Our family served alongside two other American families this past week at an English Summer Camp. Our time was exhausting, yet beneficial for all, and full of unexpected blessings! Not only did we have good lesson times with the kids, but many of our teammates had some unforeseen opportunities for meaningful conversations with the parents who came along as helpers.
On a more trivial note, after settling into our dorm rooms at the camp, we were told that the facility was not authorized to host foreigners, so we would need to move to a nearby hotel instead. We were perfectly prepared to stay at the camp, and it would have been fine, but the accommodations at the hotel were quite a step up!
I'm thankful for a great week away with my family making new friends and rising to the challenges that we faced along the way. For example, long days, heat and humidity, a few rebellious campers, lots of Mandarin practice...
On Sunday there is a closing ceremony back here in Beijing so the campers can show their parents what they have learned. The students will perform some of their camp songs, Ian's group will do a skit, we'll watch a camp video, and Rodney will give a short lecture.
I hope you enjoy the following photos, and that they give you a taste of what our week was like!
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| Amy was an enthusiastic table leader who quickly had little girls following her all around. |
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| Rodney's group loved him, too! |
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| Ian's group. His two boys, Duke and Tom, really gave him a run for his money! |
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| Free time sports. |
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| A little selfie-stick action. |
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| Lesson time |
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| Me? A song leader? Are you sure? |
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| Amy and Mia made a great team for this relay in spite of the height difference. |
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| Duck Duck Goose |
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| I spent a lot of time in the mush pot. I blame the flip-flops. |
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Amy and me on the bridge to "The Zoo that Time Forgot."
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Two of the many creepy animals in the zoo. This zoo was actually a part of the camp.
We took the kids over to it on a "field trip." Trust me, it was just plain creepy! |
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| Rodney and Bunny |
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| Ian and friends doing the Chinese version of the Bunny Hop! |
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| Amy playing Uno with her girls. |
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Amy and Linda. (What a beautiful name!) Linda especially took to Amy,
and now they are texting buddies! |
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| The camp was situated on this beautiful lake, this side of which was full of lotus plants. |
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| We had gloriously clear skies and a lovely sunset on our last night of camp. |
Enjoyed all of the photos and description of your time there! Wonderful experience for you all. I am sure the kids were blessed by each of you despite poor singing skills, height differences or flip flop malfunctions. =) xo
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