On Saturday, Colonel and I were invited to go out to dinner with one of the American teachers here named Lanny and two Chinese believers. Of course, we accepted. We met up at the front gate of the school around 5pm. We had to do an early dinner so that we could get back to chat with Steve on skype. It turns out that the first lady we met spoke English very well and she just so happens to be the aunt of the lady who translated for me at the dentist. She's a very friendly lady and I was just so impressed with her English ability. Unfortunately, I can't remember her name.
The second lady we met was named Mili (pronounce mee-lee). Mili doesn't speak much English. Mili's sister was a university classmate of the first lady's sister. Anywho, it's confusing, but I get it. So Mili heard about us somehow and wanted to meet us.
It's important to note that these two women attend different congregations in this city. Mili attends a congregation that's far from where she works. She's looking for someone to teach her the Good Book in English and near by her work location. In fact, Mili asked me to come to the bank where she works and teach the people there the Good Book in English. I was shocked to hear this invitation because of the danger involved. It's a very scary thought to me, especially when all I can envision is the swat team here that comes to pick up the money from the banks armed with M16s. They stand in the street and guard the trucks until the money is loaded. I can just imagine that group busting in on one of our studies and not being too happy about what they see.
Anyway, I checked and double checked with Mili. Eventually I got the real story from her. Mili is a private banker who works at a China Construction Bank near our school. She is a manager there. She's very good friends with the boss at the bank and they've discussed the idea of having English lessons at the bank. They want to offer this service to their VIP customers as a sort of perk. It was Mili's idea to add the Good Book aspect to it. She assures me that it's okay, but I'm still hesitant. However, I didn't come here to not teach people. I've definitely decided that I'll do it once we return from our visit to America. We'll see how it goes. If we raise enough money to get the Chinese lessons this summer, then they will definitely come in handy with this group.
We ate dinner with Mili and her friend and then Mili followed us back to our apartment. She wanted to know where we live because she plans on attending our meeting next week. I've got to find a translator before that time because her English is not on par with the level used in our meetings. Hopefully someone will volunteer to translate.
Mili visited with us until we had to call Steve up on skype. I learned that her sister has 4 children. This told me immediately that her family is wealthy. After one child, or in some cases two children, the Chinese have to pay a steep fine for each additional child or go to jail. On top of that, the child can't get any birth certificate or register as a citizen here, so they can't attend school, get a visa, or anything else. It's like they don't exist. We know one particular person in this situation right now and he's desperately trying to avoid jail time and get the money he needs to pay for his child.
I also learned that Mili and her sister have shipped their children off to attend school in Canada because they don't like the Chinese education system. That tells me that they are rich, connected, and educated about the social issues in China. I was impressed the more I talked with her. This is the first lady we've met who has major social status and connections in this city. This could lead to really good things, or it could lead to disaster. We'll see what happens. Colonel and I really did enjoy talking with these two ladies. They're very nice and not too pushy. It was a comfortable visit. They did give us a gift of wine. Neither of us drinks alcohol, but it was a nice thought. We'll have to find someone to re-gift that to, or start cooking with it. I don't even know what kind of wine it is.
Old Family
During our skype session with our liaison, I received a phone call from my friend Alicia. Alicia lives in Jingzhou, the city we were in a few years ago. She's one of the Chinese who became a believer after our 1-on-1 studies. Over the past years she's been struggling spiritually. She's been juggling work, and new child, her faith, and her family situation.
Hearing her voice again was like warm sunshine after three years of cold cloudy winter days. I couldn't help but smile. Alicia is like family to us and always will be. I miss her more than words can say.
She called to thank me for studying with her all those years ago. She said that it changed her life so much and she's so grateful for all the studies I did with her. She also thanked me for the advice I gave her about bringing her daughter to the meetings. Alicia said that she was asked my Mr. Wang, one of the house meeting leaders in that city, to give her thoughts about their study on Acts 17. She basically took the chapter and broke it down into 4 parts. She explained her understanding of the chapter. At the end Mr. Wang praised her immensely in front of everyone. He said that she's really been growing and he can tell that she's been studying and researching the Good Book. Alicia was so proud about this, and she should be. Mr. Wang is not an easy man to please. When we were there, he would openly scold people in our meetings for not being knowledgeable enough about the Good Book. He would complain about their translation ability, English ability, or anything else that he felt wasn't up to par. We often had to stop him from making people feel bad at our meetings. If he was praising Alicia, then I certainly wish I could have been there to hear her thoughts about their study. At one point, tears came to my eyes as I listened to her talking. Man, I miss those folks.
I do hope that eventually she'll be able and willing to teach some women's study groups there. She's been a believer for about 5 years and she's hanging in there even after her teacher has left. Lots of new converts don't do this. They falter and eventually fall away after their teachers leave. I'm so proud of Alicia for sticking in there and taking charge of her own development. On top of all that, she's been improving her English. I talked to her about 5 months ago on the phone and she could barely speak to me. When we talked on Saturday, she was speaking like a native again. She's definitely been working hard.
