Autumn Greetings from
Beijing, October 2016
We have been busy the last several weeks receiving
dozens of new students from around the world into our congregation. We are
wonderfully reminded that we are indeed ONE family in Christ as we meet
brothers and sisters from distant lands that soon become dear “longtime
friends”!
51 New Students (left) spent one of the first Saturdays
of the term learning how to “Go for the Gold” by following Jesus. Several were
considering the claims of the Gospel for the first time.
The student/leaders on the right are having fun in one
of the most popular bars in Wudaokou. This establishment asked us to host a
brunch Saturday morning of their “Rush Week” --- a week of drinking and
partying. Their flyer contained the tag line they wrote “come to the BICF
Brunch and let them talk some sense into your drunk a%%es!” We did our best!
94 Indonesian students here in Beijing joined the annual
Autumn Camp of our Indonesian congregation at a retreat center outside the city
during China’s “Golden Week” holiday. (The first week of October.) Dayna and I had fun joining them for the last 2
days. We heard an Evangelist from Indonesia preach the Gospel on the final
night of camp. There was a great response! Eight people traveled from the church
our new Indonesian pastor served in Indonesia to serve these campers. Pray for
our Indonesian leaders as they follow up on these campers during this new
academic year.
We were in Indonesia for 10 days in August. We were
very happy our son Josiah (on right) was able to join us. We visited three
cities and met with leaders of the Kalam Kudus (Holy Word) church. Here we are
at one of their 50 schools, this one has 2000 students from K to 12th
grade. We really enjoyed meeting Pastor Teddy and his wife Tabitha (next to
Josiah) and even found a friend from China (in blue) teaching Mandarin there
who came to attend the service where Mark preached.
It was a privilege to meet with the leaders of this
vibrant, growing, “Kalam Kudus” denomination in their offices in Jakarta. Yes,
Indonesia is the nation with the greatest number of Muslims. But we found
thriving churches, Christian schools, and universities too. It was a very
encouraging visit. It was a privilege to speak for several days from the
strange book of Ecclesiastes (their request!), pointing them to our Lord Jesus,
the Hope of the Searcher.
As the weather turns cooler, we asked our
church members to bring warm clothes they could spare for the many students
coming from warm, tropical climates and who are about to get slammed by their
first harsh winter! The mountain of clothes they freely gave showed our
members, like the Macedonians of old, displayed “their abundance of joy and
their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part”
(2 Corinthians 8.2). This group of Samoans has learned to “rug up” during their
years of study here. We enjoyed having a BBQ on our roof before it gets too
cold.
It has been 3 years since we have been home to Hawaii.
And, we are grateful for the opportunity we have to come for a visit in a few
weeks. We are eager to see family and friends again. Here is our schedule of
sharing so far, Lord willing…
December 4 Hawaii Kai UCC, Honolulu,
Hawaii
December 11 Kalihi Union Church,
Honolulu, Hawaii
December 25 Puna Covenant Church,
Keaau, Hawaii
January 8 Hilo Missionary Church
January 15 Mokuaikaua Church,
Kailua-Kona
January 28 Kalihi Union Church Men’s
Retreat
January 29 First Chinese Church of
Christ, Honolulu
February 16 Women’s Board of Missions,
Honolulu
February 19 North Shore Christian
Church, Kilauea, Kauai
February 26 Kawaiaha’o
Congregational Church, Honolulu
March 1 – Back to Beijing
During October all 20 congregations
of the Beijing International Christian Fellowship are focusing on Unity. One of
our leaders has written a Study Guide for Small Groups called “One” which
dozens of our groups are now using. To demonstrate and celebrate our Unity the
pastors within the BICF are doing pulpit exchanges. It has been fun to preach
in different BICF locations the past couple weeks. Our members have been
treated to pastors from Nigeria, USA, and Japan who have brought wonderful
messages to ZGC.
Our work visa has been renewed for
one more year of serving here! In our wildest imaginations we would never dream
of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Beijing for 8 years…and counting.
We very much realize we are here
because of your faithful prayers and generous support. Hope we can see you!
We really look forward to seeing our
family. We’re very grateful for God’s good providence, all three sons are
together in Oregon this week – Nathan and Kekoa (now 21 months old), Aaron, and
Josiah. Nathan and Heather are expecting # 2 this Spring! Thanks for praying
for them all too!
Yours in the Lord of
the Harvest, Mark
and Dayna Blair
Our Mission Pioneers - 10123 William Carey Dr -
Orlando, FL 32832 USA
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