|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:21 pm
So for one of my assignments for Intro to Missions, I had to select an ethnic minority somewhere in the world and find a way to bring them the gospel as well as planting a church. So I chose the Dai people of Jinghong, capital of Xishuangbanna which is in Yunnan province, China. I decided to do this paper as a series of four journal entries. I thought I'd share it with all of you. I'm gonna post it in four parts. Keep in mind that I'm single and I only made up a husband for this paper. Enjoy.
“After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
REVELATION 7:9
Entry 1: Adjusting to a New Way of Life
There are 25 ethnic minorities in China. It is a strong calling from God that we narrowed our passion for missionary work to one of them and the decision was made based on my husband and his friend’s vacation trip there about five years ago. Yet even these people, the Dai of Xishuangbanna (XSBN), are many and live scattered in villages and small cities throughout the land on the southernmost tip of Yunnan province. We had it in our best interest to go to Jinghong, the capital of that region, mostly because there were opportunities for me to teach English in a high school there and also because—in the event that churches would be planted there—it was central to spreading the gospel to other smaller villages. There are other ethnic groups there, but we chose a location that was on the outskirts of the city and dominated by Dai people.
Considering the Chinese nationality of our team, I thought it best to adopt a Chinese name, Tao Ya Lan. Accompanying me were my husband, Tao Ren, and our close friends, Li Wenzhong and Li Jun, with their two children, Ping (their son) and You (their daughter). All of them are Chinese citizens. Ren is a linguist and Bible translator. He was born in Thailand and speaks fluent Thai, which is somewhat similar to the Dai language, and Mandarin as well. When he was young, he and his parents moved to Shanghai because his father had received a respectable job offer. Their conversion from Buddhism to Christianity is a story of great inspiration, but is too long to explain here. Li Wenzhong is a farmer and knows all things concerning agriculture and livestock. He also has a minor in Biblical Studies, having taken courses before we left for China. His wife, Jun, is a registered nurse and Trinity graduate.
We arrived in Jinghong after spending a day in Shanghai where I had to finalize my working visa (which I would have to renew every year). We were to live on the outskirts of the city where there was a farming community. Ren and Wenzhong had arranged to purchase a small lot of land near where Wenzhong would be working. We had also arranged to gather some of the locals to help us build our new house. Because of the wet and tropical climate of XSBN, our house, like any other, was built on stilts. We lived on the upper level, while livestock (if we had any) would dwell on the lower level. Building our house was a big event and the locals were more than willing to help us. During the building period, we were graciously accepted into one family’s home. It is customary for visitors to share in a toast (which was more like a drinking party to me) with the host. Of course, I drank and managed to hold down what I could. My husband and Wenzhong were both dead drunk that night. However, it is disrespectful to pass by an offer to drink in Chinese culture. I was glad that they did all the drinking while Jun and I could tend to the children.
At last, the house was finished and we moved in just in time for my first day of teaching English to high school students in the city and Jun’s first shift at the hospital. I was excited but nervous because I remembered that the government had a close watch on us because we were Christians; Jinghong’s people were primarily Buddhist. Not one of us was allowed to speak about the gospel or we would be sent home. However nervous I was, my first day was an overall success and my apprehension gradually eased. The days that followed became easier and easier, but there was still our missionary calling in the back of my mind.
My husband was usually at home with the children for most of the day. They, Wenzhong and Jun all got into routine rather quickly. It took me longer to adjust because I was Canadian and they were Chinese, but I happened to pick up the language quite quickly thanks to the Chinese courses I had taken at TWU.
Every night, we would gather in the living room for prayer. We asked God night after night that He would use us in miraculous ways and that we would be able to minister the gospel to the people. Because of our tight restrictions, our mission had nearly come to an abrupt halt. But God is ever faithful and He can bring out the impossible. We knew that we were there to plant seeds for the building of a church. This required us to dive into the culture and customs of the Dai people, as a form of incarnational movement.
We had been forming relationships with our neighbours, the Wang family, and others from work. They taught us much about the Dai people’s traditions and religion, and festivals such as the Water Splashing Festival, Door-Opening, and Door-Closing Festivals. I always listened intently, wondering how I could bring the good news to this people in a way that was meaningful to them. But I knew that building relationships was important for bringing them to Christ in due time.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:24 pm
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
PSALM 46:10
Entry 2: Planting Seeds
One of the most challenging obstacles in our mission was the devote religion of the people, especially on special occasions such as birth, death, harvest, the building of a Buddhist pagoda or house, or the upgrading of monks. I attended the Water Splashing Festival with Wang Yu, my neighbour, and Jun. Jun and I explained to Yu that we could not partake in the Buddhist rituals because we served only one God. Thankfully, she understood us and respected our values. So each year, we watched this event, and we began to make some adjustments of our own. Instead of giving offerings to Buddha, we gave offerings of flowers and our best food to God in our own home, and recited the Scriptures concerning the last supper of Jesus and other Biblical acts of worship. And we did communion as well. Ren could play acoustic guitar and I had come to learn how to play a dizi, a Chinese bamboo flute; we played these as we worshiped God.
