Sunday, June 19, 2016

Dear Unity Friends,

The blocking of all things Google has impacted my efforts to blog.  Karl  Kaemingk and I have found a way to get my journals out.  Today I am going to text him this entry along with some pictures. 

So far the trip has been simply amazing.  I am blown away with the culture and the people of China.  I am so appreciative of this opportunity to recognize the beauty and richness of China and its people.  I also recognize that my limited view of this world is being stretched hourly on this trip.  This is God’s world, and we are so different and yet so similar.

Today we worshiped at a church in Yangcheng, visited a traditional Chinese village / Buddhist temple, presented our schools to a group of about 70 people, played basketball at a local high school that we will visit tomorrow and ended the day with a formal banquet ( a nightly tradition) where we were served with amazing Chines food and enjoyed great hospitality with our hosts.  

The highlight of the day was worshiping God in church in Yancheng.  I could not understand most of it, so it was a time of worshiping in Spirit. 
We did sing By the Sea of Crystal.  We prayed the Lord’s Prayer. The rest, I could just guess at.  Very nice people around us handed us hymnals and Bibles in Mandarin so we could follow along.  : )

Afterwards a translator recapped the sermon for us.  Interestingly,
we were mentioned in the sermon in several ways.  The pastor told the congregation that God sent our group to them at this time to be an encouragement to them.  He also highlighted how the American church is what is making America great, and that if possible the people of his church should travel to America to learn from our church leaders.   Funny thing, I was thinking the reverse.   The church was packed when we arrived, and they cleared out 3 rows for us.  We were treated like dignitaries.  After the service we were asked to return to the church so people could take pictures of us.  

In general, the people of China are very polite and hospitable.  They have gone to great effort to serve us amazing formal meals.  They are extremely gracious hosts.  We even got a police escort yesterday on an excursion! 

Happy Fathers Day from China!

For now,

Wayne

Ready-Set-Take-off!

Friends,

Sitting in the O'Hare airport, excited to board in a few hours.  The TSA experience was smooth, efficient and thorough.  Thankful for airport security.

And I am most thankful to my awesome wife, who made this morning go smoothly.  She drove me to the airport, she made me breakfast.  And she made sure I was all checked in. at Terminal 5  Maybe next time she joins me....?

My flight plan is to leave today, June 16, at 2:50pm from O' Hare and then to land in Shanghai tomorrow night at 7:20pm.  I am amazed at how time zone changes will impact this trip!  After going through customs and retrieving luggage, I will then take a connecting flight to Beijing, where I will meet Kiki and her parents at the Beijing International Airport just before midnight.  The next day I will fly from Beijing to Lianyungang, where I will meet the delegation team for dinner.  On Sunday we will worship with a Chinese house church.  Really looking forward to that experience.

So how does one pass the time on a 15 hour flight?

Reading Plan:
1. John Ortberg's The Me I Want to Be, a book about student leadership.
2. John Grisham's Rogue Lawyer. An easy page turner, because it is summer.

Viewing Plan
1. I would love to watch Game 6 of the NBA finals. Hopefully the plane has Direct TV! Not holding my breath.
2. Movies?  I hope to watch the movie 13 Hours, the Benghazi story. Read the book this Spring.

Gaming Plan
1. Sudoku puzzles.

Thanks for all the prayers going up on my behalf.  I am excited to share Unity Christian and Christian education stories in China.  I am also excited to grow in my global awareness of what Christ is doing in China.

China Summer 2016!

China Trip 2016

I am about to take the trip of a lifetime.  This summer I am joining a travel delegation of 20-25 college students, professors and high school leaders on a trip to Eastern China.  We will travel to cities between Shanghai and Beijing.

 The Board at Unity Christian High School is sponsoring me to travel to China in order for me to visit the educational institutions of both public and private schools.

Currently, Unity has 4 students enrolled for 2016-2017 from China.  I am excited to learn more about their country's diverse and rich culture.

The goal of the trip is to recruit potential students for Unity Christian.

It is summer in China and it is summer here as well.  I respect your interest or your lack of interest in my travels.  if you would like to follow me on this trip, I will be posting blog updates here.

I am both excited and mildly nervous about a 14 hour flight, over the North Pole by the way.  Please keep me in your prayers that I will arrive safely and timely at the right terminals in my connecting flights.

I am looking forward to meeting new people and experiencing authentic Chinese food.  So far I know 2 phrases in China.  I am working on a few more....

1. How are you?                Ne Hao Ma.
2. I don't know.                 Wu bo dong.
3. That was delicious?
4. I love China
5. I am fine.

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees

under whose shade you do not intend to sit.”

                                                                        Nelson Henderson

Dear Parents,

Christian education is best summed up as an act of faith.  It is like Nelson Henderson states, planting a tree, under whose shade you will likely not sit. 

