Wow I’m heading into month four and have yet to give a recap of month one! We started this race back in August in China and it was a bit more difficult than we anticipated. China is a closed country, meaning it’s illegal to share the Gospel, and the format for our ministry was open which means we made our own schedule and created ways to do ministry without drawing too much attention to ourselves. Blogs had to be password protected at the time and I happened to be locked out of mine for the entire month. My phone also did not function in China due to all Google products being blocked and my phone being an android was useless. Right as we left the airport to head to China I was hit with a flu like cold and was in and out of a fever the entire plane ride over. I had wicked stomach pains for the whole month to find out in Nepal I had a bacterial infection. We moved four times, starting from Shanghai to Wuhan to Xi’an and finally Xinning. We traveled through Tibet for a week but that will be a separate blog because there is much to cover in Wuhan. Due to the real threat in giving a recap I can neither share pictures of those I’ve encountered nor can I give names for their safety and protection of their identities.
Seal Team 6 eating dinner in Shanghai
Right when we got into China I immediately noticed that residents were glued to their phones. Even though we live in a world saturated in technology it felt different. Perhaps it was because I was out of my element and had objective eyes but the disconnect was heavily tangible and it seemed as though everyone was immersed in another world and completely unaware of their surroundings. I learned that China has something called the Social Credit System which is a system developed by the Chinese government intended to standardize the assessment of citizens and businesses economic and social reputation also known as Social Credit. This generates a social score which is an overall social media performance that will yield either reward or punishment. Punishment in this case consists of flight ban, exclusion from private education and higher class employment, slow internet connection, exclusion from hotels and registration on the public blacklist. This is set to be implemented by 2020 and considered a form of mass surveillance which uses big data analysis technology. There were cameras in every place feasible, even facial recognition systems set up in public restrooms that controlled whether or not one could get access to toilet paper. My team had one time jay walked and noticed our pictures were taken by traffic cams. There is much that can be discussed about this topic but this is not the place to dive into that.
The Bund riverfront view in Shanghai
Our days consisted of many prayer walks where we would each pick a location and spend time in silent prayer for that area and its people. We were careful not to use any Christianese type words or give the appearance of any Western type worship or prayer. In the first week of being in Wuhan, where we spent the majority of our time, we had to register at the police station to give an account of our stay. Come to find out we were all flagged and my white, 6’8″ tall, teammate Austin was ‘super flagged’ and it was made known to us that we were under surveillance. Despite this obstacle we were still able to have fruitful and ordained encounters with locals. I will give a brief synopsis of a few.
view of the robust nightlife from our apartment in Wuhan
Wuhan, the capital of the Chinese province Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, is known for its many universities in which we visited a different one each day to pray for and engage with anyone we could. One afternoon we came across a few students with a basketball and the men on my team challenged them to a game. The rest of us sat on the benches and watched them play. A girl whom I’ll call Jane was also watching her friends play came over to me and starting to talk via a translation app on her phone. It started off with the normal where are you from, what do you study, why are you traveling type questions. Eventually her friends came over and started talking to all of the girls on my team. I gave them the key-chains I had and they gave us handmade bracelets. Several hours passed by and Jane noticed my teammates’ tattoos and starting asking about them. My team leader shared about her lion tattoo which opened the door to share the gospel since the meaning is biblically based. We exchanged contact information with Jane and my team leader messaged her later that night. She continue the gospel conversation with Jane asking her if she has ever read the bible. Jane said no and my team leader responded with a “would you like a bible to read?” This dialogue continued for a few hours to where Jane eventually agreed to receiving a bible. The only caveat was Jane was visiting Wuhan and had to catch a train the next day early in the morning. We had an incredibly small window to get her a Chinese bible. We proposed that my team would meet her at the train station before she caught her train. In the end, it worked out that only my team leader and I ended up going as to not draw too much attention with an entire group. We woke up at 4 am and took a bus a couple hours from our home and scouted out the train station which happened to be right across from a police station with officers patrolling the station around the clock. My team leader and I waited in different locations to meet up with Jane. To my surprise Jane and her friends from the basketball court spotted me and greeted me with a hug. It was a quick exchange, giving Jane the bible wrapped in a brown paper bag, with direct instructions not to open the bag until she got home. Jane excitedly took the package and waved goodbye. We continued to keep in touch with Jane as she asked many questions about the bible and what certain words meant. I continue to pray for her, that the seed planted would not be stolen or choked out from the world (Mark 4:1-20) and that she will be a light to her friends.
