Monday, September 21, 2009 (Dhaka, Bangladesh)
I flew from Kolkata, India to Dhaka, Bangladesh this morning. It was a short flight of only forty-five minutes. Dhaka is the capitol city of Bangladesh, with a population of some twenty million. Bangladesh is one of the poorest and most densely populated nations in Asia. Most of the people here are Muslim. This is my fourth visit to this very interesting and colorful nation. It has become one of my favorite places to visit and to minister.
This is the end of the month long "Ramadan", a month of fasting by the Islamic people worldwide. Today is a national holiday in Bangladesh, and it begins the three day celebration known as "Eid Ul Fitr", during which the Muslims gather with their extended families for fellowship and feasting. Most businesses are closed.
We begin our training conference tomorrow afternoon here in Dhaka, and are expecting 200 national youth leaders to be in attendance, coming from all over Bangladesh.
Saturday, September 19, 2009 (Kolkata, West Bengal, India)
This morning, I took twenty-five people (local pastors and Bible college students) on a hired bus to the town of Serampore, just north of Kolkata, to visit the grave, mission compound and library of William Carey, the first evangelical missionary to India, and the "father of modern missions". With only an eighth grade education, Carey left England in 1793 to go to India, never to return to his homeland again. He had a powerful ministry in eastern India until his death in 1834. He started churches and a college, but is best known for his translation of the scriptures into fifty-five local languages. A tireless worker, he is perhaps best known for the following quote: "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God."
It was an inspiring experience, to say the least. Everyone in our group seemed to enjoy the trip.
Tomorrow is Sunday, and I am scheduled to preach at the historic Carey Baptist Church in Kolkata. They just celebrated their 200 year anniversary back in January of this year. This will be my third time, since 2006, to minister to their congregation. Their new pastor, Rev. Jack Chen, and his wife, Lorraine, are both natives of Calcutta, with parents of Chinese origin. They have been pastoring in Canada for a number of years, and are now returning to their roots to lead the Carey Baptist Church. I believe the Chens will have a fruitful ministry there and that that congregation's greatest days are ahead of them!
Friday, September 18, 2009 (Kolkata, West Bengal, India)
Tonight I was speaking in a small house church called "The Prayer House" in south Kolkata. I became reacquainted with a man named Mr. Modal, who gave his heart to Christ last year when I was preaching in another church here in the city. He comes from a Hindu background. Tonight, Mr. Modal had his wife and two daughters with him. The entire family has become believers in Christ, been baptized and are now following the Lord faithfully. Hallelujah! That's the power of the Gospel.
The Hindus in most of India are now preparing for their biggest annual religious festival called "Durga Puja", which takes place most of next week. It's extremely idolatrous, and a very important event in their lives. My heart breaks for the lostness of this place.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 (Kolkata, West Bengal, India)
I arrived here in the city of Kolkata (Calcutta) last night, and began my ministry this morning by speaking to the students and faculty at the Calcutta Bible College. The school has fifty-five undergraduate and graduate students, and is located on the property of the Carey Baptist Church.
Tomorrow morning I am scheduled to speak at the Buntain Memorial Theological Institute at the Assembly of God Church. There should be one hundred students and faculty present in their chapel service.
This afternoon, I met with Rev. Pradip Goswami, our National Director for Harvesters International in India. We had lunch together and discussed our future plans for training conferences in India.
I have a busy week planned while here in Kolkata, meeting with various ministry leaders, and speaking engagements in churches. The physical and spiritual needs here in "The City of Joy" are almost beyond comprehension. There are perhaps more beggars and homeless people here than in any city on earth. Some of the most pitiful and nauseating sights to be seen anywhere can be seen here. May God have mercy on the souls of Calcutta, and may His grace abound in the hearts of these people. "Father, use me to bring your glorious light into the darkness of this city", is my prayer today.
(For more information on the city of Kolkata, read the blog entries from November 19 & 24, 2008.)
Sunday, September 13, 2009 (Panaji, Goa, India)
The idolatry here in India is mind-boggling. Though I have been here many times, it still blows me away. Here in the state of Goa, their primary god is named "Gemesh". He has the head of an elephant and the body of a man. There is a huge festival here each year to celebrate this idol. Everywhere you look, there are pictures and statues of him. The spiritual bondage is so thick.
And yet, back home in America, we too have our idols. Money, material possessions, sports teams and sex, just to name a few. There is an interesting verse in II KIngs, speaking of the people of Israel during Hezekiah's reign, that says: "Even while they were worshipping the Lord, they were still serving their idols." I cannot think of any passage in scripture that better describes the current condition of the USA.
