15oct，26，08
San Ming Times
Version 2 Vol. #3 October 26, 2008
Greeting from the Unique City of San Ming, China,
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Noah 1.1 Meters Bundle of Energy
One of the new children this year is named Noah. Noah is a young kindergartener who stands up to about 1.1 Meters or 3.6 feet. Noah stole my heart within the first several minutes of meeting. Noah has had very little if any training. When Noah first came he would relieve himself wherever he could find a place. He would not for whatever reason wear his underwear. When I saw Noah was lacking his whitey tidies I would try to convince him that good boys wear underwear. This encouragement did not work for morning after morning Noah would come running up to me to give me a big good morning, but he was minus his underwear. How can I train this child to wear if underwear? I know the next morning when he comes to give me a hug I will not return the hug unless he had his underwear. It worked. Noah is now in the habit of wearing underwear. Every morning he comes running up to me hands on his pants showing me he is a boy deserving a hug, because today he is wearing his underwear and of course he gets the biggest hug I can give him.
Discontentment among the young adults
When children reach the age of adolescence some mothers are ready to kick the bucket. Now I know why. It seems our youth here at the children's village are going through a period of testing and sever discontentment. For example, Saturday morning the high school students are suppose to do their homework on the third floor of one of the buildings. These high school students had to set up several small tables. Wow, you should've heard the complaining and pure laziness of the students as they tried to get out of carrying these tables. Dorcas wanting to teach them to having a grateful heart and wanting to show them all the stuff other people are doing for these people instructed these students for one week to cook their own food. I hope and pray this will help my children learn more about being thankful. This is one of many, many examples of working with these children. I would request special pray for these high school students. Brian, Benjamin, Jim, Edward, Steven, Jonathan, Thomas, Derek, Susan, Susanna, Helen, Julia, Abbey, Grace, Joyce, Lisa, Dora, Mary, Dorothy, Jane.
Pray for wisdom as we strive to teach these children the right ways of life.
Pray for patients as the children test us by doing something we just told them not to do. Right after we told them not to do it.
Pray that these children will learn eternal values in this life
Training by Restraining
One of the boys at the village is in need of lots and lots of attention love and training. He is very smart and likes to do as many bad things as he can. He has been disciplined many times for refusing to walk to school properly. This last week we he got angry with his house parent and started to hit her. We had to physically restrain him. It seems that this youngster had a non-stable atmosphere growing up and now he might be struggling with identity in life. At times this boy can be the nicest boy he can be and say thank you and I am sorry very sincere.
Pray for this young fellow and for wisdom as we train him.
Pray that he would recognize our love
Pray that he would strive for obedience and not want to see how he can always disobey us.
Thanks for your support,
Stephen Burkholder
PS: Guess what I only lost 7 pound since I came to China. Too bad I lost muscle weight and not body fat.