Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Dear Friends,

Today the focus was on English training programs.  We visited an international training center for English learners in Yancheng. We also visited a summer English camp held at a luxurious resort. This resort is full of students studying English all summer long. 

 The impression I am getting is the Chinese see English mastery as a key to their future.  With that, there is a goal for many Chinese students to study in the United States.  There is definitely a sense that America is the needed stepping-stone to educational improvement. 

Yancheng, China is a highly industrious and progressive city of over 8 million people, with a New York feel to it.  A highlight for the group today was finding a Starbucks.  The Chinese are not into coffee as much as Americans.  Hotels serve a prepackaged Nescafe with sugar, creamer and coffee all mixed in one.  A Starbucks coffee hit the spot for many today in Yancheng.

This is a prominent landmark, a TV tower in Yancheng. 


Tomorrow we visit Suzhou where we will visit local school officials and make presentations on our schools. 

The educational systems we have met so far are void of Christ in their mission and vision.  They offer dedicated staffs, beautiful campus and a hunger for learning that is somewhat intimidating.  But they are missing the mark on the core of their education, that being a Kingdom building effort centered on Jesus Christ and a transformational Biblical worldview.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Today we visited a high school of 3500 students and 400 teachers in Xiangshui.  The school day began with calisthenics on the soccer field.  It was absolutely stunning to see 3500 students choreograph exercises in perfect synchronicity.  I sent Sue a video of the dancing and she is going to put it up on my Facebook page.  I will see if it can get transferred to this blog. 

Mid-morning I was assigned to speak to a class of 35 10th grade students.  They call them Grade 1 in China. Juniors are grade 2 and seniors are grade 3.  These kids were in an English class, and I talked about Unity, my family and their school with them.  They were so full of smiles and respect.  It was amazing.  I talked about our school and how we are a Christian school so we follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

The school runs on a 15 period schedule, with study hall sessions running until 10pm each night.  The school day begins before 7am. School runs 6 1/2 days a week, with a Christmas break of one month and summer break of just under 2 months. Their educational program is solely focused on the mind.  I shared how we focus on the mind, body and the soul at our Christian school.  The students sit in un-air conditioned rooms at large tables facing each other. 

The school has a 10 floor administrative building and the campus resembles a college campus and then some.  Xiangshui High School is an elite high school and many consider it a privilege for their children to attend it.

We ended the day in a friendly basketball game of our group versus the faculty of Xiangshui school.  They love their basketball and are very good! We on the other hand looked our age.  Wished we had Cliff Warner here.  Some of the only American words they can exchange are Steph Curry and Lebron James.  We enjoyed competing in a friendly game with them.  In World Cup soccer fashion we exchanged t-shirts with the other team.  They were gracious hosts allowing us to erase a 30 point deficit and almost winning the game.  

Again, I am blown away with the Chinese people and their hospitality.  What great people. 

Tuesday is a travel day. We head to Nanching.

Wayne

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