THIS IS WHAT I WAS MADE FOR!!!

I just returned from my fifth trip to China. Words like thrilling, fruitful and exhausting come to mind. You can’t help but fall in love with such kind and hospitable people. I really do think I was made for this. As a young believer I often prayed I would be a part of a movement of God. Well, I’m over sixty, but I think I have my long awaited answer to prayer. I just sent out prayer letters, but I wanted to give a little more detail. By the way, if you would like a prayer letter, email me and I’ll put you on the list. Your prayers are the key to the success of this last trip and will be the key to the success of future trips.

I was out almost 60 nights in a row. I had appointments day and night all over Beijing, traveling by taxi, bus or subway. All together I met regularly with 13 people or groups, involving 9 different studies - not bad for an old blind guy! In the tradition of David Letterman (without the humor) I wanted to give you my own top ten events. I did change some of the names to protect the innocent – HA! Really though.

10. Flower

Flower - a young new believer

The first Sunday I taught at Feng Tai Church a young woman and recent college graduate came up and told me she was a Buddhist, but was interested in the Bible. She was only in Beijing for a few days so we set up a time to meet and talk more the next day. I shared with her the gospel and, incredibly she was ready and placed her faith in Christ. We did a follow-up study, but all to quickly she had to return to her hometown and start her new job. I’m hoping to visit her in February and help her find a church. Fortunately, I do have some contacts in that city. Pray she will continue her walk with God and find a church family.

9. Larry

Larry

Joy - Joy

Larry was a student in my class at Feng Tai and a graduate student. He is bold about sharing his faith. He explained to me that he had to be careful for they could and, probably would, expel him if they found out. In the picture above is Joy-Joy. She is one of several seekers that Larry brought to church with him.

8. Timothy and Lily

These people are some of my heroes. They crowd 15 students from all over China into their apartment to train them to serve God and then send them back to serve. Like saints of old, they walk by faith in amazing ways. He preaches in three churches each week. They both translate key theological works from English to Chinese. They make huge sacrifices to make this happen. Later I want to post both of their stories on this blog. They both hunger for more theological training and I gave Dallas Theological Seminary a push and told them they could live with my wife and me while they attended. Pray for God to provide their needs and use them mightily.

7. Feng Tai – Song of Solomon – one testimony

Men in small groups

Women in small groups

With some fear and trembling I taught the Song of Solomon at the Feng Tai Church. I learned that Chinese couples don’t talk about sex publicly or privately. I actually didn't realize this before. I did know this book laid out principles for a healthy marriage and that marriages in China are hurting badly. Anyway, the last night a woman in her late 30s asked if she could share with the class how God had used this study in her marriage. She is an executive with over a 100 people answering to her. She is successful in business, but not in her home. She explained that she had been embittered towards her husband for years and her husband towards her. She had told him that she wasn’t having sex with him and if he wanted sex to find another woman for that. During the class, at some point, she decided to give it a try. She went home and told her husband he was handsome and had nice eyes. Each week she would apply the lessons to her marriage. Finally, she sat her husband down and told him it was his turn to compliment her body. He made a joke about her being heavy so he couldn’t (he was a little more direct). She didn’t let up. She pressed the issue and he complied. Over the next few weeks she said it went from an assignment to something that came from the heart. Their relationship was restored and one day she was in tears about not having a child. Her husband comforted her (very unusual for him – I think the first time) and told her they were old, but maybe they could still have a child. Her husband is not a Christian and often asked her why she wasted time going to church. Now, he sits in the car outside the church and waits for her and asks her what she learned today!

6. Sarah and her husband

I just love Sarah. She leads the Chinese staff. In the Chinese staff Bible Study we are investigating the Life of Christ. Sarah still can’t bring herself to believe the miracles of Christ. One day she told me she was planning on leaving her husband because her in-laws were running their lives and she was so unhappy. With a friend of mine translating, Sarah, her husband, our translator and I met over dinner. Her husband is a kind, gentle man caught between his mother and his wife. I got to use some counseling skills to help them work through the problem. When I was traveling back home I got a text from her saying, “Thank you. We are happier tonight.” Keep praying for Sarah – her salvation, her marriage, and her pressure filled job.

