What’s
up everyone!? We’ve finally come out of hiding in the shadows of Communist
China, safe and strengthened by the challenges of embodying the Kingdom of God
in an environment that seems wholly bent on trying to stifle it. Sorry that I wasn’t
able to write a blog all month, as it is AIM’s policy that we don’t use
internet while in China to protect the ministry contacts with whom we work.
Just a word on that so you understand the situation of China: Although it isn’t
quite uniform throughout the whole country, overall, China’s Communist
government does not allow people to openly “spread” a religion, but that
particularly applies to Christianity as far I can tell. The system is really
complex, and I don’t have a good grip of it, but basically you are allowed to
be a Christian, but any “group” that wants to assemble for worship or other
gatherings needs to register every such event with the government and it needs
to be regulated by them. As Communist regime, the government is excessively controlling
of the population and keeps a magnifying glass on everything that goes on,
tapping cell phones, video surveillance widespread, blocking many internet
sites like facebook, youtube, and even reading people’s personal e-mails, and
sending police to question people (especially Americans) when suspicion arises.
The good news is, from what we understand, any temporary visitors “caught”
doing something they don’t like will simply be made to leave the country with
no legal punishment or fines. It’s those who take up some kind of residence in
China that are liable to serious punishment if caught.
So
its undeniably a dark and oppressive environment in China… but I can emphatically
ensure you that hope is alive and growing, largely due to the faith and work of
organizations like the one my team worked for, International China Concern
(ICC). There’s so much I’d love to share about my experiences this month, so to
make it as concise and easily accessible as I can, I thought id go cultural on
you all and whip up a little literary Chinese buffet for you to enjoy some of
the “food” from this crazy month. I know some of my Hempfield boys from back
home love a good Chinese buffet (but not as much as Tokyo Diner haha). I’ll
title everything as a real food that I ate this month and as the actual topic
I’m talking about in parentheses, with the actual price on the side in Chinese
currency (RMB or Quay, 1 USD = 6.6 RMB). Don’t worry, none of this strange grub
made me sick, so I’m sure you’ll be all good, just dig in. Go ahead and peruse
the menu and take as much as you’d like. Try a little bit of everything, when
are you gonna be in China (again)?
Tommy’s Chinese
Buffet Menu
1. Fried tofu with rice, cooked cabbage, green
and red FIRE peppers…… 4 RMB
(Our
ministry contact, International China Concern)
ICC was started as short-term missions
organization aimed at helping orphans and disabled children of China. Over the
last 15 years, they have now established 3 sites of full-time operation for the
care of orphans, mostly ones with some kind of special need. We worked at their
site in Hengyang, a medium sized city (3 million people approx.) in the Hunan
province of China, kind of in the central west region of China.
The
reality, although there are signs that its slowly changing, is that China more
or less tries to pretend that people with special needs don’t exist. You would
be hard-pressed to find anyone in China with special needs, with the very rare
exception of someone with a physical disability from an accident (I saw one). The
reason is, the government hides them in the corner of the room, figuratively
speaking. The government has welfare centers, a misrepresentative name, where
they send or allow people to send children or adults with special needs. The
problem is, they provide nowhere near the adequate resources to care the lives
of these people. In fact, it clearly seems to be their unspoken and secret wish
to let many of them die so they don’t have to take care of them. Despite the
government’s efforts to hide this atrocious reality, the founder of ICC
discovered a small piece of it when he visited a welfare center with a
connection he had during one of his first times in China. He found a room
tucked away in the old, shoddy building where they were placed children that were
weak and emaciated, and then shut the door… ignoring the cries of hunger and
longing for their right to me loved and cared for as a child. The “caretakers” walked
away to let these helpless children die.
15
years later now, ICC is fully or mostly operating 3 of these centers, with the
permission, and on a small scale even the gratitude of the government. And to
top it off, they know that ICC is a Christian organization. Whereas they weren’t even allowed in to
some of these centers from the beginning, it truly is a miracle of God to see
the progress that has been made in ICC’s fight for the lives of these precious
people. In the center where we worked, the 110+ people are well fed, clothed,
and cared for by the staff of ICC, all given a chance to experience a quality
of life that would otherwise be impossible for them without the provision of
the Lord through ICC. The remaining building at the center that is still
technically a government run welfare center, not run by ICC, is a far cry from
minimally adequate, however, a place overrun by sadness and plagued by
starvation and compassion-fatigue. I did not work there, but a few of my
teammates did, and their stories would no doubt bring tears to your eyes and incite
a cry for justice in you, but they are not my stories. Nevertheless, the fact
that they are even allowed to work up there now, alongside one of the long-term
ICC volunteers, is a milestone of hope. ICC was not even allowed to see the
kids there 1 year ago. And now ICC is running a snack program for the kids
there that helps, a lifeline for so many of them who get something like ¼ or a
1/3 of the food they should be having at their age. Slowly but surely, the
government is realizing the good that ICC is doing for the lives of these
people. They are relinquishing their control and loosening their choking grip
inch by inch as the Lord fights for His dominion of love over these forgotten
people, something like the untouchables of their society.
