Freezing for Jesus!
Pinky

Each week, we gather believing and non-believing Chinese students
together to talk about stories in the Bible as well as to discuss
challenging questions like “what’s our purpose in life?”  I can see
even in the early stages that God is using our study to break through
confusion in the hearts of our friends.

As I watch and listen to J.T. speak, I can see by the looks on our
friends faces that God is breaking through barriers of disbelief and
confusion.  Friends who come in challenging and guarded, leave
happy and smiling. Some have even come back for a second or third
time! Others join the family on the spot.

We have seen more salvations come from this Bible study than
anything else we’ve done.

One of the highlights of this week’s study is that I met a girl
names Spice from one of our Universities that is a believer! She
came with one of our brothers, Oliver, and has been in the family
for two years. I believe that God’s hand was in this because I have
been not only praying for more friends, but have asked that those
friends would be believers.

I continue to get vision for this year in China, and I feel Spice
is the beginning of that vision. My hope is to meet friends who
have a foundation in the Lord who can help us reach students on
their campuses for Christ. I know that God’s not only using us, but
He is going to use our friends to be His hands and feet also.

Were also starting a Bible study this week specifically for
believers to train and disciple them. Our hope is that it will turn
into a church where these friends can grow and encourage each
other. Pray for availability for our friends and that God would put a
desire in their hearts to share Jesus with those around them.

Rocking in GZ for Jesus,

Pinky

At the hostel, I got to paint on the walls! I felt so free and creative. As a team, we took almost daily trips to snack street where food was the best thing we ever tasted and so cheap you could eat yourself sick. We looked at apartments and found they were incredibly cheaper than anywhere in my city of GZ. I got to drive someone’s car. I was told twice by a stranger that they loved me, and I even ate strawberry popcorn. If that’s not enough, it all ended with our guys doing a “fashion show” in the train station attracting so much attention the security had to come and stop us!

We met amazing people on the different campuses we visited and made friends with both foreigners and locals. There was an overall sense that God’s favor was on our trip to Woo-han. I felt joy and peace as I walked the campuses, and overall enjoyed my time spent exploring.

But, there was also a sense that underneath the peace we felt in our new haven, there was a sense that it was a false peace. It was felt over all that the outer layer that looked attractive was really a covering to the truth of what lay beneath.

While in the city, we learned that there was loneliness on the campuses and that true friends are hard to come by. We also found out that a couple had committed suicide together a few weeks before, and that suicide was seen as a common thing in Asia. From another friend we found out the half of the students on campus were either part of the Communist Party or will join soon.

Two girls that we met named Shao Hua and Xiao Yu shared with us how they are considering joining the party. I was able to show them my Bible and share that I was a believer. They opened up a little and said that they had thought about believing in God but knew they couldn’t since they wanted to join the Communist party. We left them with two Purpose Driven Life books in Chinese, and they left us with a smile and a thank you. As I ran to catch the bus, I gave them a quick hug, left them with my umbrella, and waved goodbye. I may never see them again. But I know that I planted something in their heart, and that God is able to make it grow. Even though our trip was fun, we can see that there is a lot of tilling to do in preparation for taking on this new city. Since students were not very open, it will take some time to prepare the land before we start to plant. With all the contacts we made, and prayers that were sent up, I feel in time we will be ready to take the city for the Kingdom!

For now, I hope that you will join me in asking God to start a new work in this city. The students here are just as precious to God as any other and I know that He wants to see them reached more than I do. Prayer is the biggest way to till up the ground and prepare the way for God to come in and change hearts in Asia.

At the hostel, I got to paint on the walls! I felt so free and creative. As a team, we took almost daily trips to snack street where food was the best thing we ever tasted and so cheap you could
eat yourself sick. We looked at apartments and found they were incredibly cheaper than anywhere in my city of GZ. I got to drive someone’s car. I was told twice by a stranger that they loved me, and I even ate strawberry popcorn. If that’s not enough, it all ended with our guys doing a “fashion show” in the train station attracting so much attention the security had to come and stop us!