bracelets that were given to us by our new friends
the train station where the bible drop off took place
Later that week we did another prayer walk in a park and I heard some jazz music off in the distance. Instantly I was drawn to the soft sound of the trumpet and began my search for the source. I came across an elderly man playing the trumpet with two ladies playing saxophones. My team and I sat on some benches near them taking in their practice. We applauded him after he finished and the gentleman got excited when we took an interest. He then offered his instrument for John to play. John agreed which multiplied this man’s joy tenfold. We spent the next hour talking to them, at one point made a verbal observation at one of the women’s cross necklace. We discovered that she is in fact a Christian and she invited us to a church service that was taking place the next day. We were thrilled by this invitation and we were under the assumption that this was our way into the underground church. It wasn’t long until someone came near us with the intent to listen to and observe our conversation with these locals and we had to say goodbye. We got up early the next day, met at the same park, and took a bus to another location. We followed our new friend through alley ways to arrive at what appeared to be a big cathedral type building. The service resembled that of a Catholic service. We later discovered that it was a government sanctioned church, meaning the services are tightly controlled by the Chinese government. My team did not know how to process what we found, a church in the open in a country than outright bans the practice of Christianity with bibles laying freely on tables made no sense to us with the reality of the persecuted church in China. I believe the topic of the persecuted church can be delved into further as well just not in this space. In all honesty I will say I am thankful we did not encounter the underground church and expose believers in hiding as we were already flagged and being observed. I do believe the people we met in the park were genuine in their faith and that people in the church can receive true salvation.
John playing the trumpet in the park. Wuhan, China
The final interaction I want to cover is one of my favorites. It happened on our last night in Wuhan. The men on my team went to play basketball with some friends and the girls went to a food cart festival for dinner. My teammate Victoria saw a girl whom I’ll call Kim, sitting by herself and invited her to eat with us. Kim agreed and came over and we quickly began chatting with her. To our surprise she spoke English rather proficiently and we only needed to translate a few times. Kim shared with us her family upbringing which her parents are Muslim and she herself is an atheist. Kim invited us to visit her university campus after dinner and showed us where she plays volleyball. After we toured her campus she asked if we would like to go to the park and watch the dance practice for the Military Olympics. In the park on the benches away from people we were able to dig into some deeper talks. Kim had questions about Christianity and asked why we were believers. We each got to share a piece of our testimony with her and I was able to use some apologetics to illustrate God’s love for her. We asked if we could pray for her and she agreed under the condition that it wasn’t in the park and away from people. So we walked out along the water and I prayed that she would have a tangible encounter with the Lord. We found out that she has friends from America who have also shared the gospel with her in the past so it’s really cool to see God chase after her and continues to pursue her. It is my prayer that He would remove the veil that hinders her from seeing His glory and experiences His unfathomable love.
Part 2 of this blog will wrap up our time in China and will be posted when I’m able to find decent wifi. I’ll be in Ethiopia this month and will be at the mercy of nearby cafes since internet is scarcely available in country. Also, I am still fundraising and need roughly $7,500 to complete my fundraising goal! I’m beyond thankful for your support through prayers and encouragement as well as financially. I would not be here if it wasn’t for time and dedication and I don’t take that lightly. Please prayerfully consider if you would like to continue to partner with me in building His kingdom and serving the nations.
-Saha
