Springtime greetings on this blue sky day in Beijing! We’re both sore from a hike to the top of a peak overlooking this mega-city yesterday. Grateful to be healthy!
Lots happens here, just in the last week we:
- Met with leaders of the BICF Russian Fellowship as they strategize to reach out to the hundreds of Russian speakers, many from Central Asia, who are studying in Beijing’s universities.
- Appointment with young Lawyer in our congregation about the challenges of serving in a Chinese firm.
- Shared with a Professor of Religion in a large university who has a witness to many students in his large classes.
- Joined with the BICF Elders to support a Sunday school project in Africa. A Zimbabwean woman who has worshipped at BICF for several years has learned here to teach Sunday school, quite well I hear AND to teach others how to teach. She returned home this week resourced with seed money to start projects for kids and teachers around Zimbabwe.
- Prayed with the BICF Leaders about His future direction for our ministries and churches in this city.
- Prayed with wives who heard the Gospel while studying abroad and are now back home in China, trying to relate this new faith to their homeland.
- Struggled to find the words for a man in our church who wanted to be baptized. In calling to confirm our meeting location his cell phone was answered by his live-in girlfriend. Surprise! No baptism yet.
- Chatted with a young man studying in a semester abroad here who is seeking advice about seminaries.
- Was approached by a University student after the service who sincerely wonders if there is any proof for the validity of Christianity which could persuade him to believe.
- Served dinner for a church family who found that all their worldly-goods stored during their six month home leave away from Beijing were kept in a ‘leaky’ room!
- Greeted a Jewish man who teaches English here that comes almost every Sunday to church. He listens to the sermons with greater attentiveness than most Christians!
- Met the Ambassador from Tonga to China who is a lay-preacher and now, along with his family and staff, regularly worshipping in our Pacific Fellowship at BICF ZGC. He said he’s working on getting his fellow Ambassadors from other island nations in the Pacific to come too! Here we gathered after Sunday worship:
- Encouraged an African student who is pregnant with their first child. Her husband already graduated and needed to take a job back in Africa.
- Prayed with the Pastor of the BICF Japanese congregation whose members are very concerned about their families back home.
Serving the Beijing International Christian Fellowship is a great joy to us. People from 70 different nations and at least that many denominations come together to worship and work for the Lord Jesus Christ in this mega-city. Most of our work is focused on the ‘west side’ Zhong Guan Cun church. But once a week Mark meets to share with the other BICF pastors. (BICF has 16 worship services, in 9 languages, in 4 Beijing locations.) The Lord is working many ways in the lives of the 3500+ who attend BICF – and through them around the world!
This week we enter chapter 4 of the book of Acts. Mark borrowed a theme from the Lausanne Conference – ‘The Whole Church taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World’ – for this sermon series. Pray that God would use this ancient account of mission to inspire our congregation to faithful and fruitful service for Him in our day.
Dayna is once again studying Mandarin every day. She is in class every morning and studies several hours after that. In her class, there are students from Spain, Italy, Poland, Australia, Japan and Korea and see it as a mission field to be a witness for Jesus there. Along with that she’s resumed her “Mama Kahu” (pastor’s wife) ministries – counseling young ladies, praying with young mothers, teaching Sunday school, feeding visitors, and planning baby showers. Some of these she now does in Mandarin…at least pidgin Mandarin. Keep praying for Dayna as she works hard to become more fluent.
Along with all the doors open here in Beijing, another wonderful ministry opportunity is before us. We are invited to return for a teaching visit to Uganda this summer. This came out of surprise meetings Mark had with Ugandan leaders in Cape Town in October at Lausanne 3. We left Uganda in 1990 after 8 years of teaching pastors/leaders there. Now a number of them are key leaders.
In order to go, we need prayer and financial support. We need about $4500 to get ourselves to Africa this summer. We need to book tickets fairly soon.
The specific invitations we have received are from –
1. Uganda Christian University
We taught there in the 1980’s when it was Bishop Tucker Theological College. Now they have 7000 students in many faculties. Mark would speak ten times for their Missions Conference. Mark is pictured below with John and Ruth Senyonyi in Cape Town. John is the Vice Chancellor of UCU and had his Chaplain extend this invitation:
Dear Mark,
RE: INFORMATION ABOUT THE MISSION AND MINISTRY CONFERENCE
(19th to 26th JUNE, 2011)
Greetings in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
We are so delighted to know that you accepted our invitation to you as our Main Speaker during the above conference at Uganda Christian University.
The conference begins on Sunday 19th June, 2011. The Missions and Ministry conference attempts to respond to the real need in the churches of sensitizing and challenging the Christians in our congregation and particularly our young people about the work of Missions and Ministry. Our desire is to instill in our graduates the spirit of serving God as agents of the gospel either ordained or in a lay capacity in the churches and at their stations of work subsequent to their study at Uganda Christian University. The conference theme is: “Extending God’s Kingdom: Our mission”.
You will speak in 10 sessions, 5 of which will be an hour each and 5 of them of 30 minutes each. There will also be two "special" sessions. A session for the senior administrators and lectures on the topic: “The role of a Christian University in God’s Mission” and the other will be for the Pastors, the students being prepared for ordination and the faculty members in the School of Divinity and Theology on the topic: “The current Global trends in Mission: The role of the church in Africa”. However if God leads you to speak to us (in these special sessions) on any other topics feel free to do so.
Our target audience is all students irrespective of their courses of study and the staff members.
Frederick J. Baalwa
UNIVERSITY CHAPLAIN
http://www.ucu.ac.ug/
2. Makerere University
One of our former students is the Protestant Chaplain there. It is the largest University in Uganda. Their chapel ministry is very strategic.
Dear Mark,
It is wonderful to hear from you again. As you mentioned, it was a divine opportunity for us to meet again is Cape Town. I am overwhelmed with joy for your visit to Uganda. Seeing from the UCU Mission schedule, you will close on the Sunday of June 26. If you were to stay on until July 3rd, I would arrange for you to preach at St. Francis Chapel. Indeed, it will be a great blessing to us to have you speak in the Chapel. We have three services: 7:00-9:00; 9:00-11:00; and 11:00-13:00. We have, however 13:00-15:00 for Lugbara and 16:00-20:00 for the youth. You will speak for the morning services only, ending at 13:00. I will send you a topic for the season. This year's theme is "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). This would be a very good opportunity for your members of BICF to enjoy the warmth of worship we have. Looking forward to seeing you all.
Canon Johnson
Johnson Ebong Oming (The Rev. Canon Dr.)
Chaplain
St. Francis of Assisi
Makerere University Kampala
http://mak.ac.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=76&Itemid=145
3. Madi and West Nile Diocese / Arua, Uganda
We lived and taught here for four turbulent years of civil war in the 1980’s. The present Bishop and his wife were both our students – Joel and Joy. He wrote saying:
Dear Mark and Dayna,
I am delighted to hear from you and in was great meeting you in Cape Town. This is even a greater surprise for me to hear you are coming to Uganda in June! I am gladly surprised. I will consult with my friends here in the diocese and the Arua Campus Director of UCU on how we can make use of you. I want to say welcome to Uganda and to Arua in particular. Joy and the rest of the family joins me to send you all a warm christian greeting.
Bishop Joel
http://churchofuganda.org/dioceses/madi-west-nile
You can see there is much we could do. We are very grateful for your support and prayers. It seems that with all the upheaval in our world – political, military, tectonic, and economic – people are asking more questions than ever. How grateful we are to know HIM who is the ultimate answer – now and forever.
Grateful for your partnership in the Gospel, Mark and Dayna Blair
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