We met amazing people on the different campuses we visited and made friends with both foreigners and locals. There was an overall sense that God’s favor was on our trip to WH. I felt joy and peace as I walked the campuses, and overall enjoyed my time spent exploring.

But, there was also a sense that underneath the peace we felt in our new haven, there was a sense that it was a false peace. It was felt over all that the outer layer that looked attractive was really a covering to the truth of what lay beneath.

While in the city, we learned that there was loneliness on the campuses and that true friends are hard to come by. We also found out that a couple had committed suicide together a few weeks before, and that suicide was seen as a common thing in Asia. From another friend we found out the half of the students on campus were either part of the Communist Party or will join soon. Two girls that we met named Shao Hua and Xiao Yu shared with us how they are considering joining the party. I was able to show them my Bible and share that I was a believer.

They opened up a little and said that they had thought about believing in God but knew they
couldn’t since they wanted to join the Communist party. We left them with two Purpose Driven Life books in Chinese, and they left us with a smile and a thank you. As I ran to catch the bus, I gave them a quick hug, left them with my umbrella, and waved goodbye. I may never see them again. But I know that I planted something in their heart, and that God is able to make it grow. Even though our trip was fun, we can see that there is a lot of tilling to do in preparation for taking on this new city. Since students were not very open, it will take some time to prepare the land before we start to plant. With all the contacts we made, and prayers that were sent up, I feel in time we will be ready to take the city for the Kingdom!

I had a lot of bike riding accidents when I was little. I remember this one time during the summer when I was riding my bike with my Uncle Tom and my older brother Jeremy. I felt like I wanted to impress them. Since it was hot, I was only wearing a bathing suit and shorts. Not a good idea. As we rounded the last corner before reaching home, I decided to do something stupid.

“Look no hands” I remember saying with confidence.

It seemed like a good idea, until I went crashing down to the pavement landing on my back. Until then, it was the worst pain I ever experienced. Or at least I thought it was. Embarrassed and crying, I picked myself up off the road and walked the last twenty feet to my front door.

Then my uncle took me inside to bandage me up. Being an avid bike rider, I figured he knew what he was doing. Ha. As he grabbed the peroxide and a wash cloth I knew that he didn’t. “Doesn’t he know how much that stuff stings” I thought to myself. Uncle Tom saturated the cloth with peroxide and in one smooth motion put the entire thing on my back. Ahhhh! A very high pitched scream followed.

All this because I wanted to look cool. I was so willing to throw myself into danger just to say I could do it. I think pride is one of those things that can become so rooted in our hearts that were too full of pride to admit that were prideful!

Recently, I wanted so bad to be a leader for a scouting trip that were taking to another city. When I wasn’t chosen, it hurt…my pride. My heart was literally crushed.

I cried over not being chosen as a leader, but I can see clearly that God is trying to save me from experiencing the pain that would come from doing something I’m not ready to do. Even though it’s humbling to wait for God’s timing, I would rather be humble than end up feeling worse because I took on something I may not be ready for.

I don’t have to feel bad because I’m not a leader, but can be excited to know that God is doing awesome stuff in me right now, and to take on a position would cut short the amazing process He is doing in me. I would sacrifice any position to be recognized by the one who truly matters.

Right now, his eyes are all on me. Why would I want to sacrifice that?

My garden is such as this. As I walk into it, I stop and take a deep breath because I know that there is much work to be done. I look at the large rectangle shaped garden and wonder where to start. One half of the garden is full of good seeds that are freshly planted that I’m already seeing growth from. The other side is full of plants that look beautiful but are bitter to the taste and utterly useless to me.

I wondered why I had even planted those bitter roots anyways since there were of no use and now were making my life more difficult. I didn’t want to see the fruit from them anymore and knew they needed to be destroyed. So I set to work, and started ripping them out of the ground. It felt so good!

I had let these things grow so long that they were deeply rooted in the soil, so I tilled up the ground and made it ready for a fresh start. I thought of the things I wanted to reap from what I would sow and then carefully chose quality seed to plant in its place. As the new things started to grow, occasionally a residual plant would sprout up from the bad leftovers deep in the soil.

