I'm Not For Sale

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What can you buy with CAD$200 ？

For those who regard Money as god, everything has a price. Given the right price, you can have everything. What can you buy with CAD$200 in your city? Here in Vancouver, with $200 you can buy:

•  1X Landyachtz  skateboard, or
• 1X Michelin Latitude winter tire (not 4), or
• One month BC hydro bill in January, or
• 3-4 X Physiotherapy treatment, or
• Set dinner for 6 people in Chinese Restaurant, or
•  4 piano lessons for level 7

What you can buy with $200 gets lesser every year. I used to fill up my car 6 times up with that amount, but now， less than 4 times. Nevertheless, if you spend it strategically, $200 can forever change a life. In the dark side of Indonesia, one can get a girl from a family with $200 for two years and her life ended up in commercial sex market.

THE PRACTICE OF “IJON” IN INDONESIA

     Like much exploitations, children involvement in commercial sex also finds its origin in poverty. Poor families in rural area cannot make ends meet. A broker approaches them and offer a ‘loan’ up to two million rupiah (CAD$200). The family then repays the debt by bonding one of their children (usually a school age daughter) for a period of two years or more. The broker makes them believe their daughters will be trained as housemaids, workers, or movie stars and will be fine.

      They will not be fine. After training them makeup, dancing for a short period of time, they will be sold to commercial sex market in big cities. Brokers call these lost daughters “ayam(chicken) potong(chopped)” meaning new prostitutes carved off from families.

      Visiting tourists from Singapore, Malaysia, Western countries can buy a child in range of $200-$450. After the initial abuses, their prices drop significantly and they will be sent spirally downward in the commercial sex trade to bar, brothel, streets in tourist centers like Bali. Their most likely destiny is contracting HIV and sex related diseases and sent off to the lowest brothels along railway tracks. Most of them never have the chance to see their families again or they are too ashamed to face their parents and relatives. They are the “Lost Daughters.”（For details：http://www.insideindonesia.org/lost-daughters）. 

 In Indonesia, there are at least 40,000 children being exploited in this way.

     We might not have millions of dollars to rescue these 40,000 children. But we surely have 1X or 2X $200 to change the life of one or two girls.

     What if we have a team of local volunteers regularly visiting poor rural families who are more vulnerable to the “deal” from the broker. What if we make agreement with the families that with the same $200 we can take care of their daughters for 2 years. Now instead of being put in the evil hands of the brokers, they are now in good hands and receive education, care, career training…and the gospel.  The $200 coming from the broker will release hell on earth to them. But the same $200 from me and you will bring heaven on earth to them.  

$200/a girl’s life: for experiencing Heaven or hell.  Can you afford it?  I can.And I will.  

The Dream To Change The World

It was the darkest moment of my life. 

Famous Kuta Beach, Bali.

A party was going on in my hotel. Wild hearts seeking each other. It was not disgusting that I chose to leave. It was too sad to be in party.

Then I walked outside along the Kuta Beach. Stars were bright. Fireworks celebrated with carnival people in the heart of Bali. I was alone.

Thinking of my Mom who died a few hours ago in HK, tears and emotion ran wild. Tears shed at poolside, in lounge, on the beach. Ten feet waves kept me from surfing. But I was left drowned in the waves of sadness of the loss of a great loving Mom. 


Looking back, still now I ask God, "Where are you in my darkest day?" That is my September.

The same September, the world experienced its darkest moment. 

A pair of suicide bombers from Taliban killed 81 people outside a church in Pakistan on Sept 23. Just two days ago in Kenya, Islamist gunmen attacked the Westgate Mall and killed more than 70 and wounded hundreds. Before killing, gunmen ordered the Muslims to leave before targeting all others. 

Those were the darkest days the world would face. The darkest for those who have been praying for the Muslims world and that Muslims could come to Christ. 

I have some Muslims friends in Canada. They are very respectful people treasuring some very good human values and their ways of honoring their God would make us shameful. I am among millions who pray for the Muslims to know Christ is their only way to salvation. We pray that Jesus would appear to them in dreams, visions and make their ways easier. But in the same September, one couldn't help but ask, "God, where are you among the Muslims? Did you hear our prayers?" 

But God never silence. 

Bali. I went there to learn surfing. God surprised me with sad, and with good news.

