Thursday, July 12, 2012
What a blessing my time in Kenya has been so far. Funny aside, travel apparently mixes up my ability to tell am from pm as my layover in Doha was 12 hours and not 20 mins. During the layover I read a whole book, took a long nap in the sleep lounge, and made some new friends. Once I Arrived in Kenya, going through customs took about two hours so I was worried my hosts would miss me but was received with happy faces and we took the two and half hour drive to icuga...very small, you probably won't find it on a map. The people were very welcoming and send love and greetings to my friends at lpc. Since it is late at night and I learned a lot during my first several days, this blog update will be several parts. During the car ride, I attempts to learn some swahilli phrases and got to know more about my hosts. They arranged for me to visit and speak with all five churches in the parish during Sunday services and I even did a bit of preaching. One thing that struck me most about the services was their use of music and prayer. I could tell the people really believed their prayers and felt the worship in their music. Like churches in the states at least down south, food was important to welcoming new visitors and attracting people. For now, I will leave this brief but will update more Friday afternoon. Sorry for misspellings as I'm back to using the iPad. Peace and love in Christ
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Update from Malaysia
I had my last meetings today in Malaysia though I am here until early Saturday. Thursday and Friday are free days to explore the islands, maybe see some animals, and enjoy dinner and a movie with STS students...maybe a little more shopping as well along with resting up before the long travel day on Saturday.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Chen, a SIM worker who is working to build a mission training center at STS. This center will be a place for potential mission workers to learn skills such as language, contextualization, as well as debriefing once the worker returns home. Dr. Chen has a real heart for missions and sharing the gospel with everyone. He frequently travels to China and works to train Christian leaders there. He spoke about his years as a pastor and how he strived to inspire members of his congregation to reach out and spread the gospel. His congregation used personal evangelism (friendship evangelism) to spread the gospel. He explained the training program in place to help members of his congregation feel comfortable with sharing the gospel. Dr. Chen stated that as pastors in training, we can learn all the theories on mission there are in the world, but if we don't put those theories into practice, they are worthless. Missions is action, doing something. He explained if you plant a seed and don't water it, it will die. Likewise, if you have mission theories but don't "water" them and put the theories into actions, they are worthless and will die.
This morning, I had the chance to meet with two BCCM pastors. They spoke about the challenges of reaching out and sharing the gospel in urban centers versus rural villages. In villages, prayer and miracles are very important to the spread of the gospel. Whereas, in cities, programs such as the ALPHA program are more effective. They spoke of the importance of follow-up programs. New believers have to know they are loved and cared for through one on one discipleship and mentoring.
This afternoon I went to the local little Italy resturant with Dr. Thu (the president and founder of STS) and Brenda Thu. It was nice to have a time of fellowship with them as they were living in Pittsburgh for several months. I also have to admit, I enjoyed eating the Italian style meal! :) They send their love and greetings to everyone at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, especially those from ESF and others who helped transport them to the airport.
Thursday, if the weather permits, I'll take one of the local water taxis to one of Sabbah's many islands. This is hopefully provide not only an opportunity to relax in the beauty of God's creation, but also to take time to reflect on experiences over the past five weeks. God certainly is opening my eyes to all He is doing in the world. Along the way, I have met so many amazing people who have assisted in my journey and have inspired me by their stories. Friday, I'll take time to prepare for my next long series of plane flights and spend some time fellowshipping with STS students. I think we are going to see the new Spiderman movie. :)
These are just some of my observations and notes from my time spent among pastors and church leaders in Malaysia. *I'm sorry again for any spelling and other errors. I normally type out these blog entries in a hurry, trying to share as much information as possible in between meetings.* Please continue to pray for health and safe travels. I hope to be able to update again soon once arriving in Kenya. Love in Christ.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Chen, a SIM worker who is working to build a mission training center at STS. This center will be a place for potential mission workers to learn skills such as language, contextualization, as well as debriefing once the worker returns home. Dr. Chen has a real heart for missions and sharing the gospel with everyone. He frequently travels to China and works to train Christian leaders there. He spoke about his years as a pastor and how he strived to inspire members of his congregation to reach out and spread the gospel. His congregation used personal evangelism (friendship evangelism) to spread the gospel. He explained the training program in place to help members of his congregation feel comfortable with sharing the gospel. Dr. Chen stated that as pastors in training, we can learn all the theories on mission there are in the world, but if we don't put those theories into practice, they are worthless. Missions is action, doing something. He explained if you plant a seed and don't water it, it will die. Likewise, if you have mission theories but don't "water" them and put the theories into actions, they are worthless and will die.
