My kids are awesome. Not perfect, but then again, neither is their mother! Nick, Ben, Abbi, and Jacob have been amazing during this transition period. It is very obvious that God was preparing all of us for this move long before we stepped off the airplane.
One of the hardest aspects for several of my children was adjusting to a different academic community and its expectations. Education is the highest priority in the Chinese community. Anything less than an A is failure and the way to achieve the highest is to study and study and study. That's it. Homework and extra classes outside of school consume their lives. In high school, all sports cease. Morrison's sports teams mostly play the local colleges because there are very few high schools with a sport program.
This was difficult for my children who were use to being at the top of their class with minimal sweat and guts. For the first time, they were being academically challenged. Tears were shed. Teeth were gnashed, but they prevailed. I am proud of their effort, determination, and dedication and their first quarter grades made their parents proud!
So besides studying, how else have Nick, Ben, Abbi, and Jacob spent their free time?
Nick, despite this being his last year of high school, has found several ways to invest his time. Losing his senior year of football was hard, but lifting has helped dull the sharpness of the loss. The school has a very nice weight room and an after-school lifting program. He still looks like a football player, and continues to get stronger and stronger!
The recent volleyball and soccer seasons were profitable for Nick. As a student of the sports management class, he was eligible to work several games as an assistant. This has helped finance his multiple trips to the movies, night market, and tea shops.
Another class that is providing hands-on experience is the computer web design class. Every week, Nick is responsible to update the high school website. I love getting on and seeing what he has done. The teacher is impressed with Nick and has asked him to sign up for the class again next semester and serve as a student editor. Check it out at www.mca.org.tw !
As for next year.... Nick is still praying, thinking, deciding.. There is a college that recently sent a representative to Morrison's college fair. As Nick put it, she was a good salesman. Decisions need to be made soon so please pray that Nick will seek God's heart and will know, without a doubt, God's will in this area.
I would put on a picture of Nick but, unfortunately, I don't have any. He prefers to be behind the scene and not the focus of it! He tends to disappear when the camera comes out!
Coming soon..... updates on Ben, Abbi, and Jacob.
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