She said that she wants to come visit me before I return to America this summer. I don't know if she can make the trip, but I sure hope that she can. I miss her so much.
We sing a song here called We Are One In The Spirit. Colonel and I introduced it at our meetings in Jingzhou, and we've continued it at our meetings in this city. It's an English song, but has a very Chinese feel to it. The folks really like it everywhere we go. Alicia said that every time they sing it at the meetings, the people say that they're one in the spirit with Colonel and I even though we're not there with them. They miss us very much, but they always think of us and remember us. It's so great to hear this. Colonel and I always think of the Jingzhou folks as our Chinese family. It's wonderful to know that they still think of us occasionally. I hope we'll see them again one day soon.
Meeting
We had our same old crew join us for our weekly meeting: Katherine, Cheryl, Mark, and Sophia. We studied John 3:16 and the verses around it. It was a good study. We've really been leaning on the folks in our group to take the lessons on a more personal level. So far they've kept the studies distant like "that's good for you, but not for me". It's been frustrating. I'm still hopeful that it will change. Katherine is a freshman, so we have several more years to study with her if all goes well and we're able to stay here. If our plans change, then I don't know what will happen with this group. There's no one here to carry on the work, and we haven't been able to train a local man yet. We're still searching, teaching, and praying though.
English Corner
I was finally able to go to English corner again. I'm still not totally well, but I always feel guilty about not going. It's our one time to really reach people and I've been sick for so long. It makes me feel like I'm not doing my job, even if I do have a legitimate excuse.
Colonel was immediately swooped up by Maggie Q, the Chinese believer who joined us a couple of Sundays ago. She wanted to introduce him to some of her friends. It was funny because Colonel was trying to introduce me to Maggie Q's friends, and Maggie Q specifically ignored me and specified that she wanted to introduce them to Colonel. It stood out to both of us, but we let it slide. Colonel went to chat with that group and I sat alone for a bit.
A young lady sat beside me and started asking me questions. She was a bit confused about her life. She said she didn't want to be a teacher even though she's an education major because she doesn't want to talk in front of people. Then she said that she wants to be a tour guide. I pointed out that a tour guide is just another type of teacher and that she'd still be talking in front of a group of people.
Eventually, my old friends gathered around. Clearly they have missed me. Colonel has been telling me about all the people that ask about me, but I didn't really believe him. I had many folks come to join me tonight though. Almost immediately the conversation turned spiritual. It was one of the best conversations I've had at English corner. The students asked many questions. Here's a few:
1. What's the difference between church in Shangqiu and church in America?
2. Why do some people worship Mary?
3. What are the qualifications for becoming a [teacher of the Good Book]?
4. How can people get forgiveness from [the Father]?
5. Why do people need forgiveness?
6. Should I [talk to the Father] when I'm confused about life or can't accept a situation in life?
7. My mother is a believer, but I don't know why she [talks to the Father] so often.
8. How can I know [the Father]?
9. What do churches do with the money that people give them?
10. What about women? What's their role?
11. Does the language of the [Good Book] change the understanding of the words?
12. Who pays the teacher in a church?
13. Does the government decide where the church money goes?
14. Where do you attend in this city?
15. What's the role of the priest? (This lead to a whole other conversation.)
16. Are people born with sin?
There were several other questions and I can't even remember them all. It was a good night. Even my friends who normally avoid the conversation were getting involved. I met a new guy tonight named Rome who was incredibly interested in this conversation.
I was even able to use my recent illness to explain some important ideas to them. It was a very good night for conversation for me. I can't say how happy I was to have those conversations.
Unfortunately, my bad health won out over the evening. Because I talked from 3pm until 10pm, my throat became raw, I started to lose my breath, and we had to leave. I forgot to bring cough drops with me, so I couldn't continue any longer. The coughs became so terrible that I couldn't even respond to people around me. It's clear that I'm not totally healthy, but I feel so much better than I did a week ago. Health is coming, but it's a slow process. At least I was able to make it through 4 hours of teaching today before English corner started and my coughs kicked in.
Health Problems
As noted above, I'm still recovering. I've completely recovered from my surgery, I'm just dealing with this lingering cough from the cold that I got. It does make the work here difficult if I'm not able to talk.
Prayer Requests
I didn't ask these people specifically if I could post their personal information here, so I'm just going to use initials and speak generically. If you know these people, then you'll immediately know what I'm talking about. If you don't know who they are, then just pray for them anyway.
Please pray for our buddy S.B. and his family as they make their transition to a new life. It's always difficult to move and to start over. Keep them in mind.
Keep praying for our buddy R.S. who is still recovering from his health ordeals.
Pray for T.M. that he'll recover quickly from his surgery and not have any recurring issues.
Pray for M.S.Y. (a student here). Her mother is sick and in the hospital. M.S.Y. has missed many classes over the past 3 weeks so that she can care for her mother. Also pray for her mother's recovery.