Eric's Beijing Diary

Very brief but well-written overview of initial missions to the Hui Muslims in China. It is part 9 of a series, so the whole piece is longer. But worth reading. I was interested in it because I spent four summers in Gansu Province during the years that I was teaching in Beijing.

I first traveled to Gansu back in 2006.

I had an idea to try to get in touch with a village school in Gansu. So I didn’t want to stay in a youth hostel. Truth be told, there wasn’t much for youth hostels in Lanzhou at that time anyway, but I would not have wanted to go to one even if there was. That’s very unusual for me. A good youth hostel is usually the first thing I look for. But my idea was to be near Northwest Normal University so that I could try to meet a teacher from the countryside who could put me in touch with village education. So I got the brainstorm to call the university and ask for the Foreign Experts building, not knowing if there even was one.

Fortunately, there was one, and I was able to stay there for a nominal cost. Then I walked around the campus until I met a teacher and asked him if I could visit his village. Turned out his cousin was running a summer school, so I met up with her and helped her teach the children. That was the first of four summers I spent up on the Tibetan Plateau in “Gannan’” the southern part of Gansu Province bordering Sichuan.

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Labels: China Missions, Hui Muslims, Travel Gansu

Qingdao--Beijing Express. It was three weeks ago yesterday that I left Beijing on my way to Lanzhou. It has been a very eventful three weeks. One of the things I most wanted from this experience was to know experientially what God can and will do when we put our lives in his hands. Abraham tried it, and he discovered the blessing of God in far greater measure than he ever could have imagined.

I set out this summer not knowing where I was going, except that Gansu Province was somehow in my mind. I think the reason for that is that, when you live in China, Gansu Province is so often mentioned as a place where people are poor, and education is deficient. So, given my interest in rural education, I think Gansu Province was a logical choice. But that's what I think. Who can know the mind of God?

It's called "vision." A sense that one is supposed to move in a certain direction combined with a picture of what one expects to see develop as a result of that movement. I have, for many years, been obsessed with this question.

"Daddy, why do we need 'bishion?'" This is the question my daughter (Juliana) asked me when she was about 4 or 5 years old. She had obviously heard me praying for it many times, and wanted to know what the big deal was. So what is the big deal? Why do we need vision? I think the first reason is that we cannot see by ourselves. Bob Pierce, the man of faith who founded both World Vision and Samaritan's Purse, always said that you should never take on something that you can do without the help of God. If we would be used by God for something that will have eternal value, we must be willing to walk by faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). And if we walk by faith, we must have vision--the ability to see things by faith that others cannot see. To call things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17).

This year, it seemed that I was a bit slow in getting a vision for what I was going to do this summer. I think it is partly because of a plan (which never came about) to have a family reunion in Japan. I had kinda put everything on hold just in case that actually came about. When it became clear to me that the reunion was not going to happen, I began to think and pray about where I should go this summer. Gansu Province immediately came to my mind, for the reason that I mentioned earlier, and perhaps also because it is on the old Silk Road. About Christmas time, I was talking to Abe, and he told me I should go to Yunnan Province, so I started to think along those lines. But I mentioned this to Jean one time, and she said, "Eric, you can't listen to everyone else. You need to do what God tells you to do." I knew she was right. Because of my sensitivity to the great need, I was very sensitive to suggestions. But I was being too open minded. I really needed to pull back and hear from God. Sounds grandiose. Hear from God? But if I am a Christian, I must dare to believe that God does lead us when we ask Him.

I seriously considered making a permanent move to the countryside. At the present time, it doesn't seem to be the way God is leading me, mainly because I really have a desire to see Chinese Christians from cities like Beijing become involved in helping the poor people in the western part of China. If I go myself, I must give up that part of my vision. So many NGO's that have worked in China, have been non-profits from the West, bringing western money from Britain or America and using it to pursue an agenda developed by outsiders. I don't want to do that. I would much rather see the development of a Chinese non-profit funded and operated entirely within China by Chinese Christians. But the picture just isn't clear yet. It is still a bit fuzzy. Lots and lots of unanswered questions.

Labels: Travel Gansu, Vision

"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee." (Genesis 12:3)

There is something both very important and very special about seeking God's blessing and annointing on what you are doing. My prayer to God is always, "If you cannot bless what I am doing, or the way I am doing it, please show me how to do things in the way that pleases you." Hudson Taylor said, "God's work done God's way will never lack God's supply." This is true. The trick is not in somehow persuading God to support us, it is in seeking God with our whole hearts, to find the way that pleases Him so that he can bless the work we are doing, because it is His work.

Lanzhou. I wasn't sure where I should stay when I got to Lanzhou, becuase this city does not have any youth hostels that I know of. I finally got a brainstorm to call the University (Northwest Normal University) and see if they had a guest house. Lucky me, they did. It isn't luxury, but it is about the same as a nice hotel for a much lower price (120RMB/night). When I first called the guest house, the desk lady, who is sweetness personified, was embarrassed at her difficulty with English. I finally got her to give me her email address, and I sent her an email in Chinese, requesting the address and location. That way, I could show her email to anyone who knew they area, and they would be able to help me.

I boarded the train yesterday evening in Beijing. I had only been able to find a hard sleeper ticket, so I asked the fuwuyan if I could upgrade. She told me to go ahead and get on the train, and she would check it out for me. But you know how it is. The train sits in the station for almost a half-hour before leaving, so by the time she came around and asked me if I still wanted to switch, I had already gotten settled in and was getting acquainted with the neighbors. When my new neighbors heard me talking with the train steward about upgrading to a soft sleeper, they insisted on switching places with me so that I could have the middle bunk. I didn't want to make that big a deal about it, but they were such nice people, that I went along with the deal.

One of my neighbors was a young lady named "Eagle," who was traveling with her family back to the city of Lanzhou. She had just been to Beijing to appy for a visa from the Canadian government. She is planning to go to Canada in the fall to study. She will start out with an English language training program in Toronto, then switch to the University of Alberta. As I was telling her a little of what I am trying to do in China, she said, "Do you believe in Christ?" I told her that I did. She said, "We all believe in Christ." I asked her if she went to church. She said, "No, I'm not a Christian. But I will be a Christian when I go to Canada."

This morning, when the train pulled into Lanzhou, a kid from Lanzhou who had heard me asking folks which bus to take to the University told me that he would take me to the guest house. Saved me a lot of trouble, because he knew the area really well. Before I left the train, Eagle made me promise to call her when I got settled. She wanted to show me some of the city. Handy, because she has lived here all her life, and could probably show me more in a few hours than I could see in a couple days on my own. I didn't really come to Gansu Province to see Lanzhou, but I wouldn't mind taking in a couple things before I leave for the countryside.

Labels: Travel Gansu