*****HONG KONG ********** CHINA******

WOW!

Hong Kong/China was the most unique and incredible trip that I have ever been on, and most definitely the most changing experience of my life (except the internship). For those of you who are new to this story, last August the Lord spoke to me about Asia and traveling there this summer, and He told me to go. In March I applied for the trip to China, and I began to debate in my mind as to whether I had heard God correctly or not. It seemed like too much money to raise so quickly, and I almost didn't put in my application except for the urgings of one friend who stood by me here. Eventually, May 1st came and half the money was due so that I could purchase an airline ticket, but I didn't have it. I learned a very important lesson in surrender that night, and I decided that no matter what happened, I would still give God my all and live for Him alone! The next night my mom called and told me that anonymously I had been donated the finishing amount, and I had half my money! I ran to the office to find out if they could still squeeze me in, and to my surprise, they had pushed the deadline back 5 more days, giving me lots of time! God was then faithful to provide the other half, and beginning on June 3rd I was immersed in MA training camp. MA stands for missions advisor, and that basically means that for each 5 missionaries there is an advisor who is over 18 and in charge of looking out for their well-being, living with them, and pouring into their lives as a peer. The training sessions stretched me so much and I also had a chance to bond with the team leaders and other leadership before the missionaries arrived 5 days later. We picked them up at the airport- and my! What a sight that was! There were hundreds of them all over the terminals all talking about their trips and what they wanted God to do in their lives!
We spent 2 days here in Garden Valley training them in the short 3 minute drama and teaching them about China's culture and how we would be ministering to the people there, but no amount of training could have prepared me for what I was about to encounter! Our flight to Hong Kong was canceled 6 times, and we were finally were able to board on business class with a voucher for $100.00 for any flight in our hands! We were on our way!
In the early morning I saw the green mountains of Hong Kong come soaring out of mist, and I almost cried because I was finally there! It was hot, very sticky and VERY busy! The people of Hong Kong are extremely modern and even faster-paced than North Americans, and it seems like even the children have cell-phones! We stayed in a cute bible college near a park in an area of Hong Kong called Sha Tin. Although the city has been returned to China, the communist government doesn't bother with them and they are allowed as much religious freedom as we are. We did a few dramas on the streets, but found that that wasn't very effective, so we reverted back to personal evangelism and prayer walking. We spent maybe a week in Hong Kong, and then we moved to Beijing!
This was by far the most exciting and life-changing part of my journey! In Hong Kong, we had spent a lot of time fighting in prayer for our trip, because it is a very oppressed country and the enemy certainly was not pleased that we were there to add to God's Kingdom! However, when we boarded the train for our 26 hour ride to Beijing, something changed. We still fought just as fervently, but breakthrough's started to happen. We traveled through mountains that was green and lush with little country towns nestled in the valley's, but we also saw cities and slums and open rice fields. I drank it all in, trying to memorize every last detail. On this train ride I met a very valuable contact- a man who is moving to Canada within the year, and I am so excited about furthering a relationship with him and his family.
When we arrived in Beijing we stayed for the first 4/5 nights in a beautiful hotel, spending most of our days in personal evangelism, "cultural exchanges" with university students and prayer walking. We saw during this time 3-4 of our unsaved translators come to know Christ- and they really got it! One of them ended up sharing Jesus with our bus drivers as we climbed the Great Wall. We also saw the Forbidden City, many Buddhist temples, the Summer Palace, the Ming tombs, and Tiannamen Square. The Square was one of the most deeply spiritual experiences of my life-I believe that we will see this place come into significant play in the last times, with much revival there!
The most incredible thing I saw and felt and learned on this trip was at one of our last ministry sites which was during the last few days that spent in Beijing- and we also were in a much less comfortable hotel, which I actually enjoyed more! Anyhow, we went to a hospice that was full of 116 elderly,sick and dying people. We were able pray for them, share the gospel with them and just sit and care for them. My heart was wrenched in two, and a newfound desire to spend my life in China filled me, and has remained with me since.
We returned to Hong Kong after 10 days in Beijing, and I know that my heart remained in China. During the remainder of our trip we transported some bibles and teaching books over the boarder (the Christians there are truly needy and thankful for all we can send to them!) as well as some more prayer walking and ministry in a Filipino market and school. During this time we saw many salvation's and much fruit and we left Hong Kong rejoicing that 57 had come to know Jesus that month!
I was also able to minister to a Muslim and Mormon and a Buddhist who claimed to be Christian on the plane ride home! That again stretched and challenged me, but more than anything, it continued to stir up the appetite I find growing daily within me to win the lost to Christ! I have come home to Teen Mania full of fire, new insight for my life, and a consuming fire in my bones to see people come to Jesus and know His love and forgiveness! I am excited about attending University in the fall, and I will be working hard to prepare for returning to China for more ministry. Truly, this country and it's people's have captured my heart, and I know that I feel completely settled until I am returned there. In the meantime, I am preparing to minister to the many Asians that will be attending my school in the fall as well as mastering the language!

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