GO!!!!
Posted by Candace
"The Lord said to Abram, 'GO out from your land, your relatives, and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.'" Genesis 12:1-2
I could share many things about our day in Jessica's city. I could tell you about our trip to the place our daughter was found... that it was nothing more than a sewage drain... that if God had not sent a woman there to hear our 3 month old baby's cries, she would not be here today. I could tell you about the amazing, authentic Chinese lunch we had with the people who run the civil affairs office responsible for Jessica's upbringing. I could tell you how David and I walked into the dormitory room where Jessica spent Monday through Friday at her special education school and how we shuddered at the wet concrete floors and the thin "mattresses" on the bunk beds. I could go on and on about the poverty in China, the conditions in China, the orphans in China, but it all boils down to this ONE thing...
People NEED the Lord. Jesus is the ONLY hope this world has. And it kills me to walk these streets and watch the hopelessness when I KNOW the Hope.
On the way to Jessica's city, we spoke with our guide about the state of China and its population. She said that most people in China agree that it is not good here, however, most also think that the answer is money. Many people move to these huge, overcrowded cities for just that reason... it is easier to make money here. Does money bring happiness... can it buy peace, hope, joy, or love... has it ever solved all your problems? Money isn't the hope of the world... many times it is the bane of our existence.
the other small percentage of Chinese people think that religion is the answer. They search for hope in being a good "Taoist" or a good "Buddhist". If they can keep their heart pure enough, they believe that happiness will be found in good works and good deeds. But how good is good enough? And who decides what is good anyway? For the Chinese, it is the country leadership of the moment that most of them turn to as a "god", letting the government dictate as would a deity. Others burn incense in front of golden statues (actually copper statues, as we were informed if they were really gold that too many people would try to steal them). They kneel down in front of chunks of metal to pray. They set food and drink in front of them as if they will consume it. For hundreds and even thousands of years, the enemy has had his way in China... deceiving, capturing, and controlling a people so beautiful, precious, intelligent, and AMAZING.
Everywhere we turn we see people crying out for hope. In Jessica's city, we visited her school where over 150 children with a range of disabilities spend their week days in conditions that most of us would not leave our pets. One hundred and fifty children that need to know the love of Jesus. Who will tell them? As I stared into these beautiful faces today that looked intently at me as if I could restore them myself, all I could communicate was "Ni hao"... the extent of my ability to share my life changing Jesus was a Chinese "hello" and a touch of my hand on a cheek or a shoulder. I feel pathetic. I feel pampered and spoiled and oh, so thankful that I could return to my 5 star hotel and snuggle up in my bed with my gorgeous family, while right outside my window, millions of people have to live without the grace, joy, strength, hope and love that can only come from Christ. Pathetic!
Yet I am reminded by the Spirit's gentle voice that my job is to obey and to pray and then to obey again. I am not the Savior, I am just a vessel for His use. Oh that He would raise up vessels... a people of God not content to wallow in their comfort zone where the devil wants them, but to step out and pray bold prayers of "What can I do, Lord? Send ME!" Until His people start acting like His people, a whole world is headed for eternal damnation. This is no more true than it is in China, even though it may be just as true in your backyard. He may not call you to China, but I can promise you that He is calling you somewhere to share what He has placed in you with someone else who needs to know. Don't just sit there... GO!
Oh Lord, raise up laborers for your harvest.
I could share many things about our day in Jessica's city. I could tell you about our trip to the place our daughter was found... that it was nothing more than a sewage drain... that if God had not sent a woman there to hear our 3 month old baby's cries, she would not be here today. I could tell you about the amazing, authentic Chinese lunch we had with the people who run the civil affairs office responsible for Jessica's upbringing. I could tell you how David and I walked into the dormitory room where Jessica spent Monday through Friday at her special education school and how we shuddered at the wet concrete floors and the thin "mattresses" on the bunk beds. I could go on and on about the poverty in China, the conditions in China, the orphans in China, but it all boils down to this ONE thing...
People NEED the Lord. Jesus is the ONLY hope this world has. And it kills me to walk these streets and watch the hopelessness when I KNOW the Hope.
On the way to Jessica's city, we spoke with our guide about the state of China and its population. She said that most people in China agree that it is not good here, however, most also think that the answer is money. Many people move to these huge, overcrowded cities for just that reason... it is easier to make money here. Does money bring happiness... can it buy peace, hope, joy, or love... has it ever solved all your problems? Money isn't the hope of the world... many times it is the bane of our existence.
the other small percentage of Chinese people think that religion is the answer. They search for hope in being a good "Taoist" or a good "Buddhist". If they can keep their heart pure enough, they believe that happiness will be found in good works and good deeds. But how good is good enough? And who decides what is good anyway? For the Chinese, it is the country leadership of the moment that most of them turn to as a "god", letting the government dictate as would a deity. Others burn incense in front of golden statues (actually copper statues, as we were informed if they were really gold that too many people would try to steal them). They kneel down in front of chunks of metal to pray. They set food and drink in front of them as if they will consume it. For hundreds and even thousands of years, the enemy has had his way in China... deceiving, capturing, and controlling a people so beautiful, precious, intelligent, and AMAZING.
Everywhere we turn we see people crying out for hope. In Jessica's city, we visited her school where over 150 children with a range of disabilities spend their week days in conditions that most of us would not leave our pets. One hundred and fifty children that need to know the love of Jesus. Who will tell them? As I stared into these beautiful faces today that looked intently at me as if I could restore them myself, all I could communicate was "Ni hao"... the extent of my ability to share my life changing Jesus was a Chinese "hello" and a touch of my hand on a cheek or a shoulder. I feel pathetic. I feel pampered and spoiled and oh, so thankful that I could return to my 5 star hotel and snuggle up in my bed with my gorgeous family, while right outside my window, millions of people have to live without the grace, joy, strength, hope and love that can only come from Christ. Pathetic!
Yet I am reminded by the Spirit's gentle voice that my job is to obey and to pray and then to obey again. I am not the Savior, I am just a vessel for His use. Oh that He would raise up vessels... a people of God not content to wallow in their comfort zone where the devil wants them, but to step out and pray bold prayers of "What can I do, Lord? Send ME!" Until His people start acting like His people, a whole world is headed for eternal damnation. This is no more true than it is in China, even though it may be just as true in your backyard. He may not call you to China, but I can promise you that He is calling you somewhere to share what He has placed in you with someone else who needs to know. Don't just sit there... GO!
Oh Lord, raise up laborers for your harvest.
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