Give a China Radio Church Kit
Scott's trip to China
Photography by Scott Wilder
Seeing is believing. Sure. We visited a lot of the touristy sights like the Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Terracotta Warriors. But let me tell you what impacted me most on my most recent trip to China.
The January snow gently fell as our miniature mini-van crammed with 7 men meandered through busy side streets filled with people walking, bicycles traversing, and cars slowly maneuvering. All were competing for a portion of snowy road hardly wide enough for even one American SUV.
At the restaurant earlier that evening, our group was warned to draw as little attention to ourselves as we could. But we were shocked when our van stopped in the darkness amid grayish buildings and we opened the van door and heard wonderful singing wafting through the air practically dancing with the snow flakes.
We brushed the snow off ourselves as we quickly walked into a Chinese house church worshiping the Lord. The 14' x 16' room where we were worshipping had concrete walls and concrete floors. And there was no heat. They handed us a Dixie cup of green tea. I was so thankful for that green tea because it soaked into me warming even my hands and frozen toes. Because this room was used for kindergarten, everyone sat on undersized plastic chairs and huddled around undersized tables to stay warm.
The worshipers in this house church did not seem to mind that their kindergarten room sanctuary was unheated. We sang for nearly 40 minutes. Some of the songs I knew. They were familiar hymns and choruses that we sing in our church but sung in Chinese. Others were traditional Chinese hymns. The singing was beautiful. Then the teacher stood up. And he spoke for about an hour. We rounded out the two hour service with more singing.
They worshiped with enthusiasm eager to hear every morsel the teacher fed them and it made me reflect on how I come before the Lord. Are my hands open? Are my ears open? Is my heart open to what He has for me?
In China, I was cold. My hands were cold, my feet were cold. My nose was cold. Back home, am I ever that cold? Or worse, do I complain about slight variations in temperature when the sanctuary is not heated properly? In China we sat on small plastic chairs made for kindergarten students instead of padded pews.
In China, I was so thankful for a Dixie cup of green tea. Am I grateful for the small things the Lord provides for me everyday?
The pastor of that small house church where 39 of us crammed into used the study Bible that TWR provided. It reemphasized to me just how important the China Radio Church Kits are.
When you give, your $75 gift provides a beautiful study Bible, 6 study books that correlate with programs heard over Trans World Radio, and a radio to listen to these valuable programs. Your gift makes it possible for Chinese house church pastors to study the Word of God and to be able to present it to their congregations more effectively. Your gift is helping to grow God's church in China.
