Youth Center, "Famine," and more soccer (in Kunming)

I realize that I have written about this in the past, but as I tell my students about their writing, one must show, not just tell. Therefore, I would like to show you a few images of my mission here in China. He called me to Kunming to work with the children of those who work with the Chinese people. He fills my weekdays with literature, having me teach secondary literature courses at Kunming International Academy. The students learn about the various genres of writing, studying World Literature, American Literature, British Literature, and Literary Theory. We apply what we read to the world around us, asking ourselves what the author meant and what we can learn from this meaning. I suppose this is the more scholastic end of what I do.
Then there are Friday nights at the Youth Center. Some parents converted a first-floor apartment into a meeting area for the youth of Kunming. Each Friday, we open our time together with praise and worship. The students have created a number of worship teams that rotate duties of leading the singing. Youth from the school and various home-schooled students (around 40-50 any given Friday) arrive at the Center on the west side of Kunming each xing qi wu (Friday) to offer up their praise to Him. A lesson in the Word follows the music. While this teaching takes up about a third of our time together, it serves the purpose of preparing for the final third of each gathering: small groups. The lesson asks questions, questions we explore in our small groups--I work with the junior-aged boys. Before and after the actual meeting time, the students are simply encouraged to enjoy each other's company shooting pool, playing "World Cup Soccer" (video game), strumming guitars, and just conversing. These youth are why I am in Kunming.
As I mentioned in one of my emails, our school recently took part in a 30-hour "famine." We used to call it a fast, but because our students come from all walks of life and many different countries, we decided to use a word that would allow us to focus on others, the reason for our famine. The funds we raise each year go to those who receive less food than the rice in the bowls pictured above. The money supports education in minority schools where students do not have the opportunity to learn otherwise. Last year the students raised over 30,000 rmb, and while I do not have even a preliminary amount for this year's event, we do know that the money will be headed toward three very needy people groups--the Bai minority children near Li Jiang, the street children of Kunming, and the children of a leprosy colony outside of Kunming.
This year we added a twist to the students' overnight event. We provided cardboard, plastic bags and some tape and asked them to build their own shelters in which to spend the evening. In groups of about eigth, the students used what they were given and what they could find to create their overnight homes. For myself, I spent the night in a refrigerator box outside the shelter pictured above and below. As you may be able to tell from the photo, the students were allowed to bring a sleeping bag and sleeping pad from home. And while some students took the opportunity to bring both, some of them simply curled up under blankets on the concrete.
The picture above is of my groups shelter at night. They decided to decorate their home with some traffic cones (the reflection tape). However, as you can see, it looks more like just a pile of garbage, which is just what many make-shift homes here in Kunming look like. Some locals live in huts created from cinder blocks and corrugated steel. Others live under cardboard and plastic tarp canopies. Each day, one can see them working hard for what little they have. Here in China, the cities are filled with migrant workers. Much like agricultural migrant workers, these city dwellers work on the enormous task of rebuilding China's cities. The build skyscrapers, living in the shells they construct until they are completed. Then they move to the next building project. Because most of these people are not from the cities they work in, their children are not allowed to go to school without paying a hefty fee. Therefore, one of the groups the money from our event targets is the children of these migrant workers. Our money supports a low-cost school who accepts children from families who cannot afford to send their children to school locally.
Because my life also includes soccer--I am preparing to take a group of young men to Singapore to compete in a five-school tournament--I must take this opportunity to share about my most recent international soccer experience. The Chinese National Men's Soccer team has been in town, preparing for World Cup qualifying matches in their region. At over 6,000 feet, Kunming gives the Chinese an advantage over some of their elevation challenged qualifying foes. Therefore, they have planned to play a few matches against some of their better opponents. This last weekend, one of my students, six fellow teachers (including Suli), and Suli's sister and brother-in-law, went to see China in action against Thailand in a warm-up friendly. While six goals were scored, the game ended as a 3-3 draw, which did not please the Chinese faithful who paid to see the event. In the above photo, the Chinese captain has his penalty shot saved. The local fans were so disappointed in their team's showing that they started to chant xia ke. Which literally means 'class dismissed,' but in this instance meant 'go home' or 'disappear.' Some of the fans actually started chanting 'Tai guo' (Thailand), seemingly hoping that the visitors would win.

Anyway, that is just a glimpse of what I do here in Kunming.