Eric's Beijing Diary

Went to the English service Christmas outreach last night. It wasn't really that much about Christmas. Very few Christmas carols. Mostly songs from the regular English service. But it went really well. In America, people who go to Christmas programs come with a certain level of expectation drawn from culture. Here they are mostly just very curious. But the English service attracts a lot of students. After the service, they had a prayer time, and many students went up to the front. One student sitting near me said, "Do I need to be a Christian to go up there?" I said, "If you want me to pray for you, I would be happy to do that." Well, you know how it is, if you pray for one person there is sure to be someone else who wants to get in on it. I prayed for four people right where I was sitting. Everybody wants a blessing. That's alright. That's how it starts. Slowly they will begin to realize that the blessing of God is far too rich to be taken in little Christmas morsels. For some, once their curiosity is satisfied, they lose interest. But for others, the desire for God's blessing grows and grows until they are consumed by it.