Today, April 1st, is the first day i have been able to get on the internet since i left Manila, Philippines. I am excited to update you on my last month & fill you in on what is coming up this month! At the beginning of March we flew from Manila to Hong Kong. The next day my team & i took a 34 hour train ride followed by an hour bus ride to a mountain city in Northern China. This was NO ordinary train ride. The best way i can explain the unforgettable experience of boarding/sitting on the Chinese train & attempting to get on the public buses is an analogy of helplessly fighting through a rough mosh pit at a ska/punk concert, trying to rush to the front of the stage through a crazy,pushy mob.(believe it or not, i used to mosh! haha) Personal space? Non-existent. One person per seat? Ridiculous idea! At many points during the 34 hour train ride i had Chinese men smoking right in front of me, without any open windows, reaching over me for their baggage & hawking lugies INSIDE the train, next to me. If i got up to use the disgusting “bathroom” squatty potty i would return to find out that 2 Chinese men had seized the opportunity to sit down in my assigned seat. It was a great lesson for me. God was/is always teaching me PATIENCE. Teaching me to give up my rights. This time my “rights” took the, form of my assigned seat. One of these men, who only spoke Mandarin Chinese, was about 6 ft 6 & did not have a seat. I was exhausted after no sleep & traveling for many hours, but I knew God was telling me to give up my seat & go stand in the aisle way, for however long. I had a choice to give up my own comforts/rights to a seat to someone who hadn’t even paid for a seat & who could quite possibly stay in my seat for the rest of the 24 hours that were left on the train.Since i couldn’t verbally share about God’s love to this man i knew that my actions would speak louder. I smiled at him & motioned for him to take my seat. Shocked, he came over & thanked me in Chinese & had a big smile on his face as he sat down.This opened a door for friendship & he & his 6 friends shared their food & drinks with me later that evening on the train & even gave up their blanket for me to sleep with when i got cold.He even called his wife on the phone (who spoke broken English) & had her talk to me. It was cute yet awkward. He pointed to my tatoo on my neck which says “Philippians 4:13” & i was able to share it with him. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Somehow he understood me when i explained it. God allowed him too understand. Ironically it was the only English he understood, in the 34 hours that i had attempted to communicate with him. ha! God can do anything. I had to stand for several hours in the aisle but i was able to serve him, as Jesus would. Did i WANT to stand up for hours? No. But i wanted to be obedient to what God was calling me to do. Serving is humbling. It requires sacrifice. It requires giving up our own comfort for others. Just a small example of how God used my team & i in China this last month.
It was frustrating at times because we lived in an area where NO ONE spoke English so it was very challenging to interact & connect, but we did our best. We visited a few college campuses, met some students, & played basketball. Our contacts were a family from Mexico. They had an adorable 2yr old boy who we spent a lot of our time with. They spoke mostly Spanish so we were thankful that Phillip, our team leader, just happened to be fluent in Spanish & was able to translate/communicate for us! God worked that out beautifully! They had such passionate hearts for the Chinese people & it was such a blessing to get to know them & encourage them. They were a huge encouragement to us also. A few years ago they left their family & friends in Mexico to go live in China & follow where God was calling them. Even though they did not know how to speak/read/write Chinese & it was way out of their comfort zone, they got up & left everything to reach out to those in China who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are currently taking many hours of classes to learn Chinese & they also teach English to people they meet.Christians are not able to meet for church openly in public so they must organize underground churches/house meetings in secret. The Chinese government bugs all of the phones, taxi cabs, computers, buildings etc so it can be a very lonely place for missionaries. Our contacts were thankful to have the opportunity for fellowship with other believers. Freedom of religion is something that i have taken for granted in America. The fact that i have the freedom to publicly meet at a church & not be at risk for being arrested, beaten or murdered. I can play Christian music in my car or at my house. I can talk about Jesus on the phone without being arrested. I can openly share about the Bible when i sit at a coffee shop or when i walk down the street. Yet with all of the freedom we have in America, how many of us take advantage of it & USE it boldly? The sad thought is how empty our churches would probably be on Sunday mornings IF attending church meant risking our lives, being beaten or arrested, even killed.Then we would truly see who the true followers were & who were the ones who only follow Christ when it is convenient & comfortable. Sad but true. When we realize that following Jesus is dangerous & not safe at all, will we still follow Him? Jesus says to pick up our Cross & follow Him. To die to ourselves. To share in His sufferings. He says when we cling to our lives we lose them, but when we lose our lives for His sake we find them.We live in FEAR about what others may think of us or fear of rejection. Did you know that God says “Do not fear” 365 times in the Bible? When someone says something 1 time, we sometimes listen. If someone says something twice, we usually take note of it. So when God says something 365 times, He is trying to get a serious point across!! He knows that fear paralyzes us & that His perfect love casts out all fear. So in Him, we don’t need to have any fear. This month challenged me to be more BOLD, no matter where i am at.