Here in India, the people are living spiritual darkness. In America, we are sinning in the light. According to the Lord Jesus (Luke 13 and 15), the greater judgement is on those who know to do right, but do not do it. May God have mercy on us.
Today, I am preaching in another local house church. Tomorrow, I am scheduled to depart the west coast of India, and fly to the east coast, to the city of Kolkata (Calcutta).
Friday, September 11, 2009 (Panaji, Goa, India)
The past four days have been very busy and intensive, as we conducted our training conference for national church leaders. We completed the conference last night with a moving graduation service, presenting each participant with a certificate of completion and other gifts for their ministries. They were thrilled! It is hard to say goodbye to these brothers and sisters in Christ. They have found a special place in my heart. Please pray for these precious servants of God as they travel back to their home regions today and tomorrow. Many will be facing severe opposition and persecution for the Gospel in the days ahead. May God deliver them from evil, and may He use them to impact Christ's Kingdom on earth in powerful ways, is my prayer.
I will be here in Panaji for a few more days of ministry and rest, before flying to Calcutta on Monday to begin another week of ministry.
Monday, September 7, 2009 (Panaji, Goa, India)
As I write this, early in the morning, I can hear the sound of the Arabian Sea behind my back, as the waves come crashing to shore. It is still dark outside. I am in the state of Goa, in the city of Panaji, on the west coast of India. This region was discovered by the explorer Vasco De Gamma in about 1510, and subsequently colonized by the Portugese, until about 1962, when it became a part of India again. It is the smallest state in India, and the most prosperous. Tourism is probably its biggest source of income. Many Indians and Europeans come here to vacation at the beaches.
It is very beautiful here indeed, however I am not here to vacation but to labor for the Lord's Kingdom! Yesterday morning (Sunday), I preached in a small "house" church (about 30 people crammed into a small hotel room). They were mostly all believers who come originally from the southern state called Kerala, which has one of the largest percentages of Christians in India. We had a precious three hour service and shared the Lord's Supper together as well. The children present shared a sweet song with the congregation.
Last night, we began our four day "Refreshing Conference". There were about 300 native pastors and Bible school students in attendance. More are still traveling to get here. We are hoping that attendance will reach perhaps some 500 by this evening. They are coming from all over India. However, the swine flu epidemic is keeping some from attending, because some of the states are restricting travel for precautionary medical reasons. Some have traveled by train for four days to get here, from the southeastern state of Manipur. Others are from Nagaland and Jopailguri in the far northeast region of India.
There are eight of us on the American team. Two of us are evangelists, three are pastors, one is a medical doctor, and two are laymen. We come from Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Georgia. The five preachers will share the teaching responsibilities during these four days. The medical doctor, Terry Holt, who worked with us in El Salvador back in April of this year, will be conducting physical exams and giving medical treatment to the attendees, as needed.
Please pray that God will pour out His mighty Holy Spirit on us during this four day conference here in Panaji. Thank you!
Sunday, September 6, 2009 (Panaji, Goa, India)
I arrived here in the town of Panaji, in the state of Goa, India yesterday morning, after a long and tiring series of flights lasting nearly two days. Thank God for His traveling mercies! Our landing yesterday morning in the Kingfisher Airbus was a bit disconcerting, with the pilot making a near "touch and go" approach in rainy conditions, followed by a second attempt which ended successfully. As a fellow flyer once told me, "It's always nice to be back on good old 'terra firma'. The more 'firma', the less 'terra' (sic)".
Goa is the smallest state in India, and until about 1962 it was a Portugese colony. The town of Panaji is located on the coast, with the Arabian Sea in immediate view. It is quite beautiful here, although very wet, this being their rainy season. This town was seen in the opening minutes of the famous movie, "Bourne Supremacy".
Today I am scheduled to preach in a local church. On Monday, we will begin our "Refreshing Conference". We are anticipating some 500 native pastors joining us from throughout India for this four day training conference. Our USA team consists of eight men, myself included. Six of us are preachers, one is a medical doctor and another is a medical administrative consultant.
I am planning to be here in India for two weeks, followed by one week in Bangladesh.
