Wednesday, July 28

The first morning in Beijing I woke up at 3:30 a.m. After lying in bed for an hour, I realized that God was telling me that I needed to prepare for this trip by reading my Bible. Two of the verses that spoke to me during that time were 1 John 4:11-12 and 2 Timothy 2:24-26. 1 John 4:11-12 says, “Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” In 2 Timothy 2:24, Paul says, “The Lord’s servant must not quarrel. Instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.” To me, those verses are the foundation to this trip.

During today’s seminar, we discussed holidays, relationships, and the differences between schools in America and schools in China. In the morning session, Robert facilitated a panel discussion on “Holidays in America” with Mary, Mike, Nguyen, and Jennifer on the panel. Our focus was on the Christian aspect of each holiday. We relayed how each holiday revolved around the eternal God. During the discussion of Christmas, Robert explained how God created all things, heaven and earth. He also explained how and why God sent Jesus to earth. Mary explained that giving presents reminds of us how God gave us Jesus. Nguyen shared about her journey from Buddhism to Christianity. After the panel discussion, we broke into small groups where the Chinese teachers got to tell us about their favorite holidays. The teachers informed us about Tomb Sweeping Day and Middle Autumn Day. During Tomb Sweeping Day, Chinese people burn fake money to their ancestors and also lay flowers in bowls of chicken and rice at their ancestors’ tombs. For Middle Autumn Day, the Chinese people burn incense at an altar and pray to the moon. This reminded me of what Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 18:5. Then came lunch, where some PBC members (not the Franks’) ate duck tongues and other assorted Chinese delicacies.

During the afternoon session, Rebecca and I kicked off the relationship topic by talking about our marriage relationship. Mary shared about the relationship she has with friends, and Jennifer wrapped up with talking about her family relationships. Later, I led a discussion with the Chinese teachers on the differences and similarities between our schools. The main difference is that there are 50 students in one classroom in China, vs 17 students (22 max) that I have here in the U.S.. Other than that, our classrooms are very much alike. Finally, after we adjourned for the day, most of the Chinese teachers left. During that time, Jennifer was able to share the gospel with Lili, one of the Chinese teachers. Lili had known a previous Christian in China and had even attended two church services. Please pray for Lili, continue to pray for our health, and also that we can be God’s light to these teachers and to others we meet.

- Edgar