5. Allen and Linda

Linda, doctoral student

Allen, also a doctoral student and an old friend

Allen is working on his doctorate in rural development. For several months we’ve done various studies together. This time we focused on the life of Christ. One night I went to his campus, met his colleagues and had dinner with him and another student whose English name is Linda. I was trying to be careful for fear of getting Allen in trouble. At one point Linda said she was having trouble with her thesis statement for her dissertation. I told her I would pray for her. With great excitement she thanked me. I decided that was enough for tonight. Then Allen, who is not a Christian yet, says, “Doc prays before he eats. Is that okay?” Linda said it was okay and so I asked God to bless our food and time. Now I was sure I had said enough for one night. However, a few minutes later, Allen turns to me and says, “Don’t you think you should tell her about God?” Somewhat taken off guard I replied, “Sure.” I then shared the gospel with Linda. She seemed very interested. I gave her a Bible I had brought for Allen. I’m hoping we get to meet again on future visits. Keep praying for Linda and Allen.

4. Jessie

Jessie is from a strong Buddhist family. We do a Skype Bible study weekly even when I’m in the USA. It usually last about 2 hours. She is such a good student. She lives in Hangzhou, another city so we still have to study by Skype (internet). At her request we are going through the book of Romans. One night she prayed, “God if you are real show yourself to me and to my mother and grandmother.” I’m waiting for God to break through to this sweet, kind woman. Pray God will open her eyes and give her the strength to walk with God even if all alone. While I was in China we covered Romans 4. I told her, “Jessie this is where you are in your relationship with God right now.” She said she went over it three times. She understands faith, now we just need to ask God to put some of that faith in her heart.

3. Karen

Amazing growth in a short time

My friend May, who is an atheist, introduced me to several of her friends. One of them is Karen. They used to work together and remain good friends. I want to share with you several unedited excerpts from her emails. I briefly shared the gospel with her one night. Then she emailed me the following:

“Im Karen . This is my email . Its my pleasure to talked with you tonight and im interested in ur lessons . i really want to know more about the god. in fact my englis is not deep , but i think its easier to understand u by this way . so could u tell me sth. u want to talk about here?”

I then emailed her a four-page explanation of the gospel with stories to illustrate the points and all. I tried to make it as simple as possible, but complete enough that her first exposure to the gospel would be clear. She wrote back:

“Thank you very much for send me this long article . yes, i spend a lot of time to read it . fortunately , i can understand all of these. In my opinion , i certainly think god is the greatest , of course i need his love , i need his help and his forgiveness . sometimes . i really feel insecure . but im not a christian . so i can not have God's help .

So , tell me what should i do ? and how ? please ...”

We met for dinner and through my friend May I shared the same thing again. I used exactly the same stories and tried to keep it simple and clear. At the end I asked her if she would like to pray. She said, “Yes.” When we finished May kept asking things like, “Are you a Christian now Karen? How could you be a Christian so soon? Why is it so hard for me? How could you do it so easily?”

Later that night Karen emailed me the following:

“lol....im very happy … i will have the god's love and the god's help . i think its one of the most important things in my life...so , thank u very much for lead me into here..Doc”

During our first follow-up study, I asked, “if you were to die today and stand before God and He asked you, ‘Why should I allow you into my heaven what would you say?’” Karen said, “I’d say that I’m your daughter.”

Since then she has told me that her mother is interested in becoming a Christian. I told her that maybe I could send the email message with the gospel to her mother. She said, “I’ve already shared it with my mother.” I said, “Maybe we could go over the first study we did.” She said, “I’ve already gone over it with her.” She said her mother wants to become a Christian, but since she doesn’t know anything about it maybe she should learn more first. Things like this make it hard to leave. Pray for Karen and her mom.