I was sitting at poolside and chatting with my surf coach Ion. Courtesy talks became exchange of emotions when I talked of my dead Mom and he talked of his dead Dad. He opened more himself. Once he knew I was a pastor, a "priest," he said, "I am a Muslim." "Good, I have Muslim friends as well," I said. Then he became serious and puzzled and asked me, "I had a very strange dream. It was years back. I tried to ask my friends about the meaning. They all think I was crazy..." Then he started to tell his dream...

Marcus in Arabic

In his dream, he saw Isa (Jesus in Koran) was carried on a wooden cart by someone. Jesus died and there was blood everywhere over his body. Women walked alongside and were crying. 

When Ion saw him in his dream, he felt very sad for Jesus, touched and cried...(Muslims do not believe Jesus was really crucified. It was somebody else on the cross. This scene was probably Jesus being taken down from the cross --I interpreted.)

Another scene. He was led to a well. Up above the well, there was a very strong and bright Light. He looked down the well and found names of rabbis. All the names in Bible and Koran: Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Joseph...the names that are familiar to Muslims. All the names were drawn spirally downward into deep darkness. He was scared of what happened and asked, "Where is prophet Muhammad and Isa (Jesus)?" 

He could not see their names there in the well. He looked up to the Light above and asked, "Where is prophet Muhammad? Where is Isa?"  The Light answered him, "You just follow Jesus!"

(We know there is no other names, apart from Jesus, we could be saved. That is Acts 4:12. We know who is the Light. To Muslims, Prophet Muhammad is like Moses to the Jews. It took God, the Light, himself to appear to the Jewish disciples to tell them to listen to only Jesus, God's beloved son, not Moses or Elijah. That's the transfiguration story of Jesus.)

But my friend didn't know this. I was so excited while listening to his story. Ion wanted to know what was the meaning. I promised him that I would pray for 3 days and tell him my understanding of the dream. But one thing I surely know, Jesus appeared in his dream and wanted this Muslim to follow him. Him only.  

If you are the ones who earnestly pray for Somalia(99% are Muslims), Pakistan(96%), Morocco(99%), Yemen(99%)..., we should never stop praying and stop believing.  Because God them heard all and is answering. Something strange and wonderful is happening. Jesus appears in dreams and visions of the Muslims and point them to himself. 

God never silence.  "He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth...the islands will put their hope”(Isaiah 42:4).  Even in the darkest days.

It is His dream to bring all peoples like the Muslims to his salvation. It is God's dream to save people from all tribes, all languages, all nations to worship the Lamb.  It is his dream to make the world anew, when heaven is, one day, brought down on earth.    

The World Better If You Live These

Do we believe? Are we participating? Is His dream my dream?

The day I left Bali. A young driver of the hotel drove me to the airport. He was a Hindu. We talked. He talked about lives in Bali, that things are very expensive to the locals. He and his newly-wed wife have to work to meet all the expenses. He talked about they as the Hindu are religious and are poor. I asked him of his monthly salary. He said, "1 million rupiah"(CAD$90). 


When he talked of his baby boy, he was glad and very contented and said, "Now that I have my son..." I was so moved by these words. I am a father. I have 3 sons. Suddenly I made up my mind... when getting off, I gave him some money, large sum in term of his salary.  He was shocked. "It's my gift for your son!"

One week after I was back from Bali, I suddenly received an unexpected email. This Hindu driver got my address from the front desk and emailed me a picture of his family, his wife and his baby boy. He thanked me for the gift and my kindness. This I didn't expect. 

I didn't evangelize him. I didn't talk with him about Jesus - his English is not good. I just felt sorry for the poverty and followed my heart. But I think that day Jesus appeared to him in a unique way - through a Kingdom agent.(Mat 5:16). And I think that day the King appeared to me in a unique way as well - through a little one (Mat 25:40). 

The world is full of hatred and injustice, poverty and indifference. But God never silence.

It is His dream to make the world anew. It is His ruling grace to bring healing, justice, mercy. His will be done in the perfect new world ahead. But here and now Jesus is doing this: to bring healing, justice, mercy, through his followers, his Kingdom agents. And change the world. In its darkest days.

Do we live with dream? Do we embrace God's dream to change the world? 

Dear friends, Give like you have plenty... Dream like you believe in miracles. 

Live life like it's Heaven on Earth... 

And participate in it.

Catching Kenting 03:24

What Would Jesus Do at 03:24 in Kenting?

Never thought much of it before. At 03:24 Kenting, I used to be sleeping and dreaming about surfing.

