An update for the sake of updates

So currently plans are in order for wanderingchacos.com, zhongwenvocab.com, and theveritasway.com. Suffice to say I am keeping busy with all of them.

"Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together."

A change of address

In the not so distant future, the blog will be wanderingchacos.blogspot.com

I am looking to launch a travel photography website this winter. The address will be www.wanderingchacos.com

Back on the beaten path

Life back in the states is different now seeing it with new eyes. I find myself more often keeping quite when I would often be gabbing away. It's different trying to be "you" again especially after you realize that you don't really like the person you once were, but you have friends saying, "you're different in a way I can't quite put my finger on." I'm not sure what to make of it. Looking back I cannot stand the person I once was before my trip. It makes me wonder, what was so appealing then? What do I offer now?

I'm still trying to reconcile the things I have learned from Narnia as I attempt to assimilate back to college life in the Land of the Free.

What now?

What do you do when you have a life changing experience and you are no longer the person you once were? How do you resume the life you once lived? Do you simply brush the experience off as a nice memory and acquiesce back to life as though it never happened? Would it be wrong not to make serious changes to the way I once lived in this prosperous land?

The answers to such questions still elude me. I do know that I am not the person I once was. Praise God!


How do I go back to my life expecting the standard of living I once was so comfortable with now knowing that most of the World does not have such blessings? I had always known the statistics and had the head knowledge of how lucky I am to be an American, but now its heart knowledge from personal experience. I have faces to tie now to such sobering statistics. Those facts now carry weight and burden my mind. I am thankful to be burdened with such knowledge and experiences. I can continue forward being grateful for all that I have and making the most to bless others with that which I have been given.

The questions haunt me, but I am grateful to be haunted. I will continue to seek the Lord and pray that He would show me how to move forward and address such questions. Praise God it's not all up to me.

2 pics from the Temple of Heaven

The Germans Rock

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/14/world/europe/14germany.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

My time in Beijing has been wonderful. I don't quite believe that I am coming home on Monday but that is something I will have to get over. We have a weekend of touring, which is something I'm not extatic about because I'm so burnt out from camp. Yesterday I went to the Temple of Heaven(TOH). The TOH is believed by the Chinese to be the center of the universe. The best way to describe it is as being similar to NYC's Central Park. When you are inside it feels like another world, one would never guess that they are in a city of 22 MILLION. During my time there I was able to snap some beautiful photos of the Rose gardens and elderly people that gather there. Photos are something you guys will have to ask me about. I would love to show you them, but I'm paranoid about my images getting ripped off.
 

Today the crew is at the Wall; I stayed behind to recoup before getting back home. Right now I'm sick with something and I have started taking Chinese medicine to help battle whatever it is. 

See you guys soon.

Reflections

To end my time at SE with a night of dancing is exactly what the Good Doctor ordered. It was the perfect stress release; something everyone needed. It's starting to hit me that my time with all these people, whose presence I have taken for granted, is coming to an end. Most of whom I will never see again. That has been something that has really struck me these last few days. I never realized how much Lydia, Noming, Xiao Li, and Xiao Gong meant to me. This place has so many wonderful people. They are responsible for helping change the way I now see the world. That was something I NEVER saw coming. I guess that's why I travel. Its why I wanted to do this. I wanted to be stretched beyond my comfort zone. The process has been both brutal and beautiful all at once.

Currently I do not fully believe the fact I'm leaving because this place has grown into an estranged pseudo home for me during these last two and a half months. It's going to be just plain weird to leave and never come back.

In regards to the other blogs: I want to apologize for how brief or how are they are to follow. Often I would only be able to jot a few things down before having to run off to another activity. If anything didn't make any sense I would love to better explain it either in person or via e-mail (kwerneke@gmail.com).

Thank you to all of you that have taken time to read my blog.

One last trip to the stables

This is the herdsman's son Asihan(Ah-sih-hon) and I had to say goodbye to him for the last time. He is such a sweetheart and is easily one of my favorite elements of camp. We practice our kung fu on one another.

