WE'RE
CHINA BOUND!
Dear Family & Friends,
We believe
one person can make a difference in the world. We believe it is the main
purpose for one's existence. It can take place through a variety ways:
politics, literature, media, education, business, financial
contributions, giving of time, helping someone, & so many other
ways. In our effort to make a difference in the world, we have gone
through various types of preparation over the last five years & recently
pursued education positions overseas. We are deeply pleased to announce that we
have been accepted as teachers in Yanji, China! This means so much
to us & we want all of you to celebrate with us over this special
opportunity! Dozier will be teaching as a volunteer in the Conversational
English Department at YUST (Yanbian University of Science & Technology). Michaella
will be teaching 5th & 6th Grade at YIA (Yanbian
International Academy) with a stipend for each class she teaches. By teaching
in Yanji we will make a difference through education, obtain multifaceted
experience, become more globally focused, better understand different
ethnics & cultures, & make our family & friends proud! We believe
contributing to the world is our duty to our fellow man & deeply pleases
God.
Yanji
is located in the far northeastern part of China & is the capital of
Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture. The city is about 30 miles from
the North Korean border & a few hours from the Russian border. It is
embraced by mountains as it sits at the foot of Chaingbai Mountain. Nearly
half of the city's 400k population are ethnic Koreans. The city
mainly speaks Mandarin Chinese & Korean (fortunately this will not be a
problem for us in our schools because we will be teaching in English). The cost
of living is very low so that this will be financially easier for us. The city has some western style foods like
Italian restaurants with pizza & even a few KFCs. We will mostly be using the low cost
cafeteria at our schools, running about $1.25 USD per meal. It is open every
day & will provide us with a very convenient way of survival. We will be
living in a faculty dorm that is a 10-15 minute walk to our schools. Other
transportation needs will not be a problem due to the many affordable bus
routes. Concerning the weather, Yanji has four distinct seasons. The
temperature peaks around 85F during Summer but reaches -5F during the very
windy Winter, giving it a yearly average of about 35-40F.
There
is much about the religious/spiritual condition of the city that we have yet to
discover. There are both Protestant & Catholic churches in Yanji in the
native languages of Mandarin & Korean. There is also an English speaking
gathering at YIA—we hope to attend services in each language as often as
possible.
We
believe our classrooms will provide one of the many windows into the lives of
the people of Yanji. We see our classrooms as missionfields that
will provide multiple unique opportunities for the betterment of people's
lives. We feel so blessed to have this before us! We foresee ourselves being in
Yanji for one to two years. After this time, we will prayerfully & wisely
reassess our goals & opportunities to make a well-informed decision,
probably applying for teaching positions within ISC (International Schools of
China) or ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International).
We ask
you to deliberately consider symbolically joining us in Yanji in
two ways: (1) generously pray for us & the city of Yanji &/or (2)
prayerfully give a small one-time financial gift. We are so thankful &
blessed for you being in our lives & sharing in this experience with
us! Your blessing, support, & excitement in this means so much to us!
We want to make a difference in the world just like you have made a
difference in our lives! So do not stop but continue to "shine like lights
in the world" (Philippians 2:15).
Praising God Forever,
Dozier & Michaella Lee
Financial
gifts are accepted through the YUST PUST foundation in two ways
(in the appropriate line write "Dozier Lee at YUST" or
"Michaella Lee at YIA”):
2.
Mail:
YUST PUST Foundation, P.O. Box 336, Winnetka,
IL 60093 Phone# (312)
805-8646.
No comments:
Post a Comment