But this time,at 03:24, in Kenting, it is not about catching waves.

It is about catching the moment of serving Jesus in the middle of the night.

It is about seeing Him in a most unlikely place, unlikely time, in the midst of a most unlikely group.

That was last night of our family surfing vacation in Kenting. Afei, the owner of the surf hotel, invited me to his BBQ party at midnight. Yes I mean 12:00am. And I know it means beers and alcohol. After all, you are in Taiwan. I can drink but I don't like their way of drinking. I drink not to get drunken. So I waited for him from 11:30pm and found no signs of anyone in the lobby. I was glad the party must be cancelled and I could join my kids for sleeping.

At 1:15 am, Afei woke me up and I climbed down carefully from my upper bunk bed. Wow. There a dozen young people sat in circle. They talked. They smoked. They drank. And of course laughed. One guy was drunk all the way that I didn't even see his face.

We introduced ourselves. In fact it was Afei introduced me. "He is Marcus from Vancouver. A pastor, but he is different. He's been here a few times. He is our community." You should have seen all the funny expressions - mouths wide open unbelievably saying, "Oops, p-a-s-t-o-r!" It was the best way to destroy the party atmosphere.

A pastor. Who needs a pastor in party?

I thought that must be the end of the night for any meaningful spiritual talks. They must be cautious now.

I tried to relax. Tried to feel what Jesus felt when he was partying with the sinners and tax-collectors.

I felt peace. I didn't push any talks but refused to hide myself. Tried to listen and tried to understand them. tried to exchange talks of surfing in Canada. Not much deep talks and could hardly expected one.

I remembered earlier during daytime. When I looked at these familiar faces, I kind of talked to God, "How can I share with them about you when they only tell jokes and smoke?"

For the following 2 hours, we had some BBQ pork. But the main dish was spirits, various kinds: whiskey, Korean wine, beers. I was given all of them. I drank some. I was not drunken but not far.

At 3:00 am, A Korean guest who contributed the Korean wines came sitting next to me. We had some casual talks. And I talked to him about a movie,Chasing the Mavericks, that me and my kids recently watched together. I recommended him this movie because it was about pursuing one dream with passion... he sighed deeply and got touched somehow?!
When he knew that I watched this movie with my kids, he was impressed. he was even impressed when he knew I was hoping my kids to learn the spirit of the movie: put everything you have to pursue your dream but at the same time observe the limit. If you push the limit, the limit sometimes will put you back! My friend seemed to deeply appreciate what I did as a father to his kids. And he said, "Yours kids should be proud of you."

Then I told him what I had just told my kids days ago: "I feel so proud of you kids just as you are so proud of your Dad!" My Korean friend was moved again. I think he must have a hole somewhere. Some sadness.
  He told me how he was attracted by our family on the beach in the morning. How he was very impressed by my wife being so concerned and caring for their kids and husband on the beach! How happy and harmonious our family was!

Then I told him that If it was not because of Jesus, he wouldn't see such a family. Because these kids would never exist. This couple should long go separate way because of my unfaithfulness. Then I told him my story and how Jesus turned my life around and changed me and changed my wife. Happy family, happy kids, loving relationships, all these are froam Jesus. Having Jesus. Having all things.

I told him about the prodigal son in the Bible. I was this lost son but responded to His voice of coming home.

And I lifted my Quiksilver surf watch. It was 03:24 in the morning.

And I said, "I know God is calling you home as well. Why? You see. It is now 03:24. I had been here in the surf hotel for 5 times before. Every time at this time, I was only sleeping. But this time, here I am, at this time, to talk with you my story. I know that God woke me up to call you home..."

The moment seemed to stop. The Spirit moved. Heavenly father was calling a son home that night.  He felt it...

After awhile, I crawled back up my bed and slept again. Because of the beer, I got up every hour, before we all woke up at 6:45 am to get ready for the last surf.

 I was happy to see Jesus' presence in a wayward group in the wayward Kenting.

It didn't mean to prove Jesus loves hanging out and drinking.

It proves He loves the hangout guys, the drinkers, the smokers...and seeks the lost.

I was not particularly proud of myself of being "special" as a drinking and partying pastor (only sometime).

But I am proud of my God who goes beyond the appearances and sees the hearts and motives.

