GHE China Team Update #5
Arriving at nightfall, my first impression of Guangzhou was that of a heavy, humid evening in South Carolina lit up by the bright lights of New York City. The early morning sunlight then revealed a greenery filled, large city with a modern infrastructure. Progressive ideas pertaining to senior care and the population of those with disabilities reflect this city’s openness to everyone’s potential in life. My life’s purpose was reaffirmed in Guangzhou and has pushed me to relearn Chinese so that I may return one day and help further the communication skills of those in need.
Goodbye China, I will miss you. Gen, China Team 2017.
Guangzhou has opened its arms to the China Team and the students have made such a wonderful impact on the children and adults with special needs. We were able to visit a workshop for adults with special needs and see the products they were making and selling in China as well as Europe. The artwork and needle crafts being made were so beautiful. We all could not resist buying a few of the beadwork animals they had made to take home as souvenirs. While in Guangzhou we have had the opportunity to meet with many government officials. During our conversations with the government officials we spoke of our curiosity as to why we are here. The answer… to “help the children with special needs because we are Christians.” Please continue praying God will open the hearts of the official here in Guangzhou to the needs of the children and adults with special needs but more importantly to God. It is bittersweet to be leaving China but I know the Team has helped many children and adults with hands-on training and seminars . Seeing the hope in the eyes of the parents and the smiles on the children’s faces confirms God’s calling in my life. Looking forward to next year’s trip!
Blessings from Professor Appenzeller and GHE China Team, 2017
We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to tour an elderly care facility. My world lit up when I made the elderly women smile. The facility that we toured was one of the most advanced in the area and has a waitlist with over 300 people wanting to live there. It was great to see some of the women playing card games together and they bet real money! The staff treats their patients very well but is asking to have training on methods of healt care. Guangzhou is doing very much to help the elderly get around the city and facilities like the one we visited will benefit many in the future.
Thank you from Jenna Larson and the GHE team.
We got to do a lot of shopping in Guangzhou and we also got to visit a couple of traditional Chinese gardens. It was so green and beautiful, and there were mountains of Koi fish! You would not believe how many Koi fish they had in these gardens. Guangzhou is in southern China, so it was quite humid and tropical. Seeing all of this beauty was a neat experience.
Being in China has made us realize how big God is because we have seen him working here just as much, if not more, as we see daily back home. He is teaching us to fully rely on Him in every situation without worrying about the outcome. We should trust Him immediately. Josh and his family are perfect testimonies in this area because they dropped everything to move to China. It was clear to them what God was telling them to do. They did not question it and they had total faith. Because of this, we have seen first hand the fruits of their obedience. This is what each of us will now strive to mimic in our own lives. Before we left, Nathan’s friend told him “I hope you experience God in ways that you never have before.” We can confidently say that we did.
-Nathan, Alyssa and Sarah
We just landed in LA safe and sound. Thank you for reading and for your prayers!
More tidbits:
- -We left Sarah in China. But it’s ok because she’s headed to the Philippines to meet her family and friends for a wedding.
- -We saw some snake sushi, but we didn’t get to try it.
- -Nathan is still salty because he really wanted a shirt, but even a Chinese XL was too small.
- -One time they put a bowl of beetles on our table, but Vicky took care of business and told them to take them away.
- -Most of the shirts with English on them don’t make sense. One said Smee.
- -One time there was a cockroach in the car the size of Texas, but Nathan killed it in 2 seconds flat. Unfortunately a banana got smashed in the process.
- -There were two girls our age who asked us to give them English names. They are now Jessica and Haley.
