Hey legends. Happy Easter from Mongolia! We have been in Mongolia for about a week and will soon be heading into the countryside to spend time living with nomads, delivering Mongolian Bibles(which were translated very recently for the first time), and sharing with them the Gospel of Jesus before making the trek in Kyrgyzstan. When we leave the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar we will be off the grid for a few weeks. Now that we are out of China I thought I would get out a blog to share on some of the time and experiences we had. Due to the persecution of our Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ, I cannot go into much detail as to what our ministry looked like as to protect them and the incredible work they are doing for the Kingdom of God. The pictures (and video) I will be posting are away from the ministry we were connected with. What I can tell you is that the Lord is working in incredibly deep ways with the Chinese people. I have rarely seen such fervor, passion, and faith amongst a group of believers. My team and I were humbled and blessed to be apart of the revival that is happening in China. All my life I have heard the persecuted church of China spoken about and referenced, but it always seemed to hold a mythical place in my mind, as if it happened long ago, as if it was something only great men and women of God were privileged to see. Being in it and seeing first hand changes your perspective so immensely on how we as westerners live our days for Christ. The month highlighted the passivity and apathy that I live my American Christendom in. My prayer over the month was to never forget what it looks like to risk everything, everyday, for the name of Jesus. Of course it goes much deeper than this and I have countless stories of the miracles God did during our time. I hope all of you care enough to hear them upon my return. For now you can settle for some pictures and an awesome video (link right below this paragraph) that my teammate made about our time stopping through Beijing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRIg6GpcZTc&t=4s&frags=pl%2Cwn
Our very first night in China we found out our Hostel in Shenzhen over booked. Since we had a train out of there the next morning and little money to book anywhere last minute, we elected to spend the night in the train station. As these things usually go, it actually turned into a beautiful experience. We met a group of young boys who were on a soccer team together. For some reason (language barrier) they were also going to be in the train station until 11pm, so we spotted up and played footy for the next few hours. The beautiful game truly speaks across all languages. After they left we all settled down for bed on our bedrolls and sleeping bags. I was up for a while reading and past midnight some of the boys came running back with grocery bags of bread, snacks, and water. It was a perfect example of the generosity we would experience from so many in the Chinese culture. I can imagine the convo that went down when the kids got to their parents and told them they played soccer with a group of homeless Americans. It was relieving as well that my skillz on the pitch held up against 11 year olds.
This is a random picture of Ben Wallace spotted in the city we were serving in. Honestly it was comforting to know that in China they respect the greats.
Attracted a couple aspiring athletes at the playground where I would exercise each morning. Kids in China were so friendly and constantly in awe of the 6ft 1in white guy with a beard. I had more parents ask me to take pictures with their kids than I have pictures from senior prom.
The courts were an amazing place to meet locals and spread the good news. We played countless hours of basketball with students and teachers alike.
We spent a couple of days at a guest house right next to the Great Wall. It was in awe inspiring and incredible experience. Our hosts took us out to a closed section of the wall and we were able to hike all over and across it. The sheer size and complexity of the structure is enough to boggle the mind.