This morning, I had the chance to meet with two BCCM pastors. They spoke about the challenges of reaching out and sharing the gospel in urban centers versus rural villages. In villages, prayer and miracles are very important to the spread of the gospel. Whereas, in cities, programs such as the ALPHA program are more effective. They spoke of the importance of follow-up programs. New believers have to know they are loved and cared for through one on one discipleship and mentoring.
This afternoon I went to the local little Italy resturant with Dr. Thu (the president and founder of STS) and Brenda Thu. It was nice to have a time of fellowship with them as they were living in Pittsburgh for several months. I also have to admit, I enjoyed eating the Italian style meal! :) They send their love and greetings to everyone at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, especially those from ESF and others who helped transport them to the airport.
Thursday, if the weather permits, I'll take one of the local water taxis to one of Sabbah's many islands. This is hopefully provide not only an opportunity to relax in the beauty of God's creation, but also to take time to reflect on experiences over the past five weeks. God certainly is opening my eyes to all He is doing in the world. Along the way, I have met so many amazing people who have assisted in my journey and have inspired me by their stories. Friday, I'll take time to prepare for my next long series of plane flights and spend some time fellowshipping with STS students. I think we are going to see the new Spiderman movie. :)
These are just some of my observations and notes from my time spent among pastors and church leaders in Malaysia. *I'm sorry again for any spelling and other errors. I normally type out these blog entries in a hurry, trying to share as much information as possible in between meetings.* Please continue to pray for health and safe travels. I hope to be able to update again soon once arriving in Kenya. Love in Christ.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Schedule for first several days in Kenya
Greetings friends! Happy 4th of July to all my U.S friends and family! I will post another update about my experiences in Malaysia before leaving early Saturday. Since I do not think I will have internet access during my first couple days in Kenya, I thought it may be helpful to post a tenative schedule of what I will be doing the first several days of my visit. I will have the chance to visit Icuga Church in Icuga, Kenya (about 60 miles or so outside Nairobi) and spend time with Christians there. Lebanon Presbyterian Church has a partnership with the church there and as LPC was my field education setting, I am graciously able to visit with Christians there and learn more about their church growth and ministry. After flying most of the day Saturday and well into the night, I will arrive in Nairobi, Kenya around 7AM Sunday morning. From there I will be met at the airport by friends from the Icuga church and we will travel to Icuga in time for the morning service. I'll spend the afternoon visiting with various church leaders and members in their homes. The next day, I will have the chance to visit both the schools and meet with teachers and students there. In the afternoon, I will visit more members in their homes. Next, I will have the chance to visit the remaining four churches in the area's parish and meet with their church leaders to learn more about their unique evangelism opportunities. I will also have the chance to visit and meet with leaders from other denominations from around the local area. Wednesday afternoon, we will travel to the mountain lodge and view some wildlife and have a time of fellowship. I'm looking forward to my time spent in Kenya.
Please pray for travels on Saturday...that everything goes smoothly..I make all my connecting flights (one of which is only a 30 min. transit) luggage arrives and safety traveling around Kenya. Please also pray for those who were effected by the violence against the church in Kenya near the borders. Love in Christ.
