One of the great things about doing His work is meeting people. As the weeks begin winding down (I have just under 7 weeks left) and the sun begins to set on my time here, I am beginning to sense how difficult it will be to say "goodbye" to some of the new friends I've met this year. Until that time comes though, we will continue to grow in the knowledge of the Good Shepherd, build our friendships, and party. There's nothing like loading up a few pirated games to a Wii from a hard drive (this is China) and launching into an all out fun fest.
We went from shooting zombies to conquering levels of Mario. My friend Bruce (middle above) smoked the competition in bowling even though it was his first time playing. Then we moved onto a fighting game similar to Mortal Kombat and finally finished with Just Dance! These pictures are taken from some of the fun we had that night. The dancing game got the most laughs of the night. I was caught in some videos myself, I hope they don't resurface.
Some other wonderful things happened this week. One of our students, Vivian (dancing on the left in the top pictures), led part of study this week. She talked about the song Amazing Gr@ce and followed it up with where in the Book the inspiration was found. We let her take on the questions from the others in the group. Some of them were a bit difficult, but she did her homework and did a great job at leading our study. This is such a great thing to see in a new field of work. Those who have received the Good news are now beginning to take a leadership role and slowly moving toward self-sustaining. We (Americans) must become less and they must become more. It is much easier for them to share the Message in their own language. The same message exchanged through different languages and cultures. A blessing to chalk up to the Spirit.
Another girl, Celia, said she felt the love of the Son very strongly the night we had study. This is nothing less than the fire of the Spirit working in her heart. Changing it to knowing and believing the love of Him who died for her. She is going through some of the basic teachings of the Book and she hopes to be washed soon. She asked me when I was going back to America. I told her it was the end of June. She said, "Maybe you could 'wash' me before you go back." I said, "That would be great!" Continue to give thanks for the power of the Good news. It changes hearts here and continues to preserve them in America and places all over the world. He is Awesome and his undeserved love is amazing!