Mission trip to Shandong
This is my 13th year of ministry in China, totalling almost 50 trips since the year 2000. In all these years, the last 2 trips were perhaps the most nerve-wracking one as far as Huiliang was concerned. This was due to the government’s policy of either to slow down the growth of Christianity or clamping it down as a foreign religion in a communist country. On a previous trip, after fetching me from the airport to the teaching centre, our brother’s heart started to beat arrhythmically. That was affirmed by an ECG test he took at a clinic. What made our brother so nervous? He was concerned whether there would be surveillance on my presence in the country. But thanks to God there was none.
My recent trip was to teach a course on Eschatology, and to receive Traditional Chinese Medicine therapy for my injured right knee. The treatment was to be done once a day, lasting 30 to 40 minutes, for 11 days. I conducted a course in “Eschatology” in the Systematic Theology series for 14 students in the undergraduate programme, and 3 students in the Masters’ programme.
A few interesting lessons on the last days before Christ comes to receive us touched on the intense deception which will come upon the world to lead people away from God. Christ mentions this in Mattthew 24 with 3 clear warnings. The first warning Christ focused on was not to be deceived by any man (vs 4). This deception was heightened in the second warning (v 11). Christ tells His disciples to be wary of false prophets who will deceive many people. And the third warning gives further insight to deception brought by false Christs and prophets who would come with great signs and wonders to mislead the very elect of God (v 27). It appears that as the last days approach, deception by Satan will be greatly intensified, and the very elect of God’s people may have problems to perceive and differentiate between what is true teaching from the false and fake ones.
Since I had one extra week in Shandong, I seized the opportunity to visit brother Sun Liansheng, Ge Lan’s father, in Huangdao. I took a 3-hour bus ride to get to Huangdao where he lived. The weather was hot and humid like Singapore but the discomfort was alleviated by the air-conditioning in the bus. The ride was pleasant as the bus passed by cornfields, many greenhouse structures for vegetables and vines, and plenty of rivers and streams. As we approached Huangdao’s newest highway, I was reminded of a news report of how this highway would reduce the distance travelled and shorten travelling time by one-third compared to distance travelled and time taken if we had used the old bumpy road.
After a few short naps on the bus, I was directed by a helpful lady to get to where Bro Sun was. He received me at the bus terminus. I first met bro Sun and his family in 2000 when I first stepped into China for mission work. A Chinese pastor who had previously been jailed for his faith for 16 years brought me to China. He introduced me to brother Sun, and we stayed in his apartment for a couple of days to do teaching in house churches in Qingdao and around the countryside. For this reason, I made a point to meet brother Sun because we have been co- labourers in the gospel work for 18 years. He put me up in a hotel room for the night. On the following day, he brought me to have fellowship with six other Christian leaders. One of them lived in Sichuan in the aftermath of the gigantic earthquake in 2006, and gave aid to the victims there. He and others set up churches there and this resulted in many turning to Christ.
As a form of welcome, three sisters prepared a sumptuous lunch of 14 dishes for us to enjoy, and we had good fellowship. It was indeed a deja vu feeling of earlier years. After lunch, two of the brothers accompanied me back to the teaching centre. On the way back to Truelogos, we stopped by the famous seafront of Huangdao for an afternoon stroll and sightseeing of the new development of this part of the peninsula.
Training a Christian Counsellor
Sister Zhang, Huiliang’s mother, is a Bible teacher in their church. She is a very mission-minded believer, and goes to Yunnan every year to serve among the many churches there. She is also deeply interested to provide counsel for those who call on her for help. She has been consulting me on how to do counselling for a number of years. On this trip, I had more time so I could provide her with more materials which she could use to study people’s temperaments, various family relationships and the strengthening of marriages. While I was all wrapped up during the 30-40 minutes of the TCM therapy, it was good opportunity to instruct her on how to understand human temperaments from the Bible’s perspective. Her practicum exercise included counselling one of the TCM customers who needed not only physical herbal treatment but also the spiritual advice. Sister Zhang was able to show me how she counselled and related the Word of God to the counsellee’s life. I felt that she had passed the test in the 11 days of training and moulding her in this important aspect of Christian service for the community and the Church. By next year, she will be issued with a certification for counselling and she will then set up a counselling unit in the TCM Centre. Do pray for her, and the many Christians as well as non-believers who will benefit from her counselling service.
Indeed, this mission trip has helped me to accomplish a few things besides teaching the Bible students. First, the TCM therapy and massage on my right knee has helped improve it. There has not been much pain in the knee, and the grating of bones and ligaments has not recurred for the last 6 weeks. Secondly, the passing down of counselling skills with constant prayer to one like sister Zhang is a delight to me as I know that many Christians will benefit from her. Finally, meeting an old friend who has gone through so much in the preaching of the gospel is a great privilege for me.
May the Lord continue to bless His Word and work greatly in China, and strengthen the fellowship of the brethren among those who fervently serve Him.
Pastor Bob Phee