Monday Mind Dump (on Tuesday)
• Sunday was another great day. I loved teaching “Jesus the Lamb of God”. I pray as the weeks go by my students will understand and believe the Gospel. Please pray with me.
• I took a trip with my co-laborer to another city on Sunday night to spend Monday surveying it. It was an exciting and informative trip (more later).
• We took a sleeper train, last time being in 2006, and it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.
• We were the only white people in the train station, check out the video on Facebook.
• We are making plans for later this year and ask you pray for the Lord’s leading, guidance, and direction in our lives.
• Don’t wear boots to survey a city.
• Sam’s club is in China!
• A few weeks ago someone from the church told another church member that the Chinese equivalent of the FBI is watching our church (hopefully we are proclaiming loud enough for them to hear the Gospel).
• I bought 20 bibles recently for $4.50 each. No one took down my name or followed me after I bought them. It was legal and easy to do.
• I was carrying a bag of ten Bibles when a lady in my complex asked me about them. She was a Christian and wanted to know if we had a church in our home.
• We are recoding the services now on the digital video camera a church bought for us on deputation. Some of the church members are going to post it online.
• Sorry for the lack of consistency in posting, I am trying to work on a new blogging rhythm that works with my schedule.
March 25th in China Missions History
Adapted from:
AustinGardner.net’s March 25th in World Evangelism HistoryOn this day in 1951, Wilda Mathews attended an Easter church service in China, though she and her husband were virtually prisioners of the communist soldiers that had taken over the country.
Earlier that year, the communist forces swarmed into China, taking most of the country by storm. Arther and Wilda Mathews were just one of the dozens of missionary couples with the China Inland Mission who had not been evacuated before the takeover. Now, they were prisoners within the country they had given their lives to reach with the gospel.
Daily, the communist would come to the home of the Mathews and drag Arther to their headquarters. They would spend hours interrogating and torturing him, hoping to convince him to turn on the other missionaries and work for the communist. At night, they would drag him back home. Throughout the day, Wilda would pray constantly for her husband’s safety. Gunshots could be heard through her window, as the communist executed dozens every day. But every night, her beloved husband was returned to her. For months, this brave missionary family lived in this state of fear.
On Easter Sunday of that year, Arther was dragged off for his daily interrogation. Wilda, though forbidden by the communist, sneaked out to one of their native churches to attend the services. But she was completely overtaken by fear. When she opened her mouth to sing, “He lives”, not a word came out. She fled home and fell upon her face before the Lord. She poured out her heart before the Lord and took the only comfort into her hand that she had: his word! While she was reading it, her eyes fell on 2 Chronicles 20:17, “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.”
That day, the Lord helped Wilda realize that her life was in His hands. She wrote, “The conflict has been terrible, but peace and quiet reign now.” For two years, Wilda had to remain under the control of the communist. But God, who has all things in his hands, brought her and her husband out safely. All of the CIM missionaries trapped by the communist, all of them made it out of the country alive.
Source: Christian History by Robert Morgan
Some Recent Thoughts…
- God is doing great things here in China. Revival in our family, language, and ministry. I love serving God!
- The comfortable christian life can be more of a danger to the church than the persecuted christian life. One cleanses while the other stagnates.
- Sadly, some have mastered the skill of using the Bible as an illustration book to preach the doctrine of moralism. As I prepare my lessons, I want to teach Jesus.
- Excited to be in a growing ministry. The church is using all the rooms now…including the kitchen for space!
- An American atheist and Chinese atheist have a different disposition. They both mock God, but the first is at war with God and the second is ignorant of God (maybe more on this one later).
Monday’s Ramblings
- We had a great Sunday!
- I was able to teach Sunday school again for the third week now and I am loving it! The majority of the people who visit are lost. We had two visitors Sunday who came and said the reason they were there was to learn about the Bible and who God was. Pray for their salvation.
- Continue praying for my language abilities. I still have a long way to go and I desire to move from the survival stage to “making an impact” stage!
- We re-arranged the auditorium on Saturday and now can fit 70+ people in there.
- My wonderful wife and is feeling much better and recovery has been good. She has tons more energy now that she had the surgery. We can now see this has been a problem for some time now (since arriving in China). Continue to pray for her full recovery form the surgery and pregnancy.
