Brooks
Wow! What a week…our hearts are full as we
reflect on the past 12 years and how God has connected all of us with
specific people in specific regions all over the world. Our scripture
for this season is:
Ephesians 3:18-21 New Century Version (NCV)
18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have
the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide and how
long and how high and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s
love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be
able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God.
20 With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine. 21 To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.
In looking back, we can see that this is exactly what God has done…we
could never have known what to ask for…it only makes me more excited to
think about the next 12 years!!!!! One of you wrote “I feel China is
going to play a big part in the plan of things in the last days…” We
really agree with this!!! Reaching China and also reaching Muslims…these
are HUGE population groups in the world today and reaching them has the
power to influence hundreds and thousands of people all over the world!
As we come off of this trip, this is exactly what we feel it has been
intentionally and purposely about. We believe that while it has looked
very different than other trips we’ve taken, it has definitely been a
continuation and outgrowth of what has gone on before. The focus has
very much been in these two areas and we fervently believe there is much
fruit to come…not from us, but from those on the ground, in the
trenches, doing the hard work. Please pray with us for these folks!
As for China…I had NO idea what to expect, but I can assure you that
China is more first world than even the US is!!! The technology, the
wealth, the educational system, the businesses, global commerce,
infrastructure…not to mention their thousands of years history which
bring great strength and pride in their nation, their families,
traditions and culture. They value beauty, history, ingenuity,
intellect, perfection, and consumption. Of course, this is a
first-timer’s very, very limited view of only two cities in only two
weeks!!!
As for our group…phenomenal…amazing…inspiring…passionate…sacrificing
all to “go into all the world.” Representatives from Indonesia, China,
Australia, America, Singapore, Egypt…all believing they have been asked
to go to Nepal or to a province in China. Even though we brought new
information, challenging mindsets and long-held methods, as the days
went by, we saw them wrestle with concepts, and daring to believe that
maybe more could happen if they let go of the old and embraced the
simplicity of the New Testament model.
And, really…who couldn’t just fall in love with these folks…check out
some of the ones who are believing for the impossible…that our Dad can
actually do more than we could ask or imagine!!!!!
Thursday night the students hit the streets…Roger and I had our own
time of reaching out…we were in a large park lost and searching for the
ancient stone wall that surrounded the city (seriously a whole wall,
literally 60 feet high and we couldn’t find it????). In a land where we
NEVER hear English spoken I heard somewhere in the masses of people
someone singing “I am 16, going on 17…” in English at the top of her
lungs with a gorgeous voice! There was this adorable young girl holding
her phone with the music track blaring and singing boisterously into it
as her mike! I ran back to her and asked if she could speak English…she
stepped back and then answered, “Yes, we do!” So I blabbered on and on
how happy I was to meet her and could she please help us find our way
(remember everything, maps, signs, everything is in Chinese). In very,
very good English, she and her friend said, “Yes, we are happy to help
you and we are going that way. Can we walk together?” So we spent about
40 minutes with them. They chatted on and on, told us many things about
Chinese life as students, the pressure to do well and how they had
finished exams and had both been accepted into an obviously very
prestigious university in Beijing and would be leaving in September.
They talked freely, answering all of our questions about religion,
customs (hanging red ribbons on trees for good luck at specific sites
for health and marriage or things like parents hanging them there for
their students’ exams). They asked if we had anyone to have dinner with
and I’m very confident they would have spent as much time with us as we
would have been able to give. Sadly, I only got their photo, not a
contact number as our new friends would have gladly followed up.
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