Our friend shared at church that when his wife came from China to visit, he took her to Orlando, NYC, Washington DC, and of course around Blacksburg, where Virginia Tech is (a small town). But when he asked his wife what she liked best about her time in America, she responded:

Reading the Bible with Fred

He couldn’t believe it! He had been reading earnestly with me for a few months. But it was completely knew for his wife, so he asked me to read a little with him and his wife one day. I didnt know it had made such an impact. Now, when he returns, he wants to help his wife to read the Bible too,

But he said he is a Communist Party member, and he doesn’t think it is true what they say the CP is doing in persecuting Christians there. He has never seen it, he had also not seen a Christian in China too! He said, that as a believer in God (but not a Christian, yet), he wants to be a go between between the CP and Christians.

Please pray for Wongshu and his wife, for understanding and perseverance in the face of persecution. Pray for a fulfilling understanding and a complete embrace of Jesus.

… and go to church every week.” That sounds like a good New Year Resolution for a minister, doesn’t it? Or even for the average Christian, or for me or for you, right?

But what about for someone who is NOT a Christian!

This is what Xiaolu shared with us Dec 31st. He and his girl friend have become very serious about learning about Jesus. Before America 3 years ago, they knew nothing. Now he says he doesn’t know much, but he is teaching his girl friend!

To help them, I gave a copy of my new book “Bible for Thinkers – Matthew” which includes my notes from years of teaching it. I will continue meeting with them to discuss what they read. (The book is now on Amazon.)

Pray that Xiaolu and his girlfriend would be good soil, and the seeds planted will multiply a million fold!

Sometimes our student friends return to their home country, and they still want to worship God! So at our last meeting Chen video called Ping (not their real names) who had returned to China. She walked around and first showed us her office, and then a magnificent view of the city from her high, outside balcony, but how smoggy! 

And then we worshiped together! Mary Kay played the guitar, and Chen used his camera phone to show Ping the song sheet that we were singing from, so she could sing with us too. Our voices of worship were joining the other 100,000 Christians in China, also on Sunday morning.

We just ate dinner together, we were meeting on Saturday night, but China is 13 hours ahead of us. So while most American Christians were watching Saturday evening TV,  we were 13 hours ahead of them, our voices in China, living in Sunday morning and worshiping with the Chinese on Sunday!

God has a big world to care for!

“We will not be able to meet with you today as we had an accident and are in the ER.”  Those were words from a Chinese couple that we had been meeting with.  Because of the accident they were without a car as it was totaled.  So we offered transportation for them to an event that they were planning to attend in another state.  Needless to say that through all of this process our hearts have grown closer and also there has been a new openness and need that they have felt to turn to God.  What a delight to hear them say that they are trying to read the Bible 30 minutes each night before going to bed (their idea, not ours!)  The guy has been reading lots with Fred and now he is teaching his girlfriend all that he knows from the book of Matthew. 

The injuries from the accident mainly affected Chong (with her hand needing surgery).  It has caused them to be without a car, as they did not have it covered with insurance, and lots of therapy, and a challenge to keep up with studies.  Chong is struggling with discouragement and depression.  We talked at length last week and shared how wonderful the book of Psalms can be to us when we go through difficult moments.  God is definitely at work and will you water it with your prayers that they will surrender their lives to HIM, and have an everlasting PEACE!

It’s a journey for many of our students to discover God. Often it begins in the classroom with them learning English but then friendships begin and we actually have students asking to study the Bible with us! At last they have the freedom to do so in a free country and we are so thankful that we can be there for them. (Thanks to you all standing behind us!!!)

Yang was a sponge as we read the book of Matthew and then we would watch the Visual Bible DVD of Matthew to let her digest it all. She would often have questions and later I (Mary Kay) learned that her husband did as well and she was the spokesperson for his questions as he was too busy with his studies. We connected her to another Christian believer from her country.

Fred and I were praying that they would hit it off. It was amazing… here they found out they were from the same province and city! What are the chances of that with China being so big! God is amazing in how He can connect the dots. She met obstacles along the way like the landlord of the basement where they were living not allowing me to meet with her to study the Bible. But since then, she has continued to be in touch with this other believer twice a month via Internet video Skype to study the Bible with a group of Chinese students. Also she attended a baptism of 3 other Chinese students at our church and she talked with them about their experience with God. She went home to China over the summer and discovered she has a Christian aunt and uncle.