3 more days till camp is over

This week has been a great snapshot of the entire summer. It has gone relatively as well as it can go. We have had a pack of boys that love to rebel, which creates plenty of headaches for all of us. It has been an up close and personal opportunity to live out being merciful. Let me tell you it has been tough as nails as I like to say because these kids just continue to spit in our faces metaphorically as we continue to let them stay here. Tomorrow is a new day and the Lord really hit me like a train with Titus today and we will see what happens with the boys.

New photos up

click here to see photos

Videos

 Hey guys if you want more than my random  posts hop onto youtube and see the beauty for yourself. the web address below will take you there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RG9-myylV0

http://www.youtube.com/user/leprechaungiant1#p/u/1/Aap1B7IIskw

Addition to..

I have have finished and added to my post entitled One last adventure for the 3 amigos.

A day of nothing and goodness

Today was our day off and I was able to lounge around, snap pictures of the beautiful wildflowers, and enjoy time with my crew. Today we went to some sort of festival being hosted by Heishantou's police and they had Russian dancers that were interesting to say the least.  Tonight we went up to the top of the hill and enjoyed a bonfire.

Lately the weather has been crisp and chilly. It feels like Fall is already on its way. Its been in the 40's and 50's with high winds because the camp is very exposed and relative unprotected. We are surrounded by mountains on one side and jumbo hills on the other. Both geographical features are not very near so when the thunder cracks the sound is absolutely incredible. I mean Bose has nothing on natural acoustics.

On our way back from the bonfire the truck wouldn't start. So Mike popped the clutch and we rolled all the way down this steep hill. I had the great joy of riding in the box holding the roll bar. Then when we reached the bottom Mike tried to get it into 1st or 2nd but the barbed-wire gate was closed so the other Mike had to jump out and race to open the gate. Unfortunately for the gate Mike was not fast enough. I am only kidding. We stopped and driver mike realized he had the gas line pulled out. We eventually made it back to camp and it made for yet another interesting day in China.

Manzhouli

One last adventure for the 3 amigos

The Three amigos (Mike, Tyler, Me) were able to be blessed with a short trip to Manzhouli, a town that rests at the end of the Trans-Siberian Rail Road. It is a place where Russians like to vacation when they want to go somewhere cheap. One could compare it to Tijuana for the people of San Diego.

We hopped on a bus and took it for two hours. When we got there we had lunch with a travel agent named Alice. An absolute sweetheart that we hope to use to generate tourism through the camp. Sunday 7-25 we went to an expo of some sort and it had the world's most random assortment of things. It had art, manufacturing parts, tools, food processors, art, 4-wheelers (which I got to ride), and nice road bikes. It was free and fun. While we were there I was able to score some art and barter the price down via Mike's excellent Chinese. After that we went and looked at beautiful wooden Russian homes. After that we stumbled into a fallen sculpture park that no one seemed to care about any more. There I snapped a few pics because Russian/Communist style art is just plain odd. After that we walked further down to a Babushka doll park which was down right creepy. It hosted stacking dolls to represent most countries and random cultural things like Finding Nemo or Jesus. Again, it was so interesting to see how the US dolls were decorated by either Russian or Chinese artists. See pictures below.

After having a wonderful day of walking and exploring the town Alice took us out for a Russian dinner which was HEAVENLY. We had two types of steak, potatoes, glorified potato salad, borsch (like tomato soup with lots of meat and veggies).With each passing bite I could not believe my luck, here I was with my guy buddies having one of the best meals of my life and the rest of my teammates were back at camp working their butts off. I felt like I had one of those tribal challenges on Survivor where the winners get pampered while everyone else is miserable sitting around the fire eating rice. It was so good. MmMm...

After dinner Alice took us to the Moscow Ballet which just happened to be in town during the Russian-Chinese Festival that was taking place that weekend. It was especially fun because we were in a glorified black box theater, and so there were only a 100 or so people that could fit. 

This story to be concluded tomorrow...

The ballet was wonderful and a real treat. Something that absolutely shocked me was that a number of people were having full volume conversations with one another during the performance. I was so ticked. 

The next day we went to Hulun Lake which is super jumbo, but these days it has dried up and has gotten super polluted. I still had a good time taking pictures. After that we got to ride on the last steam locomotive that is still being used for actual work. This was a huge treat to see something back from the days of Mao still going strong. 