Sunday, July 26, 2009 (Karongi, Rwanda)
We have been in western Rwanda for several days now, at beautiful Lake Kivu near the city of Kibuye. Lake Kivu is the eighth largest lake in Africa. Many thousands of people were massacred in this region in the 1994 genocide. For the past three afternoons, we visited a United Nations refugee camp which houses more than 20,000 Congolese refugees. We preached a three day crusade in the camp, and thousands of people attended and responded positively to the Gospel. I have never seen so many children in one place before. My heart breaks for these precious people who are without a home and who have so little hope in this life.
These refugees fled the Congo because of tribal wars. Some have been living as refugees for five years now. I am told that the crusade we did was the first of its kind in this camp. The people seemed very appreciative of us coming. I will never forget their faces.
Today, Luke and I begin our long journey back home to the USA. We should arrive in Alabama tomorrow afternoon, after nearly two full days of traveling. We will remember this nation of Rwanda always, and will look forward to the day when God sends us back here for more of His kingdom's service.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 (Kigali, Rwanda)
The past two days have been very full as we conducted a training conference in evangelism for more than one hundred Rwandan pastors and church leaders. They traveled to Kigali from all over Rwanda, to spend two full days in intensive training, to learn how to more effectively reach their home regions with the Gospel. We had a glorious time with these precious servants of God!
Most of the attendees came from rural areas. They are almost all bi-vocational pastors. Some are farmers. None of them have much if any formal Bible training. Our host, Bishop Karasanyi, has personally discipled all of them, and ordained them to the church ministry.
These precious men and women of God were very appreciative and receptive to the instruction that we offered them. Our ministry organization, Harvesters International (a division of Terry Veazey Ministries, Inc.) provided the conference free of charge to them, thanks to the generosity of our dear partners in the USA. We were able to provide their travel expense, food and lodging, and all training materials as a gift. Their joyful faces fully expressed their sincere gratitude for all they were given. I believe that each of them will return home to make a real difference for the Kingdom of God in their churches and communities, as they implement the things learned at this conference. May the work of God in the hearts of people be multiplied beyond any of our expectations, and may the name of Jesus be lifted up in the nation of Rwanda like never before!
I am very proud of my son, Luke, who is assisting me in many details, and who for the first time served as a fellow instructor for the conference, teaching on two important topics. The trainees responded enthusiastically to Luke's positive spirit and winsome personality. This is Luke's fifth visit to Africa, as a volunteer missionary. At the age of only 23 years, he has already traveled to fifteen nations on four continents, serving Christ and the Gospel. He plans to begin his seminary training next month, having just graduated from the University of Mobile (Mobile, Alabama) with his Bachelor's degree in Theology.
Tomorrow, we plan to travel four hours west of Kigali, by auto, to Lake Kivu, to the town of Kibuye. Near there is a large refugee camp which houses more than 20,000 people. We are scheduled to preach a three day evangelistic crusade there, beginning tomorrow afternoon.
Monday, July 20, 2009 (Kigali, Rwanda)
Today we paid a visit to one of the memorials to the 1994 Rwandan genocide victims. It was quite a sobering experience. This memorial housed a museum which vividly told the entire history and account of the horrendous holocaust that took place here during a three month period fifteen years ago. It was heartbreaking to learn in detail the story of this horrifying ordeal. My mind is still trying to process what I saw and heard today.
On a lighter and more positive note, let me remind you that it was forty years ago today, July 20, 1969, that the Apollo mission successfully landed on the moon, and man put his footprint there for the first time ever. I was fifteen years old and still remember watching it all unfold on television. What a fascinating experience that was, and a day for all humanity to be proud.
But one of the most transforming experiences of my life took place only a few weeks later in August of 1969, when I was attending a Baptist youth camp in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. It was there and then that God called me into His service! It was about midnight, at the conclusion of a powerful campfire service on top of a mountain at Aspendale Encampment, that I surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to His plan for my life. I have never been the same since, thank God! What an incredible difference that summer of 1969 made in my life.
It was because of what happened that summer, that I am here in Rwanda today, forty years later.
Hallelujah!
Sunday, July 19, 2009 (Kigali, Rwanda)
My son, Luke, and I, arrived here in Kigali, Rwanda (south central Africa) yesterday afternoon, following nearly thirty hours of travel time, most of that in the air. We are a bit jet-lagged, but otherwise none the worse for wear, doing just fine, though still adjusting to the seven hour time difference.
Rwanda is the smallest and most densely populated nation on the African continent. I have been coming to Africa for ministry since 1972, and this is my tenth country to visit here. Rwanda was first colonized by the Germans in the late 1800's, then by Belgium and France, until 1962, when it gained its independence. The primary languages are French and English, and a native tribal tongue called Kinyarwanda.
