Dear Family and Friends,
Happy New Year! We say goodbye to a year filled with successes but also tragedies. In December I wrote about the Thanksgiving dinner we served for eighty plus people. That night we met a young man. I welcomed him to the party, wished him a “Happy Thanksgiving”, and asked him where he was from in the USA. I invited him to visit us anytime and to come to the foreign fellowship on Sundays. He was a student at Hainan University and acquainted with many at OFH. I always invite people for Sundays but I often see by the look in their eye that they are being polite when they say, “Yeah maybe some time.” I always yarp that they might come to see and hear the gospel. I did not know that this would be the last time I would see this man alive. From what I have been told, on Saturday night January 10th, this 22 year old man was drunk when he hit the back end of a parked truck while riding his motorcycle. We found out about it Sunday evening and visited him in ICU. We yarped for him. He actually looked like he could make it. I tried to tell everyone that I had seen worse that the Father had healed. On Monday, his father arrived and did not want any visitors because of a risk of infection. I had finals to give my class so I planned to see him on Wednesday. On Wednesday we got the call that they were taking him off life support. We had a yarp meeting here at the house and then some people went to the hospital but I couldn’t go with them because of work. They took him off life support and within minutes he had died. It was a shock for all of us. His father came to our house. We had a meal and then discussed the business that he would need to handle. Having been through a funeral and cremation here in China, I wanted to spare him some of the difficulties which are encountered here. It is not like America. There aren’t funeral homes that possess lavish chapels with velvet seats, prepared coffins, and professionals who make all this very comforting…nothing like what we are accustomed to in our country.
On Thursday, we rode a bus to the crematorium. The group from OFH was a little distraught and kept asking “WHY?” Why did such a young man have to die? Why didn’t the Father heal him? I do not know the answer to these questions but I do know that we serve a loving G—full of grace and mercy. I trust HIM<>< with the answers and I know that there are some things that will not be answered in my lifetime. In Chinese, I reminded them of what we studied last year from Ecclesiastics. So many times I teach what HE<>< directs me to teach without knowing why but then I see the application later. I just repeated- Eccl 1:2-4,” Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." When I said these words, they nodded and they understood. We spent so much time on that book and I did not know the good it would bring today. I told them to read again in Eccl. “What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.” NKJV Kristen and I teamed up translating. She did an outstanding job and I was really proud of her. Like a mother watching over her child on the first day of school, I helped Kristen over the parts she didn’t understand or didn’t know how to communicate. She helps me with what I can’t understand or translate. We make a good team.
There is so much I would like to put in a newsletter. There were 3 wonderful Christmas parties at the house. We were able to reach over 200 students with the gospel. The Mt. Olivet program was wonderful with the OFH crew participating. There was my school program, the stuffing of stockings for my college students, the Christmas cards we passed out, the visitations on Christmas day, the arrival of Alice’s parents, the trip to Hong Kong, Alice and Greg’s wedding, the party that John and Julianna sang for at the hotel, our own time of worship and fellowship. We were not able to get to the orphanage or the hospital but we are assured that we can come during Spring Festival to sing and give gifts.
There was a wonderful surprise I received when I walked into one of my classrooms after Christmas. On one wall there was a BIG flowery illustrated poster with the Romans Road just like the version from the Christmas cards we delivered. One of my students had been inspired to create it. That made me gulp because I knew where it came from but I was also gulping with tears to see it plastered there for all to see.
I forget a lot of things that happen during the month and so I think I should keep a daily diary. This is just the way our life is here. We have good days and difficult. WE have great victories and devastating disasters. It is no different than your lives but it feels more intense here. The spiritual warfare is more intense, I think.
So the warfare at the funeral was intense. The only people that were like-minded at this funeral were just those from OFH and the foreign fellowship-a small handful. It seems a lot of the foreign students have rejected HIM<>< and don’t care anything about him. It broke my heart because they felt the loss of this young man all the more deeply. You could see it in their eyes…the hopelessness… I wish they knew the truth. I met another family while we were at the crematorium. I noticed they had a Bible and I offered to pray with them. We yarped together and hugged one another. What a difference between these two groups. This Chinese family had hope and knew they would see their family member again. They had that certainty! We embraced and were family and loved one another immediately. With the other group I felt uncomfortable; as though, they despised us with some wondering why we were there and some wishing we were not there. My life is not dictated by other people’s negative opinions or negative personal feelings. I have one Boss and I follow orders from HIM<><…which also means I follow orders from Tim since he is appointed over me. I only know that I have been given this great love for others and I must express the same love and grace that had been given to me. I knew this father had lost his only son and needed someone to share the love of the Father and to make this tragedy less wounding than it was and so I was there. I still hurt for this father and can only imagine the depth of his sorrow.
The one thing I learned from this experience is that, here in China, I have the freedom to talk to any foreigner about the gospel. These foreigners are the most difficult to reach because many of them actually came to China to get as far away from HIM<>< and His<>< Name as they could get. Often, they hate us and despise us. While they are polite, you can see, hear, and feel their disdain for us and HIS<>< Name. They want to follow the path of Solomon- “Eat, drink, be merry, acquire wealth and be a g—unto me.” I promised myself that I will not let another person slip away without them hearing the truth ONE MORE TIME! No matter how they despise it. I know this young man had heard it all. He knew the truth. He had heard it more than once. Hopefully, he is in heaven having heard the truth and knowing it. That Sunday night as we knelt by his bed yarping, I saw his eyes flutter and his nose move. Coma or not, I know people can often hear and feel when they are touched. I hope that he heard the Father calling him and knew the Father’s love. Yarp for us! Yarp for those unbelievers that cross your paths daily. Do not let someone pass your way without giving them a tract or presenting them with the gospel. Share HIS Love with others. Isn’t that more important that what clothes we wear, what house we live in and what car we drive? None of these things will go to heaven with you. We always say that, “you can’t take it with you.” What can we take with us? Those who are in our family, our friends, our co-workers, our neighbors are the treasures we can take to heaven. You have that freedom. Exercise your freedom!
Remember- Eccl 3:1-8-“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” NKJV
Lastly, we will continue to do the work in this place. The orphanage, the OFH classes, the village, the foreign fellowship, and the teaching will continue throughout the year as will whatever HE calls us to do. Please lift up Kid’s Club as we hope to launch that program again after Spring Festival. Please lift up a new mid-week study. Please lift up new teachers to come to OFH and also the students for next semester. Thank you for your yarpers and support and all that you do for us. Thank you and may you have a very blsd NEW YEAR!
In His<>< Love and Service, Tim and Trudy E