All in all the trip was exactly what the good doctor ordered and was very much appreciated.

On Road or Off Road?

A Cute Article

I  was reading the NYT and stumbled across this wonderful article called, "Daily Paper for Children Defies the Craze for Digital," is worth checking out.

A day in the life

6 am-Wake up
6:10-6:45 God time #1
6:45-7:15 Group Devos
7:15-7:50 Camp Meeting
8:00 Breakfast
8:30 Prep for Rally
8:45-9:30 Rally (songs, skits, games, and announcements)
9:30-9:45 Break for kids (class prep time)
9:45-10:45 English Class
11-12 Sports (my break during the day for God)
12-12:45 Lunch
12:45-2:30 Rest (more meetings and skit practices for the staff)
3-5 Sports (Rafting, Horseback riding, or swimming)
5:30-6:15 Dinner
6:15 Prep for rally
6:30-7:15 Rally
7:30-8:15 Class
8:20-9 Hang out with kids till they have to go back to their yurts
9-11 Quiet time to read the good book

The days are as exhausting as they are wonderful

Please hop down to my time in Hailar

Hey I was checking the things I had posted and  I realized that I never actually talked about Hailar in my post, so I went back and added my thoughts.

Thanks for reading guys!

Trying to put it in perspective

The goodness that has occured is too great for words to do justice concerning the way he has been moving.

Everything here is so fluid and nothing remains concrete for too long in regards to any plans one attempts to keep. It is because things are always changing that I really have to be intentional to be in the word daily and be intentional with others during the times I do have free time. Thus far I have been reading a chapter of the gospels that correlates to the date, I am currently at day 16. He has revealed so much but its really difficult to created a linear bullet-point list as to what it has been exactly. I love G*d so much, he alone is what has allowed me to make it through this summer abroad.

I'm down to the last 30 days with 25 out at camp, and 5 days of enjoying the beloved Beijing. I know He will continue to move powerfully as my summer comes to a close. Prayer, that I would be able to step back and clearly see all he has shown me, would be very much appreciated. G*d is so so good. I am so blessed to have all eternity with Him!

A proverb a day keeps Satan at bay : )

Proverbs 14:26-27
In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is the foundation of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.

Luke 14:33
So likewise whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED, neither let it be afraid.

Random

The sound of buzzing in my life is no longer of cell phones on silent, but bugs stuck on their backs helplessly trying to get themselves off the ground and failing.

A legitimate update

Hey guys I know that I have not been doing a great job of keeping everyone posted so here is my catch up blog.


This week: The crew from the states has arrived and everyone is working really well together. The newbies have been able to come along side the amigos and are learning the ropes quite quickly.

7-5 A day of great revelations where God showed me more than I could have anticipated
7-6 That which does not kills us only makes us stronger. The Lord is my rock I shall not be moved.
7-8 I threw down some Mahjong with the locals of Hailar. I actually won twice.
7-9 Went out for Hot Pot (the original fondue minus cheese) and it was the best I had ever seen.
7-10 Taught at a private school to help promote the camp. The Americans arrived! Mongolian culture night again.
7-11 Went to Japanese bunker (very Indy) then we climbed to higher ground and saw Russia. There was discussion of writing a children's book to highlight Mongolian culture set strategically at the camp. We are going to work on it a little each day and send it to a Bethel prof that has publishing connections in China.
7-12 Today its Christmas at camp. Tonight we sang carols, played charades, decorated the tree, and explained our nativity set. We watched the World Cup 12 hours after it happened, watched the entire thing to see that last shot which was not nearly as interesting as the crazy number of side tackles throughout the game.

Fun update: Its looking as though I will be a co-activities director of the camp, which is fun to have the title after doing the same duties all summer.

My Time In Hailar 7-9 (Updated 7-18)

I spent the week in Hailar to help recruit kids for camp. During my time in the city I stayed with a Chinese family. It was eye opening to say the least. 

God has used the time I have spent in Hailar to really bring to the surface so much of my malicious nature that I like to keep hidden. In the process of these terrible things being brought to the surface, I have been able to confront the muck in my heart, so that I may grow ever closer to Him.

