I've titled this week's update "fruit", since we have had the privilege of seeing some great results of God's work here in China these past few months ...
We had our final meeting with the Bible study group at Renmin University this week. Over the past 4 months, the group has learned 8 worship songs in English, and they have moved from just learning the pronunciation of words to truly singing songs from their hearts. Our 45-minute worship time together was moving, and we will miss this group of professors and students. (and ... one teacher reported that the University is opening a class in the fall for 100+ students to use Christian films and the Bible as course material. The door for the Gospel continues to open widen here!)
We had a farewell service for the outgoing leaders of the English Fellowship at Haidian Church, and we got to pray, equip, and release the new Chinese leadership of the worship ministry. The Chinese LOVE to pose for photos ... here's a shot of the whole worship team celebrating the departing leaders and taking first steps with new young adults who will guide the ministry.
We had a powerful time of prayer over the new leaders ... very moving to see people from all over the world serving together and praying for God's continued presence in China.
We used the blessing of our apartment (spacious by Chinese standards) to host an all-day retreat for the new worship leadership - we filled the place with praise, fellowship and good food. (thanks to Kim, our Chinese friends got to enjoy some homemade muffins and chocolate chip cookies!)
We got to visit and pray for a worship team member in the hospital this week (visiting a Chinese hospital was pretty interesting). We're thankful God is healing our friend Sam - he has been a great blessing to our family.
Here's an unusual one ... we got to welcome 2 Chinese-American families from Beaverton Foursquare who are visiting Beijing. A team from the B4 Mosaic (International) Ministry is traveling throughout China to encourage pilots who have been part of our church the past couple years, and they made a stop at Haidian Church. It was a joy to spend some time with friends from home.
And, we celebrated Father's Day a few hours ahead of everyone in the US. We sent e-cards to our dads back home, and I was thankful for the privilege of spending the day with my family (especially since Ali heads back to Oregon in 13 days). The service at Haidian Church was a tangible reminder of some of the challenges Christians face here in China. As we do at our church, fathers were invited to stand and be recognized, and only a small handful of men stood in the room of nearly 1,000 people. The Chinese church needs mature men of God to be raised up for sure.
For a fun lunch after church, we headed out in search of the two food items we miss most: authentic Mexican food and icy cold drinks. Today we found both! (in all our searches, we've identified a total of 3 Mexican restaurants for the 30 million+ people in Beijing ... Cantina Agave probably wouldn't make the grade for decent Mexican food at home, but it tasted great to us!)
And finally ... from the "only in China" file: We had a problem with a room air conditioner this week. Our landlord setup a repairman to come and fix it. The photo below might be a little hard to see, but this repairman attached an old, frayed rope to his waist and stepped out of our 9th floor window. He stood on top of a very small air conditioning unit, crouched over to fix it. No railing, no helpers, nothing. This would certainly have taken a bunch of safety gear and several people in the US to do the job, but in China, just tie a rope, climb out the window, and go for it!
Our apartment building has a ping pong table on the ground floor. A friend gave us two paddles and a ball, so Jake, Livy, and I decided to have a game. When we got to the table, there were 3 older Chinese grandmas and a grandpa playing doubles. They spoke no English, but they immediately motioned they wanted to play with us ... what a riot! They were high-fiving Jake for good shots, and we all laughed together as we played. (needless to say, they were amazing ping pong players and clobbered us in the games, but we all had a blast.)
We hope you have a great Father's Day weekend. We are looking forward to another visit from my parents (Bill & Debi Mills) in 6 days here in Beijing, and Ali heads home on July 2nd. God bless you all!
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