Kaohsiung's Beginnings

We're staying in a palace-like hotel right now, and after a restful morning, we came to the church for an awesome afternoon of training. Having taught the material last week, this CI is different in a way. I sorta know what's coming and I feel like I can actually learn about how to lead a team instead of just choking down material to survive in small group! We learned about managing a team and how to make the greatest emphasis in the children's lives through a life centered around Jesus. Between the right CI material we are teaching and the challenges to my life in Wisdom Search and training, I feel I am learning much more than the CI kids. But I kinda knew that would be the case when I decided to come :)

Tonight my team turned out to be very small, then one boy who came in crying lost his dinner all over the entire team station. Definitely some excitement for the evening I think I could have done without! But the children's' enthusiasm for life brings a smile to my face!

As I and my assistant and interpretor awaited our first student this evening, a little boy came stomping toward the door. A glare on his face, he yelled and fussed and said he had been dreading the CI for a long time, he was scared and he didn't even like Americans. As we listened to his excuses, we laughed and sighed with relief when we discovered that this little snake was on the neighboring team. As Timothy Chen started playing a game, he warmed up and started to inch closer. A few minutes later he began to play with him. He joined his team and started to play games with them, smiling and laughing. I realized that the little guy yelling and stomping isn't something to be thankful we could avoid, but the reason for the CI. He is our opportunity.

I'm so thankful for the challenges and opportunities this CI will offer~ I'm excited to see what God will do!

Hannah Reeves