Faith & Freedom

It has now been a couple of weeks since I returned from China.  I'm now mostly asleep and awake at the appropriate times.  As is usual, it takes me time when I return from China (or other places abroad) to reflect on and process what I experienced.

Still a work in process, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, I wanted to reflect on my thankfulness for faith and freedom - not something that everyone on our planet is blessed with.

This trip we visited a new part of China - a province and city to which I had never been.  It is a city of about 4.4 million people.

Following church one Sunday morning, we met with the Senior Pastor, as well as the head of the Red Cross and the head of the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) for the area.  (For those not familiar with China, the RAB helps to set, monitor, and enforce religious policy in China.  They help to decide who is/isn't in violation of policy and what the ramifications for their actions should be.)

It was an amazing meeting!

The pastor shared about all of the incredible things that the church is doing - building houses, donations to earthquakes, health clinics, helping those in the community find jobs, rebuilding schools in the rural areas so that kids can get back to school, etc.  They have received awards for their work.  "We're just doing it for God," is what he told us.  They have plans for building a rural church, want to setup a net training center to train co-workers, setup a community center for the elderly.  The government, we were told, has given them land and a lot of support.

Knowing that rural areas are frequently very poor and the people who live there lack resources, we asked the gentleman from the RAB if we could assist by providing Bibles to the poor Christians who will be attending the new church. "Sure, no problem," he responded. We were surprised and delighted as this has not always been the case (is continues not to be in some areas).

The gentleman from the RAB told us that his role is to maintain the rights of all religious people and, if conflicts arise between religions, to serve as mediators.

In their city of 4.4 million, we were told that there are 500 registered places of worship - this could be a church, a temple, or your mothers living room.  Of those, 200 are Christian, 200 are Buddhist, 100 Daoist, 9 Catholic, and 1 Muslim.  There are 150,000 people in the city who believe in any religion.  By RAB records, 60,000 of those are Christians.

 

In China, the children's belief is in accordance with their parents, as the focus for children is education.  According to law, under 18 a child cannot attend church without his/her parents.

Many of the first to come to the United States did so for religious freedom; for the ability to worship where they want, how they want, and who they want.  I am thankful that at this time in our history, we still have that freedom of faith.

and the constant is...change...

I leave for China on Monday.

One of the things that I learned early on in doing missions, ministry, and cross-cultural work (and I guess any work for that matter), is that one thing you can absolutely count on is change.  So we plan the best that we can, be as prepared as we can, and then know that something about our plans - sometimes something small, sometimes something big - is going to change.

Part of the plan for my time in China was to visit the rural orphanage shown in my previous post.  This trip would serve a significant role in my planning for the team I'll take there in June.  The orphanage has a great story and great need for its children.  Today, when the final confirmation call was made to them, we were told that apparently the local government has built a brand new orphanage, that this one will be moving, and that there won't be a need for us to come this time or in the future.  Hmmm...ok...

This isn't something that I really understand.  It wasn't in the plan - for next week or next June.  We'd planned; we'd communicated; we'd visited in August; we'd planned some more; and then the inevitable change...

So, we'll get on our various planes on Monday and fly to Beijing.  We know that there are others there who have significant need - some we've had previous discussions with but who didn't seem to fit "the (our) plan" as well as the orphanage in Fuyang did.  There will undoubtedly be many emails flying back and forth between now and then as we reset our plan...remembering that it isn't "our plan" but "His plan"...

Good thing I'm getting to be so laid back and flexible...

Heading to "the Other China"

In October I will be headed back to China - this time with chinaconnect.  We will be headed into what we refer to as "the Other China" - the China which is beyond the bright lights of Beijing and the hoopla of Hong Kong.  One of the places we'll visit is an orphanage where I will be taking a team next June.  Below is a rough video that I've put together from pictures and video clips that have been shared with me by friends who were recently there.  If after watching it there is something tugging at your heart, maybe you should consider joining me in June...if you can't, maybe you'd like to join us through the sharing of your financial gifts.  As you'll see, there is a lot to be done to help these kids - and that requires not only many prayers, but some dollars, too!

Giving Generously or Living Generously

There are many newsletters which arrive regularly in my inbox.  Frequently - admit it, you do this, too - I just hit delete.  When I do find myself opening and scanning down through a particular message, there will usually be something that jumps out at me.  Such was the case today as I was reading the current edition from Excellence in Giving.

The headline read, "Giving Generously or Living Generously - Generosity is not a one time action it is a constant way of life".  Interested in the topic and curious about what they were going to say, I clicked on the link.  The author, Jay Link, shared some thoughts and experiences which resonate with me.  Mr. Link says, "The lesson is this: I can be generous in how I give without being generous in how I live. Conversely, I have also learned that a person who lives generously always gives generously."  Hmmm....

Following snapshot shares a couple of his points (click here for the entire article):

Characteristics of those whose lives model "Living Generously":

"Characteristic #1:  Generous Living is Open-Hearted

Those who live generously are open-hearted and alert to find people who are struggling, hurting or in pain. They empathize with those whose world is difficult and they enjoy trying to make it better.

Characteristic #2: Generous Living is Open-Minded

The minds of those who live generously are always thinking about creative ways to bless and encourage others in both great and small ways. They are consciously engaged in their world and the lives of those around them, poised to show generosity to anyone whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Characteristic #3: Generous Living is Open-Handed

The resources of those who live generously, all of them – (time, talent, treasure [and torso]), are ready to be gladly given whenever a need or an opportunity is discovered. When it is within their power to respond, they relish the privilege to make a difference and bless the life of another – friend or stranger. They live out the extreme attitude, “What is mine is yours and you can have it.”"

I don't know about you, but while I work hard to give and live generously, I think I've got some work to do.  Let's all make it a goal to do so - just think how much better our world would be!  Thank you, Mr. Link, for your transparency and prompting to thought and action.