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Jiangmen, China
We learned much


Eleven members of Bethel Chinese Christian MB Church in Vancouver had the opportunity to participate in a short-term mission trip to Guangdong Province, China last Aug. 14-25 organized by the Cornerstone Association of Hong Kong. The eleven of us flew to Hong Kong separately and met at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Wah Kee Church on Aug.13 for Sunday worship. In the afternoon, we attended an orientation led by Ginger Wong of the Cornerstone Association. During the week of Aug. 14-21, we taught English classes and served in musical celebrations and Sunday worship in Jiangmen. On Aug. 21, we headed to Chingyuen to join over 70 pastoral staff and Christians from Hong Kong. I went with 22 others to Chingyuen City to visit churches and meeting points, sharing with local Christians. The others (including my wife Esther and the other nine people from Bethel MB Church) stayed in the village of Dalian to experience peasant life firsthand. They visited peasants in nearby villages, took part in a carnival and served in activities involving the elderly. By the grace of God, the mission team was able to share God’s love and to testify to their faith using songs, lessons and a skit (the Prodigal Son with a rural background).

Through this trip, we are able to experience God’s love, power, abundance and wonders, and we learned much:

1. “To everyone who has, more will be given”(Luke 19:26).

In 1998, the Wah Kee Church, which I founded more than 30 years ago, had about 200 people and a monthly offering of over HK$300,000. They bought their present church building during the Hong Kong currency crisis. I worried that the mortgage would be a burden too heavy for them to bear, but now the congregation has increased to 350 people, and their monthly offering amounts to more than HK$800,000 (an average of HK$2285 per person per month). My heart is filled with thanksgiving as I see their enthusiasm in ministry and in mission. God’s mathematical formula is different from man’s: The more you offer to God, the more God rewards you.

2. The Christians in China long for the Word, and they worship wholeheartedly.

After long years of closure, the churches in China are open again. Christians treasure the opportunity to worship; they sing hymns and read the Bible in loud voices and listen to the sermon attentively. Some brothers and sisters chose to walk three hours to and from the church in order to save $6 (RMB) for the offering. On the last night of our stay, staff from the Hangmen churches spent four hours listening to me sharing. Among them was a couple (the wife being a preacher) who had originally planned to go to Guangzhou for business but who had chosen to stay in Chingyuen with us for a few more days in order to learn more. We were moved by their enthusiasm to the point that we felt the need to ask God to forgive us for being lazy in serving, half-hearted in worship and reluctant in learning.

3. We deeply experienced the love of God.

As we travelled from North America to China, especially to the rural area, we found it hard to adjust to the big decline in living conditions – the relentless heat, the food, the wooden-plank beds, the makeshift toilet, the ferocious mosquitoes. Thank God that even though many of us became ill, we continued on the trip without complaints.

These experiences not only enabled us to have a taste of the difficulties in missionary life, but they also opened our eyes to see the love of Jesus as He left the glories of heaven willingly in order to come and save us.

4. God is in control, and He listens to our prayers.

The luggage belonging to five of us was delayed in Taiwan, arriving in Hong Kong just in time before we left for China. When we were in Jiangmen, we almost got into a major car accident. However, the Lord blessed us, and only the right side of the car was damaged. The driver (a deacon of the Jiangmen Church) was able to pull out of the way just in time. The Lord also knew that we cannot stand immense heat, so He cooled down the temperature for us. During the night of the Dalian Carnival in Chingyuen, the door to the room storing tables and chairs could not be opened, but, after prayer, the lock gave way. Even though the weather forecast predicted rain that night, it did not start raining until after the meeting was over. All these events allowed us to see the effectiveness of prayer; we were thankful for those back in Canada who prayed for us.

5. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded” (Luke 12:48).

On this trip, we witnessed many people who were poor, hungry and sick. Many did not even have the basic necessities of life, let alone enjoyment or higher education. There were so many who needed help that we could only pray for them and be thankful for what we have in Canada – including material abundance, freedom and human rights, and higher education.

The Cornerstone Association has a burden for China, offering money to help build churches and to help the poor receive education. I suggested to them also the importance of pastoral education and training so that local church leaders can faithfully build up the church on biblical truth.

This trip has stirred up our heart for China in such a way that we not only care more for our country of origin and its people but also understand more about local churches and the need for the gospel. We hope that we will be able to pray and give to the ministry more substantially in the future.

 – David Poon, Senior Pastor, Bethel Chinese Christian MB Church; translated from the Chinese Herald

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Last modified June 4, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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