2. Han Han

Perhaps the most amazing event in my time in Beijing was meeting Han Han. I was doing a follow-up study with Ben, a new Christian and Han Han walked up to the table. At first I thought they were kicking us out of the restaurant for doing a Bible study there. That wasn’t it. She wanted to join us. We were finishing up a study on dealing with sin and I asked Ben if there was any sin he needed to confess. Han Han jumped in and said, “Yes, my two sins are money and sex.” She told us how she had become a Christian at six through the influence of her grandmother. However, she was not walking with God now. She explained that she had graduated from the most influential music school in Beijing and had joined the army as an opera style singer. She travels all over China performing. She said she wanted to return to God. I told her that it might mean she would not be rich. She said in broken English, “Okay. God my treasure.” Then she prayed to God in Chinese. It was so beautiful. All the way home I kept saying, “Oh my gosh!” Then I would think about something else and then remember what happened and say again, “Oh my gosh!” It was one of the most amazing moments of my trip. Han Han is still struggling so please remember her in your prayers. For her safety I don’t want to include her picture or real name.

1. Ben

I met Ben at Feng Tai Church. Ben is a successful 39-year-old businessman. We had several lunches where we talked about God and the part He wanted to play in his life. I felt like he was getting closer and closer. After the Song of Solomon class I teach at Feng Tai, I take 5 to 10 students out to dinner to get to know them personally. This night May (mentioned earlier) was sharing how difficult it was for her to believe. She explained to the group that she had been raised in a school system that taught atheism as the only explanation for life. Ben kept saying, “I understand. I used to believe the same thing.” This happened two or three times and then the next week at lunch I asked him if he was ready to place his faith in Christ. Without hesitating he said, “Yes.” We prayed together and over the next few weeks I saw Ben’s life change. It was awesome. I’m hoping we can finish our follow-up study by Skype and then pick up where we left off when I return in February. Ben is a leader and I would love to see God grip his heart.

I know this is a lot, but believe it or not there is a lot more! For those of you who have been praying for me, I hope this gives you a taste of the fruit that came from your prayers. Please keep praying for future trips.

Pray the door stays open.

Pray for wisdom in the use of my time while in China.

Pray for opportunities for the gospel.

Pray for making disciples.

Pray for energy.

Pray for wisdom on language school next year.

I so appreciate your prayers and support. I want to ask you to pray for these people. Some of them have not yet made decisions and some are new babes in Christ.

September 2010 Update

Busy schedule

I got home in early August and will be here until early October. Then I’ll be in China until early December. My time in China was wonderful. It was made even better because Janelle came for ten days. We’re hoping someday to go together – a much better idea! She loved the Chinese people and they loved her. In addition, I had the opportunity to teach in a church on a regular basis, to lead Chinese staff Bible studies and to do some short-term discipleship with some of the facilitators. I even got to visit a home church and plan to teach the Song of Solomon to that group when I return.

Janelle and Doc on the Great Wall - China!

While I’ve been in the States I’ve had to do some serious catch up work, but God has opened up some ministry opportunities too. I spoke twice at the University of Arkansas Cru. They started the year with almost 500 students at their weekly meetings! There was standing room only. God is doing some amazing things at U of A. I’m also teaching Old Testament Principles at LeTourneau University in Dallas so I had fly back and forth. I’m also hoping to teach a facility Bible Study at NTSU before I leave.

Even in America, I do quite a bit of ministry to China via emails and skype. Let me share with you some unedited excerpts:

My friend Jennifer lives in northern China. She’s a believer, but there are no churches in her city. I’m hoping to take a friend who speaks both Chinese and English and travel up to her city and help her find a church. This is what she said (unedited):

“I was very happy talking with you.I am ashamed that I do not often read Bable. … I hope one day you ,Vivian and me get together I can talk with you well.

I am excitting that you really want to come to me hometown.I can show you around the city ,but it is a small city.I can cook delicious food for you.I want to find people to see if you can give a talk to high school students.I think it is helpful for students. … you are really like a father,and a kind of father.”

