Group Journal #2 (Monday, June 28, 2010)

Hello friends of the 2010 China English Exchange Program:

Our group is now teaching and forming relationships in the attractive and moutainous city of Nanjing, China. We arrived in Nanjing on Saturday afternoon. After Peter Lim and Don Snow gave us informative orientations, we had dinner hosted by Reverend XinYi An, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee TSPM and Chairman of the Jinangsu Provincial TSPM. He proved to be a very gracious host. On Sunday, we attended worship at St. Paul's Christian Church in Nanjing. Pastor David, one of our participants, and the main pastor of St. Paul's were gracious enough to debrief with us after the service.

The Opening Ceremony for our program took place on Sunday afternoon and evening. Reverend XinYi An and Rev. Jeff Ritchie gave inspirational speeches. Jeff made reference to Ephesians 4:15-16, which I have also heard at a recent sermon at my home church, Peachtree Presbyterian. In this verse, Paul reminds us that "speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." The Bible says that we will grow as we build each other up in love, as love is the most important bond to have with others. Programs like ours are important in joining the churches across the world as we see how our faith and values unite us.

On Monday, Dr. Rebecca Ritchey led us in our morning devotional. Then, we introduced ourselves to new members of our whole group and to the small groups with which we will work this week. We also began studying Don Snow's book "Encounters with Westerners". I have been impressed with how well our Chinese brothers and sisters learn conversational English in a supportive environment and how much our group from the U.S. has already learned about Chinese language and culture. After enjoying lunch and fellowship, we took a day trip to the Sun-Yat Sen Mausoleum. We were fortunate enough to have our new Chinese friends there to teach us about the mausoleum's history. They also gave us some practical words and phrases we needed in order to do our souvenir shopping, or in my case, my botted water shopping. :) I personally am proud that I have learned to count to ten in Chinese, with the help and patience of Pastor Grace, who studied with me during our bus ride.

In the evening, we enjoyed dinner followed by our evening devotional. Erin Raffety played lovely flute music for us. Rebecca encouraged us to reflect on our day and also to share some of our experiences with the group. I have been moved by the life and faith stories of my group members. They have inspired me to continue to serve God through my instruction, travels, and written accounts.

Thank you all for your support, thoughts, and prayers. We will send another account soon.

Sincerely,
Margaret Robbins