The three main tribes in this region are Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. The Twa people are in the minority, both in number and in individual size. They are pygmies! The Hutus are the majority tribe, making up nearly 80% of the population. In 1994, there was a terrible genocidal massacre that took place here in Rwanda. During a three month period that year, nearly one million people were killed, mostly Tutsis, at the hands of radical Hutus. Its roots were political and ethnic, going back many generations. The nation seems to be stable now, but people are still healing from the awful wounds inflicted during those days. I am anxious to learn more about it, by getting to know some of the people and hearing their firsthand reports.
We began our ministry today in Kigali, the capitol city, by singing and preaching at Deliverance Church, the home church of our host and Coordinator, Bishop (Rev.) Joseph Karasanyi. He has been saved since 1980, and serving Christ in the ministry since 1986. He and his wife, Rose, though native Rwandans, were both raised mostly in nearby Uganda, and returned to Rwanda as newlyweds in 1995, just after the genocide. They are of the persecuted Tutsi tribe, though now, they, like most in this country, prefer to be known simply as Rwandans, trying to put their tribal identity behind them.
Joseph and Rose have successfully planted some eighty churches throughout Rwanda. Joseph now serves as an overseer of these independent, non-denominational congregations, and thus has the title of "Bishop". He has coordinated many evangelistic campaigns for foreign evangelists like myself, both in Rwanda and other African nations. He was highly recommended to me some months ago by two of my closest friends, who are also serving Christ for many years as international evangelists, and who have worked with Joseph in the past.
Interestingly, there was a group of about twenty young people and chaperones from Scotland, visiting in the worship service this morning. They are here on a volunteer humanitarian project with a local school. Most of these Scottish young people do not attend church, and had never heard a presentation of the Gospel before. Well, now they have heard! It was my privilege to share the plan of salvation during the course of my message on the "Great Commission" (Matthew 28). Several of the Scottish teens opened up their hearts to Jesus and received Him as their personal Lord and Savior! Hallelujah!! (How about that?! They came all the way to Africa to hear the Gospel and be saved.)
Tomorrow we are scheduled to visit some of the famous holocaust (genocide) sites. That should be a sobering experience.
Friday, April 24, 2009 (San Miguel, El Salvador)
I have been here in the eastern region of El Salvador, in the city of San Miguel, for the past week, preaching in churches and schools. We have a team of Americans which includes a medical doctor and a nurse, in addition to several preachers and lay people. We conducted a medical clinic each day this week, in a different town each day. Hundreds of sick people received free medical attention, being examined by our doctors (two El Salvadoran physicians worked along with our American) and receiving free medicine. Each patient was also evangelized by members of our American team, following their visit with the doctors. Many received Jesus as Lord and Savior!
El Salvador is the smallest of all the nations in Central America. It is densely populated, and is predominately Roman Catholic, though the majority of the people do not attend church regularly. Few people speak English, so I have had the opportunity to practice speaking in my limited Spanish while here.
We have been working closely with several of the Baptist churches in San Miguel and other towns nearby. God has blessed our efforts here. I hope to return to El Salvador in the near future for additional ministry. Our American team will return to the USA today.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 (Cox's Bazar, Chittagong, Bangladesh)
We concluded our training conference yesterday about noon. The participants were really fired up! It was exciting to see them putting their evangelism training into action each afternoon, going out into the streets and on the beach, sharing their faith in Christ. They saw some good results.
One morning, we all went to the beach for a group picture, and were soon surrounded by a large crowd of curious on-lookers. Several of the men were dressed in the traditional Muslim robes and prayer caps. I felt led by God's Spirit to preach the Gospel through my interpreter. The crowd listened intently and respectfully. More than half of them prayed to receive Christ as their Lord, and publicly confessed so with the raising of their hands. It was a sight rarely seen in Bangladesh. Our trainees seemed shocked by the response, but they quickly recovered and began counseling with the new converts one-on-one.
Our concluding training session was very moving, as I presented a final challenge to the participants to go into all the world and be witnesses, beginning in their own nation and home region. It's sobering to know that most of them will face great opposition and persecution in the days ahead. Some, even martyrdom.
We presented each trainee with a handsome certificate of completion, and then said our tearful goodbyes to each one. May God bless them mightily with His grace and power, and may He see fit to use them to bring a great harvest of souls into Christ's Kingdom!