That would be cool to speak in a Chinese High School!

Also, my good friend June (not her real name) delivered a Bible to a lady we met the last Sunday I was in Beijing. Our friend, Lucy, came to church for the first time and she had never been to church, never owned or read a Bible so I bought one for her in hopes I would be able to get it to her.

Two of my favorite students at Fengtai Church

June wrote me, “I met Lucy and gave her the Bible last Sunday afternoon. She's very happy and joined the Bible study with us after the worship. …

Thank you very much for offering to help me with my spiritual growth.

I'm thinking about "honesty", I treasure it, but it's hard to be honest all the time.

Sometime, it seems I "have to" lie. Hope to find some guidance on the Bible...”

Another time, she wrote:

“Your email is always encouraging! Thank you very much for trying to help again! … It takes courage to let my friends know I'm "lost", I don't feel comfortable to let many more people know that.

I enjoy being with most Christian friends, though sometime I have pressure to let them know I'm still "not sure".

Some friends asked: Then why you are here and so active? Why it takes so long time for you? What are you thinking about? ...

It's okay to be questioned, I'd like to think more carefully and answer them...

I stayed with Jessie and her new husband, Kinson, when I traveled to Hangzhou. Jessie is also a seeker, and asks many good questions. We are planning to restart our study on Romans soon.

Kinson and Jessie - having a baby soon!

She says, “I just be puzzled with one thing. I don't know if you know this. Chinese people believe in some mystery. Kinson and i were born in the year of rooster , and the baby we have next year will be in the year of rabbit. It is said the rooster and the rabbit will not get on well and the baby will not be healthy. If the baby could be born in the year of dragon, which will be in 2012, then will be perfect. You know i don't think it be a big problem, but people say this to you over and over and it will affect me too.

Allen is a doctoral student and a seeker. I sent Allen a newsletter from a friend of mine at NTSU who works with facility. I was sharing with him that in the USA we have a number of Christian who are strong intellectuals and strong in their faith. This was his response:

Allen - one intelligent seeker!

“ I have read the newsletter. I definitely agree with your point that those Christian professors play an important role in preserving and encouraging American values among intellectuals. Those professors are serious and sincere. From the newsletter and according to my experience with you, I can identify such attitudes. On the other hand, it is a pity that in our country many professors have lost their social conscience, and most of them only concern their own interests, fame or wealth. … So sometimes I feel that I am at sea: what is the root cause of these problems in China; to where the county will go. However, no one can give me the definite answers.

… So, one has to address some questions by himself before being a Christian: one, how to clear away what he has been taught form very young in a scientific perspective that the world is established and evolves by itself, which may conflict with the Christian philosophy; two, how to balance the role as a responsible citizen and the role as a Christian, because to be a Christian, one should love everybody, but to be a responsible citizen, one must criticize and even hate someone who does damage to the society. Indeed, now I am in such a dilemma.

I hope what I said would not offend you … In addition, to understand more about Christian, I think it is necessary to read Bible.

I meet Law mine when I visited Guizhou. He is about to graduate from high school. His teacher Vivian became a Christian last summer. When I was in her city she allowed me to meet with some of her English students.

Vivian's English Class - Law mine is beside me

Law mine wrote, "I am so happy to receive your emain again.I am so excited that you don't forget me. … Your suggestions are valuable and I will try to read about Jesus Christ and the Bible.I think I should have one so that I can read it all the time.As you know,Many people in my country believe in Buddhism but I am interested in Christianity.I have read the book about the origin of Christianity..I believe I can benefit from it.I always believe "God bless me"

I want to get into a key university in order that I can have a bright future.My dream is to be a doctor and I will work hard for it all the time … When I am not busy and I will read the Bible and I will ask you some questions about it.”

I emailed Law mine the story of the Prodigal son from Luke 15. I ask for his thoughts. I explained it was about a very difficult, but important idea called “grace.” I wanted to know what he thought.

