Summer English Program Begins!

Dear family and friends,

Today, Ryan and I begin the great adventure of our new summer English program! It will last for the next three and a half weeks, during which time the English proficiency level of the students should increase and the new international students should become orientated to culture of LTS (our seminary), the academic expectations of the school, and become more comfortable in this environment (both To Fung Shan hill and Shatin, the city where we live, and the greater Hong Kong metropolis). We ask for your prayers.

We started at 9am this morning. We have 13 students- 10 new international students from Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, and Nepal, and 3 returning international students who wanted to join the program to improve their English (one really needs the extra help, and the other two are just keen Master's students, including one from Malaysia, who want to improve their performance).

They seem like a great group, shy but friendly, and we have both men and women. Once they feel more comfortable and we all know each other a bit more, it should get even fun! I lead the welcome, introductions and opening devotions (thanks to help from my Dad who helped by picking texts and giving me insights into the readings related to week one's theme: 'A sojourner in a strange land') and we added a little hidden English lesson into the material, and Ryan is currently in the classroom leading and monitoring the English entrance exam that LTS administers to new students for placement into our English courses during the regular semester. He's a pro at it, now that he's given the test several times! It's a bit of a rough test, and we would like to create a new one, but we just aren't there yet. In any case, it should give us some idea of where the students are at in terms of their language abilities! (We have no idea where the level is for most of these students, though based on past experience we know that those from Laos will have a very low level while most of the students we get from Myanmar are usually quite competent.)

We are both pretty nervous, and the huge difference in the level of the students is a real stress for me, as I am continuously unsure of what level of diction to use in the classroom, or how many hand gestures I should be employing, so please keep us in your prayers as we try to navigate these uncharted waters. As you know, Ryan and I are not trained English teachers, with zero education classes under our belts and only a few classes on English literature in college between us (like Chaucer in Old English is going to come in handy here! I think Ryan's course was in Children's Lit.- I am not sure which is more absurd in this situation?) Anyways, we don't actually know what we are doing, and flying high by the seat of our pants, so please think of us and pray that wisdom might be showered upon us and that God will grant us sanity.

We have a great program planned... but what might look good on paper does not always come together in the classroom, and these students are ours all day long, 5 days a week! And when we started planning 7 months ago, we didn't think about how hot it would be at the end of July, and how a broken air con system would affect us (we are literally soaking wet)... the bus driver is also on vacation this week, so our outings will have to be on foot (and might we remind you we live 20 minutes up one of the steepest hills in the world! Well, 30 minutes if you don't walk as fast as Katrina!) and every day brings new different 'issues'.... I pray we don't have to deal with typhoon's as well....

But, we stay hopeful, and follow the spirit...

Peace to all of you (we miss you!). Love,

Katrina and Ryan