- I was able to give the gospel to a professor at the English corner last week. She also visit our church this past Sunday. Pray for her salvation.
- Pray for language studies this week.
- Pray for two families that are working in this city that are having medical problems and will be in the hospital today and/or this week.
- We visited one of the new church plants across the river on Sunday night. I hope to start visiting there more regularly. They had a good crowd of 20+ with first time visitors.
- My girls are doing great and growing so quick. Continue to remember them in prayer for safety, health, and salvation.
- God has been good to me!
03.18.12
March 18th in China Missions History
Adapted from:
AustinGardner.net’s March 18th in World Evangelism HistoryOn this day in 1885, seven young men arrived in Shanghai, China to commence missionary work with Hudson Taylor and the China Inland mission. Not long before, each one of these young men had been rich, influential London aristocrats attending Cambridge University. But they each decided to leave the life of privilege behind to “throw away their lives on the mission field.” These young men would be remembered as the “Cambridge seven.”
For years earlier, the son of a British baronet, Montagu Harry Proctor-Beauchamp, was enrolled at Cambridge University. Though he was a very popular man, he was only a nominal Christian and cared much more for the worldly charms than the call of Christ.
One day, he introduced a good friend of his, Stanley Smith, to one of his dear childhood friends, Kynaston Studd. Since Stanley was the captain of the row team and Studd was one of the star cricket players for the college, Beauchamp knew that the two of them would be quick friends. But there was something else about these two young men that Beauchamp didn’t know. They both shared a deep love for Jesus Christ. And this bond did more to tie them together than anything else. When Beauchamp left Stanley and Studd alone, these two men agreed to pray together for their mutual friend, that God would captivate his heart and use him. For every day after that, they would meet for fifteen minutes and pray for their friend. And God answered the prayers of these faithful men. Nine months after they began to pray, Beauchamp surrendered his life to Christ and became a fiery witness throughout the university.
Little did any of these men realize the role this would play in their lives. Beauchamp’s influential family was befriended to Hudson Taylor and he had much knowledge about the China Inland Mission. When Beauchamp became a seminary student, he became an unofficial spokesman for the work in China, though he never had any intention of actually going himself. Through his influence, his friend Arthur Polhill-Turner decided to go to China and applied to the mission board.
At the same time, Stanley came to visit his friend at the seminary and, while he was here, heard a message on Isaiah 49:6, “…I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” Stanley realized that he wanted to get involved in the mission work going on around the world. But where should he go? He spoke privately with Beauchamp about it and, of course, he challenged Stanley to go to China. Soon, Stanley was apply with the CIM also.
Dixon Hoste, who had served as an officer in the Royal Artillery, had been given a copy of Hudson Taylor tract called, “China’s Spiritual Need and Claims” by his brother William and Beauchamp, decided to go to China.
William Cassels was planning on going to Africa as a missionary through the Church Missionary Society, but after talking with Stanley Smith, decided to join him in China with the CIM.
Meanwhile, Stanley invite his friend C.T. Studd, the best cricket player at Cambridge and all of England, to attend a CIM rally with him. At the rally, Studd heard of the “thousands of [Chinese] souls perishing everyday and night without even knowledge of the Lord Jesus.” He decided to join the ranks to make a difference.
Beauchamp, the one who started it all, decided he didn’t want to be left behind. When he heard that Studd was going to China, he began to seriously pray and consider going. He soon joined the ranks of the other young missionaries.