Please pray for travels on Saturday...that everything goes smoothly..I make all my connecting flights (one of which is only a 30 min. transit) luggage arrives and safety traveling around Kenya. Please also pray for those who were effected by the violence against the church in Kenya near the borders. Love in Christ.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Weekend in Kudat
Hi Friends! :) For those at PTS who had the opportunity to meet Dr. Thu and Ms. Brenda, Dr. Thu spoke very kindly of the hospitality received at PTS..made me a little homesick. :)
Early Friday morning, I travelled back to Kudat only this time I travelled with the intent of meeting with various churches in rural settings. During the four hour car ride of bumpy mountain roads, I had the opportunity to speak with Rev. Daniel, a pastor at a rural church just outside the city of Kudat and enjoy the beautiful scences of mountains and tropical forest in Malaysia. Rev. Daniel spoke more about the issues facing many Christians in Malaysia such as some ways of persecution such as lack of jobs and schooling opportunities. During our car trip we had several stops. The first stop was a bible training center (which works to train not only potential future pastors, but also various lay leaders and those who may be able to help and teach Sunday School) The teachers at the small training center, along with the students, were very welcoming but it was once again encouraging and saddening to listen to some of their stories. One spoke of how they use to be able to use and cross but now since being controlled by the government, they are unable to do so. They spoke about the challenges facing Christians as evangelizing to Muslims is illegal. Some take the risk and try to reach out to Muslims regardless through speaking with them about their beliefs and then opening up the conversation for questions and ideas about Christianity. Some times this is successful, other times it is not..but as one student said, it is still important to plant the seeds even if we don't know the outcome of the harvest. It is also very difficult since when a Christian falls in love with and marries a Muslim he or she is expected to convert to Islam. One student spoke openly about their friends who end up leaving Christianity because they fall in love with a Muslim. They shared evangelism techniques that can help plant seeds such as revivials, inter-religion dialogue, and said it is easier to spread the gospel in villages over cities.
One thing I'm learning quickly about Christianity in Malaysia is there is no real way to track the growth and spread. Since converting to Christianity is a huge crime in Islam culture, many Muslims maintain their status as a Muslim but follow Christ in their hearts. As one pastor stated, they may be a Muslim on paper in the government office, but they are Christians in their hearts. This presents many challenges as some former Muslims are caught in Christian churches.....many move elsewhere to Singapore or neighboring countries. The situation provides unique challenges for evangelism in Malaysia...some are willing to take the risks and switch their documented religion while others do not...in efforts to protect their families, jobs, etc. It is a difficult situation.
Next, we visited a Christian domestic training center for women. Here women are taught basic home skills and trained to make crafts for fair trading companies. The center gives women an opportunity for education and Bible study as well as life skills such as cooking, raising children, etc. A church established the center as a response to the needs of the community.
After walking around a bit to observe a local festival and eating some seafood with Rev. Daniel and his wife, I checked into a hotel. The next morning I was greeted by an English teacher and his daughter to help me speak with more rural churches. The pair provided such great company during the day and I enjoyed the time of fellowship. The first stop was to a church meeting at Rev. Daniel's church. We exchanged questions as the members asked some questions about churches in the US and I asked about ones in their area. One member explained the importance of follow up education as people in their church were converted because the village chief was and they did not actually make a personal decison to follow Christ. In situations like this, he explained the importance of education so these villagers can have a real, personal, relationship with Christ. They spoke about the importance of extending the love of Christ to others in their every day lives and how the village people are able to evangelize well since they enjoy mingling with others and can relate to various peoples (languages, skin colors, etc.) Many spoke about the importance of prayer when trying to show the love of Christ with others. At the next coffee meeting, I met with various church leaders from a local congregation. They spoke about their churches involvement in the local community. The elder explained the importance of youth involvement and how the local youth in the congregation reach out to the community through inviting their friends from school to church and sharing the love of Christ with elders in the community. He explained that within the past year, four families joined the church because one of the youth invited their children to church and they saw their children experience the love of Christ.
