We expected China to be great, many of us at least, myself included. I didn’t have any idea of how but after the many ordeals it took to finally get our visas (now in possession of a 10-year tourist visa by the grace of God), we felt that something special was in store for us. Even so, we never expected it to be the oasis that it was.
Let me paint the picture a bit for you; The Exodus just spent two months in the desert. Granted, we weren’t actually living in the Gobi Desert but in comparison to any other destination we were close enough to say that we were there. And in Botswana we actually did live in the Kalahari Desert, that was very real. So The Exodus was accustomed to the desert scene both physically and spiritually as in both settings, given one church with spiritual stagnation and one church very alive in the Spirit just in a foreign language, we depended solely on our teammates for spiritual growth. Also upon writing this, I’m further understanding the parallels between our experience and the story of our namesake… but that is a different blog for a different day… maybe.
So we survived two months in the desert before arriving at our eleventh and final assignment (to learn of the organization we were working with see the hyperlink below). We were oriented to our lodging on the small yet accommodating compound and learned that we had beds, pillows, hot showers, towels(!), a washer and a dryer, a media room with every movie and tv show imaginable, fresh produce in the village, and cheap Chinese take-out across the street. Seriously, this restaurant though! It was a whole in the wall place we called Pink Noodle as the store exterior was a rare pink paint that served delicious and reasonably large rice and noodle entrees for under 10 yuan. Needless to say, I was a regular at Pink Noodle so that even if I ordered a different dish, I was still served my usual dan chao bing. But back to our locations…
So we were blessed as you can imagine. In fact, it was overwhelming. Some of us cheered, many of us cried, and a few of us just stood shocked and stunned. Speaking for myself, I was baffled and confused but receptive to it all. And in the wake of our physical blessings came the even more sincere spiritual blessings. We quickly discovered that we were surrounded by so many who loved the Lord and chose to project that love onto us in addition to the children in the home. It was the first time in a long time that we were connected with people who wanted to pour into us as much as we wanted to pour into them. Even the simple act of initiating prayer time every morning as a team brought us much rejuvenation. And in fellowship once a week our time was dedicated to encouraging one another, lifting each other up in prayer, welcoming new visitors, and exhorting visitors that were leaving. My favorite detail of the whole experience was that there was a prayer room on the compound always available for our personal use. I didn’t have much free time throughout the month between tutoring geometry, demonstrating science experiments, teaching dance and learning Chinese all as a part of putting together a homeschooling program for the “mk”s. But when I did, I would always try to sneak away to the prayer room to spend time with my heavenly Father discussing things that were, things that are, and mostly things that will be. And it was glorious. We never lacked a surplus of water be it physical or spiritual which became evident by the fruit of the organization, the variety of growth that took place on the compound.
So often times, in the moments I had to pause and take in all the blessings, I would question it. Lord, why are you blessing us with this ministry? Why are you blessing us with these accommodations? Why are you blessing me personally in utilizing my passions so entirely? But somewhere along the way, I felt that the “why” did not matter. Perhaps there was a reason we were showered blessings, but perhaps there didn’t need to be a reason. And so I received it all, and recognized them as they came, and sent praise to the Lord with a spirit of gratitude.
So we were nourished in all aspects of being. And I’m not the only one who saw this place as an oasis, so many who weren’t even a part of the World Race felt it as a place of healing, miracles, rebirth, and growth. It’s a land that has been blessed by God, a holy land of sorts, the Promiseland to The Exodus so to speak. Although we began to lack full endurance, through it all God provided us the restoration needed to finish well. And finish well we did.
So here’s to The Exodus! For surviving the desert and crossing the Jordan into the Promiseland that found itself of the outskirts of Beijing.