What was the greatest strength of the Cambridge Seven? Their strength lies in the fact that they used their influence to spark a fire among the Christians of England for the cause of World Evangelism. These young men, all well known and respected, spoke to countless number of University students before their departure to China. They pleaded and begged for other students to get involved. Their lives challenged others to make sacrifices for the sake of the Gospel. They showed the world that the ministry of taking the Gospel of Christ to the lost was a job that required the absolute best a man and the church had to offer. Of the Cambridge Seven, the following was said:
We began to understand how much more noble a sphere of service was offered by Christ to young men with great possessions and good abilities, than any the cricket field, or the river, the army, or the bar could afford…never before were the stroke of a University eight, the captain of a University eleven, an officer of the Royal Artillery, and an officer of the Dragoon Guards seen standing side by side, renouncing the careers in which they had already gained no small distinction, putting aside the splendid prizes of earthly ambition which they might reasonably expect to win, taking leave of the social circles in which they shone with no mean brilliance, and plunging into that warfare whose splendours are seen by faith alone, and whose rewards seem so shadowy to the unopened vision of ordinary men? It was a sight to stir the heart, and a striking testimony to the power of the uplifted Christ to draw to Himself not the weak, the emotional, and the illiterate only, but all that is noblest in strength and finest in culture.”
The actions, words, and ideas of these men influenced countless people to follow Christ and revolutionized a nation. Who’s life are you influencing?
Source: Report on “The Cambridge Seven” | The Cambridge Band and Shan-si
Sino Project: World’s Fastest Growing City: Beihai
An interesting article on the fastest growing cities and China (reposted from the Sino Project blog).
World’s Fastest Growing City: Beihai
Six of the world’s ten fastest growing cities are in China. This is to be expected since China is increasingly becoming an urban nation. By 2030, China will have 1 billion people in cities. This means that between now and then, China will add more city-dwellers to its current population of city-dwellers than the entire population of the United States.
The fastest growing city, not only in China but in the world is Beihai, China. It is a city in southern China that in 2001 had a population of 145,000 residents. By 2006, the city had more than doubled its population to 305,000 people. The population between 2006 and 2020 is expected to grow by 10.58% annually. In other words, Beihai will add 1,000 new residents to its population each week.
If what is predicted comes true, Beihai is in need of laborers. Is there a flood of church planters to match the flood of people moving into Beihai? Please pray that God will send laborers to this city. Many missionaries are moving towards getting out of the cities but it is the cities, not the rural areas, that are growing in population.
Source: Sino Project
March 16th in China Missions History
Adapted from:
AustinGardner.net’s March 16th in World Evangelism HistoryOn this day in 1881, James Curtis Hepburn wrote a letter to the Overseas Missionary Station, his mission board, in regards to his time spent in Japan. In his letter, he states:
When I received the order, I gave up many things that related my heart to my homeland and went to Japan with high hope. As I am always thinking, my first missionary trip and life in China was for the second missionary act in Japan, which is the most important decision in my life.
This simple statement summarized the life of this great man. As a young man at the age of 25, he left, with his wife Clara, to work as a medical missionary in China and Singapore. They stayed in the orient for five years. Honestly, there was nothing dramatic that was done these five years within the outward ministry of Hepburn. But inwardly, God was using these years to mold a servant. During this time, his first two children died at birth. Both he and his wife suffered from malaria and other tropical diseases. He faced hardships, trials, and saw victories. When he returned to the United States in 1846 (due to medical reasons), he was a different man.
Upon his return, he started a very successful medical practice in New York. But when the United States entered into a treaty with Japan, the door was opened for missionaries to go there for the first time. Hearing of this open door, Hepburn jumped at it. In 1859, he closed his clinic and set sail for Japan with his family. As he wrote, he “gave up many things that related my heart to my homeland and went to Japan with high hope.”
What would become of the hopes of this man who God had been molding? He himself felt that his “first missionary trip and life in China was for the second missionary act in Japan, which is the most important decision in my life.” Would the trials and lessons he learned in China and New York prepare him for the task ahead?
For thirty-two years, Hepburn worked among the Japanese people. During this time, he published the first Japanese-English dictionary and presented the Japanese Churches with the translation of the Bible into their language. According to The Bible Society’s report in 1884:
In no nation in modern times has the gospel made more rapid progress than in Japan.
Source: Bible Society Records | Meiji Gakvin University
Missions: The Worship of Jesus and the Joy of All Peoples
“Missions is about the worship of Jesus. The goal of missions is the global worship of Jesus by his redeemed people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. The outcome of missions is all peoples delighting to praise Jesus. And the motivation for missions is the enjoyment that his people have in him. Missions aims at, brings about, and is fueled by the worship of Jesus.
