Teaching in China: 2017

Hi All! Well, we are halfway through our time in China and about to start the next semester, so we wanted to send out an update on our time here so far. Since I’m not able to give too many details, I’ll just share a bit of what we’ve been doing and our experiences here.

I’m at a loss of where to start, trying very hard to organize my thoughts. To say that I’m amazed by where God has us would be an understatement. Jake and I will still look around and say ‘So, we’re in China….’, in total disbelief. So much has happened in the short 6 months that we have been here that it feels more like a year. Of course there has been culture shock, good days and bad days, horrible days and wonderful days. Our bodies have slowly been adjusting to the food and the air (I would say we’ve been sick about 80% of our time here so far with various illnesses). And we are definitely still adjusting to the differences in social norms and customs. But, we are still having a great time, and really enjoying this adventure that God has us on. He keeps us going non-stop and has brought a lot of opportunities for us to be involved in.

One of those opportunities is an organization called Bring Me Hope (bringmehope.org). Bring Me Hope’s purpose is to work with orphans, bringing them love and encouragement, and showing them that they are special, that they are wanted and loved. They start the year with a summer camp and then teams visit various orphanages throughout the rest of the year. Statistics on Chinese orphans are staggering showing that the number of orphans is now nearing 1 million, with 98% of those orphans being disabled. I can’t even put into words the orphan crisis here in China. It is truly heartbreaking. (If you would like to read further about this issue I’ve attached some articles at the bottom). So, Jake and I lead a team here of Sias students who meet in our home every week to prepare to go to our orphanage in Zhengzhou every weekend (Jake and myself and the kids go once a month with them). At the orphanage we play games, do activities, sing songs, and then have family time where we just go off and spend quality time with the orphan we are paired up with. These kids are amazing. They smile and laugh and just enjoy our time together. It is a tremendous blessing being involved with Bring Me Hope.

Another one of my favorite times during the week is having our culture team over. The culture team is a group of students who have volunteered their time to assist new incoming Sias teachers and help them adjust to life in China. They are my favorite part about being here. I have formed some really special relationships with the girls in the group and really enjoy our time together, and it's prompted some great conversations. Every time we meet I try and cook something very ‘American’. The food here in Xinzheng is definitely not diverse. So, I really have fun making them foods that are totally foreign to their palettes, and watching their faces as they try new foods are great. A few things I’ve made are meatloaf and mashed potatoes, burritos, brownies, and s’mores. And for our Christmas party we introduced them to White Elephant gift exchange and had pizza and Christmas cookies.

Other than our weekly get-togethers, Jacob and I both focus a lot on our classes. Last semester, Jake taught Language Arts for Success to Juniors, which has been a fun challenge for him to get creative with his lesson planning. Many of his students enjoy meeting up with him and especially taking him out to eat to introduce him to food he hasn’t yet tried. I’m teaching 2^nd grade where I’m challenged to try and not sit in the corner and cry the whole time (kidding...but not really). This is by far most difficult and uncomfortable job I have ever had. God is seriously stretching me with his one. However, I do have one small class that makes it worthwhile. When I walk in they yell ‘Laoshi!’ (meaning ‘teacher’) and run up to hug me and share their snacks with me. So God gives me the sweet with the sour :)

Many other awesome opportunities have been brought to us as well. We ask that you continue to pray for strength and boldness. It’s exciting to see the growth here.

Our winter break was a much needed time of rest. We are mentally and physically exhausted from the first semester. It's also been a difficult time because the air has been at hazardous levels for days on end. You may have seen in the news, a couple months ago the air was at a record high level. To give you an idea, an AQI of 300 is hazardous and you are recommended to stay indoors. The number that day got up to 900! We had to run our air purifier on full blast and seal up all the windows and our door. Classes were even canceled. It’s tough, especially with children. We experience major cabin fever and just have to get creative in how the kids can get their energy out. However, now with the weather warming up the air is improving and allows us to go outside more, which is a huge mood booster! Another blessing is all of the kids here in our apartment building. There are numerous families with young children from America teaching here as well. Jude and Marlowe have many kids to play with their age, so they have been having a wonderful time.

And recently God blessed us with an amazing trip to Indonesia and Singapore this past month, and we were so grateful for the vacation. This was time for a lot of prayer and contemplation since the new contract offers for Sias will go out March 10th for the 2017-2018 school year. We will need to decide whether or not we want to take on another contract, or leave Sias and move on. We want to continue to be where God is calling us, and we want to have wisdom for what is best for our family. We ask that you come together with us in prayer helping us with this very difficult decision.

I’ll end with saying that we miss everyone back home terribly. You are constantly in our thoughts and prayers and we are very excited to come home in the summer and see everyone!

We hope this letter finds everyone well. God Bless!

The Croppers

Information:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/the-tragic-tale-of-chinas-orphanages-98-of-abandoned-children-have-disabilities/article17625887/

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/opinion/01iht-edrussell.html