Kenting 03:24 is about catching the Spirit moment and how we follow accordingly.
Kenting 03:24 is about your presence as Jesus' agents in the world, his light into the darkness.
Kenting 03:24 is about we dedicate our lives, I mean whole lives - not sunday, not a few bucks, not a few Christian jargon, but your whole being, to Jesus.

I play. I go vacation. I drink. I surf. I preach. I sleep. I work. I give. I take... Do we all do if for the glory of God?
My work. My family. My closet. My drawer. My bank account. My sexuality. My everything I surrender to Lord Jesus.

Then your Kenting 03:24 will come.
Then you will catch God's moment.

But In Kenting, if you happened with Afei, you may catch some good waves as well.

Chariots of Fire

Prayer. So much to say, so much to learn.

I love to think of it as sitting down next to my Lord wanting to hear him. Sweet private privilege!

I love to think of it as a lifestyle more than a work list (an easy trap for church planters), what I want more than what I need.

But surely there's a need to pray to work things out. It works. Amazingly quick, sometimes.

Last summer, in a beautiful late afternoon, my wife Aden and I set out to pray walk our neighborhood. After walking and praying for 30 minutes, we reached no.1 road and saw a man riding his bike along the road. A bus flew by his side and bumped him just slightly and he was knocked down instantly. His arm was cut deep and muscle torn. Since it happened 10 metres before our bare eyes, and nobody else there, we comforted him, volunteered to be witness while awaiting the ambulance.

I believed he was saved by God through our prayer 30 seconds before that happened!

I was praying, "Lord ... may you protect our neighbors, help them and rescue them from all dangers ..." Then the accident happened. It surely would cause his life if the bus did a little more than a slight touch. God saved him! But is he our neighbor? I never met such a person in our community. A bit rugged and broke. A smell of alcohol here and there. But when we later talked on phone, both of us were amazed to learn we live in the same street, in the same townhouses complex.

We were there at the right place, at the right time, made a right prayer and God responded and reached out to rescue him all right away!

There are too much mysteries with prayers to God. It works in amazing ways that I know little of.

However I admit our prayers don't always happen like that. For most of the time, we pray in the dark and after prayers, still in the dark. So persistently we pray - fighting, struggling and continuing, even though nothing seems to happen. "Nothing changes" seems to be the only reality.

What could we say of our life being a local missionary and church planting couple?  Fatigued, lonely, confused. Lots of time.

It takes lots of effort and plenty of time and prayers for cultivating a field(heart) for the gospel. Lots of trial and error until  one or two germinates. Still growing a life to Christ and seeing life transformation surely don't come at eye's brink. It's a lon.................g, slo.....................w process.

Despair, hopelessness, discouragement and all kind of negative feeling set in and out our minds and hearts all too easy. Still we persist and we pray. Nothing happens. Nothing changes. And we lose hearts and wonder if our prayers would matter.

But Jesus is very gracious and wonderful. Once a while he chooses to show up instantly and cheer up the downcast spirits.  He reaffirms us: things are happening when you pray even though you don't see it!

We are now holding a Bible study group for non-Christian school parents at one of their homes weekly. Jesus presence is sweet and obvious there. Two instances show how instantly he answers our prayers:

At the beginning of the meeting, Susan shared a very strange touching moment a few days ago while at her car. She felt a sudden but strong need for relationship deep down her heart. She never had that kind of emotion before and it touched her. I told her just about the same days around, I had prayed for her. I sensed her lonliness and longing for relationship in prayer. I prayed that God would touch her heart and fill her with his love and touch. Apparently she instantly experienced that longing and that touching from our Father. She thought that was amazing!

Angela attended our group for the first time that day. When hearing these almost unbelievable touch and answer of prayers from God, she asked if those were that real. So my wife told her a story about her, Angela...

A few days ago, Aden had invited her to this Bible Study group and her answer was positive. On Saturday we thought we might need to call her to reconfirm. We decided that calling her would be a bit blunt and too artificial to her that she might turn down. So we prayed that night that God would provide a chance for meeting her and her boy next day in the park. While kids played together, we then reminded her. But the next day, it was raining. So no park day. And we went out for lunch forgetting about the invitation. On our way back home, Aden's phone rang. It was Angela call. She made some bakery for us and she now called us to meet her to get the buns. WOW. So we met her, reconfirmed her coming! 

God prompted her to call us. He doesn't need our planning. He doesn't need the sun & rain to co-operate. He only needs us to pray. Then he opens our eyes and makes us see a reality: things are happening at the time you pray.

