I just came back today (3rd) from a two-week's trip. The cold weather for the first two days and rainy days since were the hardest to overcome. Initially, I was reluctant to embrace another two weeks of isolation but the visit paid off in many ways. First, the students I have been teaching the last two years are graduating in the summer, so it was good to bid them goodbye. Second, expository preaching has rubbed off on them in a good way. Some of them are better after my first class on expository preaching, but the Bible study methods class this week have made them even better, especially when they have to do the structural diagramming of 2 Timothy in Chinese with PC software on the side, and principle outlines of each chapter. Some of the kids (21 years old on) have matured and are confident and no longer shaky in understanding and delivery. This last class helped to put shape into their teaching and preaching. I favor the direct grammatical and literary approach, which I had them doing effectively when the week was over. On this note, I am glad I exchanged theological education in Hong Kong for the more strategic and biggest slice of the market north. I can envision a paradigm shift taking place in a few years, if I can help it. My vision is to train 1,000; so far 1/4 of the job done. All the 50 books I brought were taken.
Wife skyped me, asking how the class was, and I answered, Close to perfect (except for the cold); I was not kidding. I have even adopted four more students from previous years, and they are just as good. I am counting on them to make an impact locally. Things were busy in the building because the Koreans are speaking in the building as well. Often people knock and enter my room next to them by mistake when they sought them for prayer.
After being holed up for close to a week, I was invited to a buffet dinner by one of the new students. Then my troubles began. I had diarrhea for three days and the cold caught me off guard. The students bought me more clothing to keep me warm, I slept six hours in the day to recover! The Yaps suspect the sickness was a Satanic attack. Wife told me she visited Robert Morrison's grave on Friday (Feb 24), the day I felt sick. Two days later, I read Robert Morrison's entry from Wikipedia and had a good cry the next day. Being a missionary those days was one's worst nightmare, I noted.
The food and lodging the second week in another location was good and the air was fresh, unlike the ghetto in the first week. I had lined up 60-70 students to hear them speak after my notes. Many of them were nervous but it was the only way to spot the weaker ones. On the last day 12 groups came out to share on 12 chapters from the pastoral epistles using the grammatical diagramming I taught them. It was satisfying to see the progress. Most of them got the hang of it. This week was a total success though I could use another week to make them better, but I felt I have been away for a long, long time. Truly the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
I was blessed yesterday (11th) speaking at a church worship gospel meeting because a youth accepted Christ out of the more than 100 people present. The text on John 9 on the man born blind's condition took a lot of emotions out of me before I spoke. It also just so happened that was Wife's Sunday school lesson, so we were doubly blessed because we talked about the text a few times. The quarter is coming to an end this week for her, the next quarter is in Mandarin, which is quite a challenge for us.
Yesterday I had a throat infection that did not go away, so I went to see a doctor today (15th). To my surprise, I was lighter by 10 lbs. since summer. I have been eating half a bowl of rice and walking 45 minutes each night for six months, and it worked. The challenge now is to keep it as is.
Sunday (18th) was the high point of house hunting. I could not even finish my dinner with friends at TST before the agent called me many times. On the same busy day, I preached on The Prodigal Son. It was challenging because I had scrapped a previous one and wrote a brand new one and it turned out maybe better than before. This week I have to help coworkers with their sermon preparation, which is more difficult than I thought. Well, at least I do not have to preach it myself.