“I am impressed by the sentence"24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found".The father was pleased with his son because his son found his way to true life.The father forgot what his son had done and treated him as usual.Sir,the father is god,is he?I think I know what the "grace"is.I think we should admit we are wrong if we do someting wrong.And if we do something to remedy it,we can be forgived by god and people who love us. That is all.

I’d appreciate your prayers and support as I head back to Beijing, China. It’s always an adventure, because I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be doing. For a structured guy that’s always a challenge, but the truth is it always is much better than could have dreamed. Thanks for your partnership.

doc

CHINA - SUMMER 2010

JULY 2010 UPDATE FROM CHINA

I made it to China. I’ve been here almost three week. I’ve finished some training for our teaching at Peking University and now we are teaching over 650 Chinese English teachers from all over China.

To start with my entire trip took about 30 hours from the time I left home until the time I got to my first destination. It was grueling, but wait until I tell you what’s happened.

Kinson,Jessie, Doc, Steamship

My first stop was Hangzhou. I went there to meet my good friend Jessie and her new husband, Kinson. They graciously welcomed me into their home. Neither Jessie nor Kinson is a Christian, but both are open and, Jessie, especially, tells me she is seeking the truth. She asks tough, intelligent questions. I need prayer to know how to answer them well.

I was only there two days, but spent one whole day with Jessie and a former student, Melody. The entire day we saw God guide and direct in amazing ways. It wasn’t lost on Jessie. On the bus ride to meet Melody’s parents for dinner we had a deep and significant conversation. She shared with me some of her reservations and we had a frank discussion. She’s so honest.

Dinner was a banquet with Melody’s parents who are both pastors. During dinner we talked about the possibility of returning to Hangzhou and teaching an English Bible Study. That would be so cool! Jessie wants me to return which makes me feel good, but surprised me by saying she’d pray about it. I asked her, “Jessie, you don’t believe in God. Why do you want to pray about this?”

She said, “I think prayer is a good thing and I think I will be a Christian soon.” Keep praying for Jessie and Kinson as they begin their marriage and about the possibility of returning to Hangzhou. A few days ago I got a call from Jessie and she’s expecting! She’s worried about the health of the baby so we prayed together over the phone.

Wei Wei (Vivian) and me during a break at our mini-conference

Wei Wei's cousins, nieces, nephews and friends - just one of the banquets

The next stop was Guiyong. This city is in southwest China and there are not many English speaking people there. I was nervous flying by myself. When we landed I got off the plane and started to the baggage claim. I began to think that something was wrong. There weren’t many others going with me and even though we had left an hour and half late we were 10 minutes early. I decided to hunt down someone who spoke English and figure out if I was in the right place. To make a long story short I wasn’t at the right place, but fortunately didn’t miss re-boarding.

My friend, Wei Wei, picked me up with two of her friends. Wei Wei (Vivian) became a Christian last summer. She doesn’t have any other Christians in her family and only one protestant church in her town and they literally don’t teach the Bible, but simply read it a little each Sunday. It’s a tough situation. We had a mini Bible Conference and studied an hour or two each day and then she went home and did the homework I’d assigned. She ‘s applying to Dallas Theological Seminary’s for on line courses in Chinese. She has a dream of starting a church in her own town.

I wanted to share what a surprise the city of Anshun was. I knew it was poor and so I just hoped they had a Western style toilet and no leaks in the roof. When I arrived one of Vivian’s friends booked me into a five-star hotel. Another friend made a driver available to me whenever I wanted it. A few other friends paid for trips to the biggest waterfall in China and to an ancient Ming Dynasty city that is locked in time. The curator of a museum gave us a private tour. One other amazing thing was their hospitality. Vivian’s whole family took me to dinner (a banquet) each and every night. One night I counted over 30 dishes on the lazy Susan. They bombarded me with gifts so much that my luggage was overweight on my return trip. It made me think that Wei Wei is perfectly networked in her hometown so that she could make a significant difference spiritually.

