Aloha
from chilly Beijing!
We left summer behind, packed up the Hawaiian shirt
and flip flops, busting out the scarves and hats! Tomorrow Nathan and Heather
will run in the Beijing Marathon. And we’re going full speed with lots of
exciting ministry here.
Never
Poorer, Never Richer!
The message of a fellow pastor recently brought us
strange consolation. He, like us here in Beijing, made great efforts for their
church to reach University students near their venue. It worked! Hundreds came,
and stayed, and enjoyed, but their fancy church building got tattered and shabby.
Yet many lives were touched and transformed by the Lord Jesus Christ. And,
their weekly collection increased by an average of $13 a week. One Sunday an
Egg McMuffin was placed in the offering plate with a note, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give…”! We at BICF ZGC have been in our pricey hotel
venue, next to the University with the largest number of International students
in China (10,000 from 120 nations), for four months. Our collections just about
cover the rent, but God is bringing and blessing many….!
And
Now Spanish…
For some time it has concerned us that the most
widely spoken language in Christendom is not among the ten languages used by
congregations within our Beijing International Christian Fellowship – Spanish.
So it was a great joy to announce to our congregation that a Spanish service
began at one of our locations on the other side of city. But then a number of
Spanish speaking students who worship with us asked why we could not get
something started. (The other site is an hour away.) So we hosted a dinner (picture
above) for Spanish speakers at our apartment and 23 people from 13 different
nations came! Pray for them as they plan how to launch a Spanish ministry connected
to our church.
Studying
Old Testament
For three weekends in October Mark is teaching an
“Old Testament Survey” class for our BICF seminary program. Students who have
another “job” squeeze out enough time for lectures, reading, and writing
papers. We had our first graduation this year; four students earned an
accredited Master’s degree. Here are some of those in this month’s class;
they’re from Singapore, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Germany, Cuba, Tanzania, England,
Kenya, and USA.
Happy
Harvesters
Even though our church budget is tight, we are not
trying to save money by not helping the poor. 20% of our total income goes to
“Impact” – BICF’s Outreach, which has a big focus on mercy ministry. Our
primary focus is on the preaching of the Word, but we think it is vital the
world can “see” the living Good News of Jesus. It is a joy to serve a
congregation with such a biblical balance of word and deed ministry. Here are our
“barley harvesters” as we recently spent a day serving a local orphanage for
blind children.
China
International Fellowships
This
weekend we host the China International Fellowship with leaders from I.F.’s
from throughout this nation. (www.cifconference.org)
Mark will lead a workshop on “Preaching in the International Church.” We hope
this will be a refreshing time as we seek to encourage the work of the Gospel
in churches throughout this most populous nation of the world.
We
are so thankful for your prayers and support which allow us to serve the Lord
here in China. Our hearts leap thinking about the wide open door God has placed
before BICF ZGC! This is our 30th year of missionary service and we
stand before the widest door of opportunity in our lives. For those who have
asked, our support seems to be slightly below our requirements.
We
are looking forward to coming to share with our ohana, churches, and friends in
just over a month. We have fixed dates with some churches and look forward to
hearing from more. Here is what we know so far:
December 1 Kalihi Union Church, Honolulu
December 8 Living Waters Assembly of God, Hilo
December 15 Hilo Missionary Church
December 22 Puna Covenant Church, Keaau, Hawaii
December 29 Mokuaikaua Congregational Church, Kailua-Kona,
Hawaii
January 5 Kalahikiola
Congregational Church, Hawi, Hawaii
January 12
January 19 First Chinese Church of Christ, Honolulu
January 24 Kauai Island Missions Banquet
January 26 North
Shore Christian Church, Kauai
February 2 Kauai
February 9 Kawaiaha’o
Congregational Church
February 16 Hawaii
Kai UCC, Hawaii Kai, Oahu
February 23 AM - Waipuna Chapel, Kula, Maui
PM – Door of Faith, Kahului, Maui
February 26 – Fly Honolulu to Beijing….
If you are in Hawaii, we really hope to see you!
Yours
in Him who rules the Nations, Mark
and Dayna Blair
Our Mission
Pioneers - 10123
William Carey Drive - Orlando, FL 32832 – USA www.pioneers.org
(Checks should be
made out to ‘Pioneers’ – with a separate note attached saying: ‘Mark and Dayna
Blair, Beijing.’ Electronic transfers can be sent to: http://www.pioneers.org/Give/AutomatedGiving.aspx )
Skype blairstan
Our Ministry
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