As for Angela, she responded, "It sounds so miraclous" - from the mouth of a non-believer.

Last week, when we met and sang the song "Abba Father" together, they all (non-christians there) noticed that Angela had tears in eyes while singing.

Jesus is so amazing and sweet. He is almightily powerful...to hear our prayers and to make things happen right away but not necessarily at our sight. 

Don't lose hearts. Keep praying. Keep believing.

You and Lisu, My Fellow Soldiers!

There is a battle for us. Not against any human being. But against Satan who enslaves them.

Though spiritual, it's a real one.

Like all battles, it calls for real soldier.

Not one, but many - band of brothers, fellow soldiers, ready to watch each other’s back, ready to support each other, ready to die for a cause, for allegiance to their King, Christ Jesus.

A few weeks ago, we had a great Bible study with our kids. We were learning prayer and warfare from how Israelites defeating the Amalekites (Exodus 17: 8ff). The text was so rich. But one truth stands out from all:
Everyone has a role in warfare (Joshua & some men fought in the field; Moses prayed hard; Aaron and Hur kept Moses’ hands up and steady…). But we all need each other (Joshua needed fellow soldiers; Moses prayed for Joshua while he was engaging enemies; Aaron and Hur supported an exhausting hands of Moses. Together they fought the Amalekites on earth, while angels engaged the evil powers of the air in other realm…). Because we have a common enemy – Satan.

For the last two years, we often felt like Joshua, a frontier solider, only left alone in ditches engaging enemies. Supplies, not much left. Fellow soldiers, not at sight. Always wondered how much praying hands uplifted over that mountain top for us.

At times, we felt like Moses, tired, exhausted of lifting hands. How Aden and I long for fellow soldiers like Aaron and Hur to support our lowering hands! But support was rare.

 Still we press on. Yet it should not be a one-man battle, as surely as we have the same King.

So now I am calling out fellow soldiers for this battle. And I want to see you, you, you and you… together with the Lisu Christians, fighting in the same line.

I will be soon going back to the mountain, to the Lisu Christians this month. After my first visit in April, I pondered how to work among them. They do have lots of needs (Check my previous blog for my report: Won't Let Your Feet Slip, Lisu). However I do not intend to bring out to them much of the Western church resources and finance fearing that we might transform them from a simple and faithful God’s community into a greedy mass. But still out of brotherly love, we might be helping out with the basics like improvement on water, electricity, education and medication in the long run.

But two things we must do, one out of their request, one from our missional vision. They are hungry for the words of God. They want to learn more about God. So this time I will be going there to train them for a few days about “the Gospel of the Kingdom.” Through this, I hope their faith will be strengthened. But that’s not all.

There is a broader perspective, about global harvest, about other minority peoples that had never heard about Jesus before but live near to Lisu.

North East of Lisu, there are 300,000 Naxi people never heard about Jesus. The Pumi with 30,000 people on its east side, and Deang people, totaling 15,000, lives in its north. All under Satan’s bondage and slavery. Never heard of the gospel of Jesus and the love of God.

They are the neighbours of our Lisu Christian brothers and sisters. Can we encourage the Lisu to be fellow soldiers and bring the gospel to these unreached minority peoples nearby?

God wishes all person to be saved but this is not his reality (1Tim.2:4). Before Jesus ascension to heaven, he commanded us to make disciples of all peoples(nations) – people group of same language, culture and background, not all person. And it is only when all people groups on earth have active Christian communities among them, then Jesus will return (Mat.24:14).

There are 24,000 people group in this world. 16,000 had been successfully reached by gospel. Only 8,000 people groups left and needed to be reached before our Lord returns. Naxi, Pumi, Deang are among them.

This is nothing about personal ambition. It is about how close you want to come near His heart, His will. These unreached Naxi, Pumi, Deang and other peoples are his heart and his will. It is about how much you love your Lord and want to see these people from every tribe, language, nation, to stand before the Lamb and worship Him(Rev. 7:9ff). I am expecting that day.

What if our vision is not a dream? That on one day Aden, Marcus, Lisu brothers, and you and you, we stand before our King Jesus, together with this once-before-non-believing Naxi, Pumi or Deang, but now are His disciples! And have our Lord declared to us, “You are my fellow soldiers, my band of brothers! I am proud of you all.”

And we, the Lisu brothers, the Naxi, Pumi, and you and you, will stand hand in hand and proudly praise, “Lord, you are worthy…”

What joy complete if I see YOU were there with us as well! Will you fight with us here and now, that you and us shall proudly stand together there on that day?