In Beijing, I’m acting as a chaplain. I lead two Chinese staff studies a week, two Bible studies a day for facilitators (only once a week once we get started), and I teach a study at the Fengtai Church. I also meet one on one with both Chinese and American teachers. It is an amazing time. I have reconnected with some old friends who are asking questions about God like Allen (working on his doctorate), May (who works with legally blind children) and Echo (who is just starting her university studies). I also encouraged several to take the DTS on line courses in Chinese and then live with Janelle and me when they finish their studies – ha! We may have a full house.

Small groups discussing the Bible study

Pastor Timmy, Laura and Walter discussing the study

I did want to share with you some of the questions my students ask who are attending my class at Fengtai Church. I asked them, “If you could ask God one question, what would you ask.” The following are my top ten favorite questions.

10. Jane – What is the qualification to go to heaven?

9. Eric – How can God change my heart?

8. Cedar – I have Christian family, but others are Buddhist. How shall we deal with each other?

7. Mary – how to improve your English

6. Cindy – It is possible to believe in one person forever?

5. Sophia – When my Father will be saved?

4. Yen – Jewish, Muslim, Christian – which is right?

Johnny - one of the key leaders at Fengtai Church - great guy!

3. Johnny – The more I understand (the Bible), the more I see self, I don’t feel adequate. I feel I shouldn’t teach.

2. Cathy – former Muslim – is it sin to not be Muslim and be Christian?

1. Lucy – Where are you? Where will we go (after we die)?

Janelle will arrive Sunday and I’m really excited that she’ll be here and pray she will have a wonderful time here. I'll keep you posted. Please pray.

I'M HOME!!!

One of Doc's classes at Fengtai Church

At Fengtai Church I’m helping train leaders for the start of an English speaking service that will start in less than two weeks. They are in a growing international part of Beijing. They are great students.

It is so good to get home to Janelle and, in the near future, to my daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren – number 8 is due later this month. I wanted to give you an update that I hope conveys how wonderfully overwhelming this trip to China has been. I feel like an incredibly small, inadequate cog in a huge and very different nation, but I praise God I get to do what I do and, in no small measure, it’s because of your partnership.

Let me introduce you to some of my new friends. Hopefully, this will motivate you to pray for them.

This is Peak. I mentioned him before. Whenever I would see Peak he would run up to me and bury his head in my chest and say, "How are you friend?" You have to love him. He continues to read the Bible. It was Peak who helped me learn some Chinese while I was in Beijing. Understand that my Chinese is on the level of an 8 month old. I do have aspirations of getting my Chinese to the level of a 2 year old some day.

Left to right: Annabelle - Doc - May

First, let me introduce you to May. Oh, my, I love her. She is such an open, honest soul. Her company helps legally blind children. She's so kind. I wanted you to read a few excerpts from her emails. We continue to email back and forth and she is going to attempt to get my Chinese to the 2 year-old level.

I do enjoy your class, but I'm afraid I'm not qualified to be a student in that class. I'm still a "seeker", a "lost sheep", even not sure if there is God or not in the world. But I like going to church and enjoy the Christian songs and inspiring preaching... Some friends suggested me to talk to you, but I don't want to make you feel disappointed, because I'm quite "stubborn".

A few days later …

It's great to have your encouragement to keep on seeking the answers. Sometime I feel my mind is too limited, maybe hard to find out the truth till the end of life …

Just before our final meeting …

Thank you for kindly offering to share your understanding of God with me. It will be very lucky if the "lost sheep" can be leaded by a good "shepherd".

Pray for May as she seeks to know the truth about God.

On the far left in the picture above is Annabel. I usually call her Anna. She’s a believer and has an incredible heart for God. Let me share with you a few excerpts from her emails.

I'm Annabel, your student on last sunday afternoon. Hope you still remember me :)

To be frank, I was a hearer before. I tried to find myself thousands of hundurds of excuses such as I was so busy, I was under a huge pressure, it's too long from church to my home and so forth. I was sinful, I confess.

