AnEnglishReportoftheshortmissiontrip
2018-06-13
where do i begin? there English names are Abraham and Sarah Liu. they have been serving china for 20 years. they have been given access to heaven¡¯s storehouses because they were faithful with little after they answered the call and attended seminary in Europe over 20 years ago. they now lead Tokyo sunshine assembly and make frequent trips to china. the father has used to them to teach in china¡¯s seminaries, help build training centers, meeting places, and bookstores. during their visit at the end of march, a few of us from my small group were privileged to join them to see some of the fruit of their work and to sow more seed. all of the following places are places where the liu¡¯s have been given favor and where they have been used to bless abundantly. i¡¯ve numbered some opportunities below. please let me know if you want to support!
thursday: young adult small group in Fuzhou. first time i cried on the trip. during our time of singing, i realized that i had been keeping the son at arm¡¯s length. yes, everyday and every second he¡¯s with me and i communicate with him but i had been keeping him at arm¡¯s length and not inviting him to sit beside me. after we finished singing their shepherd spoke and brought the word with fire. it reminded me of our assembly back in the u.s. it was my first time to see such passion in china. i really like that guy.
friday: visited a restaurant and a really really nice coffee shop owned by believers. then visited a training center that the liu¡¯s helped build. why a training center? because the seminaries are not enough and, what¡¯s more, they¡¯re packed! purchasing the space for this training center was a miracle. property in this area is very hard to come by. we also visited the nearby universities to intercede for the students there. the location of this training center is strategic.
opportunity #1: the leader of this training center has a vision to buy the space in the adjacent building to expand. they are also looking for someone to come teach them guitar.
saturday: visited an orphanage led by brothers and sisters from florida. one-by-one these kids were rescued from the holding places for unwanted kids and nursed back from near death by love and intercession. there are three houses in total. in the evening we served at a young adult service of over a thousand people. this was a vision for what can happen back here in shanghai. after service we visited a bookstore that the liu¡¯s helped open.
sunday: the second time i cried on this trip was at a service in xianning outside of wuhan. after giving what i consider a somewhat unclear testimony in Chinese as a small part of our ministry in this service, we saw many people respond to the invitation to know the son. there seemed to more people responding than i had originally thought were present in the service. at that moment i felt his grace flood my heart and the reminder that the results are ultimately not up to us but to the father. after the service was over, we interceded with some young brothers and sisters with a burden to reach the youth in this area. there are many universities near this location. these young brothers and sisters are having difficulties finding jobs nearby so that they can stay and serve. many young people in these areas go to the big cities to find work. we cried out with these brothers and sisters. they are so passionate. they are so determined. yet they are so in need.
opportunity #2: the liu¡¯s want to open a coffee shop so that these young brothers and sisters can have a place to work. this coffee shop will also be a place where believers can read good books and share their faith.
monday: the third time i cried on this trip was during a program put on by the students at the ark institute. i had no idea what i was in for as we ascended the stairs of the ark institute. an elderly lady, who i think was the principal, led us towards a meeting room. as we approached three young girls scurried out each holding a guitar. i think that was the first time i¡¯ve seen a young girl hold a guitar. as we toured the institute, i was left more and more in shock: a classroom of students practicing the guitar; there seemed to be guitars everywhere; a classroom filled with students learning how to lead singing. after lunch all the students crammed into one side of their biggest room. the students then proceeded to knock our socks off with a program complete with skits, songs, and dancing. after they finished, they welcomed us, their special guests, and our program. ¡°what program?¡± we asked as we looked at each other. after we shared some songs and some testimony we had a chance to have some free-time with the students. a couple of us intercessed with a small group of boys. as we left we learned that more than half of these kids are children of evangelists and shepherds. ¡°no wonder!¡± as i thought back to all of them crammed into one side of that multi-purpose room. it was as if i could see the father¡¯s glory in these kids. i could feel that they were the product of much intercession. i saw china¡¯s future in these children.
opportunity #3: the rent for the ark institute is just too high. they have recently found a new location!
tuesday: service in ezhou outside of wuhan. people were packed so close that they couldn¡¯t stand up during service. they waited for over an hour for us to arrive. many came because they heard people from abroad were coming. this is where we linked up with the minister in charge of all the congregations in ezhou. after a really really yummy lunch we set out for the outskirts of ezhou to see the snowstorm damage. we reviewed the damages at three locations. the money that we brought in from japan, Taiwan, the u.s., and shanghai is enough to cover all the needs that were raised by minister over ezhou. this weekend the liu¡¯s are back in china to discuss exactly how the funds will be used. will you help to ask for unity and wisdom as they meet with the leaders in wuhan?
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