At the last meeting, I spoke with various church leaders from the local parish. They shared stories about how they decided to follow Christ. Many of their stories spoke about how with their former religion (animism) they lived in fear...they could not farm, enter homes at certain times..and had many rules to keep in order to avoid evil. If they broke any rules, they would end up becoming very sick. When Christians came to their villages to evangelize, the people observed how they were not keeping all the rules and the evil spirits were not making them sick. People in the village became curiou and spoke with the Christians about Christ. Once they were told about Christ and how He conquered the world, they were at peace from all the evil.
I have several more days here with various meetings and other activities. I will try to update my blog before heading the Kenya as I don't think I'll have internet access the first several days..I'll include a rough schedule of my time in Icuga, Kenya for everyone's information. Thanks for the prayers...keep them coming. :)
Early Friday morning, I travelled back to Kudat only this time I travelled with the intent of meeting with various churches in rural settings. During the four hour car ride of bumpy mountain roads, I had the opportunity to speak with Rev. Daniel, a pastor at a rural church just outside the city of Kudat and enjoy the beautiful scences of mountains and tropical forest in Malaysia. Rev. Daniel spoke more about the issues facing many Christians in Malaysia such as some ways of persecution such as lack of jobs and schooling opportunities. During our car trip we had several stops. The first stop was a bible training center (which works to train not only potential future pastors, but also various lay leaders and those who may be able to help and teach Sunday School) The teachers at the small training center, along with the students, were very welcoming but it was once again encouraging and saddening to listen to some of their stories. One spoke of how they use to be able to use and cross but now since being controlled by the government, they are unable to do so. They spoke about the challenges facing Christians as evangelizing to Muslims is illegal. Some take the risk and try to reach out to Muslims regardless through speaking with them about their beliefs and then opening up the conversation for questions and ideas about Christianity. Some times this is successful, other times it is not..but as one student said, it is still important to plant the seeds even if we don't know the outcome of the harvest. It is also very difficult since when a Christian falls in love with and marries a Muslim he or she is expected to convert to Islam. One student spoke openly about their friends who end up leaving Christianity because they fall in love with a Muslim. They shared evangelism techniques that can help plant seeds such as revivials, inter-religion dialogue, and said it is easier to spread the gospel in villages over cities.
One thing I'm learning quickly about Christianity in Malaysia is there is no real way to track the growth and spread. Since converting to Christianity is a huge crime in Islam culture, many Muslims maintain their status as a Muslim but follow Christ in their hearts. As one pastor stated, they may be a Muslim on paper in the government office, but they are Christians in their hearts. This presents many challenges as some former Muslims are caught in Christian churches.....many move elsewhere to Singapore or neighboring countries. The situation provides unique challenges for evangelism in Malaysia...some are willing to take the risks and switch their documented religion while others do not...in efforts to protect their families, jobs, etc. It is a difficult situation.
Next, we visited a Christian domestic training center for women. Here women are taught basic home skills and trained to make crafts for fair trading companies. The center gives women an opportunity for education and Bible study as well as life skills such as cooking, raising children, etc. A church established the center as a response to the needs of the community.
After walking around a bit to observe a local festival and eating some seafood with Rev. Daniel and his wife, I checked into a hotel. The next morning I was greeted by an English teacher and his daughter to help me speak with more rural churches. The pair provided such great company during the day and I enjoyed the time of fellowship. The first stop was to a church meeting at Rev. Daniel's church. We exchanged questions as the members asked some questions about churches in the US and I asked about ones in their area. One member explained the importance of follow up education as people in their church were converted because the village chief was and they did not actually make a personal decison to follow Christ. In situations like this, he explained the importance of education so these villagers can have a real, personal, relationship with Christ. They spoke about the importance of extending the love of Christ to others in their every day lives and how the village people are able to evangelize well since they enjoy mingling with others and can relate to various peoples (languages, skin colors, etc.) Many spoke about the importance of prayer when trying to show the love of Christ with others. At the next coffee meeting, I met with various church leaders from a local congregation. They spoke about their churches involvement in the local community. The elder explained the importance of youth involvement and how the local youth in the congregation reach out to the community through inviting their friends from school to church and sharing the love of Christ with elders in the community. He explained that within the past year, four families joined the church because one of the youth invited their children to church and they saw their children experience the love of Christ.