To witness the dynamics of a Chinese family up close and personal has been nothing short of wonderful.
Sisters still like to bicker with one another, this does not change with country. Children really do take care of their elders. Its not just something they preach, but something they practice.

Wonderful things I witnessed
-Cousins coming together for Mahjong (which I got to play and won twice)
-Dinner with the extended family quite frequently-amazing food and some really nasty stuff but mostly great.
-Being cared for so deeply-the hospitality shown to me I cannot compare to anything I have ever experienced before.
-The way countless homes were opened up to me and I ate dinner at someone's apartment each night.
-They gave me everything they could offer. They held nothing back. They were so eager to feed and provide anything I wanted.
-Unbelievable patience when I needed the parents to repeat something again in Chinese, if I didn't get it the first time. 


Quotes of the week:
Kelsey: Who is that a picture of?
Elva: Carl Marx...(disgusted shocked voice)
Kelsey: Woops, I guess I should have known that one considering where I am. My bad.

Kelsey: I want to buy a poster or picture of Mao dancing. I think it would be funny.
Elva: Good luck with that, that probably doesn't exist.
(Kelsey prays to find one to prove her wrong)
 30 min later at a Cultural Revolution Poster nook
Kelsey: What is this Elva? (I'm holding a big poster of Mao waltzing with a student)
Elva: No way...
Kelsey: See God does answer prayers!

1 Cor 10:15
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Isa 25:4
For you are a defense for the helpless. A defense for the needy in his distress.
(HE IS THE FORTRESS IN WHICH YOU CAN REST AND BE HEALED)

I Cor 14:33
For God is not a God of confusion but a God of peace

15:58
Therefore my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, know that your work/effort is not in vain...

Mat 10:16
Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves

11:28
Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest...take my yoke for my yoke is easy and my load is light.

Isaiah 25:9
behold this is our God for whom we have waited
that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation


He is GREAT AND IS HOW I GET THROUGH EACH DAY

Out of town

I will be out of all communication until sunday.

I would like to make a shout out to Tom Angus, or anyone else that would know.
My question to you is if you know anything about the Japanese occupation of Inner Mongolia? There is a tunnel system (the Japanese made during their occupation)/bunker we are going to visit, but it will be self guided. If you or anyone knows about the Japanese occupation of Inner Mongolia particularly Heishantou/ Hailar, it would be a huge blessing!

Thanks!

Photos of my 4th

Click here to check them out. I went rafting and then climbed several adjoining mountains, found a cave where people worship an unknown God, and enjoyed rain wind while doing all of it.

A Series of Challenges

Sorry to disappoint those looking for an update with how things are going in China. To sum it up in one sentence, Things are great and God has taught me so much!

During my reading today I read chapters 4 and 5 of the Gospels and there were several verses that struck me very powerfully. God really challenged me with each of these verses and I want to encourage you to check yourself with these questions too.

Matt 5:23-24
 "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
Challenge: We need to settle our disputes immediately before we go onto other things.
My thoughts: I know this is something I really need to work on, when I just want to shove things under the rug, its still there but its simply hidden. At one point or another that dirt/strife must be dealt with

Matt 5:30 
If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
Challenge: What is something I need to remove from my life that keeps me from loving God fully?
                   What keeps me from drawing near to him?
My Thoughts: I know for me somethings that cripple me from running to him are: Pride, lack of discipline, and selfishness

Matt 5:44
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.
Challenge: Keywords I found were things I wanted to focus in on and ask myself and others if we are doing a good job of living these things out?
My Thoughts: I know these are things I fail at daily but through God's power I can accomplish. I am very much in process and by no means close to my destination.

Luke 5:16
So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
Challenge: God in man's form often took time for himself to pray, how much more should we as followers of Him be intentional to have quiet time made to commune with him.
My thoughts: See above. I know God moves most tangibly and shows me more things when I cut out time for him.

John 4:34
My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
Challenge: What are some superficial means by which I use to fill myself?
My Thoughts:  The list for me personally is far too long to list.

John 5:30b
I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
Challenge: What is God's will and desire for the short vapor of time I am here on Earth?
My thoughts: I know this is something I have had to be patient with as I continue to seek out what he desires for my life specifically.