As I looked into my life at “my garden” I realized that there were things growing inside of me that I never intended to plant. Not only was there things growing, but I was seeing bad fruit that I never wanted to see. Just like with a garden, when we sow into bad things, we reap bad fruit. I was sowing into things like selfish ambition, impurity, jealousy, anger, comparing myself to others, insecurity, and probably other things that are considered acts of sinful nature.

I realized that if I wanted to reap good things that I needed to start sowing into those things. Things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self- control which are the fruit of the Spirit. I want people to see the good fruit in my life, not the junk I was growing before.

Although I’m happy to have this awakening so I can stop sowing into bad things, I’m now faced with the difficult task of redoing my whole garden, planting new things, and waiting to see good fruit. Its exciting, but at the same time discouraging since old fruit is still popping up from what I was initially sowing into.

I know that God has started a good work in me and that He will be faithful to complete it. I won’t reach perfection until I go to be with Him, but He is replanting things in me daily, and working along side me to get rid of the junk that’s grown in me.

I’ve recently dealt with the inevitable as I sat in the doctor’s office waiting for my diagnosis. My condition lined up with the symptoms but I wasn’t aware if its severity. I had let this disease go on for so long that now it had taken over and done serious damage that would take an expert, lots of time, and rest to repair.

I sat back in my chair and began to cry when given the news of my situation. I regretted letting it go on for so long and for being so uninformed of the inner workings of myself. I saw the symptoms, depression, anger, sadness, grief, regret, bitterness, jealousy and pain. I realized that it was crucial to take steps towards healing and begin treatment right away.

At such a young age, it would be horrible to ignore the diagnosis and go on living life “normally” as if nothing was wrong. In other cases that might have been what I did, but because of the nature of this disease and the damage that was already done, I couldn’t just sit back and let it destroy me.

The important people were notified of my situation and the date was set to start treatments. Before beginning, the doctor gave me a sneak peek at what we were dealing with. On the outside it looked fine, only a few minimal cuts, but the inside was raw and infected with puss oozing from its inner most parts. I could see that years of damage had caused a life threatening situation that needed help immediately.

With new technology, there was no incision needed even for this sort of procedure to which I was surprised. The treatment however was painful and was needed almost daily at first. The first step was to open things up so all the damage could be exposed. I needed
to see the reality of the situation and stop living as if nothing was wrong.

It continued with writing down how I was feeling at that present time, then went on to sharing those feelings with others. A time of confessing was also prescribed as well as a time of forgiveness. Some how the doctor thought these things would be helpful. There was also a time allotted for simply crying and laying on my floor in the presence of the doctor.

At first this procedure didn’t make sense or sound fun, but as with all life threatening situations I knew it needed to be done to ensure survival and eventually healing. As I continued treatments, the wounds were gently tended to and cleaned by my doctor. Wounds from ended relationships, past choices and various other cuts that I received throughout my life that had gone untreated for a number of years.

Already things in my heart are feeling the effects of a miraculous healing done by the best healer ever known to man. Exposing myself wasn’t easy or comfortable but He knew that I needed it and that I would be better off afterwards. I’m on the road to recover and feeling encouraged that its going to be a quick and painless journey from here on out.

I’m so thankful to know the best physician in the world with the best insurance policy. The only thing He asked in return is that I visit him more often and not let myself get so beat up before asking him for help. I now love going to the doctor and make daily visits just to chat.

After waiting what seemed like forever for the next bus, it finally came. I excitedly stepped aboard and settled in for the two and a half hour bus ride to my friend Eva’s house. All I could think of the whole ride was what her family would be like, and wondered how they were going to celebrate the Chinese New Year. I felt a bit nervous about what sort of foods I would have to eat, but happy to have the chance to visit her hometown of Huizhou.

The bus slowed to a stop, and I disembarked into the chilly air. My friend and her brother met me there and we grabbed a taxi to her house. I was welcomed into her home by her Mom, Dad, and Grandmother and was offered various kinds of snacks and tea.