Pray about this. Show your fire. Call us if you want to know how to combat with us.

Won't Let Your Foot Slip, Lisu



Lisu Houses at Hill Slope

  Sitting and praising in a small church in Kamloops, I was about to preach.

"I lift up my eyes to the hills -- where does my help comes from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip --he who watches over you will not slumber..."(Psalms 121)

While I sang this Psalms, my heart and mind flew thousands miles to Yunnan. To the Lisu minority people who lives and works in the steep hills and mountains. Seeing their feet would slip and they would fall - in fact an old man did slip and rolled down the hill - got my emotion suddenly. My eyes turned red. Tears wanted to fall. But I held myself, I was about to preach. 

Ever since I came back from Lisu last month, I couldn't help thinking of them a lot.

Lisu people lives in high mountains along the Nu River in Yunnan, 3500 to 4000 meters above sea. The small Lisu village we visited is located so high up that no cars can access. If you dare to ride on a motorcycle behind their back along the steep and narrow slope, there you go modern way. If not, donkey will do with goods. And us, just walked up and up the Yunnan red soil plateau. With less and less oxygen level in the air, every move seemed tougher and every breathing went deeper and deeper.

Mountains give protection to their faith and to their unique culture.  But high mountains won't grow much. Only corns for animals, coffee bean for sales. But they grow Bourbon - a high quality Arabica coffee. When I shared with them my Starbuck instant coffee, that was the first time these kind-hearted coffee planters drank coffee. They were amazed at how high this tiny Starbuck sachet could charge when they sell their beans to coffee dealers in such a low price.  In a slope so steep that holds nothing more than their feet, they plant and grow and harvest coffee bean. People would slip and fall and roll and die.  Innocent kids in flip-flops jump here and there over sandy heights. Fearfully I watched. "Watch out. Watch out." I exclaimed. 

Lisu House & Coffee Beans Bags



They don't have electricity for their houses. Only manage to have some solar energy for their small chapel. No power no light give much inconvenience.  But the reward for darkness is found in the sheer beauty of a starry night.

Water condition is poor. Drought hit them hard for the last 3 years and is getting worse. They drain water with a small hose from mountain spring afar to 2 stone barrels. No better storage and no pipings to each house. They don't brush their teeth and wash their bodies much.  I became one of them that night. I dared not waste their water on my body and my teeth.  So after much sweating but no washing, sleeping was not much an easy rest that night.

Sanitation and hygiene are poor. The last thing we shall wish for is a well-drained toilet. How bad? Leave it to your wild imagination. But ever since we left the village, we started discussing how to construct better toilet. At least we build our own next time - personal, simple but workable, temporary, mosquitoes and flies free. We even made sketches!

Toddlers crawled on ground with no pants. Cut wounds were not treated with right medicine. Flies share your foods and cups. In a dark dinning moment, you could be eating a dried black bean or most likely, an unlucky fly.

They are poor. But when they moved from the north to this area 5 years ago, they were worse. With the help of some local churches, they built better houses with brick roof. Church people would bring in used clothes and textbooks for kids once a year. 

They have a school, more like a classroom.  One class for all kids of all ages, ranged from 6 to 18. Now the 18 dropped off because he felt bad among the younger ones. The teacher is a young man who should be getting higher education himself. That's all they have. But they have it contentedly. So joyful and eagerly they learn. They even accepted a lousy teacher like me to teach them "Hello" "How are you" "I am fine" in English.

If life is all about food and goods, the Lisu people doesn't have life and joy. But Jesus reassured us that, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."(Deut.8:3). Their faith in God makes their life a richer one.

They are poor. But they share. They killed chickens - their scare and precious resources, to feed strangers like us. They moved to relative's house and welcome us to sleep in their very own. They accepted us whom they never met with great hospitality. I hope we were angels to them!

They are poor. But the Kingdom of God belongs to the poor, to them.

Bible in Lisu Language



Simple But Faithful



They let Christ be their center spiritually and physically.

Somewhere in the center of their village, they built a small chapel. This small and simple chapel was built not for faith decoration and sunday church-goers. Almost every nights, they go there for prayers, for praises, for teach and preach, for admonishing one and other. 

