Mark & I are now preparing to return to BJ in just two days. After a 5 week attempt to secure our visas, they finally arrived in the mail on Saturday. Although we didn't get the visa arrangement we had originally applied for, we thank our faithful Father that we do have an acceptable visa. We had wondered if we would have to change our itinerary to accommodate late arriving documents. However, as usual, our Father is never late, but rarely early. Times like these help us trust Him more, pray more, and wait for His perfectly timed answers.
Part of our arrangement with BBC is that Mark would find people to fill in when we are stateside. Each summer we have arranged for couples to come over to be an 'exchange leader', much like an 'exchange student' in a university.
With their permission and some minor editing for protection, below is a beautiful summary that our friend Jamie wrote reflecting on his, his wife's, and their CBA daughter's time month in BJ.
The saints who worship at BBC come from all over the world.
Our last Sunday there, attendance was down because many who are teachers have
gone home for the summer. Even so, we had at least 36 in attendance (that’s how
many stayed around for the photo) from at least 17 different countries! For
many, English is not their first language. This is a highly motivated, highly
educated, and highly mobile congregation. Many are teachers. Some are in BJ for
business purposes. Some are diplomats from other countries. Quite a few are in the
country for kingdom purposes. I’d like to share with you about a few of the people
we enjoyed fellowship with.
We were greeted at the airport by Daniel, who teaches English.
He was a tremendous help to us as he introduced us to life in BJ and helped us
make those initial adjustments.
We were quickly introduced to the others who are in Mark
& Cheryl’s community group – Lwazi and Nwabisa, a dear couple who arrived
from South Africa just this year (Lwazi teaches high school math), a seasoned
“servant” couple from the US, Ashley, a young woman who also teaches English,
and Daniel. The next week Ashley took Lydia and Haley out for a night to paint
the town, or at least to paint their nails!
Our first Sunday we
went to lunch with a large group. Some of them had been in BJ for quite a few
years, representing a number of different countries. The bond between them was
very sweet. Most of the teachers were preparing to return home for the summer.
I was able to attend another community group meeting,
composed exclusively of single teachers (at least that evening), and it was so
rich to see the way they ministered to one another. The insight and maturity
they demonstrated as they discussed very sensitive issues was inspiring to me!
By my third Sunday at BBC, almost all of that group had returned to their homes
for summer break.
Our first Sunday on the way home we met a couple in the
subway who were from America. They are of local descent, but like Haley, don’t
know a word of the language. He is here for a three-month assignment and they
are very committed believers. We invited them to BBC, and they have attended every
Sunday since and have quickly been embraced by the members.
We spent a lot of time enjoying fellowship and touring with
our dear friends Lwazi and Nwabisa. Because they were relatively new as well,
they had not visited many of the sights, so they did so with us – the Great
Wall, the Summer Palace, Olympic Park. The many hours of fellowship we enjoyed
with them were precious indeed.
Sascha, a very dear brother from Germany, took us to lunch
our first week. He came to Faith in JC four years ago, but his wife is hostile
to the truth and to his faith. This dear brother has such a humble and gentle
spirit and is a tremendous blessing to so many in the church. Our second Sunday
we had lunch with the other deacon and his Australian family.
We were joined for lunch by a young couple from Germany, who
arrived a few months ago for a three-year assignment with Mercedes Benz. She
looked up bodies on the internet, found BBC, and they started attending. I
asked her at lunch how she came to faith, and she quickly changed the subject.
This past Sunday, after our service, I spoke to her again and apologized for
being so abrupt. She was very gracious, and shared with me that she feels like
she was close to becoming a believer, but recently gotten farther away. As I
encouraged her with the gospel, tears began to run down her face. She surely is
near the kingdom!
Our third Sunday we had lunch with a newly married couple;
he is from Cameroon and France, she is local. Mark and Cheryl did their
premarital counseling, and Mark performed their wedding ceremony. What a joy to
hear how the Lord brought them together and to see how God is using them in
people’s lives.
We were privileged to have dinner in the homes of two diplomat
families. One was the Minister of Trade from Malawi; the other brother is a
diplomat in the Indian Embassy. He met his wife, a lovely Xn woman from a
Muslim family, while he was stationed in Tajikistan. Our time with both of
these families was wonderfully encouraging.