John 5:45-47
Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
Challenge: If we do not trust him with the small daily things of this life, how do we expect to cling to him when the seas of life are truly treacherous?
My thoughts: I have none. Just mulling over this verse and the challenge it presents.


John 4:23-24
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seek such to worship Him. God is Spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
Challenge: What does that look like for us as Lovers of Christ?
My Thoughts: I don't know but I do know God wanted me to share this verse.

I hope this was encouraging to you and that it was not received as something arrogant. Please pass this on to whomever you think would be encouraged by it.

Thanks for reading!

Photos tell the story best

There are so many things on my mind and just not enough time in the day to get it all down. Here are some thoughts I have managed to scribble down.

Different Things
-Kids refuse to let their butts touch the ground. They are professional squatters.
-Kids are deathly afraid of all bugs (boys included)
-Toilet paper is a luxury not found everywhere
-Its hard to get kids to think critically. The education system is just not set up that way.
-They will cheat off of one another and lie and think nothing there is nothing wrong with it. (I have a story of a hijacked moped that goes with this one)
-People will walk up and take pictures with me or of me w/o asking
-Truth is an abstract concept that doesn't just apply to the news
-We have had multiple sets of teachers from different schools not think twice about drinking and smoking before students
-If you are a child of a government worker, you've got it made because your parents can provide things money can't purchase. They are the most powerful people around, so to be their offspring pays.

Here is a link to more photos. Facebook seems to be the best vehicle by which to get lots of pictures out to those that want to see them.

July 1st- A day to be shoot photos and be shot

If you follow the link you will see what I mean. Click here

Just Call Us The Three Amigos

This is my crew. We kind of run things at the camp. Songs, teaching, games, lunch, rafting, riding, and cleaning. We do it all. As you can see we are as tough as they come.

Authentic Christianity

During my time here I have met a number of brothers and sisters of the faith. Sharing stories and how they pursue God has really challenged and encouraged me to step my game up personally. These people live lives that are more simple than their American counterparts. They don't have the blessing of choosing from 12 versions of scripture or 30 denominations of Christianity. They LOVE and SEEK after God with all they have in them. They do not have a 5 step plan for sharing their faith. They live it out and share the Gospel to all willing to hear. Watching these guys really makes me think hard about all the wonderful bonus stuff we get as Christians in America and it begs me to ask the question, if all the Christian culture stuff actually helps me draw near to God or if it just makes me feel better as a follower. This place, these people have really encouraged me to look at things differently. I pray that this doesn't sound like I hate America, I'm simply starting to see the same God from a different angle and I never really realized there were other ways to be His.

James 4:8
Deut 13:4

Jennifer: Lets teach the kids a song. "I'm a little lair."
Kelsey: What!?
Jennifer: No this little light of mine!"

Coffee

I have always watched "adults" drink coffee as their form of daily fuel and I never understood it, until now. I hate to admit that I have become one of those people that have their daily cup to get going in the morning. I must admit holding a mug while teaching makes me feel like a more legitimate teacher than when I am without it. I'm a dork, this I know.

Chacos, don't leave the country without them

Today's trip down the river went well, and it felt great when the splashing wars started. There were a few times when my boat was totally exposed to copious amounts of splashing; there was nothing we could do to really fight back, because of the way our boat was positioned. To be truthful, I enjoyed those moments most because it made me feel like when you're a little kid and someone bigger than you is tickling you, and there's no hope to stop them by any means and so all you can do is sit and enjoy it.  

It never ceases to astound me the clothes and shoes these kids wear for sports events. Today for the rafting trip one of the teachers wore really cute high-heeled shoes! We warned her that they would get ruined but she claimed she didn't care. Again I must tell myself its not good, not bad, its just different.

The big update

The days of last week were a nightmare I could not wait to forget. The kids were terrible, and we were ghastly understaffed, unprepared, and overwhelmed. With all that being said this last weekend was every bit as good as the week was bad. If you scroll down to the pictures below you will see what I mean in regards to the fun.

