Sarah came to China with a willing heart and a sweet jump shot.

She knew the first was a key to teaching; she wasn’t sure the latter would ever come into play.

She was thrilled to learn she could combine them by starting an English corner for women’s basketball. English corners are teacher-led groups of students that can discus everything from idioms to cultural difference to how to make a layup.

[editor’s note: On May 12, 2008, China—the land and the people—experienced a tremendous earthquake. The physical impact centered in Sichuan Province many hundreds of miles from the university. While the students and teachers felt only mild tremblers in their classrooms, their hearts were deeply impacted. The following story is the observation of one of our English teachers.]

Faces, they’re what stand out in China.

Babies with round, chubby cheeks; children with dirt smudges and missing teeth. Faces, not at all the same. Students with eyes full of wonder; the elderly with well-tanned wrinkles. Faces, all of them beautiful.

At 2:28 p.m. on May 12, there was something new in their faces: fear.

After months of training, Lyndi and Drew were prepared to take on the inaugural ZhengBian Marathon from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng in China's Henan Province.