China - June 23rd-August 24th
China - June 23rd-August 24th
Introduction
Here I am finally back from a wonderful and amazing summer just filled with the grace of God. I don’t know where to begin sharing the awesome things that God has revealed to me, but this is my attempt at drawing a clearer picture for anyone who wants to know what China missions was all about for me this summer. China is not an open country, and it is in fact against Chinese law for foreigners to go and evangelize there. The government is especially mindful of the youth, whom they do not want any religion to influence. Basically, they would not have been too happy to know that we were sharing the Gospel with their kids. Our cover for doing mission work in China was that we were going there to teach English under a program called X-XXX. We represented volunteer English teachers from America, and we basically taught English in Chinese schools. Just in case anyone was wondering, no those are not the real letters of the organization, but perhaps it would be safer to keep the identity of the program confidential.
China has been very closed off from the rest of the world in the past. In fact, they have done a tremendous job in keeping any outside influence from entering the country. In that sense it is a very tremendous display of the government’s power over the people. Not only did they keep Christianity out, but they also kept all other religions banned. This of course complies with the traditional Communist ideal of the non-existence of God. Still, lately things have been slowly filtering through into the country, as it continues to open up. There exists a state of spiritual y wins the converts. The harvests are plentiful, but the workers are few. At this point in time, most of the people in the cities have heard the name of Jesus Christ, but there are still many misconceptions about His Gospel which are so fundamental to our faith and salvation. So that is why we were there to spread the Word.
Now China has 1/4th of the world’s population. Of that massive amount of people, only about 1% will have the chance to go to a university and continue their education. Those with college level educations will eventually be the big leaders in the future of Chinese society. This is why it is important to reach the students in China. If the Gospel is rooted in them, it will eventually blossom when they have influence and position. That way, more people can be touched, and the leadership can be driven by the love of Christ. That sector of the Chinese society, I firmly believe, if equipped can do great things for the Lord in China. That is also why I believe that this kind of missions program is very fruitful in the summer, and even to bear more fruit as time goes on.
On June 23rd I traveled to LA for a week of training, and then the team was off to China. In order to get over our jet lag and to further our physical conditioning, we traveled to Yanji which is a Korean populated region of China. It was there where we climbed BaekDuSan and dipped below into the clear pool of water. Afterwards in Beijing, we were split up into two teams of 8. My team went to Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province for the first session, and then later we traveled to Panjin, an oil city in Liaoning province. We were even featured on Jiangxi province TV, but that was another wild story. The local press and newspapers also included us. Meanwhile, the other team was doing God’s work in Shanghai and then Beijing. Nanchang is in the Southern region of China, and this was reflected in the extreme humidity and heat we experienced. Literally, I’d just sit there, and the sweat would flow. Panjin by contrast was really cool; I actually wanted to put a sweater on. The accounts that follow are just my thoughts, reflections, and some clips of my diary. I just want to share some of the blessings that God has given me this summer. God did more than I ever could have expected, but that’s probably been a general trend in my life.
Pictures
"The Mountain"
Nanchang
Panjin
Chillin in LA after missions...
If you could, please pray for the students who accepted Jesus into their hearts this summer. Pray for them by name if you can. From my team, please pray for Angel, Edward, Jimmy, Kobe, River, Michael, Karl, Little Robert, and Dennis. Also pray for the Lord to work in the hearts of countless other students we shared with this summer. Thank you.
Shout Outs
** Note - This section will be really boring for anyone who did not accompany me to China this summer. Even for the other half of the team that went to Shanghai, the Nanchang shout out will be utterly boring for you. You will be the "I no caring." Just like "I know caring about shrimp." Well, I care about shrimp, but I don't need a shrimp. See, that didn't make any sense to you right? Proceed with caution...
To the Whole Team
To my Nanchang DAWGS...
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