serious!

I’m crying out for some love!

People here are really nice and they are very helpful. In fact, our colleagues have gone out of their way to help us get situated nicely in this country…still something is missing…
Today, was an easy day at work but I went through it with an odd feeling of something missing…amidst the conversations of political opinions in the office, people proudly talking about living lives of drunkenness, people taking the politically correct stance, complaints about Chinese school policies, missing an easy life, yelling at the waiter for making an innocent accident…etc…I find I’m missing more than random things I left at home….I miss words spoken out of love. The friend who wounds you to make you better. Iron sharpening Iron.

We went to church last weekend. It was really great. Like all of you read, we were really missing the fellowship that only the body of Christ provides. Brother Yun was right…God gives us fellowship so that when you are in the desert or alone in the mission field and are lonely, you can look back upon the good times you had with friends of Christ. But to continue on with the church point, the lead pastor spoke words of love that hit close to home…”it is not by coincidence that you are in Shanghai at this time in history, God called you here to be the face of the church in Shanghai in this day and age.” Wow. When I heard these words my heart melted. It is not by coincidence that this would be the first message I heard upon arriving in shanghai from the church. Its hard being away from our closest friends and family, but like the pastor said, mai kao and I are called here to shanghai to be the face of the church in this day in age.

In all my life I have never been surrounded by SO many people who don’t love the Lord or don’t know about Jesus or just blatantly dismiss Him. It’s hard to stay on the right path… But Lord, I will worship you no matter where, no matter what, and no matter the cost. Sometimes the cost is as simple as leaving home.(Abraham). But I expect big things for this city…upon arrival in Shanghai I haven’t been able to shake that chris tomlin song “god of this city.” Some historians say that for every era of world history there is a city that defines the era. For the next coming era, historians are already saying that Shanghai will be the defining city of the world. How cool would it be if Revival broke loose in Shanghai and this era was defined by the city that broke loose from the reigns of Communism, the bindings of the world and found itself set free from the Spirit of God!

So I resign to speak words of love…