Around the world and back: the latest greatest update about my life
Well, for those of you who wondered whether I had fallen off the face of the earth, I probably would have, had it not been for the fact that the world is actually round (more on the China trip in a bit). It has been a long time since I have written you all, and for that I apologize. It has been an eventful few months, and I will attempt to recap in a compact yet thorough manner. I have added headings for those of you who wish to skim. :)
End of the Internship
April saw the internship come to a close. When all was said and done, there were many misty eyes, as well as a whole host of great memories from the past school year. It was a good year, though not always an easy one, and I know that I grew a lot because of it. It was a good chance to get a taste of what an Inter-Varsity Staff worker's life is like, experience a new culture and a new city, and learn a bit more about what living in community is really about.
China GP (Global Partnership)
I got home to BC at the end of April, and had just enough time to stash my stuff at my parents place in Abbotsford and get rid of the jet lag before heading to Vancouver for a week of prep for our China trip. We flew out of Vancouver to Beijing, spent a few days again shedding jet lag, and then hopped on a train for 26 hours to the North-Western city of Xining in Qinghai province. There we stayed at a local university. We were each assigned a Chinese partner to spend the next 3 weeks with. Our dorm rooms were located in the foreign students hostel, and therefore had western style toilets instead of the traditional "squatty-potties". We also had hot showers and access to a laundry machine, things that we were told to expect little or no access to.
Our days consisted of language and culture classes in the morning, and group activities or free time in the afternoons and evenings. On weekends we would often go on field trips to surrounding areas. A couple of highlights include: visiting the night markets and a Tibetan hand-made carpet factory, eating ridiculous amounts of wonderful-tasting-yet-extremely-cheap food (a huge meal can be purchased for a few dollars), playing lots of Chinese poker with our roommates, and buying yummy chocolate ice-cream bars for the equivalent of 30 cents Canadian.
There were a lot of good conversations and discussions about values and religion, even though religion and politics are usually a taboo topic in China. My partner was a enthusiastic member of the communist party, and had just finished serving with the army a year before. His English was not that strong, and so we weren't able to have too many deep conversations. We got to do a lot of activities together though, and I think that the team as a whole was able to continue to develop good relationships with the students and the University. We were able to continue on the good work that has been going on there for a while, and there is a good chance that a team will be able to go back next year.
Whats Next for Montreal Man
Leaving on the China trip, I had pretty much decided to apply for engineering positions once I got back to Canada. For the last 6 months I wrestled with the question of what to do after my internship in Montreal. I had been anxious to pay of my student loans, and was tired of not knowing what to do next, so I figured I may as well work in the electronics industry for a while. Going on the China trip made me rethink that decision though. A number of BC Inter-Varsity staff came along on the trip, and I was reminded how much I enjoyed working with these people. I had a chance to go on the BC IV staff retreat at Pioneer Pacific on Thetis Island, and it was a good time to think, pray, and talk with the IV staff about what to do. As a result, I have decided to come on staff with Inter-Varsity in Vancouver. This has not been an easy decision, but at this point I feel like I have a opportunity to work with people I love, in a community setting that gives me a chance to grow spiritually and continue to develop leadership skills. There will also be an internship program running out of Vancouver this year, which I will likely be helping with as well.
My summer will consist mostly of fund-raising my salary and other expenses. As part of Inter-Varsity Policy, I have to raise a years worth of pledges, and 2 month's worth of salary in in the bank before I can officially come on staff. My goal is to finish fund-raising as close to the beginning of the school year as possible, but it may take the rest of the year. We will be moving into the intern house at the beginning of September. Once my funds have been raised, I will be assigned a campus position, possibly at UBC or SFU.
Prayer Requests (feel free to pray as you read!)
-Pray for the people in Xining, China who follow-up with our student partners
-Pray for the interns and I as we fund-raise for this coming year
-Thank God for providing us with ideal housing (I'll be sharing more about this in the next letter)
Thanks for all your prayers and support, and I'm looking forward to reconnecting with my BC family and friends once again! (Montrealers, I'm hoping to make it out there in the fall to visit, stay tuned for details!)
