We must be connecting well with our Chinese friends. Twice today Chinese students came up to me and shared an earnest conversation in Chinese, only to have me say, "I'm sorry, I speak English!" And then we both laugh! We are beginning to recognize some words and phrases in Chinese, and Erin is rattling off whole paragraphs! Impressive!
It is apparent that our worship, morning and evening, means a great deal to these pastors who ordinarily would be leading worship. This is a rich time of spiritual retreat for all of us, but especially for them. Our topic today was Peace. As we meditated in the morning, we were invited to draw something that represented peace to us. There were many nature and "happy family" drawings, a wall broken down with a cross rising in the void, traffic neatly lined up according to the rules, people enjoying their work, and many references to God and Christian community. Erin explained her drawing entirely in Chinese! (Did I mention that I am really impressed with her language skills?)
Liu Wei Fang (Sarah) shared her story of being called into ministry. As a child she was part of an underground church with her mother, but it was her excellent school grades that caught people's attention. Her mother explained, "It is not you who are clever. It is God's wisdom, not yours." Sarah prayed to repay God but realized there is no way to do that, so she offered her wisdom and abilities to God. In Grade 5 she learned about false prophets that will be at the end of the age, and she didn't want to be deceived. That was the impetus to attend seminary, but she wrestled with becoming a pastor: "God, why choose me? I'm not good enough to do your work. All are better than me." For three months she struggled; then she read, "You are my servant; I have chosen you" (Isaiah 41:9). "I realized God will do work through me. I treasure these words in my heart. I am thankful to be a pastor." Sarah, a Jiangsu Bible College faculty member, has been an inspiration to many of us.
In today's lesson, we discussed "projected cultural similarity" -- that is, assumptions we might make about a person from another culture, thinking that beyond differences in language and dress, we'd all like the same things ... or would we? Does the Golden Rule "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" work in a cross-cultural setting? It was a lively discussion topic in my small group, with some fun role-playing. I'll let you readers work out your own conclusions to the question.
Our afternoon field trip was to the brand new campus of the Jinling Union National Seminary campus. Wow! This is the national seminary in China, and it is an impressive campus that will serve the Chinese church well as it continues to grow. (There are also 5 regional seminaries and 22 provincial Bible schools, such as the Jiangsu school where we meet each day.) Most of our English Camp colleagues are graduates of this seminary. We were astonished that the government paid half of the $28,350,000 cost for the campus, which includes 3 classroom buildings, 4 dorms, and a sports complex. The churches are raising money to build a church on the campus. The seminary will celebrate its 100th year in 2011. Chinese seminaries combined in 1952 after the missionaries had to leave, and then this union of seminaries was closed completely during the Cultural Revolution, 1966-76. It reopened in 1981 and has had 1400 graduates since then. Over 10,000 lay workers were trained here between 1989 and 2005. In September they will have 230 full-time students enrolled, with 28 faculty. Their greatest needs are training qualified students to be teachers, and financial challenges, especially during the recent recession. If there was a theme in our tour, it was "Challenges and Opportunities; God's Grace is Sufficient; and Do All According to God's Will."
Churches are overflowing, and new believers are added daily. These pastors and teachers with whom we spend our days are at the center of an explosion that resembles the Acts 2 church. I am even more grateful for the role the Outreach Foundation has had in walking alongside the Chinese Church, and for the many U.S. congregations and individuals who have supported the Chinese church through the Outreach Foundation.
In Christ,
Pam Bowman
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