Sheila Sims Iding
On this Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Tim will take his big Chinese Language test. Officially it is called the HSK 5 test. Unofficially it is just called grueling. Fr. Brian and Maryknoll have given Tim the opportunity to take 4 college classes a term and work with a tutor to learn this language. He has to learn the language so he can do his mission. It’s a process. He has worked at it for two years. Fr. Brian has worked at for many more years and admits that he still struggles with learning this language.
The big plan is to learn the language well enough to teach theology in the seminary. He teaches English there now but that is not the true mission. To teach theology in China he has to pass the HSK exams then learn the church language. It's a process. But first…passing HSK 5…on this Sunday afternoon in China.
This morning I skyped with Tim to give him a study break and to check on his mental well-being. He looked great and was in the middle of writing 30 more characters…then 30 more…then 30 more. I asked him to walk me through the test and here are the specifics:
Arrive almost an hour early...just to be sure…with passport and test ticket in hand. (They are already by the door.)
There are three 45-minute sections of the test.
Listening: Using headphones you listen to a CD and answer questions for 45 minutes. Then you get a 5-minute break. You can’t leave the room or talk to anyone but you can breathe (and pray).
Reading: This section consists of grammar and correcting the sentences. THEN reading paragraphs of Chinese and answering questions. Reading Chinese is laborious and slow. Writing the answers in characters even more so. The 45 minutes sped by too fast the last time he took the test. He’s hoping the intense studying buys him some time. After this section his 5-minute break will be spent exhaling (and praying).
Writing: This is the grueling part. You are given 4 words of the 2,505 you studied and you have to write a paragraph using those words. Then you are given a picture and you have to write a story about the picture. Last time it was a picture of a teacher comforting a student taking a test. He didn’t have the word for comfort so he didn’t pass this part. A practice test had a picture of someone running and he aced that. You have to have the words in your vocabulary that go with the picture. That is where the prayer becomes more powerful. A lot hinges on this one picture. When he gets the test he will immediately turn to the picture in section three. By 1:35 he will have a good idea about his chances of success.
By 4:00 he will know if the hundreds of hours of studying have paid off. He will know if the investment Fr. Brian and Maryknoll made in him is paid back. He will know if the money he used from a missionary’s salary for tutoring fees will be enough. He will know if the social sacrifices he made of being alone in intense study and even more intense prayer were offered up successfully.
I may have gotten some of the test procedures and sections of the test mixed up. But from our morning skype session this is what I remember. The other thing that I remember is that he said you sit in a classroom but no one can sit by you. The desks around you are empty. My prayer has been that God will sit with him. That St. Thomas Aquinas will guide his student heart and give him wisdom. That his beloved St. Joan of Arc will give him courage…again.
At 1:30 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon, he will begin his test. At the same time, half way around the world at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday night I will continue my prayer. I will picture him and his servant heart being strong and sure and confident. And I will think of those empty desks and pray that God will sit in the chair beside Tim.