After some years, Yu became curious of our using Dai culture to serve the Christian God. She asked me why we worshipped with Chinese culture when Christianity was a western faith. I explained to her that the God of the universe was a God of all the languages of the world and can be worshipped in many ways, including Chinese culture. This was around Christmas time three years after we had arrived there. I offered for her and her family to come celebrate Christmas with us. She was reluctant at then, but on Christmas Eve, she agreed. Her husband, Peng, was not happy to come and partake in this event, but he came anyway because of his wife’s persistent efforts. We told them why we celebrate Christmas and the story of Jesus’ birth. They left peacefully. I’m not sure if we touched them in any way, but they had listened attentively, especially Yu. But Peng seemed to think nothing of it, which I half expected because of his devout Buddhist faith.
We fasted on Good Friday, a practice we had been doing since we had first arrived. Now this provoked some questioning from Yu, who knew we practiced these strange things. So we took the opportunity to explain the story of Jesus to her. She listened intently and was even amazed when she heard of Jesus rising from the dead. We explained that Jesus had died for our sins and that we could be free to have a relationship with Him.
We did not know what kind of impact this had on her because she did not press further on the subject, but returned home. However, in a week’s time, Jun and I were approached by some women in the community, asking us if we could tell them this interesting story. Apparently, Yu had been sharing this story with them and they wanted to know what exactly sin was and how Jesus’ blood had washed away this sin. So Jun and I invited them to our house and with our Bibles in hand, we taught them about Jesus and briefly how the Biblical story pointed toward His coming, His death, and His resurrection. We spent hours teaching them until just before dinner when they had to leave to cook for their families.
We were so excited about this that we told our husbands about it. Ren and Wenzhong were worried at first because all of us were under strict watch from the government. Wenzhong reminded us that we could be sent home at any moment. So after dinner, we prayed for Wang Yu and the women whom we had just ministered to, that the seeds planted would grow and that the women would be a light to their families, especially their husbands.
Over the next few days, the same women, ten in number, came to us and slowly we began to form relationships with them. As was expected, their families were unrelenting and rebuked them for mentioning God and Jesus in their houses. A few were even beaten. So we decided to meet twice a week for a small Bible study. We began teaching them from the beginning of the Bible. When we finished reading from Genesis to Revelation and explaining the gospel to them again, they began to accept Jesus into their hearts. Jun and I had shared our testimonies with them and in due time, they began to share their testimonies with us, one by one as they came to believe in Jesus as their Saviour. All of us moved on to discussing the importance of prayer and studying various other parts of the Scripture. Jun and I prayed with them for their families and for those who had strict husbands. For three years we did this, being uncertain of what would happen. But I was excited to have reached these women, and God had already worked in their lives.
We had the problem of not having a Bible translated into the Dai language. We had Chinese Bible’s but these were in Mandarin and not comprehendible enough for our women. Five years after we had first moved to Jinghong, a few days after the Water-Splashing Festival, Wang Peng approached Ren about the Christian God. He had been reluctant to hear about it at first, but lately, he had been listening to his wife’s praise for this God who had set her free. He explained to Ren that Yu had changed, being more optimistic and happier. So Ren invited him over to our house and told him about Yu being involved in a Bible study twice a week and how Jun and I had been teaching her about Jesus. Peng, being a very stern man, listened without saying a word. But he was visibly curious.
So Ren began to teach him, beginning with Genesis. At the same time, with Peng’s help, he began to translate the Bible into the Dai language. As they progressed through the Bible, Peng grew more interested and was particularly taken by the gospel and Jesus resurrection. In two years, they had completed the translation. By this time, more men from the women’s families began coming to hear the teachings and before long, whole families were cramming into our house to listen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:25 pm
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
MATTHEW 28:19
Entry 3: Establishing the Church
We were in need of a new building because of the many families that had now joined us for Bible study. Others were beginning to notice us as well and soon the higher-ups found out about our missionary work. Little did we know, someone had been observing our new Christian culture for the Dai people during festivals and other important days. I do not know what he told the government, but for some reason, we were only approached about it once. We took that opportunity to request land to build a church. They were unwilling at first, but after we persistently pressed them for one, they finally gave in. For six months, everyone began to set aside money for the building. We built the church in a style that resembled other Chinese architecture over the course of four months during the dry season of the sixth year of us being there. When it was finished, we feasted and gave thanks to the LORD for three consecutive days.