So, please doc, help me! I can't be a hearer any more, I need to do something, and I keen to do something! I could speak flurent English, I can play piano, I have two strong hands, I have a heart filled with love and eager to share.

Anna is planning on taking some Chinese courses from Dallas Theological Seminary. It cost around $450 to $500 an hour, but they give scholarships to Chinese nationals. I don’t know exactly how, but I’m confident God will enable her to go to seminary. Pray for Annabelle to continue to grow.

Han - Doc - Cathy

This is Han and Cathy. Cathy is my friend and often my guide as I travel through China. She told me there was a man whom she thought wanted to marry her, but he wasn’t a Christian. I warned her over and over and over to not marry a non-Christian but wait for God to provide someone. She asked if I could meet him and maybe talk to him. She accompanied me to the airport for my trip home and asked Han if he wanted to come. In the taxi, she prodded me, “Do you think this would be a good time to share the gospel with Han?” Han was in the backseat with Cathy and I was in the front seat with the driver. I said, “I guess so.” Then I started sharing the gospel over my shoulder. He had only been to church once in his life – and that was with Cathy. He didn’t own and had never read the Bible. We arrived at the airport just as I asked him if he would like to place his faith in Christ. He said, “Yes.” I got my boarding pass, then we went to a coffee shop and I started all over again. Cathy gave him her Bible as a gift and so I looked at the verses in his first and only Bible. He told me he didn’t have any peace in his heart and felt empty. He wanted to trust Christ. I asked him if he had ever prayed? He said, “No.” I tried to explain prayer – I know it sounds simple, but it’s not. Then we prayed together. It was incredible! Pray for Han to continue to walk with God as well as for his relationship with Cathy.

I don’t have a picture of Jennifer because it all happened so fast. I was in a church in the Haidien district one Sunday and afterwards a woman comes up to talk to me. She has broken English, but I learn she is a successful engineer who designs water plants. She is in Beijing to learn English. She told me she hadn’t been to church much, but this morning her heart was moved. I asked her if she had a Bible and she said no, so I bought her a Chinese – English Bible and “The Purpose Driven Life” in Chinese. She was so excited. I’m trying to help her via email. I wanted to share a few excerpts from her email with you as well.

I believe that God exists in the world.

Thank you for your prays to the God for me.After I felt my heart was the baptism .I felt very happy and peace. I appreciat that yo give me the Holy Beble .when I get to home I start to read it . Even if it is strange and difficult for me. I will keep going to read it. I feel It will be the joy of my life.

Later …

my sincere and God`s blessing let me met you.This will be the spiritual wealth of my life.I miss you.Yes,we will must continue to be good friends and grow in our friendship with each other and our friendship with God.

I talked by Skype with Jennifer this week. She was so excited. She told me she was reading her Bible when I called. As I was about to hang up I asked her if I could pray for her. She said, “Pray?” I explained what prayer was and then she said, “Okay, you pray.” She had never prayed before so I said, “When I pray I usually close my eyes. She said, “Okay.” I prayed for her and then said, “Amen.” Then I said, “Jennifer, it has been so good talking to you again. Thank you for letting me pray for you.” She said, “Okay. Can I open my eyes now?” She is so sweet and open to knowing the Lord. She has a tough road. She has no church in her hometown of 400,000. Pray for her to find a few other believers. Later, she sent me an email and told me a little about her life:

Thank you very very much for calling me across the ocean shore in the distant and pray for me.Although we are far apart, but I can feel your staedfast love as God.

I am a government official,a water engineer.I m 44 years old.but I was 11years old ,my mother died.In 1988 II graduated from Changchun Institute of Water.At that time.I was a top student,a secretary of Communist Youth League branch.And then I worked for local Water Conservancy Bureau until now.

This is just a small sampling of the people and opportunities I encountered. I didn’t want to overwhelm you so I limited my sharing to these few. I plan to return in June. Pray for me. I’m probably a little to open in my emails and phone calls when in China. I’m going to try to be a little more careful next trip, but here I can just open up and share. I love our freedom. Thanks so much for your partnership. doc