Friday: Camp talent show, which was incredibly fun, interesting, and awkward. It was just another typical Chinese talent show. After the sun went down, some of the staff went up with other volunteers to the camp hill/mtn (Its more like Lutsen less like Breckenridge). It was such a blast riding to the top standing in the back of the camp truck holding onto the roll bar singing "Hotel California" with Nike my translator. The sentence sounds ridiculous to say aloud but that's China for ya. At the top we had a lovely bonfire under a full moon. Temp: 85F so it was nice and warm that night.

Saturday: We had the campers clean up the camp and then sent them home after breakfast. The rest of the day I was able to hang out with other volunteers and simply unwind from 12 days of literal Hell. 300 of the worst kids you've ever seen, most of them are the children of government workers so they the top of society out here in Inner Mongolia. That night we had Mongolia lamb which they slaughtered right before grilling. I'm pretty sure I will never have meat so fresh again. It was wonderful though. During dinner we sat down and watched cultural performances which were a joy to witness. Late that night, the crew stayed up and watched Legends of the Fall while following the Korean World Cup game on another laptop.

Sunday: Played ping pong with Jennifer and learned how to really play. I was foolish to play against a Chinese person. The boys and I figured out the schedule for the next week's camp. We really run things around here without the formal title. A new session of kids started at 4pm. This time we only have 50 kids. Sunday night the crew came up with a slapstick skit reviewing the camps rules. It was a wonderfully hilarious mix of English and Chinese also known as Chinglish. The group of campers is the polar opposite of last week, this was a HUGE answer to prayer considering the rest of my team is/has getting sick or losing their voice.

Quotes for the week
M 6-21 Just call me the Cilantro thief
T 6-22 Finding fellowship abroad
W 6-23 Today's word is Hypothermia. My translators wanted to know what it was called when you get to cold from rafting and your body can't warm itself up.
T 6-24 I tried flavored watermelon seeds. Delicious.
F 6-25 Talent show and Bonfire
S 6-26 Lambchop was killed out back, then grilled for your enjoyment! How does that make you feel? Great!
S 6-27 Comedy Sports meets China

Rafting

I'm going to be leading a boat rafting everyday this week. Due to the fact it's going to be well over 100 today, the splash wars to ensue will be very welcomed.

Updates are coming

Please keep checking back. More news to come.

Settling in in Inner Mongolia

Really really fresh lamb slaughtered right before grilling it.

 This is Jennifer. She will aid in keeping me sane for the next 3 weeks.

Last night we had a Mongolian culture night. They slaughtered the lamb and cooked it immediately. It was scrumptious. I've been rafting, cleaning, singing, and all kinds of good things.

I love this, please read.

2 Timothy 2:3

The Christian is a self-sacrificing man as the solider must be. To protect his own country the solider must expose his own self; to serve his king he must be ready to lay down his life. Sure he is no Christian who never felt the spirit of self sacrifice. If live unto myself, I am living unto the flesh, and of the flesh I shall reap corruption. Only he who lives to his God, to Christ, to the truth, to the church and to the good old cause, only he is the man who can reckon himself at all to be a solider of Jesus Christ. A solider is a serving man. He does not follow his own pleasure; he is under law and rule; each hour of the day has its prescribed duty; he must be obedient to the word of another and not to his own will and whim. Such is the Christian. We serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Though no longer the slaves of man so as to dread his frown, we are servant of Christ who has loosed our bonds. The solider is often a suffering man. There are wounds, toils, and frequent lyings in the hospitals; there may be many ghastly cuts which let the soul out with the blood.
Such the Christian solider must be, ready to suffer, enduring hardness, not looking for pleasure of the worldly kind in this life, but counting it his pleasure to renounce his pleasure for Christ's sake. Once again the true solider is an ambitious man. He pants for honor and seeks for glory. On the field of strife he gathers his laurels, and amidst a thousand dangers he reaps renown. The Christian is fired by higher ambitions than earthly warriors ever knew. He sees a crown that can never fade; he loves a King who best of all is worthy to be served; he has a motive within him which moves him to the noblest deeds, a divine spirit impelling him to the most self-sacrificing actions. Thus you see the Christian is a solider, and it is one of the main things in the Christian life to 'earnestly contend for the faith' and to fight with valor against sin.
-Spurgeon

A mixed bag

God is moving and working mightily

Doesn't every parent want their child to have a authentic M-16 and AK-47?

