| March 13, 2007
Longzhou, China
Hello,
These last few weeks have been busy. I have recently returned
from travelling over the winter holiday. In observance of the
Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) there were no classes between
late January and early March. This was a great opportunity to
take a rest between the fall and spring semester. It has also
given me a wonderful chance to see more of China.
My first semester as a teacher finished well. I taught eight
oral English classes to grade one and grade two college students.
Many of the students at this college hope to become middle-school
teachers after they finish their three-year program here. The
goal of my class is to give them an opportunity to speak English
and increase their confidence in their own abilities. More realistically,
though, giving them an opportunity to speak often means coercing
them into speaking English. The classes went well, and it has
been great to meet the students and learn more about them.
In the spring semester I will teach the same classes with the
same students. I am looking forward to this semester since I will
not be starting from scratch with my classes. The hardest part
in teaching is getting used to the teaching environment and the
expectations within it. Now that this part is mostly over, it
will hopefully be much easier going forward. I am also looking
forward to seeing the improvements in the students' ability, as
they get one year closer to leaving the college for a teaching
position of their own.
Kyle and his guide in Yunnan province.
During the break, I travelled mostly in the southwest region
of China. This region is rich with ethnic diversity, with many
different cultures coexisting there. I saw some amazing scenery,
with giant mountains and winding rivers, true testaments to God’s
workmanship. I was also able to see some of the new wealthy cities
that China’s economic growth has made. But it was hard to
miss the poor that also live in these glitzy cities and who inhabit
the rural countryside that surrounds them. These are the bulk
of China’s 1.3 billion inhabitants, and they are being left
behind as China’s economy hurtles forward. It is these people
that Christ has called us to serve, and yet it is these people
that we often forget. I struggle with what role I should play
in serving these people while here in China. It is sobering knowing
that even on my salary here, which is meager by American standards,
I am much wealthier than the average person in this developing
country.
A mother and her baby in Sichuan province.
Situations like this act as reminders for us on what our priorities
should be. We are commanded throughout the Bible to serve the
poor around us. In Luke 12:34 we are told that “For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I think
that it is good to be continually reminded of this whether we
live in the China or the United States. We should all struggle
with the question of whether we are doing enough for those around
us who are suffering from poverty and social injustice. We never
want to look back at our lives and find that the treasures we
have amassed have been the wrong ones.
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses
for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that
will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”
(Luke 12:33-34 NIV).
I hope this letter finds you well. Please continue to pray for
China. God is doing some amazing things here.
Kyle Fryling
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
244
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