Sunday, February 15, 2009 (Cox's Bazar, Chittagong, Bangladesh)
I am writing tonight from the town of Cox's Bazar in the southeast part of Bangladesh. My team-mate, Marty Hooper, and I arrived here yesterday, flying from Dhaka, the capitol city. We arrived in Bangladesh on Friday, having departed the USA on Wednesday of last week.
Cox's Bazar is actually a resort community, named for an English seaman named Captain Cox. It boasts of having the world's longest continuous ocean beach. It is located at the Bay of Bengal. This is in a region called Chittagong.
We are conducting a four day evangelism training conference. Our seventy-five trainees have come from all over Bangladesh to attend this conference. Some traveled more than twenty hours on a bus to get here. They arrived yesterday and we began the conference last evening.
Most of the trainees are young adults, ranging in age from 12 (the youngest) to about 30 years old. All seem very eager to learn, and have thus far been very receptive of the training. We have had a busy day today, beginning the training at 7 am and continuing to 8 pm, with a few brief breaks throughout.
This is my third visit to Bangladesh, the first being in 2005. It is a fascinating country with an interesting history. It is one of the most densely populated nations in the world, with more than 100 million people packed into a land area about the size of Alabama (we only have 5 million people in Alabama). It is a very poor country. The average laborer earns the equivalent of about a dollar for a full day of work (12 hours). Most of the country is agricultural. Rice fields abound! Water is everywhere. Sort of like Holland, but without the dikes and canals! Bangladesh is famous for it's flooding. Ground travel here includes boats and ferries most of the time.
Like most third-world, developing nations, Bangladesh's greatest resource are its' people. They are some of the finest you will find anywhere. For the most part, Bengalis are hard working, industrious folks. They need education, training and the development of their natural resources. They seem eager to learn and to prosper. Many Bengalis live and work in other countries where they have opportunity for better income.
Most of all, they need Jesus! More than 90 percent of the population is Muslim. The rest are mostly Hindu or Buddhist. Less than 1 percent are Christian.
Monday, November 24, 2008 (Kolkata, India)
Today, I depart India and begin my journey back home to the USA. These past two weeks have been truly unforgettable.
Yesterday, Marty and I ministered four times in two churches here in Kolkata (Calcutta). During the morning we were guests of the Carey Baptist Church, established in 1809 by Dr. William Carey, the very first evangelical missionary to India. He came here from Great Britain in the late 1700's, bringing his wife and one child. The British East Indies Company that ruled India in those days, refused to allow Carey to set up his ministry in Calcutta, afraid that he would cause trouble with the Indian people and interfere with the profitable trade between the English and the Indians. So, Carey traveled north up the Hoogley River to a Danish outpost called Serampore. There he established his mission headquarters, where he was later joined by several other British missionary families of the Baptist faith.
William Carey concentrated on translating the Bible into the local languages of this region of India. He evangelized and started churches, and spent the remainder of his life in service to the Lord here, never returning to his homeland. He died after more than forty years of missionary work in India, and was buried in Serampore. I visited his grave three years ago. The college he founded in Serampore is still operating today with more than 3,000 students, including several hundred majoring in Christian theology.
The British government eventually gave permission to William Carey and the Serampore missionaries to establish their work in the city of Calcutta. The Carey Baptist Church was started and pastored by Dr. Carey and his associates. In January of 2009 the church will celebrate their bi-centennial. It was a great privilege for me to stand and preach yesterday from the very same pulpit used by William Carey.
We led two services there yesterday morning. One service was in English and the other in Hindi, which is a common language spoken throughout most of India. The church also has another service in the local Bengali language.
Last evening, we ministered in two worship services at the Assembly of God Church in Calcutta. This church was founded some fifty years ago by the late Dr. Daniel Mark Buntain, an Assembly of God missionary from Canada. Buntain built an impressively large Christian ministry here, consisting of churches, schools, colleges, a hospital and much more. He gave his life in service to Christ for the people of this great city, and passed away here in 1989. His grave and monument are positioned at the main entrance to the church. Mark Buntain was greatly loved by the people of India.
During my first visit to India in 1985, I ministered at the Assembly of God Church of Calcutta for a week, coming to love and respect these devoted servants of the Lord who labor for God's Kingdom in a difficult location in the midst of massive spiritual darkness.
India is more than 90% Hindu. About 5% of the people are Muslim and less than 3% are Christian. The Hindus worship millions of idols. Paul the Apostle said that "the worship of idols is the worship of demons." I believe that that there are demonic powers attached to every idol that is worshipped, and these principalities of darkness have a powerful stronghold on the hearts and minds of the people of this nation of more than one billion souls. I challenged those present last night at the A.G. church to get more serious about and active in spiritual warfare and prayer for their homeland, and to surrender themselves to be laborers in the Lord's harvest fields (Matthew 9).