Papa Johns by bike, just the way I like it.

Ice cream cones at 10cents a pop is tough to beat. 

This is my favorite camper.

Hailar at night

I took this at 9pm with a super long exposure. ^

This is rural Inner Mongolia

6.14-6.20

The week has had so many ugly and wonderful moments. What does strike me as wonderful is that this camp is bringing an experience to these kids that is available nowhere else in China, that is the experience of summer camp experience.  Oddly enough, the kids will wear clothes you would only wear Sunday morning at Catholic mass, let alone playing kickball. They just don't get out much. Much of their life is spent focused on studying. Being out in the sun for long periods of time is new to them too. The concept of remaining hydrated is still foreign to as well, most boys will down a coke during basketball games. When we are finally able to get the kids to understand the game they glow as they experience volleyball and Ultimate for the first time. It is extremely draining and rewarding all at once.

What I love most is the Tianjin International School (TIS) group that has come to help us out with games and songs during this 12 day session. TIS is staffed by all Christians that are eager to help us out whenever we need them. They have been such a blessing with the manpower and spiritual encouragement they provide. It hit me on 6.20 that the Body of Christ is a global force to be reckoned with. This school came up to SE for the sole purpose of helping us out and serving the kids. It just dropped on me like a ton of bricks, just how great it is to witness the hands and feet of Christ first hand every day.

To those that love the Jesus, please be in prayer for my two translators (Nike and Frank), they are seeking. I request prayer for them to have ears to hear and that my words would be specific to what they need to hear most.

My week in one liners

6-14
I am so blessed and lucky to be born in America where English is my first language.

6-15
The 200 little emperors arrive.

6-16
Oh, to be a child again with all of my adventures before me. To experience everything again for the first time would be wonderful. Oh how great it would be to feel bulletproof and invincible.

6-17
I have rediscovered an old love of mine. Basketball.
I have used it as a vehicle by which to earn the respect of the 14year-old boys I teach everyday.

6-18
The global body of Christ does not cease to amaze me.
Got to share the message with my two translators that are digging deeper in Christianity.

6-19
This whole China thing is really a mixed bag. So many terrible things I could choose to get stuck on, and all the while there are so many blessings that have come as well.

6-20
Swapping favorite stories with the locals is a blast. From Daniel to Paul Bunyan.

6-21
Just call me the Cilantro thief. I have managed to make a Chinese version of Chipotle's rice.

The Time Traveler's Wife...6-15-10

Today I just finished The Time Traveler’s Wife , it was one of my favorites. Something I have realized about myself is that I mourn over the end of books. I love to escape to somebody else’s story and place mine on hold for a little bit.

Today is the first day of a 12 day session. We have 300 kids here. Most of them are only children.  Grades 4-6. I’m sharing a bunk with close to 50 8-year olds. Lord help me. 

300 little emperors...6-15-10

The 300 little emperors come! Lord help me. Drove a moped for the first time today.

Huge English festival held in our honor...6-14-10

We had a huge English festival held in our honor today. There were over 2000 in attendance and we (John, Tyler, Mike, Mary, and I) were the guests of honor with a big fancy table front and center.

They LOVE/ADORE Michael Jackson. Countless kids asked if I knew him or Lady Gaga.

I thought I was through with culture shock but I guess I’m not because I want to strangle these kids for being some of the worst behaved I have ever seen. I guess I should just accept, but I do not foresee that as being a quick process.  I’m doing my best to chug through and press in. 

So blessed...6-14-10

I am so blessed I was lucky enough to be born in the United States with English as my primary language.

Inner Mongolia...6-13-10

So I have attempted to describe to you how pretty Inner Mongolia is, well here just one of hundreds of shots to come when I get back home.

Life, like mowing...6-12-10

Life, like mowing Mongolian grass should be approached and dealt with as so. Remember that which you have already passed because you never know when you have to back up and redo a spot. The key is to keep your eyes forward and aware of all that which surrounds you.

