Since all
three schools are currently closed the focus of our next team will have to
change. What other kind of ministry could we be involved in? Maybe we should
connect with a school or college and help students with conversational English.
Maybe we should try to improve the health of school children in remote poor
areas. Maybe we should spend some time engaged in prayer walking. Maybe we
should establish some form of business that would allow us to have an outreach
from, like a coffee shop, a health clinic, or some form of teaching good
business principles.
The church
that had the three schools in China also had other ministry interest there.
They supported several full time people there to establish a business like a
coffee shop that specialized in conversational English. For the price of a cup
of great coffee students could come and talk with English speaking people from
the west. By having these full time people serving there they were able to
gather information concerning opportunities and needs, establish relationships
with church leaders and government agencies, and grow in an understanding of
their culture so
that they would
know their limitations
and learn acceptable behavior. This kind of preparation
is so important when planning to work in a culture that is so different from
ours. If you make proper preparations and carefully plan your ways, you will
spend less time failing and then having to start all over. They are learning
and getting better at what they do there and are becoming much more effective
in meeting ministry objectives.
As an
example of being cautious consider the area of sharing your faith. We found
that we are free to answer any questions asked us about Christianity, but if we
go beyond what was being asked and if by chance the person asking the questions
was a government official, you will find yourself in trouble and any work
associated with you, that has been established there, will be compromised. Our
challenge is to live in such a way and answer their questions with well-chosen
words so that a desire is created for them to ask more questions so that they
acquire more information. Our job is to create an environment that gives them
this opportunity. Frequently, these people we meet and have a dialog with will
continue to seek us out and will usually give us their email and request that
we continue to communicate with them. In our email conversations we can say
more but we need to be careful to protect them in case our communication is
being monitored. This example illustrates why it is so important for us to
select and properly instruct those going on our short term missionary trips.
One person saying too much or saying the wrong thing can destroy years of hard
work that was required to establish our acceptance and a platform from which
people are free to ask questions.
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