In the second evening service I spoke with the young adults on the subject of the "Second Coming of Christ." They were very attentive and receptive. MARANATHA!
A highlight of the day for me was last night when a man showed up in the first evening service, whom I had led to Christ two days earlier at a House of Prayer in the south part of town called Thakurpurkur. He was a Hindu, but is now a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ. Halleljuah!!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 (Kolkata, India)
Greetings from Calcutta, India, a city of 20 million souls in north eastern India, in the state of West Bengal. God is blessing our efforts here in wonderful ways. This is my third visit to this great city since 1985.
I am accompanied by my dear friend and fellow evangelist, Marty Hooper of California. Marty and I have known each other for almost twenty years, and during that time have labored for the Lord throughout Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. Marty and his wife make their home near Georgetown, in northern California, about an hour drive from Sacramento. They have seven children and fourteen grandchildren. Marty looks like Santa Claus, and in fact works during the Christmas season as a Santa at the malls in his area. He is a very gifted musician and Bible preacher, and is a joy to work with.
We just spent two days and nights in the state of Orissa, in the capitol city of Bhubaneswar. This city is the center of Hindu temple worship, with more than 3,000 temples. Orissa is the state where there has been so much persecution of Christians in the past two or three months (for many years actually). Many believers have been murdered, homes burned down and churches demolished by radical Hindu mobs. I heard first hand reports that chilled my blood.
Last night we visited a relief camp for 450 Christian refugees, whose homes were destroyed and who were forced to flee their villages. They have witnessed some incredibly horrific atrocities, and yet they have maintained a sweet and forgiving attitude toward their tormentors. We led them in a 45 minute worship service last night, during which we praised God in song and shared the Word of God. They actually encouraged me! It was one of the most touching experiences of my life. I will never forget their precious smiling faces. God is going to bring much good out of this horrible situation, for His glory and for the furtherance of His Kingdom!
We spent ten hours yesterday training church leaders (pastors, evangelists and native missionaries) in Orissa. These mighty men of God have suffered much for the sake of the Gospel, and yet they continue to boldly proclaim Christ at the risk of losing their lives.
I was told by Dr. S.N. Patra, a highly respected Christian leader in Orissa, that we were the first foreign missionaries to visit them since the persecution began, and that the money our ministry wired to them in September was the first foreign financial aid that they received. They were very grateful.
Earlier this week, my associates and I conducted our "INDIA ALIVE!" Evangelism Training Conference for three days with some 75 area church leaders in southern Calcutta. They were attentive and receptive to the instruction, and they left at the end of the conference extremely excited about carrying on the work of evangelism in their own communities. This was our second training conference in Calcutta within the past three years.
For the remaining five days, we will be teaching Bible School students and preaching in several local churches.
Thursday, October 16, 2008 (Hong Kong, China)
I woke up very early this morning (3:40am), checked my e-mail, read today's "My Utmost For His Highest" devotional, prayed, texted home, and still have an hour and a half left before they start serving breakfast in this hotel located on Waterloo Road in the Kowloon City part of Hong Kong. I've stayed at this place several times in the past few years, and it has become almost a second home, a place of rest and refuge in the midst of an exhausting schedule of daily ministry opportunities.
Today, I'm supposed to do four high school assembly programs, scheduled a bit too close together. We'll be really rushing from one place to another, to get it all done. My interpreter, Mrs. Nora So (she and her husband are good friends of mine for five years now) is graciously making her mini-van and driver available to us all day. This sure beats going by public transportation, although Hong Kong has one of the best mass transit systems in the world!
I'm a little nervous about these high school programs. Teenage students can sometimes be a bit rowdy and disrespectful, especially if they get bored with your presentation. I'm hoping and praying that I'll be able to keep their attention, and that the Holy Spirit will get ahold of their hearts. I trust that our friends will be praying fervently all over the world. (By the way, I have complete freedom to share the Gospel in the schools of Hong Kong. PTL!)
I have been coming to Hong Kong since April of 1980, working with the Hong Kong Youth For Christ organization, which specializes in doing evangelism to students. Over the years, we have been privileged to reach many thousands of young people in the schools of this great city, with the Gospel. Hong Kong holds a special place in my heart. It is a fascinating place with a very rich and interesting history.