Another way to say it is that missions is about Jesus’ global glory. From beginning to end—in target, effect, and impetus—missions centers on the worldwide fame of Jesus in the praises of his diverse peoples from every tribe, tongue, and nation. What’s at stake in missions is the universal honor of the Father in the global glory of his Son in the joy of all the peoples.” - DAVID MATHIS
Piper, J. (2011). A holy ambition: To preach where christ has not been named. Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God.
03.13.12
68th Largest City in the World: Handan, China
An Overview of Handan
Handan is a medium-sized city located in the southern part of Hebei Province in China. It is 163 kilometers away from Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei province. The city administration governs four districts, the city itself, and 14 counties. The entire administered area is 12,000 square kilometers, and the main urban area is 457 square kilometers. The city has a total population of 8.9 million. In the past, it was the capital of the Zhou Kingdom. The city has a history of more than 2,500 years and is considered one of China’s historical and cultural cities. There are many archaeological sites and ancient places of interest (source).
The city lies at the east foot of Taihang Mountains and borders the North China Plain in the east. It has rich reserves of coal and iron (source).
Handan is one of the famous historical and cultural cities in China, and the birthplace of Zhao, Pottery and Porcelain, and the Cishan and Taiji cultures. It is also the land of idioms and proverbs (source).
Religion in China
China is a country with a great diversity of religions. There are over 100 million followers of various faiths. The main religions are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, although it is safe to say that Confucianism is a school of philosophy rather than a religion. Generally speaking, Chinese people do not have a strong religious inclination; however, despite this, the three main faiths have had a considerable following.
Buddhism was introduced to China from India approximately in the 1st century AD, becoming increasingly popular and the most influential religion in China after the 4th century. Now China has more than 13,000 Buddhist temples.
Islam probably first reached China in the mid-7th century. The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) witnessed the zenith of the prosperity of Islam. Now China has more than 30,000 mosques.
Catholic influence reached China several times after the seventh century, and Protestantism was introduced into China in the early 19th century. Now there are more than 4,600 Catholic churches and over 12,000 Protestant churches and over 25,000 other types of protestant places of worship in China.
Most Chinese people will say they believe in gods, destiny, fate, luck, and an afterlife. Even so, on most occasions, rather than rely on prayer, people will make decisions all by themselves or resort to either family or friends for help. A visible human being is considered far more reliable than invisible gods or spirits (source).
Would you pray that God would send more laborers to this city and country to lift His name high?
Source: AustinGardner.net
March 11th in China Missions History
Adapted from:
AustinGardner.net’s March 11th in World Evangelism HistoryOn this day in 1915, Albert Andersson, a Swedish missionary to Chinese Turkestan (modern day Xinjiang), died.
Less than forty years earlier, several Swedish missionaries had settled into this Northern area of China, where they began a mission among the Uyghur people. The Uyghur people were a predominately Muslim people and the missionaries found the work slow and difficult. But the hardest part was not so much the heart of the people, but the missionaries themselves. Tornquist, the missionary who was the head of the station, realized that few of his missionaries were learning the language or understanding the culture. This was killing the work he was trying to get done. Towards the end of his ministry, Tornquist wrote to a friend that, “Of the 35 missionaries that have been working here so far, only three men and one woman have been fluent in the Chinese language.“ It was clear to Tornquist that something had to change.
The mission soon began to search for a man who had been living in mainland china and have a strong grasp on the language who could join their team and help them. Their searching lead them to Andersson, who had already been working several years in another mission. When he heard of the opportunity to work in the new mission, he gladly excepted the challenge. His ability to speak Chinese and his time already spent in China made him invaluable to the work being done there.
In 1903, they started their long journey to their new home. However, the boxer rebellion at that time was under way and they were delayed several times along the way. They would spend the next nine years among the Uyghur people, seeing great results. In 1912, Albert’s health broke and he was forced to return to Sweden, where he died three years later.
However, the work among the Uyghur people continued on. Lead by Tornquist, the mission would see several churches started and nearly thirty young Chinese and Uyghur men working alongside the missionaries. In 1948, Rachel O. Wingate wrote an account of the work being done in Turkestan. In her book, she refereed to the mission among the Uyghur people as “the most successful mission to Muslims ever carried out”.