First Sixty Three

We have now been in Beijing, China for sixty three hours. There is much to tell, but pictures will be few. More on that later...

God was so kind in giving us a good trip to this mega-city, a welcomed relief after the faith stretching wait for the visas last week. Still struggling with jet lag and the normal acclimation to a new place, bed,sights, smells, language, faces, etc. Cheryl is still sleeping now as I right this in the sunny study at Mark and Diane Koslicki's 18th floor apartment in Beijing's Central Business District. Diane has blessed me with a freshly brewed cup of morning gold: Starbucks coffee. It is 7:10 AM and 12 degrees Celsius. I can see across the avenue the China World Tower, Beijing's tallest structure at sixty four floors. It is connected to the China World Mall, a world-class outlet that I am sure would rival its counterparts in New York, Paris, or Dubai. There is a steady stream of traffic on the major north-south highway (Jian Guo Men Wai Road) here on the southeast side of town.

I have had difficulty sleeping these last three mornngs. Thoughts and prayers of/for our children, my sermons, our church and lives in Greenville, SC, and the church here in Beijing have been dancing in my head. How do we assess opportunities that God puts in front of us? Why travel 9,000 miles to pastor an ex-pat church in China when there is ministry opportunity 90' across your cul-de-sac?  What does it mean to love our children and parents faithfully from a distance? Can we justify going simply because we possess technology to shrink the miles? What is the criteria for going or staying? The cool thing is that we can trust God as we pray, counsel, search his word, think critically and well - knowing that we are not the first to wrestle with such questions. And we have the promise of His wisdom (Lord, I want all of it!) to guide us. We need not fear...

Let me share about our church experience at Bejing Baptist Church yesterday morning. It took forty-five minutes from the Koslicki's apartment to travel to the church in the northeast corner of the city: walk, ride a surprisingly crowded subway (well marked!), and walk some more on an exquisitely beautiful morning. The air quality (AQI) was very low, the skies a clear blue. We walked into the second floor of a hotel with the gathered people of God from at least eleven or twelve countries: Britain, Hungary, Australia, Mexico, Switzerland, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Philipines, Singapore, United States, and one or two more I cannot remember.The room was abuzz with people enjoying true Christian fellowship. Little children were running around and playing like only they can do. Pastor Joe, who had greeted us warmly at the airport Friday afternoon, greeted us again like a man created to shepherd God's people. Eventually, we began the worship service, singing Gospel-rich songs, prayers offered, listening to Psalms and 1 Peter 5 read aloud. I preached on 1 Peter 5 around the idea that though suffering brings us low, God calls us to go lower with humility toward one another in the body and towards Him. I felt liberty, but also that common feeling of "Who is sufficient for these things?" We got to meet and speak with almost everyone. Very warm, very receptive. We were careful to respect what others offered about their lives and work. That is the nature of the work here.

After the service we joined about fifteen other believers for lunch across the street at a western Chinese place (no pork, just lamb, beef, and chicken). We gathered eight to a round table with a monstrous lazy susan as dish after dish was set before us to be enjoyed communally. Grab some food and spin the lazy susan. I even ate dark-as-night fungus, lamb on a skewer, lotus root, tofu in sweet and sour sauce, various greens, rice, leeks, and the largest noodles I ever saw etc! It was delicious and only 21.25 yuan (about $ 3.50). A British brother picked up our tab...

Last night we traveled back by subway (with Mark and Diane's assistance !) to Joe and Lauren Kappel's apartment. They have two adorable children: Josiah (2 1/2) and  Elisabeth (2 months). We fellowshipped and ate with them (chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese!) and another family until around 9:00 PM. A great time to talk, dialogue, and reflect about the day and life here in Beijing. Then Cheryl and I did the subway experience (Line 10) from Taiyanggong to Guomao near the Koslicki's apartment.

Today we travel to the Great Wall with the Kappels. Got to hit the very crowded subway in 40 minutes. More on this tonight...

"Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, "The Lord reigns!" (1 Chron. 16:31)