The
work ICC is doing is nothing short of amazing. They are a voice calling out in
the vast wilderness of China’s oppression, and as it is the Lord speaking
through them, this voice IS being heard. They are voice for the voiceless, shedding
the tears for those who cant shed anymore, and this voice will not be stifled,
these tears will not continue forever. ICC is making permanent advances for God’s
kingdom in this country and its being noticed by the public. While we were
there, a few student groups came through to visit the residents of ICC as field
trips or for volunteer hours required by their school, something I’m pretty
sure never happened a decade or less ago. The Chinese are slowly realizing that
people with special needs have value and deserve the same love and life that we
all enjoy freely and often take for granted. Hope’s momentum is gaining day by
day and the day children with special needs won’t be neglected or forgotten
ever again is just around the corner. We just need to believe in the work the
Lord has already done and trust that it will come to completion. Let us rejoice
in the Lord’s love that is here and won’t stop fighting for those unable to
fight for themselves until they have the life and dignity they deserve as His
children.
2. Grilled ostrich meat on a stick, basted
with a signature sauce….. 10 RMB
(Our
daily work at ICC)
4 of my teammates and I had the privilege
of working with the “middle and big boys” at ICC, boys ranging in age from
about 10-22. I say privilege because there’s no other ministry this year that
has provided me with the amount of smiles and laughs that I found here. From
8:30-5 (with 2 hour lunch and rest break) M-F, we went about their days with
them at the center, dancing, singing, playing, doing crafts, going for walks,
and doing anything crazy or odd that made the boys happy. Our purpose this
month was to help one of the ICC volunteers integrate a better schedule which
involved activities that help the boys improve their physical and mental
capabilities, and experience what brings them joy in life. We were able to model
this for the caretakers that are there full-time so they could continue it
after we left, with the long-term volunteer there to oversee it.
From throwing hula hoops, passing a basketball,
playing with a big parachute, and dancing, to coloring, playing with
connectable building circles, lacing, and playdoh, we got in touch with our
inner child and were blessed to witness these boys truly come alive as they
discovered their interests and abilities. Every experience was like they were
finding an unknown land with which they were fascinated. Like me when I first
watched Star Wars and became a closet fanatic (don’t judge, I didn’t read the
post-movie books, do space battle drawings, and write my own stories… or maybe
I did…), I’m sure you all can remember a time you first did something you love
and it was like uncovering a new side of yourself. This is exactly what we got
to be a part of for some of these boys this month. My favorite story like this
was teaching a boy named Gong Gong how to throw a hula-hoop with a little
backspin on it so that it hits the ground and rolls back to you. After watching
me do it with utter enthrallment a few times, he was determined to learn this sweet
trick (I know you’re really impressed that I can do it, right? Haha). Sure enough
after a few tries he did it. When it came back to him, sort of, and fell down,
he picked it up and looked at me with a smile stretching from China all the way
back to Lancaster, PA, his little eyes squinting so much I couldn’t even see
them anymore. Now I know at least a piece of the joy I will feel when I get to
watch my child experience succeeding in something he/she wants to do for the
first time. I have no doubt it will be just as memorable as the elation I felt
with my buddy Gong Gong.
