Hey guys,
Last update (I think). Today, I went to an especially powerful service at Remnant Westside Church. The church falls in the AMI family, which is what Pastor Seth had originally been a part of.
During the service, Pastor Sung, a Korean-American who now lives and serves as head pastor of a church in Beijing, delivered a strong message on the need to go and make disciples of all nations. He recounted his experiences of the process leading to his permanent stay in Beijing, and how his underground church grew from a Bible study of 3 to a church of over 100 in the past three years.
At a missions conference during my freshmen year of college, I was inspired to seek out opportunities to serve and minister in China. I've never felt very Chinese, but there has been this subtle yearning to go and truly learn these people who are ultimately my people. Last summer, while interning in Shanghai, I had the opportunity to see firsthand how so many seemed utterly defeated with absolutely no greater hope to live for – the never ending rat race, especially in a country of 1.3 billion. I saw the huge divide between the have's and have not's. And now, those prayers sown since my freshmen year seem to be opening up before me.
I talked briefly with Pastor Sung after the service. Nothing is set in stone now, but I may have the chance to help grow this underground church. Especially after my experiences last summer, I feel completely confident that God will be my provision. Again, I'm not entirely certain yet what will develop from here, but I'm hoping to buy a one-way ticket to Beijing scheduled for some time in the spring and see where the Spirit leads.
"Things fall apart so that better things can fall together," or so they say. At least in this instance, I couldn't agree more. What I had not truly understood before seems so much clearer now. Some of the best advice I've received this past year was, "Just be completely available to God, and see what happens from there." This is definitely not what I expected. But it is more perfect than I could have ever planned. Please pray for me -that God would continue to affirm this change in direction and give me a greater clarity into His will.
Thank you all again for the continued support and prayer. I hope I get the chance to thank each of you personally. It's been an incredible journey already, and it's only just begun.
In Christ,
Anthony
P.S. This is the song they played during today's service. Fitting.