What we do.  If our kids are trees in process, there are some things we can do to assist their growth.  We can plant, water, prune, protect for some time and we can watch and cheer on growth.  At Unity and our entire network of Christian schools, parents entrust their children to us.  We partner together in the growth process.  We are a team, church-home-school, committed to providing the best growth conditions. Isn’t it wonderful, that it is not just up to the parents?  Or just the school? Or the church, to ensure the best growth conditions?   We can rely on each other.  It is good to remind us of our triangle of support.  

What God does.  If our kids are trees in process, we can also rest in faith that they are God’s workmanship, and it is His Spirit at work in them and His timetable that matters most.  We can do our best to provide the optimum growing conditions, but the tree all along is God’s.  As parents, and grandparents, many of us can tell stories where growth in some of our kids takes time, sometimes painful time.  It is good to remember the tree belongs to God.

Trees, rooted in Christ, are giving off shade that our world needs more than ever.  We can aimlessly obsess over the news of the day: ISIS, measles, 50 Shades of Grey and news anchormen who lie.  Or we can fix our minds on God’s Kingdom and invest our efforts in life giving, tree planting efforts for Christ. 

We invest in Christian education by writing checks, going on cookie walks, attending soup suppers, sitting on bleachers.  We invest our time serving as volunteer Board members, committee members.  In the grind of it all, it is easy to lose sight of the goal. Your time, talent and treasure, when applied to the Church, the home and the school, is not in vain.  When we look back we see thousands of stories of growth.   

Planting is an act of faith.  Planting brings glory to God. In faith, we keep planting.  John 12:24  tells us, “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. We plant and we trust that in God’s time trees will grow and shade will be given off to many. 

W. Dykstra

Dear Friends of Unity,

How do you feel about enrollment growth?  What would your dream for Unity be in the area of optimal enrollment?  We are currently at 264 students. 

What would increased enrollment growth mean for Unity Christian?  Would a higher enrollment mean lower tuition?  More services?  Better co-curricular programs?  Is bigger better?  What might be overlooked if growth happens?  What might be gained?  What can Unity Christian physically handle for enrollment growth? 

I think it is safe to say that enrolment crisis has not been a part of Unity’s past.  We have not had potential “ close the door” conversations, or severe budget cut decisions, like schools across this country.  For that, we thank God.  

In a recent parent survey, we learned that 63% of those surveyed, or 81 respondents, desire Unity to grow into the broader evangelical church community of Northwest Iowa.  I share in that sentiment.  This school is an active sphere in the Kingdom of God.   We want others to join us!   

Enrollment growth based on the desire to build the Kingdom of God is what we are aiming for as a Christian school.  To grow, we do not need to sell out on who we are, but we may need to be more intentional in our efforts to share who we are.   Sharing who we are, will take us out into the public more with more marketing efforts.   Last Spring we wrote a philosophy of marketing for enrolment growth.  It is found on our website under the title, Considering Unity.  I encourage you to read it. 

Prayer for us, as we seek enrollment growth.  Help us share the good things of Unity with those around you.  Tell your story of how Unity blessed your family.  Be ready to tell your Christian education story.  I have heard many tell a story like this: tuition seemed like a mountain at the time when many of us started, but looking back we can say it is one of the best investments we could make for our children.  

WD

Even Greater Than A Victory at State

Dear Parents,

Yesterday was a great Unity day! Our girls basketball team played an outstanding game. So
many Unity fans had safe travels and cheered loudly. It was a great day; to God be the glory!

We are so thankful to God for his presence in our lives. This presence goes beyond a great
day like yesterday. His presence and his love for us is everlasting. 

Psalm 89: 1-3 ( NIV)
I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness
known through all generation. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself. You said,“I have made a covenant with my chosen one.."

At our pep rally send off, the girls team and all present were challenged to play and to cheer for an audience of One. The One we cheer is our Lord Jesus Christ. And this One does not measure us on our playing time, our shooting percentage, our grades in school or our volunteering in the community. 

His love stands firm forever. 

All Knotted Up

Dear Parents,

Have you ever had the privilege of learning how to tie knots with your cadet son? Last night, I had that privilege. I ventured into the world of knot tying for an embarrassingly long 2 hours.  At one point in the evening, I became absolutely convinced that the author of this knot diagram page had to be a member of the family of Beelzebub.  I am still stumped by the “sheepshank” knot.

Speaking of knots, our schedule is all knotted up with postponements and cancellations.  It is amazing how we have even postponed the same event multiple times.  Will there be a golf season?  I truly believe that we will speak about the winter / spring / winter of 2013 for some time to come. 

Knots.  Cadet ropes and calendar aside, are a reality each day.  I heard an expert tell me once that the number one source of anger is unmet expectations.  We think life will be a certain way and even the slightest detour from the course causes us angst.  How do you respond to knots? I know I don’t always do so well. 

Proverbs 3:6 reminds us, “ In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”   To acknowledge is to stop and recognize or highlight that the Lord Jesus Christ, our Father God and Holy Spirit are sovereign over every knot, every moment, every relationship and every sphere of all things. 

W. Dykstra