End of the Internship
April saw the internship come to a close. When all was said and done, there were many misty eyes, as well as a whole host of great memories from the past school year. It was a good year, though not always an easy one, and I know that I grew a lot because of it. It was a good chance to get a taste of what an Inter-Varsity Staff worker's life is like, experience a new culture and a new city, and learn a bit more about what living in community is really about.
China GP (Global Partnership)
I got home to BC at the end of April, and had just enough time to stash my stuff at my parents place in Abbotsford and get rid of the jet lag before heading to Vancouver for a week of prep for our China trip. We flew out of Vancouver to Beijing, spent a few days again shedding jet lag, and then hopped on a train for 26 hours to the North-Western city of Xining in Qinghai province. There we stayed at a local university. We were each assigned a Chinese partner to spend the next 3 weeks with. Our dorm rooms were located in the foreign students hostel, and therefore had western style toilets instead of the traditional "squatty-potties". We also had hot showers and access to a laundry machine, things that we were told to expect little or no access to.
Our days consisted of language and culture classes in the morning, and group activities or free time in the afternoons and evenings. On weekends we would often go on field trips to surrounding areas. A couple of highlights include: visiting the night markets and a Tibetan hand-made carpet factory, eating ridiculous amounts of wonderful-tasting-yet-extremely-cheap food (a huge meal can be purchased for a few dollars), playing lots of Chinese poker with our roommates, and buying yummy chocolate ice-cream bars for the equivalent of 30 cents Canadian.
There were a lot of good conversations and discussions about values and religion, even though religion and politics are usually a taboo topic in China. My partner was a enthusiastic member of the communist party, and had just finished serving with the army a year before. His English was not that strong, and so we weren't able to have too many deep conversations. We got to do a lot of activities together though, and I think that the team as a whole was able to continue to develop good relationships with the students and the University. We were able to continue on the good work that has been going on there for a while, and there is a good chance that a team will be able to go back next year.
Whats Next for Montreal Man
Leaving on the China trip, I had pretty much decided to apply for engineering positions once I got back to Canada. For the last 6 months I wrestled with the question of what to do after my internship in Montreal. I had been anxious to pay of my student loans, and was tired of not knowing what to do next, so I figured I may as well work in the electronics industry for a while. Going on the China trip made me rethink that decision though. A number of BC Inter-Varsity staff came along on the trip, and I was reminded how much I enjoyed working with these people. I had a chance to go on the BC IV staff retreat at Pioneer Pacific on Thetis Island, and it was a good time to think, pray, and talk with the IV staff about what to do. As a result, I have decided to come on staff with Inter-Varsity in Vancouver. This has not been an easy decision, but at this point I feel like I have a opportunity to work with people I love, in a community setting that gives me a chance to grow spiritually and continue to develop leadership skills. There will also be an internship program running out of Vancouver this year, which I will likely be helping with as well.
My summer will consist mostly of fund-raising my salary and other expenses. As part of Inter-Varsity Policy, I have to raise a years worth of pledges, and 2 month's worth of salary in in the bank before I can officially come on staff. My goal is to finish fund-raising as close to the beginning of the school year as possible, but it may take the rest of the year. We will be moving into the intern house at the beginning of September. Once my funds have been raised, I will be assigned a campus position, possibly at UBC or SFU.
Prayer Requests (feel free to pray as you read!)
-Pray for the people in Xining, China who follow-up with our student partners
-Pray for the interns and I as we fund-raise for this coming year
-Thank God for providing us with ideal housing (I'll be sharing more about this in the next letter)
Thanks for all your prayers and support, and I'm looking forward to reconnecting with my BC family and friends once again! (Montrealers, I'm hoping to make it out there in the fall to visit, stay tuned for details!)
posted by Tim at 3:51 PM
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