Right away I noticed a large, dark alter that was set up in one corner of a room. Standing there, dusty and with hints of old incense I knew that at some point it would be used during my visit. At this point, I still wasn’t sure if Eva had told her family about being a Christian, so I was a bit worried about how welcoming they would be towards me when they found out.

Being a traditional Buddhist family, when New Year’s Eve came they cooked a large amount of food just to sacrifice to Buddha. They placed fruit, candy, fish, pork, a whole chicken, shrimp, vegetables, and other things in front of the alter. Then the incense were lit and the bowing began. Later the food was removed from the alter and some was even served for dinner. After swallowing a bit of chicken, I realize that it was the same chicken offered to Buddha just hours before. Whoops!

After dinner that evening we were going to visit a Buddhist temple, which is Chinese tradition. Eva knew that this was not good for her to do since she now believed in God. Independently, Eva went to her parents and told them of her new faith and that she had accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

Unaware that Eva did this, we made our way to the temple with her family. As Eva’s family lit incense and proceeded into the temple, Eva and I waited together outside. As we waited, Eva began to share her feelings and told me that she told her family about being a Christian. She said that her father didn’t seem to understand her decision, and we talked about what she should do next to help her parents understand.

I can’t imagine the tension between Eva and her parents, brother, friends, and culture. What she now believes goes against everything she ever knew or believed before. But she knows that God is real and that He has changed her life so she is willing to stand up for what she believes to be true.

The next day, the tension only tightened as her Dad began to think that it was my fault that his daughter had new beliefs. But Eva once again stood up for herself and testified that it was because of what God did in her heart that she chose to believe in Him. Relieved that the attention was off me, I celebrated in my heart that Eva was willing to stand up to her family to testify who God is and what He has done for her.

Eva and I began to pray that her family would understand her new belief in Jesus, and that she would also be able to share the love of God with them. I was able to leave her home really encouraged and trust that the Lord had a plan for her to impact her family and bring them all out of darkness into the kingdom.

Despite eating food offered to idols, smelling nasty incense, and visiting the Buddhist temple the trip was amazing. I loved Eva’s family and hope to see them someday in heaven!

The following Sunday, all seven of our expected girls showed up with clothes and towel in hand. The room quickly became filled with confusion and fear as they noticed there were also boys present. Which was something they had forgotten that we specifically mentioned.

All were a bit apprehensive as to what to expect but were also holding out in anticipation for the blessed event to begin. Eventually it came time to change into our pool clothes, which was suppose to be pants, a shirt, and anything else you wanted to wear, say undies for example.

The party took a surprising turn when a few girls realized they had forgotten to bring certain items, for example, all of them. So we supplied girls who needed it with extra clothes and were on our way.

As our first guest stepped into the pool, water began to flood our bathroom floor making it look like we just had a monsoon in our house. But she smiled as she sat in our small pool (that was by the way purchased having a whole without knowing it and being way smaller than we imagined) and got ready for the main event.

Sierra knelt down and asked our sister Cathy, do you believe that God is your Lord and Savior? She said, “yes, always.” Then Sierra asked, “have you asked Jesus into your heart”. “Yes, she replied”. Then Sierra told Cathy to plug her nose and said aloud, “I now baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen!”

Sister after sister was baptized that day, seven in all and also one boy as well.

We are here for such a time as this. Following the water baptism came a time of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Many of our friends received the gift of tongues and were able to freely express themselves through the Holy Spirit. One girl named Sally said that she felt God was telling her to go and tell other people about Him and to share about God with her friends. How awesome is that?

The night ended with us handing out Bibles as a gift to each of our newly baptized friends. We challenged them to start reading it with a friend and to keep in touch with one another over their spring break. I’m confident that God is going to move through this group by connecting them with one another.

Soon we hope to start our very own house party after getting back from Thailand. We have eight sisters, with more on the way, and a few brothers that will be attending service in our home. There is also one boy named Chuen from Hong Kong that has been casting the vision to US for starting a family party as well!

I don’t have a smashing ending for this, but God’s work is glorious enough in itself. I think it’s clear that he’s here and he’s moving, and that His heart is for this place.