The next obligation, aside from maintaining work and me applying for Chinese citizenship, was to get a pastor. Wenzhong already had a great deal of knowledge about Biblical content, so he volunteered. Now we held our services on Sunday mornings at ten, which is more of a western custom, but our new friends did not mind. After the fifth service, Wenzhong discussed baptism with them and the importance of becoming “born again”. Many from the congregation decided then and there that they wanted to be baptized. So we baptized them in the Lan Cang River.
Fortunately, we were able to form ties with a church in Shanghai and even in Vancouver because Ren, Wenzhong, Jun, and I had ties there. Once every month, we would connect with them and discuss all the different issues concerning a newly established church. Wenzhong met with other pastors in the country every so often as well to discuss what was happening in the church and asking for advice on how the church could grow. He would return from these trips feeling revived and having so many ideas for the benefit of the congregation.
When the church was five years old, the population had grown from ten to thirty-two families. Many had joined because of the influence of its first members. Jun and I led separate women’s groups, each once a week, and we heard from many of them that believing in Jesus Christ was much more attractive than worshipping Buddha. They had explained to us all of the wonderful things Jesus was doing in their lives and they wanted to live according to His ways, free from the bonds of sin. Ren had reported from his men’s gatherings that many of them had shared about the positive things God was doing in their lives. Wang Peng and three others had become elders in the church and several women were involved in different ways, from managing finances to planning events around festival time. Preparing for the Water Splashing Festival is a huge event, which usually follows or is part of Easter weekend, when we celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection.
Although the church was growing, a large part of the community’s population was still Buddhist and looked on us as a foreign people. Some even turned their backs on us and shunned us. However, we did celebrate many Chinese holidays and festivals; our praises were not directed to Buddha, but to God. Jun and I kept working at the hospital and in the High School (except for the year when I had my first child). There was another nurse in the hospital who had recently joined the church and whom Jun connected with. But even then, there was tension between them and the other nurses and doctors. I did not see much change in the High School, yet every now and then I received a question either about the Church of Jinghong or about the Christian God. I had to speak wisely, however, because the principal of the school strictly forbade me to preach to my students. I was okay with that, though. As long as I could be a witness there, God would fuel the seeds if He willed it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:27 pm
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world
as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
MATTHEW 24:14
Entry 4: The Leave Taking
While the church was still young and fully established and running smoothly, even for its early years, Ren and I felt that we should have more children. Chinese law prohibited us from having more than one child and in order to have more, we would have to leave the country. Wenzhong and Jun had other plans. They were permanently fixed to the church and were passionately involved in it. However, they knew that we would not stay; they knew it since we first came here. I became increasingly homesick as the days pressed on.
So Ren and I, with our two-year-old son, planned over the course of four months our leave from China. There was a lot of packing to do, having lived there for twelve years, and a lot of other things to do. Ren and I handed over our church duties to Jun, Yu, and Peng. We sent much of our belongings overseas in advance to my relatives in the lower mainland of B.C. We also found a place to live in Surrey and Ren found a good-paying job, which he would begin in September. At last, I resigned from my teaching position at the High School. My students made a huge going away poster for me and we had a fun day on the last day of classes ultimately my last day of teaching there. The faculty wished me goodbye and good luck in the future. Wenzhong formally “sent us off” and prayed for Ren and me before the congregation of the church. We had a potluck lunch afterwards as well so we could personally say goodbye to all of our friends and other acquaintances we knew.
In August of the twelfth year of our living in Jinghong, Ren and I departed with our two-year-old son, Chang, and flew first to Shanghai to visit Ren’s parents and finally to Vancouver, where my uncle picked us up and we moved into our apartment.
We always kept in touch with the Church of Jinghong and our friends, the Li family, sent us frequent updates on how things were going. Ren and I did had more children, three more, for a total of four, but we did not wish to go back to Jinghong. We had settled into our home and community quite nicely. But we did plan visits every other year when we went to see Ren’s parents. The first time we returned there, the church mass had grown considerably. The church had to have two services to hold everyone, and there was a strong worship team as well. As I watched everything around me, I thought, “God, you really can reach all nations; you are amazing.”
Indeed, the Church of Jinghong was now a witness to all Dai people and other ethnic minorities in the city. The name of God and the good news could spread from the capital to the surrounding villages. Amen!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