A British protectorate for 100 years, their lease was finished in 1997, and Hong Kong was turned back over to the Peoples Republic of China (communist) that year. The government of China wisely decided to administer Hong Kong under a special arrangement referred to as S.A.R.S., and have not made many changes to its way of life during the past eleven years.
No one I've talked to seems to know exactly how many people reside in the three parts that make up the city of Hong Kong (Hong Kong Island, Kowloon City and New Territories), but the population numbers in the millions, perhaps more than ten million. Suffice to say, there are a whole lot of folks living here in pretty tight quarters. Because the land area of Hong Kong is so small, the city grows mostly upwards, evidenced by a multitude of high rise buildings as far as you can see. In fact, the section of town that I am staying in is called Mong Kok, and it is supposed to contain the largest number of people per square foot anywhere in the world. When you get out on the streets at night while people are shopping and dining out, you really begin to get an idea of just how crowded this place is.
My first visit to Hong Kong was just a few weeks after the birth of my firstborn child, Micah Andrew. I was twenty-five years old and I came as a part of a missions team from the USA, made up of pastors, evangelists, musicians and laymen. We stayed two weeks, working with churches and doing school programs with the Hong Kong YFC. It was my first time in the Far East, and I fell in love with the Chinese people and culture. More than two thousand students made decisions to trust in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior during our ministry here in 1980. I knew in my heart that I would return to this part of the world as often as God allowed.
Little did I know what exciting things God had in store during the next twenty-eight years!
Saturday, October 18, 2008 (Hong Kong, China)
During the last three days, I conducted Gospel programs in six schools to a total of more than 5,000 students, here in Hong Kong. I found them to be very attentive and receptive to my presentation. With upraised hands many indicated their desire to become believers in Christ. It was a joy to lead them in the prayer of repentance.
Many, if not most, of the schools in Hong Kong are private Christian schools. However, most of the students do not come from Christian homes. Some are buddhist or of another faith, but many are just secular materialists with no particular religious belief. The schools are a great harvest field for God's Kingdom, and the Hong Kong YFC ministry has been tapping into this for many years, faithfully sending laborers to reap a harvest for Christ. I am thankful to have had this relationship with HKYFC for twenty-eight years now.
Today, I will be returning to mainland China. I was there for three days earlier this week (on Sunday, Monday & Tuesday), visiting a house church, two factories and a primary school. Two volunteers from HKYFC went with me. One was Yong Moi, an eighty-two year old woman, with a terrific testimony. The other was Harmonie Leung, who is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English and who served as my interpreter and the manager of our small team.
Before departing the USA, I applied for a one year, multiple entry visa from the Chinese Consulate in Washington, DC. These can be difficult to obtain, but God granted me favor and the application process went very smoothly. This visa allows me to go into China, as a tourist, multiple times in the course of a year.
1981 was the last time I visited the mainland. I was asked by the Far East Broadcasting Company to smuggle Bibles into the country and deliver them to the underground church in Guangzhou (old Canton). In those days, Bibles were extremely difficult to obtain in China. It was illegal to bring them into the country. Very few people had a printed copy of God's Word. My American associate, Darby Worrell, and I took a commercial flight from Hong Kong and were able to pass through security and customs officials uninspected. Our luggage was packed with more than 200 copies of Chinese language Bibles and other pieces of Christian literature and music cassettes. In fact, I had thin New Testaments in the bottoms of both of my shoes, so that I literally walked into China on the Word of God!
We were accompanied on that trip by a young married couple from the HKYFC staff. After checking into our hotel, they left us to go make contact with the leaders of the local church and to deliver the Bibles. We prayed fervently in our hotel room for their safety and success. After several hours, they returned to share with us an amazing story.
At the house church, there were four men waiting who had traveled some 500 miles by foot from the Hunan province, because they had received a vision during a prayer meeting where their church was requesting Bibles from the Lord. In the vision, they saw two "white foreigners" who would be bringing Bibles to Guangzhou. So, they had made the long journey, and had been waiting for several days in Guangzhou, believing that God would bring the vision to pass. And indeed He did!
We fell on our faces in the hotel room, weeping and thanking God that he chose to use us to meet the need of these precious believers. We "white foreigners" were not allowed to meet with the house church congregation. Our presence would have been too obvious and would have placed the local believers in possible danger from the communist authorities. So, we had to be content with the second-hand report from our friends. But our hearts were filled to overflowing with the joy of the Lord.
