1Dearest Brothers and Sisters of CCHC,

Hello, it is me, Kwan Hin Christopher Chan, and it has already been a month since I arrived here at the Guangxi Children’s Village. Cliché as it may be, however, time really does fly fast, especially so when my life is so full of fulfillment and purpose; it only feels like yesterday when I had the pleasure to visit the Nanning Botanical Center and the Heroes Garden with a few of you. As such, I believe a monthly update is due, and I hope you will be able to gain some personal insights into what I am currently doing here at the Village.

First and foremost, I would just like to say how grateful I am to the Lord, for providing me with many wonderful co-workers here. Though not all of them are believers in Christ yet, but I certainly do feel that they are all executing the tasks in which God has given us, with great love and effort. Even though all of the workers here are older than I am, through the provisions of God, they have treated me as an equal brother when it comes to serving and working with the children. Through their graciousness, my learning curve here at the Village has been very steep, and I am still having a lot to learn from everyone here.

With the two sisters from Hong Kong, I have begun my post as an assistant teacher in the newly implemented daily English lessons. The lessons are conducted throughout the day, catering to different grades. There are in total five sessions per day, Monday to Saturday, and children ranging from grade 3 to Junior High School are all provided with an individual time segment, usually during the respective grade’s free time away from regular school work. Each lesson timeslot lasts about 45 minutes or so, and I am responsible of co-teaching the lesson plan, plus practicing with the children during the session- I also try to keep in touch with their English learning progress outside of the allotted time slot as well. It has truly been enjoyable to be able to teach the children something extremely useful in our current society, and additionally it is also quite amazing to witness the progress that a lot of them have made-learning the whole alphabet in less than a month in most classes!

Aside from taking an active part in teaching English, I have also devoted myself to become one of the “loving brother” or “愛心哥哥”. What this entails is that I am now officially part of one of the many “home-dormitories” here at the village. As a loving brother, I am responsible for shadowing the children in everything that they do at the village, which is, apart from their time spent at school. I wake up every morning when they wake up, and I accompany them in their getting ready for school and eating breakfasts. I keep watch over both their work for the English lessons and for school. I also spend the majority of the evening with them, until they go to bed, and I would check with them again before I myself go to sleep later on. Additionally, I keep a record of their daily behavior, and I have the power to award or punish them accordingly. So, in a nutshell, though I am called a “brother”, I see myself portraying both a brother and a father figure for these children, and as such, I strive each day to provide them with an exceptional model to look up upon.

Though my aspirations are high, I am humbled everyday by my experiences with my children, and ultimately, I know that it is God who reigns as the supreme model for these children to look up upon; God works through me, and put me in place, so that it is his love, and his strength that shine out, rather than the inadequacies of man kind.

Deuteronomy 11:19 says, “You shall teach God’s word to your children…when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up”. Though at this point I am unable to literally teach God’s word to the children per se, because of the censorship here in China, I believe firmly that God is working through me in many indescribable ways, to sway the children’s hearts towards his truth. I am grateful to God for blessing me with this incredible opportunity, and also to all of you, who as my brother and sisters in Christ have demonstrated so much love and support for me along this journey. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I also ask that you will continue to show your support by praying for me, for every prayer has a place in God’s tremendous work here at the Guangxi Children’s Village. May God be with you, and I look forward to our next conversation.

In Christ’s Love,

Kwan Hin Christopher Chan

10/20/2009