At the last meeting, I spoke with various church leaders from the local parish. They shared stories about how they decided to follow Christ. Many of their stories spoke about how with their former religion (animism) they lived in fear...they could not farm, enter homes at certain times..and had many rules to keep in order to avoid evil. If they broke any rules, they would end up becoming very sick. When Christians came to their villages to evangelize, the people observed how they were not keeping all the rules and the evil spirits were not making them sick. People in the village became curiou and spoke with the Christians about Christ. Once they were told about Christ and how He conquered the world, they were at peace from all the evil.
I have several more days here with various meetings and other activities. I will try to update my blog before heading the Kenya as I don't think I'll have internet access the first several days..I'll include a rough schedule of my time in Icuga, Kenya for everyone's information. Thanks for the prayers...keep them coming. :)
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
ATM
Quick update: I realized I failed to update on my ATM situation which is now under control. I learned it is best to go to ATMS at larger banks or airports/train stations/etc. Thanks for praying for that situation! :)
Grace Center: Unexpected Adventure
During the past two days, I have been blessed as I explore and learn more about a unique evangelism program set up in KK. (Kota Kinabula) The Grace Center is a special school for the children of undocumented immigrants (especially Indonesian and Phillps.) Since the children are technically unable to attend a government school, many of the children are forced to then work in shopping malls, resturants, and various other low income places to help provide for families or many of the chidren end up begging on the street sides or in various gangs. The Grace Center's mission is to prevent the spread of limited/ no education for children of undocumented immigrants. The first goal of the center is to provide a quality education to the children and the second is to show the love of Christ to the children. Many of the students come from very impoverished backgrounds and have gone most of their lives without knowing peace and love. The Grace Center offers the children not only a quality education that they would be unable to receive otherwise, but also they extend the love of Christ to the students. Students at government funded schools are not given a lunch meal, whereas students at the Grace Center are given lunch. The center was started in 1997 and has quickly grown as people hear via word of mouth about the education being offered. There are currently around 200 students attending and 50 of the 200 students are Muslim. Due to the governmental restrictions, it is illegal to pass out Bibles as well as to give open evangelism, because of this the teachers/workers are very up front and honest that Grace Center is a Christian organization. Many of the parents, even from Muslim backgrounds are grateful that a quality education is being offered to their children. Yet, it is still difficult. The teachers have small Bible studies, chapel services, and other special events around Christian holidays....their way of outreach is extremely and intentionally relational so they are not openly trying to convert...they are merely extending the love of Christ and offering valuable educational services to the students. The teachers and leaders of the center work to build relationships with each student and through extending the love of Christ and teaching them about the Bible and prayer, hope the student will then make their own choice to accept Christ.
Tuesday, I was scheduled to spend the day visiting the Center. One thing I've learned from international travel experience is always to expect the unexpected. Sometimes, plans change very quickly at the last second. This was the case on Tuesday. I was prepared to walk around the center, meet with the leaders, teachers, and observe and see the students...I ended up being gone from 8AM-3:30 AM. It was an unexpected adventure. A group from South Korea (missional choir) has been in town and invited a group of the musical students from the Grace Center to join them in a concert at a church in Kudat. I am travelling back to Kudat later this week to meet with pastors, but was not expecting this trip to occur on Tuesday. Despite the eight hours in a bus (four each way), it was a fantastic, long, day. The choir/ and group of musically students raised 10,000 dollars for the center. This trip also provided me with the opportunity to get to know some of the students and have amble time to speak with many of the teachers. Though I arrived back at STS, very late, the day was a blessings.