As I prepared, last Sunday, to enter the mainland a second time, after so many years, I was curious to see if conditions in China had changed much since 1981.
October 21, 2008 (Hong Kong, China)
I have made two trips into mainland China during the past two weeks. The first was to a large city just north of Shenzhen called Dongguan. The second was to a location between Dongguan and Shenzhen. Both are about one hour north of Hong Kong, by train or bus.
On the first trip, to Dongguan, I was accompained by Mrs. Yong and Miss Leung (my interpreter), volunteer workers with HKYFC. On a Sunday afternoon, we rode the MTR (subway train) from Kowloon to Lo Wu, to the border of mainland China. Together, we passed easily through passport control and customs, entering the city of Shenzhen, where we boarded a bus for an hour long ride to the city of Dongguan.
In Dongguan, we were met by a Mr. Chen, who is a leader of the house church network in that city. He took us by car to a relatively poor neighborhood, where we were led into a modest home for a Sunday afternoon worship service. About fifty of us were packed into a small living room for a two hour worship service. The congregation was mostly women, with a handful of men present. They sang several songs from a paperback hymnal, then prayed for a season. After about thirty minutes, I was introduced. I then spent the next ninety minutes singing, testifying and teaching from the Word of God. The people were very attentive and seemed receptive. They were excited to have a foreigner in their midst. The entire setting of the worship service was informal and intimate. I felt very much at home.
After closing with a blessing and season of prayer, we said our good-byes and were then taken to supper by the chaplains of a factory where we were scheduled to do a two hour program for the factory employees later that evening. Let me explain.
Southern China is heavily industrialized and filled with many factories which manufacture goods which are shipped all over the world. Subsequently there are many thousands of factory workers which come here from all over China, to work and make money to send back home to their families. These workers live in dormitories on the company property. Some of these factories are owned by Christian business people in Hong Kong. These owners, who care deeply about the souls of their workers, will often hire chaplains to work full time on staff to minister to the spiritual needs of the employees. They will also bring evangelists and Christian entertainers to perform and minister to the employees. Hong Kong Youth For Christ helps provide people to do this task. This is a wonderful opportunity to share Jesus with people who have never heard the Gospel. Most of these will eventually return to their home regions someday, and hopefully will become evangels there!
So, after supper, we were taken to a factory which produces springs for mattresses. The chaplains had scheduled a big "party" for the workers. I was the featured entertainment! I was given more than an hour to share the Gospel, using music, magic tricks, my puppet, and the Wordless Book.
HKYFC previously took six of my songs and translated them into the Chinese written characters. They made a DVD containing these characters along with my soundtracks of music, so that when I sing, the words are projected onto a screen and the people are able to understand what I am singing about. This has really helped with communicating a clear message through the music.
The factory crowd was quite lively and seemed very appreciative of us being there. There were about 200 people in attendance. Some of them have their children living with them. The children came up and handed me freshly cut flowers as I was singing. (I recalled that the same thing happened to me in Russia some years back.) About midway through the program, we stopped to celebrate birthdays. The chaplains had prepared some gigantic cakes for the occasion. Lots of fruit and bottled water was also on hand for everyone to partake of. It was all very festive.
By the time we finally arrived at our hotel, it was almost midnight. Boy, did that pillow feel good!
The next two days we worked with the Yu Tim Primary School in Dongguan. This school is privately owned by a Christian businessman in Hong Kong. It is a school for students whose families are quite poor, and cannot afford to pay high tuition and fees. They have 1,400 students. We were invited to entertain and teach the students about American culture. It is illegal in mainland China to share the Gospel with anyone under the age of eighteen, therefore we had to be very careful in what we said, or there could be serious repercussions for the leaders of the school. In spite of the restrictions, we were still able to communicate some spiritual truths that hopefully will remain with the children.
Each afternoon, after school dismissed, we rode on a school bus into one of the poor neighborhoods where the students live. There, we took some time to visit with some of the parents in their homes. The homes were very simple, usually consisting of one small room with a bed or two. All the cooking and living was done in that confined space. It was a reminder that China is still a developing nation and the new prosperity is not being experienced by everyone just yet.
It was difficult saying goodbye to these precious young people after two days in their school. I will long remember their bright eyes, their curiosity and smiling faces.
After an evening program in another factory, we returned to Hong Kong. In all, we stayed two nights and three days in China on this first visit.
My second trip to the mainland was this past weekend, and consisted of conducting six Gospel programs in twenty-four hours. I had my first exposure to the "Three Self" Church (offically registered).
