Many missionaries are plagued by doubt. Not usually about the message. At...
The Back-to-School Line-up
It’s finally back-to-school time! I have to go register today at the university. Hope that goes well. I have to tell them that I think all of their classes are wrong for me, so I want them to start a new one… how could that not go well? I’m really fairly hopeful, though – the […]
Where to Draw the Line?
As an American witnessing to Chinese people, I think there is a need for a lot of caution to avoid drawing a cultural line between us. This won’t probably be as necessary in the future when we have trained Chinese workers. But when the only discipled Christian in the room happens to be an American, […]
Impending Crisis
Bible study last night in our home. School is still out, but our space situation is about at a crisis level! We used every seat in my house (plus just about everything resembling a seat), but we just barely had enough. So we’ll grab some chairs of some kind this week and make do for […]
The 18th Floor of Hell
Yesterday my language teacher, W., and I got to talking about superstitions and luck. She told me that the government today works hard to make sure the Chinese people don’t live by the superstitions that haunted their ancestors. I pulled out the “hey-America’s-messed-up-too” card (if you want to be a missionary, you might want to […]
Memory
Why is language learning so tedious and strenuous? Because it consists primarily of two hateful tasks: memorizing and recalling from memory. Every “learn a language in 30 days” technique is really an attempt to make memorizing easier. Chances are, one of your least favorite tasks in schools was memorization. But there’s no escaping memorization if […]
Silver And Gold Have I None…
I got this card a few weeks ago from a guy who became a Christian this summer: “Thanks a million for you both to gave me the chance – the first time Bible study, and I met so many wonderful friends. The chance changed me a lot – I became a Christian. It gives me […]
The Idiot’s Guide to God
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Mars Hill in Acts 17 and the unique challenge of introducing our God to a people with no standard of absolute truth. To the Jews, Paul consistently preached two points of contention: “Jesus was the Promised Messiah” and “the Messiah is the Son of God.” These were […]
Note to Self: You’re Weak!
Ever had one of those days? When you’re learning a language, there are some days that you feel like you’ve just about got it. You feel competent, capable, and coherent. You feel like a few more days like this, and you’ll have it down. And then there’s days when it feels like you couldn’t talk […]
Appreciation vs. Salvation
Fr. is probably the most curious dude I’ve ever met. He puts many a five-year-old to shame. And though he has been extremely hesitant to make a decision for Christ, he’s comes to our Bible study as faithfully as anyone else, and this week, he even brought a friend! Sometimes it’s really difficult to tell […]
Summer Trip Testimony #3
Here comes another summer trip testimony! It was really exciting to have these students with us this summer. They really got to get their hands dirty in Chinese ministry! If you are interested in making a summer trip, please find a short-term trip with long-term benefits. I’ve made a lot of short-term trips. Some of […]
The Gospel in China 
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