THE REST OF THE CHINA STORY- A SAD ENDING

Thanks to so many of you who followed my blog regarding the adventure we had with Jesus in China recently. I know I sort of wrapped things up in a neat bow on my last update but in reality things did not end quite that way. In fact we ended up having what I called at the time an "interaction" with the Chinese officials. I did not dare write about it after this interaction because I had to assume that everything was being monitored closely.

So here's the rest of the story. In our first two visits to the M People village we had made some crucial contacts with the elementary school, assessed the immediate needs and took the children some school supplies. But, the greater need was for each child to have a pair of shoes and a warm coat. So, we ordered the clothing from a larger city about 5 hours from where we were staying and a few days later they arrived by bus. We loaded them up and headed back to the village where we had a wonderful presentation letting the children know that in the boxes in front of them were coats and shoes for all.

It was lunch time and the kids were about to head home to eat so we retired to a building behind the main schoolrooms for a lunch prepared by the school staff. We had a delicious lunch and just as it was coming to a close, our interpreter came in and said: "We have a problem." The local communist officials had received a report that there were foreigners in the village and they had come along with a  policeman from the PSB to inspect. In fact, they were irate insisting that we were in violation by coming to the village without permission and in giving away articles without the proper permission/documentation. They insisted that we leave immediately and we promptly complied. We jumped into our van and waited while they continued to harass our sweet interpreter. Finally, he joined us and we drove immediately back to the city where we were staying. We had no sooner got to our rooms than we were contacted and told to bring our passports to the front desk. There, the government officials took them. THAT'S WHEN THE PRAYING BEGAN IN EARNEST! They made copies and returned them the same day which was a huge relief (without them...you don't go home!)

The next day I was talking with our interpreter, a delightful 22 year old college student who is a sold out follower of Christ. I told him I was so sorry that we had allowed him to become involved in this kind of controversy putting on the governments radar screen. You see, we don't worry about what might happen to us or our team...we are Americans and the most they would do is to ask us to leave. But, we try hard not expose the Chinese nationals to this kind of scrutiny because the persecution for them can continue long after we are home. I will never forget his reply. He told me not to worry about him that if ever he was persecuted for being a follower of Jesus Christ- it would be a privilege.

Immediately I had this thought: "This is a far different brand of Christianity than I often encounter back home...you know the kind that gets offended because someone sat in their seat in the sanctuary.

A SAD ENDING! I am heart broken to report that we received an email in the last few days informing us that the Chinese government went back out to the school in the village and confiscated all the shoes and coats we gave to the children.

Really though, this is not the end of the story. When we asked our Missionaries if they regretted counseling us to give these gifts without going through the government their answer was absolutely not. You see- if we had sought government approval they would have simply told us to hand over the money and they would see to the matter. Then, even if, the clothing had been purchased- it would have been given in the name of the government instead of being given in the name of The Most High God. So, we did what we were called to do. And though we are saddened by these events we know that because of answering that call, God will work all these things together for good. He will write the end to this story.