I am going to China!

May 12-June 15 2012

1. Working in a coffee business in Kunming
2. Teaching English in Chinese classrooms
3. Completing my ESL practicum
4. Taking Cultural Anthropology

 Thank you for your prayers and your support throughout the years. Many of you have known my family for a long time and have watched me grow up from a princess-playing little girl to an eighteen-year-old college student. I am now studying Elementary Education at Grace University in Omaha, Nebraska. I can hardly believe that I am already almost done with my first semester of university! God has been so faithful! Again and again during this semester, I have experienced the peace that comes from trusting Him. When I trusted God with my tuition, He provided through scholarships, grants, and family members. Similarly, I learned to trust him to provide friendships. I left an amazing community behind me in Niger, but God has surrounded me by another great community in Omaha. I have made several quality friendships at Grace and I am enjoying being so close to my extended family. In addition God has provided me with a job, tutoring at the elementary school across the street from Grace. This is the perfect opportunity for me to learn more about teaching while earning a little extra money. I cannot express how thankful I am for all the ways God has provided for me this semester!

            Perhaps the most exciting blessing God has given me recently is the opportunity to go on a service learning trip to China this summer! I found out about this trip early in the year. I was excited by the idea of teaching English in Chinese classrooms, but wasn’t sure if this year was the right year. I’m still just a freshman, I argued. It would be better if I waited for a few years. I thought that was it, but I couldn’t stop thinking about this trip. Finally I went to talk to one of the leaders of the trip. I asked her if she thought it would be a good idea for me, a freshman, to go. I expected her to tell me to wait until I had more teacher training and experience. On the contrary, she told me that this trip could really strengthen the rest of my education training. Even then I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. I didn’t want to rush into it and I wasn’t sure where the money was going to come from. As I continued to pray about it I felt like God was calling me to trust Him. If He wants me to go to China He will provide. I am going to get more busy as the years went by. Very clearly God revealed to me that this summer was His timing. I just need to trust Him.

            I will leave with the Grace team for China on May 12, 2012. The team will be in China for four weeks. We will be in Beijing for a few days of orientation. Then we will travel to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. We will be helping out in a coffee business and at the Chicago Coffee Company. We will also be teaching English in the surrounding schools. While doing this I will also take a couple classes and complete my ESL practicum.

 My goals for this trip are:

To serve the Chinese people I meet with a self-less servant heart.

To be challenged and forced out of my comfort zone.

To experience the richness of Asian culture.

To get another insight into serving internationally, since I am seriously considering doing this long-term in the future.

             This trip is going to cost $3,500. There are some scholarships and grants provided through the school, but for the rest of the money I must rely on donations from family and friends. I trust that God will provide. He has been faithful thus far in my life, so I have no reason to doubt him now. I would appreciate any support you can give me financially and through prayer. This summer is not going to be easy, but I trust that God will use it in amazing ways!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 Blessings,

 Julie Schmidt

            Any gift you give is tax deductible. Please take a moment to fill out and return the BAM-TAM response card and include it in the return envelope. If you are writing a check, please make it out to Grace University and write my name in the memo line. Checks should be mailed to the address below:

            Grace University

            1311 S. 9th, St.

            Omaha, NE 68108

             You can make credit card donations at the Grace University Web site

            (http://www.graceuniversity.edu). Or, you can call toll free (877-447-2238) to make a credit card donation over the phone. Additionally, if your employer matches charitable contributions, your gift toward my trip will be doubled.

Prayer Requests

Pray for open and receptive hearts in China.

Pray that all my financial support will come in.

Pray that all the details of the trip will work out smoothly.

Pray for unity and good teamwork within team.

Pray for God to give me a humble servant’s heart.

Pray for change in my life and the lives of those I come in contact with through this trip.