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News about China
Dear Friend,
The eyes of the world are turning to China because of the upcoming Olympics. And China is preparing. Thousands of shanty homes and dilapidated buildings are being bulldozed and replaced with bright modern ones. Walls are being erected and painted to shield bad neighborhoods from the tourists’ view. Streets are being widened More new high rise buildings have been built in Shanghai since 2005 than in New York City in the entire last 100 years! Great wealth is being amassed by a few, and a number of young adults in growing cities like Shanghai are doing very well financially. You can be sure that the media will be remarking on the incredible progress and near miraculous changes in that communist country.
But there is another side of China that most tourists will never see or hear. Dissenters are being threatened and arrested as China prepares to put on a positive face for the world. The divorce rate is skyrocketing. Untold millions still live in poverty. Huge numbers of families are being torn apart as the husbands move into mega-cities to find work, leaving their wives and children behind to carry out manual farm labor in the villages.
Millions of young adults are migrating to the cities in search of jobs. Many of these single adults live crowded together by the hundreds or even thousands in huge dormitories or housing projects provided by their employers where they are without family, churches or other sources of values or stability. They have little purpose in life except to try to get ahead financially and they are even more materialistic and hedonistic than their peers in the United States. Suicide is the leading cause of death among university age young adults. Spiritually and emotionally this country is lost.
China has all of the problems we have here in the United States multiplied by poverty, controlled lives, forced abortions for any woman expecting a second child, fears of the government, no freedom of speech and for most, no opportunities to worship or even hear about God. Yet at the same time, masses of Chinese are hungry for the good news of Christ and from what we can tell, many thousands are turning to Christ every week.
My wife, Kathy, just returned from a nearly month long visit to China. As you may recall, Kathy was born in Beijing where her parents served as missionaries before and after World War II. Her first language was Mandarin and in many ways China still seems like her home. Kathy travelled to China to support and consult with NCF’s staff psychologist, Dr. Ruth Chang, and her husband Jeff. She also met with a number of Christian leaders. Although there is much we cannot share due to the need for confidentiality, here are a few highlights of Kathy’s trip and some of the outreaches the Changs are having.
- Kathy was able to visit the location of the missionary compound where she lived as a young girl. Although the main building has been turned into a restaurant, it is still standing and Kathy found a plaque commemorating the history of the building, including the names of some of the leaders of the Oriental Missionary Society! That brought back some wonderful memories!
- While taking a walk in the park with a young woman from a local house church, Kathy’s eyes were drawn to a plaque describing a sculpture in honor of a famous Chinese medical doctor who was from that city. The doctor had delivered more than 50,000 babies and had a clear Christian testimony. Kathy was one of the babies that this doctor delivered!
- Dr. Chang has been asked to set up a three year counselor training program for Christian
teachers from a school for 300 autistic children. The school is cutting edge, and each child must have one parent or parent substitute present for the entire school day in order to assist their child. The government recently recognized this school as the most outstanding of its kind! Ruth’s training program will prepare the teachers to counsel and support the parents of these students. Many of the parents are not Christians and, like here in the U.S., there is a high divorce rate among parents of handicapped children.
- Dr. Chang is also supervising a group of house church leaders who are taking a three year training program in family counseling.
- Jeff preached at an Easter Sunday service for 300 house church Christians.
- Jeff co-leads a weekly Bible study for young adults.
- Jeff and Ruth lead a couples’ enrichment group for a number of young married couples each week. They have had the privilege of leading a number of people to the Lord and have
incredible open doors to share their faith.
- Kathy had the opportunity to provide pastoral care to a number of Christian workers during
her visit.
Kathy returned to the United States blessed by our freedom and encouraged by the many ways that God is reaching people in the great nation of China. The needs are almost impossible to imagine, but God is raising up Chinese Christians from around the world to return to China and share the good news of the Gospel of Christ. Combined with the millions of national Chinese, they are having an impact throughout the world’s most populous nation.
We at NCF are privileged to be able to serve a number of these dedicated servants of Christ through a variety of counseling and training ministries. This month, please remember the Changs in your prayers and consider what part you can have in making these ministries possible. We need both your prayers and your financial support to keep making a difference in China and around the world. Thank you for caring.
Gratefully in Christ,
Bruce Narramore, Ph.D.
President
P.S. Tumultuous days lie ahead for China. But those whom you are helping now will lead others to Christ and together they will make a great difference in the years ahead!
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