Some various prayer requests: for the church/ Grace Center in Malay. please pray for unity and for the government to lessen its persecution of Christians applying for jobs. One of the teachers I spoke with said that on all the job applications you must fill out your religion and Christians are discriminated against. Please pray for all the students at the Grace Center and for the teachers/ workers to continue to share the love of Christ and teach with patience and knowledge. Also, please continue to pray for safe travel for myself as well as health. I'm working hard to stay hydrated and well so I can fully participate and be present each day with each person I'm blessed to meet.
Thank you for your prayers. Much love in Christ.
Amanda :)
Tuesday, I was scheduled to spend the day visiting the Center. One thing I've learned from international travel experience is always to expect the unexpected. Sometimes, plans change very quickly at the last second. This was the case on Tuesday. I was prepared to walk around the center, meet with the leaders, teachers, and observe and see the students...I ended up being gone from 8AM-3:30 AM. It was an unexpected adventure. A group from South Korea (missional choir) has been in town and invited a group of the musical students from the Grace Center to join them in a concert at a church in Kudat. I am travelling back to Kudat later this week to meet with pastors, but was not expecting this trip to occur on Tuesday. Despite the eight hours in a bus (four each way), it was a fantastic, long, day. The choir/ and group of musically students raised 10,000 dollars for the center. This trip also provided me with the opportunity to get to know some of the students and have amble time to speak with many of the teachers. Though I arrived back at STS, very late, the day was a blessings.
Some various prayer requests: for the church/ Grace Center in Malay. please pray for unity and for the government to lessen its persecution of Christians applying for jobs. One of the teachers I spoke with said that on all the job applications you must fill out your religion and Christians are discriminated against. Please pray for all the students at the Grace Center and for the teachers/ workers to continue to share the love of Christ and teach with patience and knowledge. Also, please continue to pray for safe travel for myself as well as health. I'm working hard to stay hydrated and well so I can fully participate and be present each day with each person I'm blessed to meet.
Thank you for your prayers. Much love in Christ.
Amanda :)
Monday, June 25, 2012
Update about China
Friends, Sorry I was unable to update during my time in China and I
hope to provide a full update as soon as I can. God has been so good
during my wanderings and I have so much to catch up on. Right now, I
am staying at Sabah Theological Seminary in Malayasia. I am able to
use the computers on campus so I hope to provide a recap (as best as I
can) from my time in China (hopefully, later today) I will be
attending the chapel service in a few mins. so I am unable to give a
full update but I will start....
When I arrive in Beijing, I was greeted by Michelle (whom I refer to
as one of my angels in China) she not only made sure my luggage had
arrived safely (it was late getting off the plane) but helped me at
the ATM, purchase a SIM card, and waited patiently as I tried to load
the Chinese characters of my host's address via my cell phone from
wireless. Since we were unable to reach my host, she helpled me into a
taxi and then also travelled with my on the other side of Beijing and
waited until my host was contacted and reached. The brothers and
sisters I met in China really and truly went above and beyond my
expectations of hospitality. Grace and SaSa (my host during the stay
in Beijing) and their church sisters living across the hall worked to
not only provide a place to stay but to also help me do some
sightseeing and arranged various brothers and sisters from their
church to meet with me durning my stay. I spoke with Grace and her
friend (also named Grace) during my first sightseeing day to the
Summer Palace about some of the activities in their church. Grace
explained that basically when the house church was opened (it is an
official church that meets at a house for the time being...I'll try to
explain more about this church classification system later) there are
people there to pray...even if this means 4 AM. Grace, who is an elder
at the church, spent the nights after taking care of my needs at the
church..praying with the sick and leading a Bible study to a group of
women. Grace also arranged for a trip to the Great Wall. It was
beautiful. We spent lots of time sitting around at the wall and
speaking about the church...I was unable to visit her church while
there so I wanted to get as much of a clear sense about her ministry
as I could.