The weather was also a challenge for us. We went from warm, hot tropical weather of 80 degrees in the Philippines to cold winter weather, ranging from 12-40 degrees. It snowed the last week we were there. But we had a fun snowball fight & made the best of it! It was beautiful to walk in the snow as the snowflakes were falling, covering the trees & mountains. I can not remember the last time i was in the snow…it has been several years! We were in one of the most polluted cities in the world * great to know, isn’t it?* I would say about 80% of the Chinese locals walked around with masks on their faces, due to the to heavy smog, exhaust & toxins in the air. God provided us with enough warm clothes so we could get by, so i am thankful for that! Our team was the closest this month to each other than we were all 6 months. It was great to see God unite us with a deeper love & understanding for each other. Putting each other before ourselves & laughing with each other & praying/worshipping more with each other. Living at that apartment with our contacts really felt like home. All 4 of us girls slept in 1 room & the 2 guys crashed on their couches/living room floor. We were in close quarters, so it was definitely God’s grace that allowed us to get along so well! Haha.
After living in China for a few weeks & interacting/praying/observing the people & their culture & getting to know a little more about them, i definitely have a heart for them. I took a lot of pictures so i will try to post them on a blog as soon as possible so you can get a taste of what i saw/experienced. We were the only 6 white people in the area (at least i never saw any). Everywhere i went i was stared at by Chinese people of all ages. Many of them have never met a white person before. We were like a traffic accident on the side of the road & every Chinese person was rubber necking, doing double takes as they passed by us. It was funny & annoying at the same time, but expected. At this point on the World Race, i am used to it.
We took a 24 hour train ride from Northern China to Beijing & spent a few days at a hostel there. I got a chance to hike/walk on the Great Wall of China for about 3 hours on March 29th! It was an amazing experience! One of the 8 wonders of the world! Hiking to the top of one of the mountains, on the Wall, i was able to catch some great views of China. We flew from Beijing to Bangkok March 31st-April 1st & tomorrow my team (just the girls) take a 10-12 hour bus ride to Phuket, on the coast.( back to 95-100 degree heat & humidity) There i will spend the rest of April, ministering to the girls/women/men who are involved in sex trade/prostitution in the red light district. There are over 2 million prostitutes in Thailand. One in 100 Thai people have HIV. It is now the leading cause of death in Thailand. The sex slavery industry makes 22-27 billion dollars a year in Thailand. Me & about 20 other women on our P Squad are going to love on these women for the next few weeks. We are going to visit the bars & make friends with the women. Probably buy them for a few hours so we can hang out with them while they are working/prostituting so we can show them what REAL love is & get to know them. Buy them dinner, take them to a movie, share about God’s love with them & that they have value & worth. We will be partnering with SHE ministries. They help rescue the women out of prostitution & provide alternative ways to make a living: making jewelry/purses & other job trades. They also counsel women & provide shelters for women who come out of sex trade & have no where to live. When i was in Thailand in 2007 i went to Bangkok & saw first hand the girls lining up outside the brothels, waiting to be bought by a man. It was horrible to witness & broke my heart.I prayed to God that summer….that He would bring me back to Thailand so i could help minister to these girls. Four years later, here i am! I am back & ready to fight for these women. Please join us in prayer. It will be an intense, heart breaking month as we go to battle on these dark streets. It will not be easy but i know God’s love & compassion will shine & win!I expect Him to do miraculous things again this month.Thank you for your support & prayers! I should have internet access this month so i will keep you updated as much as possible. I love you all!
Proverbs 31:8-9
“Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless.Speak for them and be a righteous judge. Protect the rights of the poor and needy.”
Quote by Brennan Manning, a brilliant author of Abba’s Child, The Ragamuffin Gospel, Ruthless Trust. “The compassion of God in our hearts open our eyes to the unique worth of each person.”
May you experience His love & grace today on a deeper level than ever before. Love His servant, Michelle Smith
