Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19hLW5iXbTo

Please pray for those affected by the earthquakes in China. I was talking to some of my students and the quakes were so hard that they were even felt all the way in Beijing! Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, is a three hour plane ride from Beijing. The epicentre of the quakes is about 160 km from Chengdu, so think about how strong the 7.9 magnitude earthquake must have been.

To date there have been a reported 13, 000 deaths ... and sadly as rescue workers try to help people out of the collapsed buildings ... they will probably find more bodies than survivors. It's a bit of an eerie feeling because the quakes happened two weeks after I left Chengdu. I could have possibly been part of the chaos if the quakes happened earlier. Thank God that the team got home safely! And thank God that all my students and their families are okay too.

My heart really aches for the people of China, especially those in Sichuan province. Please do keep the nation of China in your prayers. I really pray that during this time of need that Christians all over China, and all over the world, can offer hope and aid to the hurting Chinese people. As I've been telling people, China is a nation that hears God, but also listens. I know God will be with this nation during their time of need.

Sending my love to China ...

My Savior, My God - By Aaron Shust

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior

I take Him at His word and deed
Christ died to save me; this I read
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

Chorus (2x's)
My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God: He was, my God; He is
My God is always gonna be

Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring;
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

Chorus (2x's)
My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God: He was, my God; He is
My God is always gonna be

He is risen!! =)

Today is Easter Sunday and it's a gorgeous day outside! It's extremely interesting because Friday and Saturday were both really muggy days. It's funny how the weather works huh? ;)

Good Friday in another country which doesn't celebrate this 'holiday'. Classes were canceled today though, so it was like a holiday in a way and I was sick anyway, so I was pretty much planning on staying home. I went to evening service at BICF, it was really good. Simple, but meaningful. Worship, scripture readings of the first Easter, communion and showing some clips of the Passion. It would have been awesome to see how the rest of the family in this country remembered this day. I guess that's something I'm going to have to save for when I come back here again (Daddy-willing of course). Some big things are happening this weekend here. BICF is running an Easter carnival. We are given permission to hand out tracts! You are never allowed to do that here! Please earnestly pray for those that we encounter tomorrow. This is like a HUGE door opening and it's amazing that we're even allowed to throw this. Pray for discernment on our parts and for eyes, ears, and hearts to be open.

It's probably service time back home. I really hope that on this day you can do some reflection of all that Ah-Gor has done for us. May He continue to be glorified, magnified, and exalted in our lives.

Thank You for the cross Lord
Thank You for the price You paid
Bearing all my sin and shame, In love You came
And gave amazing grace

Thank You for this love Lord
Thank You for Your nail pierced hands
Washed me in Your cleansing flow, Now all I know
Your forgiveness and embrace

Worthy is the Lamb, Seated on the throne
Crown You now with many crowns
You reign victorious
High and lifted up, Jesus Son of God
Darling of Heaven crucified
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb

Amen.

Would you wake up early, leave home by 6:30 AM, walk for two hours straight just to get to church on time and even arrive early so you can calm down and prepare yourself for worship?

I, personally, want to say yes ... but I'll admit, it'd be super hard to do it with a completely willing heart. People in villages do it every Sunday. The raw passion that people have here is amazing.

Hello All =)

Since I'm at home, a bit sick, I figured I may as well update. I just looked at the boys' blogs and they've really been open about everything we're doing. LOL. They've even mentioned names and stuff. Sorry that my blog can't be like that. If you know me well enough, you know that I'm a very precautious person. But since I'm not even supposed to have access to my blog, I guess it's safer to release more information. LOL.

We did some site-seeing yesterday and I got reminded of how creative our Dad is. You know every time you go traveling, the environment can look completely different from your home. There will be different vegetation, animal life, rocks, etc. Probably because I've never been here before, I really appreciate these little details. It not only reminds me of how big our Dad is, but also how clever and creative He is. The rock formations, the way the tree branches wind around each other here ... it's amazing. I took LOTS of pictures, but pictures cannot do justice to the beauty of what I've seen. I guess it's something you have to see for yourself really! LOL. I'm like promoting this place. Actually if people did come here and experienced the things I've experienced, I'd be SO happy for you! Not only is it rich in culture here, but like I've said over and over again, Dad is doing something big here.

I'd love to visit smaller villages and towns and stuff to hear about what Dad is doing there, but I don't think I'll have the luxury on this trip. Maybe on another trip. But seriously, it is something else. The book I'm reading talks about how the church has grown phenomenally in the past 30 years. Just 30 years ago, doors were closed, churches were changed into factory buildings, apartments, etc. From just a few hundred thousand followers 30 years ago, to tens of millions of followers today. That's just amazing! It made me think of back home in North America. I remember reading a newspaper article last year or something about how churches in Montreal are being closed down and being turned into apartments and stuff because the congregations don't have enough money to sustain the building or not enough people go to those churches to begin with. I believe there's a church like that in downtown Toronto. It sold half of it's building, which got changed into an apartment. Are the churches in North America dying? I don't know if you'd agree with me or not, but I'd say they are. Where is the raw passion for Christ in North America? Where is our boldness to share Him with those around us? Especially those that we love? I am not accusing anyone or anything, I fall under this same North American Christianity category. Have we lost the deep passion for Christ? Have we become blinded by our individualistic society and kept to ourselves? Are we really pursuing Christ with all that we have? Are we being bold enough to share with others the love of Christ? Are we praying earnestly that Jesus will save North America? Kudos to those that have. I'll admit, I haven't. I haven't loved North America as Christ has. I'll admit, there have been times where I could have took the extra step to share Christ's love. Times where I chose not to do anything because I was too scared. Our Church is dying in North America. Are we Christians going to sit around and let it happen? Or are we going to do something about it? The argument will come up that Jesus doesn't need us to do His work. Although Jesus does not need any of us to fix anything, I do believe He enjoys using us as His disciples. To be honest, I don't know what this post is about. Am I trying to encourage those back home to see the dying of our Church? Am I reflecting on what I have seen, noticed and felt? Am I saying more than I really understand? I have no idea actually. But I know this is something that Dad has been opening my eyes more and more to. The raw passion and eagerness to learn has been of great encouragement to me. And it's not only among the local Church here, it's even in the foreign Church here. Dad is working crazily here. How the Church has transformed here in so short a time means that the North American Church and the European Church still have a chance. Dad can do the impossible after all.

The sermon series for the past while leading up to Easter has been about prayer. We've been praying a lot for things happening here leading up the Olympics. Doors are really opening here. It's been quite amazing. While also praying for the needs over here ... please remember to pray for the needs of North America.

North American Church:
- Pray that Dad gives us all the boldness to share His love with others.
- Pray that He opens our eyes to the needs of others so that we can really be Jesus' hands and feet.
- Pray against the attacks of the North American Church
- Pray that your passion for the North American Church and the Global Church grows because we are in this together

Asian Church:
- Pray against the attacks of the Asian Church
- Pray for the teachers and the lay people of this Church
- Pray for resources (in terms of people, materials, etc.)
- Pray for the doors that are being opened for the Olympics.
- Pray for discernment.

Personal:
- Pray for our studies
- Pray that we can develop deeper prayer lives
- Pray for our health (we all keep getting sick)

Thanks everyone! I'll see you in exactly 6 weeks!

To Him be the glory forever and ever! =D