After spending some time in Beijing and meeting with church leaders
there, I took the high speed train (about 310 km/hour) to Nanjing to
meet with a group coming from the United States with the Outreach
Foundation. I spent one night in Nanjing and then travelled with the
group to Haui'an, China. Haui'an is famous for Christianity in China
as it was the birthplace of Ruth Bell (Billy Graham's wife) She spent
many years there and had a love for the people of China. Haui'an
church had a wonderful museum honoring her and giving a detailed
history of their church. Every year the Outreach Foundation holds an
English exchange camp for pastors in the province to come together for
a retreat and to practice their English skills. I had the chance to
speak with pastors throughout the week and visit many churches in the
afternoon. The largest church in the city that I was able to visit
had 10,000 members. Many of the churches have prayer meetings and
small group Bible studies. I was blessed to spend some time with some
of the hardest working, yet joyful pastors, worshipping, learning some
Chinese phrases, and hearing about their unique ministries. One pastor
at the camp questioned about America's terms, believer vs non-believer
and explained in China, Christians view people in two classifications:
believers and those who are yet to become believers. Christians are
very optimistic in their reaching out and inviting others into church.
During one of the church visits (where roughly 5,000 Christians
worship every Sunday) the group was greeted by traditional ethnic
dancing. One of the assistant pastors explained that this is used on
special occasions (Christmas, Easter, and during evangelistic events)
to help make new believers or yet to be believers feel welcomed in the
church setting which may be intiminating at first.The Christians in
China left a huge impression on my life. They are so joyful in their
worship. Everyone is smiling, clapping hands, and you can see in their
faces that they truly are happy and content as they worship the Lord.
One pastor in my small exchange group explained that while he is
thrilled the church is growing, he really prays for the people filling
the churches to have a true relationship with Christ. Even though he
is the head pastor of a congregation of 3,000, he takes time to pray
for all his members. He works to develop smaller groups so all the
members are able to have a strong sense of Christian community.
Another pastor explained the importance of witness worshipping in
China. This is a special worship service where yet to be believers
are able to come with friends who have invited them. The worship
service is non-intiminating where songs are song, tradtional dances
are performed. The most important aspect of this worship is members
of the community giving their testimonies. Brothers and sisters are
able to proclaim what God is doing in the midst of their lives. They
share stories of God's continued grace and how God has helped them in
times of suffering. My time in Haui'an and China was a blessing, as it
served not only as a rich learning experience, but also a spiritual
retreat.
Please pray for the Chinese church. Biblical training is very
important to Christians there. Since pastors are in short supply,
training for all members help reduce heresy within the church. Many
asked to pray for God to raise up new leaders within the church who
will remain faithful to the true Biblical teachings of Christ. Since
churches are growing so rapidly, there is a shortage of pastors and
much of the pastoral care situations are in the hands of other
brothers and sisters at the church. (Grace, my host in Beijing is one
of these "staff" members at a church)
I have many more stories and information from China but this is all
for now. :) Thank you for your continued prayers and I will try to
update again from Sabah soon. Love in Christ, Amanda :)
hope to provide a full update as soon as I can. God has been so good
during my wanderings and I have so much to catch up on. Right now, I
am staying at Sabah Theological Seminary in Malayasia. I am able to
use the computers on campus so I hope to provide a recap (as best as I
can) from my time in China (hopefully, later today) I will be
attending the chapel service in a few mins. so I am unable to give a
full update but I will start....
