Xie xie, China!!

I know, I know-I apologize for the delay about my report from China!! We have been back a little over a week, and I have never experienced such jet lag!! (which John Dobbs now claims is from partying since returning and not jet lag...I beg to differ). ;)

It would be hard to adequately describe our trip to China in mere words...awesome, amazing, incredible, life-changing, and exceeded any expectation is only the beginning!! I absolutely loved and still love the beautiful people, the great culture, the delicious food, and the incredible sights we experienced while in Beijing! We soaked up every moment of our two weeks and it still was not near enough!! I did not want to leave (well, except for leaving the allergies behind!) ;) and cannot wait to go back again. More on that later...

They said that we read with more people than any other team who has gone to Beijing ever has-we were amazed at the people who showed up on the first day to register, and they just kept flowing in-so great!! I think between the four of us we read and studied with over 70 people. I studied with 20 people, I believe, before it was all said and done. Among those, there were several who had NEVER even heard of God or His Good News before. That was an incredible, humble, and surreal experience-to sit down with someone who had never heard of God, never heard of Jesus, never read the Bible, never knew anything about His love, His grace, His mercy, His gift and promise of eternal life, and all that He has to offer. Can you imagine? NEVER knew any of that!! I had the immense blessing of sharing all of that with several who were seeing it with fresh eyes, hearing with fresh ears, and discovering with a fresh heart.

I honestly can say that I have never had that chance before-to sit down with someone, start from the beginning with the story of Jesus, and share my faith like that-especially in a country where Christianity is not typically accepted and has long been atheistic. Wow. Even as simple and beautiful as it is, each time I would tell it and as they each focused and listened intently-it would blow me away what I was saying, and I would think "This is SO loaded-they must think I am crazy throwing this all at them at once!" They were so grateful that we were willing to come from America, take time to help them practice their English, and share with them. It was truly humbling. We were able to give each of them a Bible that was translated in both Chinese and English, and several of them were surprised we were doing all of this free.

It was the experience of a lifetime, and I am SO thankful that God provided such a tremendous opportunity to travel to the other side of the world, stretch and grow my faith immensely, place such incredible people in front of me that blessed me way more than I blessed them. My heart is full of memories and treasures of a lifetime-I will never forget those people or conversations, and I truly hope to go back and continue those relationships. I truly pray that seeds were planted, that God will water them, and that I will see each of them in heaven one day!! That is my hope!! :) The harvest is definitely so ripe for the harvest there-more than I can describe.

There is much more to write about and many more pictures to share, so this is only the beginning-but I do not want to write it down all in one post, so I will break it up...

Thank you ONCE AGAIN from the very bottom of my heart for all of you who prayed, contributed & supported me-you made it possible for us to go over there and spread the Good News of Jesus to so many. Our team was SO God-ordained and it was incredible for each of us to share the journey that God had taken us on and how amazed we were that God had taken us to China at this time. It is one of the most incredible opportunities I have ever had and there is a very special place now in my heart for China and the beautiful people there!

There is more to come, so please come back! :)