It was a great honor

 James is the Chinese boy standing next to Alex. Last week he turned 7 and he invited some of his friends, including me and the kids, to his party.
James' dad is a visiting scholar from China. He is an anesthesiologist and is here doing research. James' dad speaks pretty good English. James' mom is an OG/GYN back in China. She is just here taking care of James and she hardly speaks any English. My favorite thing about her is her cooking! She makes unbelievable food! I had seconds and thirds of (most) everything on the table.
One thing I loved about going to James' birthday party was opportunities to really converse with the moms. I don't interact with them much because we are usually running home to eat dinner, do homework and get a bath after class. I got to talk to two of the moms in depth. One mom asked me, "So do you choose for your children if they will be Christians or do they choose themselves?" What a great question! I got to explain that more as well as share a bit of my own story of growing up going to church, but not becoming a Christian until high school. I love my job! It was such an honor to take part in something so special!

James is making a wish

 Last Wednesday was our last English class. Each kid received a book called, "In Search of the Greatest Treasure." It's a story book about what it why Jesus is important and how you can have a relationship with Him.
So I made a treasure map so they would get the idea of treasure and finding something. I hid the books in the classroom and we played "hot and cold" to find them. They loved the books.

 I also gave each kid a New Testament children's Bible with a personal note inside. The Bible is in English and Chinese. The note had two reasons. The first one was of course I have built relationships with these awesome kids. I wanted to thank them for being a part of my class.
Second, when they head back to China there will be a lot to pack. A heavy book might not make it into their suitcases. Hopefully if it has a personal note in it they will be more likely to lug it half way across the world.