When I arrive in Beijing, I was greeted by Michelle (whom I refer to
as one of my angels in China) she not only made sure my luggage had
arrived safely (it was late getting off the plane) but helped me at
the ATM, purchase a SIM card, and waited patiently as I tried to load
the Chinese characters of my host's address via my cell phone from
wireless. Since we were unable to reach my host, she helpled me into a
taxi and then also travelled with my on the other side of Beijing and
waited until my host was contacted and reached. The brothers and
sisters I met in China really and truly went above and beyond my
expectations of hospitality. Grace and SaSa (my host during the stay
in Beijing) and their church sisters living across the hall worked to
not only provide a place to stay but to also help me do some
sightseeing and arranged various brothers and sisters from their
church to meet with me durning my stay. I spoke with Grace and her
friend (also named Grace) during my first sightseeing day to the
Summer Palace about some of the activities in their church. Grace
explained that basically when the house church was opened (it is an
official church that meets at a house for the time being...I'll try to
explain more about this church classification system later) there are
people there to pray...even if this means 4 AM. Grace, who is an elder
at the church, spent the nights after taking care of my needs at the
church..praying with the sick and leading a Bible study to a group of
women. Grace also arranged for a trip to the Great Wall. It was
beautiful. We spent lots of time sitting around at the wall and
speaking about the church...I was unable to visit her church while
there so I wanted to get as much of a clear sense about her ministry
as I could.
After spending some time in Beijing and meeting with church leaders
there, I took the high speed train (about 310 km/hour) to Nanjing to
meet with a group coming from the United States with the Outreach
Foundation. I spent one night in Nanjing and then travelled with the
group to Haui'an, China. Haui'an is famous for Christianity in China
as it was the birthplace of Ruth Bell (Billy Graham's wife) She spent
many years there and had a love for the people of China. Haui'an
church had a wonderful museum honoring her and giving a detailed
history of their church. Every year the Outreach Foundation holds an
English exchange camp for pastors in the province to come together for
a retreat and to practice their English skills. I had the chance to
speak with pastors throughout the week and visit many churches in the
afternoon. The largest church in the city that I was able to visit
had 10,000 members. Many of the churches have prayer meetings and
small group Bible studies. I was blessed to spend some time with some
of the hardest working, yet joyful pastors, worshipping, learning some
Chinese phrases, and hearing about their unique ministries. One pastor
at the camp questioned about America's terms, believer vs non-believer
and explained in China, Christians view people in two classifications:
believers and those who are yet to become believers. Christians are
very optimistic in their reaching out and inviting others into church.
During one of the church visits (where roughly 5,000 Christians
worship every Sunday) the group was greeted by traditional ethnic
dancing. One of the assistant pastors explained that this is used on
special occasions (Christmas, Easter, and during evangelistic events)
to help make new believers or yet to be believers feel welcomed in the
church setting which may be intiminating at first.The Christians in
China left a huge impression on my life. They are so joyful in their
worship. Everyone is smiling, clapping hands, and you can see in their
faces that they truly are happy and content as they worship the Lord.
One pastor in my small exchange group explained that while he is
thrilled the church is growing, he really prays for the people filling
the churches to have a true relationship with Christ. Even though he
is the head pastor of a congregation of 3,000, he takes time to pray
for all his members. He works to develop smaller groups so all the
members are able to have a strong sense of Christian community.
Another pastor explained the importance of witness worshipping in
China. This is a special worship service where yet to be believers
are able to come with friends who have invited them. The worship
service is non-intiminating where songs are song, tradtional dances
are performed. The most important aspect of this worship is members
of the community giving their testimonies. Brothers and sisters are
able to proclaim what God is doing in the midst of their lives. They
share stories of God's continued grace and how God has helped them in
times of suffering. My time in Haui'an and China was a blessing, as it
served not only as a rich learning experience, but also a spiritual
retreat.
Please pray for the Chinese church. Biblical training is very
important to Christians there. Since pastors are in short supply,
training for all members help reduce heresy within the church. Many
asked to pray for God to raise up new leaders within the church who
will remain faithful to the true Biblical teachings of Christ. Since
churches are growing so rapidly, there is a shortage of pastors and
much of the pastoral care situations are in the hands of other
brothers and sisters at the church. (Grace, my host in Beijing is one
of these "staff" members at a church)
I have many more stories and information from China but this is all
for now. :) Thank you for your continued prayers and I will try to
update again from Sabah soon. Love in Christ, Amanda :)
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