3. Grilled Snake, extra slimy……. 15 RMB
(Some
surprise ministry and friends)
Somehow we ran into a few other Americans
in our grocery store who live and teach English in Hengyang at the local
university. They work through an organization called ELIC that provides English
teachers to Chinese universities who have a “secret” 2nd agenda of encouraging
willing and interested students to discover God. They treated us like family,
taking us out to dinner a few times to some great places we never would have
found in Hengyang, and taking us to explore a historical island on the local
river. It was so nice to have some other Americans to talk about the crazy
struggles of Christianity in China and encourage each other to see the hope of
God here despite the darkness of the culture and lifestyle. On top of that,
they invited us to spend an afternoon walking and taking with their students in
a park, hoping to have a conversation about God sparked during the time where
we could encourage and witness to them. It was such a refreshing gift to have
even just one opportunity to share God’s love with some Chinese people
verbally, since we could only show it through non-verbal means with the boys at
ICC (most of them couldn’t talk, and obviously none knew English). I had one of
the best spiritual conversations ive had with any local on the Race, talking
about his passion of philosophy to find an entrance into talking about God. He
had an intense hunger and curiosity to know whom this God is that we would come
to China to share about and Who did such an amazing work of grace in my life
through the death of my mother that I had shared with him. God planted a seed
in his heart and mind that day, and He/She’s already watering it through the
relationship building now between him and our friend, his teacher that set this
day up. I truly believe, from the many stories I heard from the World Racers
this month, that this boy’s strong curiosity and willingness to ask questions
characterizes a significant % of the young generations today in China. Like we
got to see and believe about the forgotten people with special needs in China
through ICC, God’s love is burning for ALL the people of China, and this fire
is being kindled in the lives of the young people who will soon be leading
their nation. Believe in the power of the Lord’s movement, for it is spreading…
it is bringing life to a place where death has had a stronghold for so long.
Believe and add momentum to the movement.
4. Sheep testicle with spices… not enough spices though, if you
know what I mean haha ……… 30 RMB
(A
lesson for a life of faith I re-learned)
Remember all those toys you got rid of as
a kid because you were bored with them? How about all those things you replace
today just because you’re tired of them and want something new, maybe something
better? There have been too many times in my life as an American suffering from
insatiable desire for what’s new and more that I failed to find the joy and
fulfillment available in what God had already given to me. The ICC boys, just
like the many Special Olympics athletes I’ve worked with before, humbled me to
see that we don’t have to look high and low for contentment in life. If you’re
willing to see it, it’s waiting for you right where you are standing, in
everything that’s in your life.
What seemed unfortunate and sad to us
about the lives of the boys was actually more than enough for them to jump up
and down with excitement every day.
Everyday they basically do the same things at the same times, with no
other options but the ones available within their walls. Yet they never seemed
to be even a little bit dissatisfied or bored with this repetition day in and
day out.
Due to the language barrier, it was
around these simple daily activities that our relationships with the boys
formed. Each boy had unique, strange quirks or interests that we picked up on
and were able to uplift and cherish with them. Whether it was picking Tu Hung
Jun up in weird upside down positions, singing Old McDonald and random
Christmas songs with Quan Xing, shuffling our feet and rubbing our hands
together with Yang Feng, or letting Tie Tie rub his cheek on our scruff/stubble
on our faces because he likes textures (I know its weird, trust me, haha, but
if it makes him happy, whatever), every time we did these simple interactions
with them, it arose in them the same level of exuberance and joy every time. Over
and over and over again we would do the same silly, weird, or goofy things with
them and they would never get tired with it or ask us to do something
different. They don’t need the latest video game, tv, movie, or car to keep a
smile on their faces. They don’t need to travel around the world, find a
different bar every night, get a better job every few years, or move to a new
city to get a change of scenery like so many of us feel we need to do. Its not
at all that these are bad things. They can be good things, gifts of God for
His/Her beloved people. But its when we latch our ability to be thankful and
fulfilled to our desires for these things that we walk away from the joyride
God already has set up for us in what we have today. The endless mystery and intrigue
of God’s Spirit can be tasted and happily pursued even in the mundane, in that
which we turned our noses up to a long time ago in our hunt for something more.
Its no mistake that the Lord established the baptism through water, the most
common and basic substance on earth as a physical means to experience the
spiritual gift of God’s grace that knows no competitor for providing value,
meaning, and fulfillment to our lives.
Hear me though in saying I wholeheartedly
believe that God always has more for us and wants to trust and follow Him/Her
in seeking the best that God has for our lives… but that trust also entails believing
that God still can flood our capacity for wonder and joy in whatever
circumstances of life God has us in now, as we hope for more of what God has to
come. I know that these boys at ICC, whether or not they know they could have
more outside of that place, will always find satisfaction in what’s before
them. That’s how I want to live my life. Today is always a new adventure of excitement;
even if it looks exactly like the day before. God is right where you are
looking, in the very thing you find yourself doing day in and day out. Don’t
miss out on the marvels God has for you today
5.
