wind socks to catch the wind, and remind us of the Holy Spirit coming in a great wind!  We also sang the song "When the Spirit says sing you gotta sing!"  It was a fun, active song that helped get energy out, and also taught us to listen to the Holy Spirit!

Most of my students took their exams last week, and some of them are done with school now.  (Some take exams before actually being done with the year).  I am excited for them, because this means that a major stress is gone!  Exams are taken very seriously here--more so than in the USA.  It is a lot of pressure, and it could bring a lot of shame on the student and possibly their family if they do poorly, so there is a tremendous amount of pressure.  I am so thankful that they all got through it, and now can have time to relax!

I am looking forward to the Dragon Boat Festival happening this coming Saturday.  There will be dragon boat races at one of the local lakes.  Also, I have a friend from college visiting that weekend, and it should be a fun time!

No, this does not dispense straws.  It's a
chop stick dispenser!! :)

My Mandarin is slowly improving.  I have classes every week, and every week I gain a little more confidence in my ability to speak some!  Today I learned how to say 'above', 'below', 'in front of', 'behind', 'inside', and 'outside'. These, though very simple, caused me a lot of stuttering in class haha!  It was fun, though!  "wo de shou ti dian nao zai tai zi shang mian!" (My computer is above the table!) "shui zai zhe ge bei li mian" (water is inside this cup).  It's great to be able to describe it!  I even attempted (and slightly failed, but still attempted almost successfully) to communicate the concept that I forgot my phone at home, and when I was riding the bus to work, I realized that I forgot it, so had to get off the bus, go back home, get my phone, and then go back to work.  It was a struggle, but I actually did a fist pump when I finished it.  And my teacher was proud of me! :)  It was a great day of 普通话课。 (Mandarin Class)

I think that's about it for my updates.  For those of you that I will see this summer, I look forward to seeing you!  For those that I will miss, I regret that I am only home for a short time, but I hope to catch you on Skype and/or next summer!  Please let me know if you are free when I am in your area (schedule found in the June newsletter).  Keep an eye out for one more newsletter before I leave for America!

God's Blessings!