“I was so happy that my mom told me this story, that I have another family member who believe in God!”

Yang

Then just about 2 weeks ago, I talked with her on the phone as she has moved to another state. She has decided to commit her life to Christ and wants to be baptized.

“When others ask me if I believe in God, my answer is yes!”

Yang

She did not give up in her discovery of God!

… but not be a Christian?

The visiting professor from China was challenged. If he became a Christian, he would lose his department head job at the university. He was a Communist Party member, and he couldn’t be a Christian and keep his job. But he was drawn to the teachings of Jesus, what should he do?

I (Fred) had had several intense conversations in the last two weeks with him and three other preChristians that are on the fence. I spared no words with him,

“If you deny Jesus, he will deny you.”

” Would you rather trust the Communist Party or Jesus?

“What if you gain the whole world and yet lose your soul?”

In the end I challenged him to read Matthew, and we meet each week now to follow up. He seems convinced to follow the truth wherever that leads.

Pray for his and the others’ thirst, our clarity of speech, compassion and boldness. What would you do in his shoes?

Nearly 30 years ago I left my high tech job to follow Him, and because of supporters like you, we are able to share with Ling and others, and our cup is full.

We were stunned by the question. Mary Kay and I teach conversational English classes to about 10 students four times a week. We showed a travel video about Boston, and one new student said she was very interested in the historical church that was mentioned there, because she wanted to get a Bible. We don’t normally talk about spiritual matters, as this is a Virginia Tech class. But I thought quickly, and said “If you want to get a Bible, you can ask Tina, the student next to you, as she has an easy to read Bible.” Tina was reading the Bible privately with Mary Kay, a Bible that we had given her.

Afterwards we talked with her, and her husband and herself are new believers, and they wanted to be discipled by reading the English Bible! What joy! Now we are discipling them too!

So pray for Ting and husband Yu, new Christians who are thirsty for the word of God! Never having read Genesis!

You have heard about “Just Do It” and “Just Say No.” Now we have a new one “Just Ask!”

We eat pizza each week with our new VT Student Church, and usually the guys go out and bring it back, and they never have enough plates! As students, they usually only have two plates in an apartment!

Never mind, we have had fun making do with cutting up the pizza boxes into make-shift plates. Rather large and clumsy, but doable.

Finally a female student went with the guys, and this time, after getting the pizza, she asked “Can we have some plates and cups?”

“Sure!” was the answer, and we got a bunch! And they were free!

We could have gotten plates every time, but we had never asked before!

Len, a new Christian, said he learned from that, that we just need to ask God for what we need! So many times we just try to make-do, but God has so many riches for us that He is just dying to give to us!

Just like Papa John’s has plates for you, but you have to ask!

So let’s ask Papa for so many of the new students at Virginia Tech, that they would want to read the Bible, and that these new Christians would share, and know how to share their faith, and that we would be courageous in sharing, and that we would be given wisdom to share. We know of Susan, Linda, and Wesley who are so close, and Al and Joey who are just starting to begin. And there’s Charlie and York who have recently turned aside. (Not their real names.)

Could you ask for them? Just pick one or two.

Ask, and you will get it, look, and you will find it, and knock, and the door will open! Matthew 7:7

What a joy to see the long awaited baptism of our brothers! It was held in a horse trough, outside a house of one of our house church members. We had filled it up with warm house water that morning (it was only 45 outside!), but when we got ready to get it, the tub was empty! Such a struggle to get them baptized!

(Once filled the water hose was disconnected, and the water was siphoned off and drained slowly into the neighbor’s yard! But fortunately 30 minutes later we had enough not quite cold water!)

Hearing their testimonies were the best. One student broke up with his girl friend of seven years, partly or mostly due to his new direction in life. He shared that he had been on the fence for a while, wondering about making the decision. He asked God for a sign to help him one night. The next day he had Chinese food and the fortune cookie said

“To affirm is to make firm.”

He took that to mean that if he affirmed his decision for Jesus, then God would make him firm in His faith!

Another difficulty was 4 days before when their friend told them that if they got baptized, then they would not be eligible for the best academic jobs in China, since the communist party constitution forbid Christians from being members. The two who were communists said

they would rather trust God for their future jobs than trusting the Communist Party!

Another blessing was that five other students, non-Christians, who have been reading the Bible with us, also attended the baptism. They got many of their questions answered that day and afterwards.

Please pray for the next harvest which could still be this year!