October 15, 2005

Dear Friends,

I promised myself that when I went to China, I would send a newsletter out every month. However, life with all its grand adventures has a way of blowing even well intentioned plans out of the water.

September came and went, while I was having one adventure after another. Moving into my flat and discovering that I had no neighbors because the majority of the building was still under construction, finding my way downtown on the 143 bus (and getting on it again to go back home, only to discover I’m heading in the wrong direction), attending a few Chinese church services, going days without running water in the flat, traveling to Wuwei and back, and winding up in the wrong classroom twice are just a few of my experiences to date. By far though, the experience that taught me the most was when my teaching partner, Kendra, went into the hospital.

Kendra had been feeling ill and experiencing stomach pains for a few weeks at the beginning of September, and no matter what she did or did not eat, it never seemed to get any better. The third Tuesday I taught, I got a call from Kendra at 7:30 a.m., asking me to get a hold of Ma Lan, our liaison teacher, because she felt she needed to go to the hospital. I wasn’t able to contact Ma Lan or Abby, the dean of the English department, by phone, so after quickly looking up the word for “sick” in my Chinese/English dictionary, I ran to the teaching building. After grabbing two of my students and sending them to my first class to explain the situation, I ran into the English department office and managed to whip two teachers and a secretary into a frenzy to find Ma Lan or Abby. Abby arrived about 10 minutes later and contacted a driver to drive Kendra to the hospital for tests. Since I had two classes, another teacher went to the hospital with Kendra, where she was diagnosed with appendicitis. After consultations with numerous other doctors and two specialists, Kendra went to the hospital for an appendectomy the following Tuesday.

Before Kendra went in for her surgery, we discussed her classes and agreed that I should tell each class their assignments each day, and if I was not scheduled for a class during a period that she had one, I would teach her class for her. Additionally, because Chinese hospitals do not provide food for their patients, it was my job to bring Kendra her meals.

I am not proud to say that at first I resented having to help Kendra. I felt swamped by the demands of her classes, my classes, and all the “little things” that I needed to do. I felt underappreciated and overworked. At least I felt that way until the visit I had with her the second day. That afternoon, Kendra told me that she really felt bad for Abby. I asked why, and she replied that Abby already had a cold, but she had slept in Kendra’s room, on a short wooden bench and stool. She had helped Kendra go to the bathroom almost every two hours throughout the night, and checked on her constantly. Ma Lan would be staying with her that night, and both of them went on to teach their classes the next morning. All of a sudden, my sacrifice didn’t seem so difficult. I was humbled by the example the two Chinese women were setting for me.

Some days after that, the teaching still got to me a bit, but I had a different perspective on it. I knew that my small sacrifice of time and effort, while not the same as Ma Lan’s or Abby’s, was still necessary to ensure a normal functioning of the school for the students until Kendra was well again. I also knew it was what I would want Kendra to do if I were in her place. Most importantly, I knew it was what Jesus would want me to do. Neither of my colleagues are Christian, but God still used their example to humble me and teach me how I can better serve Him. The next time I am called upon to help my neighbor, may I show the same concern and willingness they did.

Rae