This week we conclude the Year of the Snake and enter the Year of the Horse. These are days filled with Spring cleaning and frantic preparations so that vacation time can be spent with family and friends. The Lunar New Year’s Eve is on Thursday (30th). Traditionally people will spend the first day of the year with the husband’s family and the second day of the year with the wife’s family. As you can imagine, the roads are very busy! Red envelopes with money are given to children and the elderly. Nowadays many stores will remain open during the “Spring Festival” vacation so that people can spend their annual bonuses and the red envelope money.
When families are together, belief systems sometimes clash. Many Christ-followers will return home and spend time with family members who continue traditional Taoist-Buddhist worship practices. We are praying for some of our friends to be filled with love from above and have good communication with family members during these days. Our hope is that they will have opportunities to share about the love, grace, joy and hope that Christ provides.
C&MA Missionaries and their families at the New Year Banquet
C&MA Pastors and their families at the New Year Banquet
Looking back at the past week:
- We enjoyed a festive meal with many C&MA pastors and their families. The photos are of the pastors who attended and of the missionaries who attended.
- We were encouraged by the time spent with regional Mission leaders as we showed them our town and discussed ministry plans.
- Four boys came for the Kids Story Time and had fun using playdough to make various things including 3D portraits of Lorne’s head.
- The testimonies shared during the Sunday morning small group worship time were exciting and challenging. Hearing about how God has worked in the past gives us hope to trust Him in the present and future.
- We corresponded with people about coming on short-term missions trips in July (youth ministry) and August (children’s ministry) but do not yet have confirmed participants. Believing God is going to provide, we continue to pray about this matter.