Greetings from Beijing on this beautiful fall day! October
2018
The sky is blue and the leaves are brilliant yellows
and oranges as we pack up the shorts and rubber slippers and get out the
flannel and fleece. We’re back home in Beijing after a great Home Assignment in
California.
We
landed the end of August and jumped into the busy Fall season in Beijing
International Christian Fellowship Zhongguancun. Each Sunday we welcome
students from many nations who have come to study in the 82 Universities in the
neighborhood of the hotel where we worship. Mark has been preaching through the
book of Daniel Sunday mornings and coaching the young preachers through Luke on
Sunday nights.
Last
week our work visa was extended for one more year. Given the religious
restrictions here you might be reading about (www.chinasource.org),
and the fact that we’re not getting any younger, we waited to get this in hand
before sending out this update. We rejoice and are humbled to be entrusted with
great responsibility to serve the Most High God in this fruitful field of His
harvest.
We
have already had several events to connect people to God, church, and one
another. Dayna organized our bi-annual “Welcome to Beijing” event where a team of our
church members shared many practical tips on how to thrive in Beijing – understanding
your Chinese professors, renting doc-less bikes, shopping on the internet,
navigating subways and bus routes, etc. We had a great turn out of people from
all faiths and no faiths who appreciated this free opportunity to connect.
CIF - In early September we gathered in
Xiamen for the China International Fellowship. As leaders of International
churches throughout the nation it was great to renew friendships, hear what the
Lord is doing, and pray for one another. Mark was invited to speak on “What are the characteristics of
international church leadership?” There are still many cities – some with
thousands of ex-pats – that have no international church. We decided to meet in
one of them next year. Have you heard of Chongqing? There are just 30 million people that live there?!
Holiday Camp During
China’s national holiday week in October, 137 of us headed for the
hills outside of Beijing for three days., 70% were international students, many
of them new to Beijing and our church. We were knit together as we shared, hiked, played games, ate, and
studied Scripture – a number for the first time – together. A number already
feel very connected to our BICF-ZGC community. There was great
fellowship and fun with people
from many nations. We rejoiced together in the Gospel of God’s grace as we studied
through the book of Ephesians. Three decided to be baptized and were baptized
last Sunday, from Congo, Belgium, and USA.
A Big Move
Our son Josiah is moving from Kazakhstan this week. We're grateful for
your prayers for him and our granddaughter Maylee, now 14, who lives with her
mom in Almaty. Josiah has lived there for 20 years and is fluent in Russian.
With the Kazakh economy in decline and a slowed down market, it is quite hard
to save for Maylee's future education - she got her US passport this summer! He
has skills and experience in international business, teaching, television
presenting, voice recording, customer service training, and consulting. We
recommend him very highly! If you want a great team player, write josiahblair@gmail.com
International Weekend This month we had three days of great fun. We hosted
a dear brother, Wilbur Sargunaraj, who uses music, dance, and kindness to share
truths about life together in this world. Check out how the Lord is using him
all over the world. (http://www.wilbur.asia/wilbur30/ ) We had a packed room full of students from around
the world for his “Cultural Intelligence” night. Many of them were not yet
believers, several had never visited a church before, and they wondered if such
fun and unbounded joy was what happened in church every week…uh…?! Soon Wilbur
be posting videos he made during his few days with us about eating ‘Peking
Duck’ – the setting for a frank exchange about race relations – and another film
will feature a bunch of excited Chinese students dancing on the Great Wall!
Teaching in
November
ICFC trains
Christian leaders and provides a platform for unity and service in various
Christian fellowships across China. November
8 and 9 we will visit Jinan City and teach student leaders who will gather from
many cities in China. Mark will teach on “Shaping of a Leader” from Paul’s
letter to the young leader Titus.
Then
later in the month Mark will teach a BICF Seminary class on “Preaching and
Teaching Skills.” It will be a practicum for those who want to grow in their
communication skills. We are thankful for the opportunity to offer
internationally accredited Master’s level courses right here in Beijing.
Thank
you for praying for these great opportunities to share God’s Word with young
leaders. Bright young leaders from many nations have received scholarships from
China to come and study here in their best universities. Many will return home
to key positions in their homelands.
Summer Home Assignment
We
had several ‘firsts’ as we visited California this summer – 3 days in Yosemite
National Park, Oakland A’s Stadium, the ‘ghost town’ of Bodie, animal-style
fries at In & Out, Manzanar, Gas Lamp in San Diego, Shat’s Bakery in
Bishop, Basque food in Bakersfield, driving Highway 395, getting rear-ended by speeding
drunk driver (not injured, car damage minimal…huge thanks to the Lord!), rode the LA Metro Rail,…
It was three years since we’d been to California.
Seeing dear friends who have so faithfully prayed, loved, and supported us for
so long is very humbling and gratifying! Saying thank you is surely not enough,
but we say it sincerely!
We
really enjoyed our grandsons – Kekoa and Makana – and their parents Nathan and
Heather too! We had a great time with our son Aaron, learned to play DISC golf
(it’s not Frisbee!)
Back to Mao’s Home Town
This summer a team of 8 from BICF ZGC made our 2nd
trip to Mao’s home town. Last year Dayna was on the first trip and they made
good relations with several schools through English language teaching for their
students. This time our team was invited for a week-long camp with about 100
students.
Their theme was “He Never gives Up on Me” based on
the chorus, “His love never gives up on me…” What a precious truth for kids
amidst a highly competitive academic system to hold in their hearts. Here, if
you aren’t in the top percentile of academic success you will not get into
University, and will have a tough time getting prized jobs. Hundreds of
students commit suicide when they learn they have failed their final placement
exams! Life, real life, is about so much more than what can be found in test
results!
International Students in China
Mark was
asked to write a few sentences for the forward of this e-book about
international students in China, download it here – in several languages! –
freely.
Phil Jones
has several great articles about what God is doing among international students
here…
We are Very Thankful for
your generous prayers and support! Mark and Dayna Blair
Our Mission
Pioneers
- 10123 William Carey Dr - Orlando, FL 32832 USA
Checks
to ‘Pioneers’ – with attached note: ‘Mark and Dayna Blair, Beijing.’
(Our Account # is 110565, Mark and Dayna Blair)
