We just finished living life in China, speaking in codes to one another, and breaking the Chinese law by evangelizing in their closed country.
WHAT. A. MONTH!
We were living in a small village about an hour away from Beijing. To protect the identity of the ministry and the people who work there, we’ll say it was called Yau Ming. And in Yau Ming, we worked with an organization that I’m going to call Dreamers On Air (once again, this is not the name of the ministry, but to protect the missionaries working there, and the ministry itself, this is the name we will use.)
A couple founded Dreamers On Air in the late 1990’s and opened a site in southern China. Their vision was to help and heal disabled and critically ill orphans. As soon as the first miracle happened, their ministry began to grow! A few years later, they were able to open the site in Yau Ming and take in more orphans. Not only do they take in these children, but they also pay for them to have major surgeries that they need to continue an almost normal life. And not only do they provide funds for these surgeries, but they love them, pray for them, teach them basic skills, and find people who take them home as their own… as new members of their families.
Dreamers On Air doesn’t just care about the orphans though. No, they teach the locals of Yau Ming to speak English. They have a public preschool where anywhere from 3-20 kids can come every weekday to begin learning English and basic motor skills. And they also have an after school English program for some of the local kids. But the thing I find the coolest, is their factory. They are able to provide funds for everything they do by selling different handmade crafts (they also have a business back in the states). They do anything from calendars to small handmade wax figurines.
Over the years, Jane and John Doe (that’s the founders… *wink wink*) have seen miracle after miracle; healing after healing; lives changed forever. Christ has been showing up in China for years, and this last month, I got to witness His works.
Ministry, for me, was hard and I wasn’t able to see a lot of fruit. I couldn’t go into the foster home because I was allergic to the chemical reaction of all the disinfectants that were used. I taught preschool for an hour every day without seeing much change in the behavior of the children. I painted an apartment so that the tenants didn’t have to be stressed about it. And it was really hard for me to see the fruit. However, I had the best month spiritually. I was able to have conversations with other visitors, and with The Lord. I was able to get a better understanding of my calling and where I am to end up when I go home. And I was able to fully embrace my gift of leading worship.
I spent this month as a reble. It’s not every day that you can say “I’m a missionary. I’m in China.”
