Pastor visits China

David Chan

David Chan, pastor of Pacific Grace MB Church since 1987, spent part of his recent sabbatical on a “vision trip” to China, visiting the work of MSI Professional Services (formerly Medical Services International).

Chan is the president of MSI Canada’s board of directors. This international non-profit organization seeks to share Christ’s love with the people of inland China through “professional skills and witnessing through our lives.” The organization’s headquarters are in Hong Kong.

The 13 members of the group went to six sites in Yunnan province, Sichuan province, and Chongqing municipality. They met and encouraged long-term MSI workers, explored new opportunities, and celebrated MSI’s 10 years in China.

In the report of his trip, Chan links what he experienced with the sending of Jesus’ disciples, as recorded in Luke 10:1–11. There are two MSI couples in Heqing, a city of 250,000, all of them physicians. They grapple with a sense of isolation and issues like their children’s education. Although He sent out people two by two, Jesus’ team had 70, noted Chan. “Where is the rest of the team?”

MSI has 11 long-term workers in Kunming, capital of Yunnan, China’s most multicultural province and very receptive to foreigners. Most are physicians, from various countries. “They have given up much,” Chan writes, but are determined to serve the Lord.

The group explored teaching opportunities for MSI professionals in Chongqing, a key city in the western region of China, where the government is pouring resources into technology and education. Several hours away, they met two retired teachers working in Leshan, “like lambs among wolves.”

A Japanese long-termer served communion to the group in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan. With China and Japan disputing Diaoyu Island, it was a “beautiful picture of Christian unity.” The guests also celebrated in Xichang and traveled to Zhaojue, the site of MSI’s first China ministry.

—from MSI Canada Newsletter