Local events seem to be conspiring against us having our first day meeting. After our first large group showed up things have gone steadily downhill. The following week there was a large Chinese test and most of the students had to attend that. Then this week we had to give make-up classes over the week-end so that we weren't able to meet with anyone at all. Who knows what will happen next week.
At English Corner there's a ton of new blood. You can always tell the freshmen from the rest of the students. The freshmen look like they're about 10 years old. They have an over-abundance of energy and always ask the same boring questions about Americans. I feel like we just started to make the tiniest bit of progress with our first group of English corner folks, and now the new folks come in interrupting discussions with very trivial things. It almost feels like a daunting task to reach anyone. I have to keep reminding myself that it's not my job to reach anyone. My only job is to tell people. I have to leave the rest in the Father's hands.
We haven't yet hit our stride in this city as we did in our previous city. I do believe that it will happen though. Some things are becoming easier and we are finding a routine. We'll see what the future holds since we'll be here for at least another year.
On another note, I've got 2 students coming to my home over the May holiday to have a chat. I've been talking with these girls since last year and we've developed something close to friendship. I'll be helping them with decisions for the future. It's the trial run for career counseling that I mentioned in a past blog post. This is only the first meeting of many. We're all kind of feeling our way through this. It's difficult because I really need to learn about the career options available to students in China and I also need to know about opportunities for them in other countries. We'll see how this happens. I'm hoping that through our interaction, they will also learn something about having faith in a higher power for their future lives.
That's all folks!