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.