DEPUTATION UPDATE
At the end of our 6th months of deputation we have currently 44% of our support coming in. We have no occasion to glory but in God only Who is the provider for His work. We want young people and folks thinking about missions to be encouraged that when we say “Yes” to God, He’ll pay the fare, but if we flee from His presence then we’ll be like Jonah, and we’ll pay the fare. Deputation can be an enjoyable time to put your faith to the test and allow God to show Himself strong for you. We’ve found that God has not only caused us to trust in Him more because of the provisions, but He still has us in His school preparing for His work.
ERIC LI
Eric, our Chinese brother, who has been coming faithfully for disciple-ship every week was baptized into our home church on January 17th. Just before he gave his testimony of growing up with his Christian mother. He said his mother always made him come to church which was a house church in the Fujian Province. During his testimony he explained that going to church was always something he had to do. It was not until recently that he asked the Lord to save him, and it was not until very recently he understood that the true gospel teaches eternal security. Realizing this he bowed his head in our home and made sure of his salvation and was baptized a couple weeks later. Just in the few months I’ve had to mentor Eric its been a blessing to watch him grow and his excitement for the Lord like many young Christians. Eric this past week showed many leadership qualities while witnessing in Warren, Ohio. Eric, Alisha, and I met Pastor James Dittmar of Warren Baptist Temple this past week to begin reaching the Chinese community of that city. We visited nine Chinese run restaurants altogether looking for a starting point for the church to begin reaching out. We prayed that we would meet a Chinese Christian who spoke English that would give the church a place to begin reaching out first with the restaurant, then the rest of the Chinese community. It was a proud moment to watch Eric without being prompted to take initiative to begin conversations with shop owners and the cashiers. God did provide a starting place for the church to begin. We met a Christian owner who has two daughters that are to come to church this Sunday. At this point Eric’s future plans are to start his own restaurant, but I’m praying God will call him to preach!
THANK YOU
Thank you for your prayer and financial support. We are very pleased to not have to wait for China to begin His work. May the Lord bless you for your desire to stand with us in China.