This past Sunday we enjoyed lunch with Barnabas, a teacher
from Hungary, and his dear fiancée Gracelee from the Philippines. Mark and
Cheryl did their premarital counseling as well and they returned to her home
last week to be married! It was a delight to hear how God brought them together
and how He is using them in BJ.
One of the high points of our trip was our visit to the
orphanage in Bengbu, where Haley spent her first year. We had arranged to visit
the orphanage through a young man who is from BJ but is now a US citizen and a
regular attender at BBC. Our dear friend Alan translated for us and served as our
interpreter and guide for the journey.
The welcome Haley received at the orphanage was
overwhelming. They were so thrilled to have her return. We were greeted by a
large neon sign that said “Welcome Home” and included her local name! Two of
the women who cared for her during her first year were still there, and they
remembered how happy Haley was as a baby! They even gave Haley a lovely
fresh-water pearl necklace, which was from pearls harvested in Bengbu, as a
reminder of the city where she once lived.
We were also greatly encouraged to meet a family who live in
the same building with Mark & Cheryl. The wife is a relatively new
believer; her husband has not trusted in JC, but he has commented that she is a
better wife now that she is a believer. They are both fluent in English, so we
were able to enjoy a delightful evening with them. Lydia had many opportunities
with the wife, and was able to pray with her and encourage her to find a body
to join. It was a tremendous joy to see Lydia moving toward all sorts of
different women and minister to them in a host of creative ways.
I want to share with
you some observations as I reflect on my month with BBC.
First, it is a very diverse congregation, as stated earlier.
It was like a taste of heaven, worshiping with people from many different
“tribes and nations and peoples and languages.”
Second, they are a very mobile congregation. Many of the
teachers who were there our first Sunday returned to their home countries for
the summer. Several members were leaving BJ for good – saying their final
goodbyes as the congregation prayed for them at the end of the services. At the
same time, we had several new families and singles start to attend during our
time there – some will be in BJ for just a few months (or only visiting a week
or two), while others will be there for several years. But there are no twenty-
or thirty-year members at BBC. The turnover is challenging in terms of
developing deep relationships and consistent leadership, but it’s thrilling
that the impact of ministry that will extend around the world!
Third, it is a very spread out congregation. BJ is an
enormous city and the people are spread out all over the city. Most of the
members spend upwards of an hour (each way) commuting, which makes midweek
fellowship very challenging. Lydia noted that for young mothers, this is
particularly challenging.
Fourth, this is a very focused and resourceful congregation.
They are all expatriats, meaning they have come to BJ from other countries. The
reasons for their being in country are diverse, but they are a highly motivated
group of individuals who have made the significant efforts to relocate and live
in a culture very different from their own. They know how to remain flexible
and to persevere through all sorts of challenges. It seems that most we met
have learned to communicate in the local language, which is no small
accomplishment. In general they are a highly motivated, professional group of
people.
Fifth, it is a very caring congregation. Many of the members
have a very strong orientation toward personal labor anyway and can all
identify with the unique challenges other expats experience, so the ways they
serve one another was a blessing to see. Despite the fact that most are there a
relatively short time, most are intentional about developing meaningful
relationships.
Sixth, a number of the couples come from different races,
countries, and cultures. It was very interesting to talk about the challenges
many of them faced, whether the disapproval from extended families, different
cultural expectations, or difficulty seeing extended families in different
countries or even hemispheres!
Seventh, they are a very young congregation. Almost all are only
a few years out of college. Four of the families have newborn babies. Some of
these couples shared how very difficult it is for their parents back home to
have their grandchildren living so far away.
And eighth, most of them are very busy people. It would be
easy for many people to allow their daily activities to provide most of their
fellowship, making their involvement in the body little more than attending once
a week. Others work very long hours in various professions that can be very demanding.
Additionally, the inconveniences of living in a foreign country - and such a
spread-out city - all combine to make building a sense of community more
difficult.
All these situations present unique pastoral challenges and
opportunities.
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| Dinner with a high school exchange student in GV and her family. |
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| At Haley's orphanage |