Today a German film crew shot at the Camp to capture why a man would move to Inner Mongolia to start an English camp. As a result I was part of the background mowing down grass that was by no exaggeration a solid 18 inches high. To make things even more delightful, various local camp employees would use the fields I had to mow as a place to chuck random palm sized chunks of brick. So I had to navigate that in grass as high as my knees. All while being filmed by a German documentary crew. Suffice to say, it was so random that this crew of delightful people wanted to shoot us working that it all made for a good laugh at the end of the day. 

The funniest part is that they while they were shooting they grabbed some impromptu shots of my mowing; unfortunately for me I looked as though I was ready to kill someone. The icing is that these shots could make it onto the documentary which is showing nationwide in German during the Christmas season. I cannot think of a better way in which I would desire for the people of Germany to see me.

Places we went...6-7-2010

At airport in Beijing going to Inner Mongolia I met a Russian Olympian. He was rude.

Places we went on my first day of my internship

Cops-to get me registered

Security bureau –to get registered –both because I’m a foreigner.

School-to meet with a  headmaster to pick up a staff member that would take us to the bank to get  cash for students going to SE

Bank 1-to get the money. It was wrapped up in newspaper. Hilarious. 30kUSDx6.8=what I saw

Bank 2 to deposit money. They would not wire it bc it was not to their bank.

Steel store- to pick up sign posts

Sign store to pick up signs-50 of them to be exact

Sheet metal man- to get a garbage for SE

Culinary supplies store-to find garbage can

Plastic random store- to find a garbage

Dinner-for Hotpot with Anna and John and Annas friend

Bad news

Due to the fact I'm in china the government has chosen to block this website. I will only be able to update it sporadically. I will do my best. Shoot me an e-mail kwerneke@gmail.com if you want me to add you to the newsletter, otherwise keep your eyes peeled for updates.

The first days

The trip.
Flight MSP to Chicago was solid.
Get to the gate for my flight to China and I made conversation with a group of elementary aged kids. I would consider it to be my first legitimate Chinese conversation considering that it wasn't with one of my classmates or teacher. It was so wonderful. It was real. It wasn't just a I will use this language hopefully one day, but a legitimate experience of goodness.

On the plane
I went to stand up after 3 hours of sitting. Talked with some really kind and warm Chinese adults. I held my own in the convo for a good 20  minutes. Again, I was able to realize and enjoy the fruits of my two years of labor.
Later I talked with an American from Notre Dame that was one her way with a group to IBM for a summer long MIS/IT internship. She was nice but arrogant.
Hour 7 talked with a woman from Nebraska named Jo , she was on her way to pick up her newly adopted girl. She knew no Chinese so I was able to create a phonetic cheat sheet of Chinese words and phrases. It felt so good to be able to share my knowledge and bless her as I helped reduce the fear and stress of knowing no Chinese. It was definitely a highlight of the flight.
Hour 9 I talked with two college students. One was a marine and the other a Chinese student about to start school in Iowa. They asked why I took Chinese, I explained that God had put it on my heart. This spurred a great conversation on faith. The three of us were able to lay out what we experienced to be truth and God definitely used it as a means to plant seeds.

北京Beijing
Again I will say the airport is easily the most beautiful I've ever seen. I was picked up by Sherry Yoder; the wife of the couple I'm staying with this weekend before I head off to  to Inner Mongolia. The two of us went back to their apartment which is on the 16th floor, and has a gorgeous view of Beijing. The skies and air are gray as can be. It makes me thankful I'm not spending my entire summer under gray skies and pollution. Later Friday night John Sherry and I went to a bible study with various international believers. John is an elder at China's largest protestant church. He's kind of a big deal.
Today (sat) I woke up and watched the sunrise over the skyline at 4 am. I'm not sure what the plan is for the rest of the day but I will keep you posted.

Kelsey

30 days

Its only 30 days until I leave and the anticipation is mounting. Finishing up school seems like a breeze in comparison to the challenges that I will be faced with next month. 

Traveling for a week on a train from Beijing to Chengdu seems exciting enough and is something I know I need to do, therefore I'm going to go beyond the comfort zone I treasure so much and redefine this American girl's limits. 

If you're looking for images of what Chengdu looks like there are beautiful pictures on flickr.com >search Chengdu