“Street Bread:” Basically fried pizza dough with mystery sauce, a staple and
favorite of our diet this month, served on the street…….. 2 RMB
(Wild
N’ Out World Race Style part 3, short edition, I promise! I haven’t done this
or a few months, so ill give some highlights from Africa, Philippines, and
China)
1. Fitting 8 people in half of small pickup
bed, laying all over each other, for a 6.5 hour ride to the deep bush of Malawi…
top 3 best travel experiences of the year.
2. Eating 33 of the best mangoes ever in 3
days in Homba Homba village Malawi… and having my lips on fire afterwards (did
you know mango trees are related to poison ivy? Yea, me neither, hence the
burn)
3. Cooking sweet potatoes (with 1 kg of
brown sugar and tons of cinnamon) over a Malawian open flame “oven” outside for
an unforgettable Thanksgiving feast.
4. Petting lion cubs and then literally
being hunted by full-grown lions in our car at a Lion Park in Johannesburg SA.
5. Celebrating Christmas morning by opening gifts
with the 8 toddlers we lived with in Jo-burg.
6. Boating, knee-boarding, wake-boarding,
and having an amazing braii (barbecue) on the beautiful Vaal river in Jo-burg.
7. Doing an 8-hour hike on the breathtaking
Table Mountain in Cape town, SA, and really thinking that the distant, hazy
white forms I was seeing on the horizon of the ocean was Antarctica… clouds can
be deceiving when you’re hungry and thirsty, right?
8. Renting a surfboard and catching my first
10 waves ever at the famous Muizenberg beach in Cape town… it was totally
tubular dude haha, I’m getting a surfboard for sure someday.
9. Being taken on a boat cruise to Seal
Island in Cape Town.
10. Making friends with the hilarious
Rastafarian fruit stand guys and being given bags and sometimes boxes of Cape Town’s
best fruit for free… no they didn’t do it cuz they were high, they really liked
us!
11. White-water rafting, scuba diving at a
gorgeous resort, cliff diving off a 50-foot waterfall, and taking 25 wild
children to a 5-pool swimming resort in the Philippines. Anyone looking for a
honeymoon or vacation spot, the Philippines is where its at.
12. Playing in a pick-up b-ball league 3
times a week, making sweet Jesus-USA jerseys with Bible book and verse for the
name and number on back for $2 each, and doing a mock trophy award ceremony for
our team when we won the last game. This was one of the most fun ministries of
the Race.
13. Finding a DVD with all the Rocky and Rambo
movies on it in a little burned DVD store in the Philippines, having the old
man running it play the opening scene of Rocky IV on his TV so we could make
sure it worked, and having all of us guys jumping, yelling, and air-boxing as
Eye of the Tiger blared through the sound system. Then I grabbed the old man
and gave him a big hug while he was still in shock and confusion as to why we
were so excited. He must never have seen Rocky “knock [Drago’s] block off,” as Mickey
would have said… men, I hope yall appreciate the scene.
14. Having women and men “hock lugee’s” (spit
phlegm) on the floor in grocery stores, restaurants, and really anywhere in
China… ladies, don’t get any ideas, trust me, its not attractive. You gotta
have quick feet sometimes in China, they don’t always have the best aim!
15. Seeing babies and toddlers all over China
wear the fashionable “crotch-cut” pants, designed for the convenience of going
to the bathroom whenever and wherever they please. Its nice when you see
parents put their bare-butted children on the tables that you eat on in
restaurants too. With how cold it was, I don’t know how these kids didn’t have
frost-bitten booties. Again, ladies, don’t take any tips from the Chinese,
diapers are worth the effort, keep the scissors away from your kids’ pants!
16. Riding bikes with 7 other Racers through Beijing,
almost getting hit by cars, buses, and other mopeds, and almost running into
the marching soldiers during their famous sunset march in Tiananmen Square
before the police stopped us… I don’t think old Mao would have been too happy
if we hit his boys.
Well that’s all
she wrote for this insanely long blog. Hope you enjoyed the Chinese feast, although
youre probably stuffed after all that “food.” My bad.
We are in Bangkok Thailand now with 2
months to go. We are split into guys and girls alone this month, so I’m pumped
for a chance to just serve God with the bros… and not have any girl drama!
Ladies, don’t be offended, you know its true haha. Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No
Cry” is our theme song this month. After this, we finish out the journey in
Malaysia and then head home at the end of May.
Thanks again to
all of you for your uplifting support and prayers, its been a source of my
inspiration every month. I probably won’t have much internet this month, so I
may not post another blog until May, but we will see. I hope to hear from many
of you by email or facebook or just a comment on this blog, as its been so long
that Ive seen all of you. May God be with you and bless you always.