That night after dinner, they summoned the villagers with speakers. People walked up and down to the church from all directions with torchlight at their hands. They sat down and sang. And then, with no prior notice, they invited me to preach them God's words. In awe, in His holy presence and with great honour, I finished my first ever spontaneous preaching. We were all touched by the love of God.   

Their zeal for God and their hunger for His words are nowhere to find in our western church. So precious that makes you want to go back again and again to help them.

I can't stop thinking...

Our western Christianity uses up a majority of spiritual and financial resources. Does our faith get better? But somewhere in these high mountains, live the Lisu minority people - unknown to world, neglected and poor and deprived simply because they are the "minority." Is that fair?  Yet they remain strong and faithful to God. And God is faithful enough to remember them even they are the "minority."  He blesses them.

Good People: Father & Daughter

I hope my life could be used in place and people where it is needed most.
If there is already so much supply to a rich majority, why need me?
If there is supply never delivered to a needy minority, what holds me?

If James O Fraser, as a foreigner, could live 30 years there in Yunnan, riding donkey or just walking for weeks from village to village to preach and teach, could I, as a Chinese, move there and just live near them so as to build up their faith?
Why people of no faith could move easily to settle in China for the sake of its great culture or money-making?
And why does it take us, followers of the great Faith, so much pain to consider living there for the good sake of others and the gospel of the Kingdom?

My soul flies to you Lisu ...over mountains and seas.
Just believe Lisu, the Lord will not let your foot slip.
And just believe Lisu, we won't let your foot slip.

Never.

 





Following Jesus (2): Two Grande Dark

Coffee is coffee. But coffee isn't coffee.

In the hand of the One who turned water into wine. It's more than a Starbuck coffee. 

"Two Grande Dark" - the spirit of "Got it" and "Pass on."

Master Xu ( Click & know him first will help Following Jesus (1): Shall We Dance? ) drank tea back home. Seldom drank coffee. Never a Starbuck fans. But I am everything of coffee, of Starbuck. Since he didn't have any idea what to order, he followed mine. " Two Grande Dark please!"  No milk only sugar is my cup of coffee. Xu followed the last detail. We drank, talked about everything, of life, of immigration, of James O Fraser, of faith...

Then at other time, Xu would meet his own friends in restaurants, his home AND Starbuck. Now he met Alan, another Chinese immigrant, in Starbuck. He messed up the order and ended up something like Latte or Mocha, expensive and milky. He distasted it. Came back to me and asked what's the correct name to order. I told Xu, "Grande Dark." And ask him to repeat a few times "Grande Dark."  Now whenever they met in Starbuck, he made Alan drink...GRANDE DARK.  Xu "Got it". He "Passed on" to Alan right away.

Coffee is not my interest here. Jesus IS. Coffee is a medium to connect people. LTG (Life Transformation Group) is the like, a tool only, but Xu experienced the "Got it" and the power of God's words there.

3 months ago, when he felt desperate at all live challenges in this new country, I encouraged him to read Bible, by himself, as well as with us as a group.  This was his first time reading Bible.

I refrained myself from giving out to him only teaching, knowledge and opinion. Every questions he raised or every life issues he faced, I would answer them in the light of the Scripture and Jesus teaching - I flipped Bible.  Our focus is obedience unto Christ(Mat.28:20)  If he still didn't "Got it," we would learn the same lesson the other week, the other other week... till he was convinced to ACT. Even my friend was just a seeker, non-Christian, pre-follower, I wanted to make sure obedience to Christ was planted, planted deep. Because a true mark for Christ follower is obedience and love, not knowledge.

He showed progress, but slow. Now he told me he would be leaving for China in February. I thought I  should formed a LTG with him so that he later could repeat it with someone in China, to grow his new found faith and to grow the Kingdom there.

We did 3 things in LTG - the very core things of our faith, of our living as followers, yet so often neglected or reduced to lip service:

1. Read about 30 chapters Bible a week: He was then bathed in the Kingdom values, filling his soul, spirit and thinking, shaping him, instructing him...We read Gospel of John, then two three times Matthew(since we couldn't finish at the same time). Romans. Now Luke.  Jesus became bigger and bigger in Master Xu.
2. Make ourselves accountable to each other: we ask each other character shaping questions, confessing sins and drawing our focus again and again to the spiritual realm, the presence of God in our lives...
3. Pray for non-believers: this prepared him to share his witness and Jesus' teaching to his friends.  

Life's happening, growing and began to bear fruit.

He got drunk, then next morning he confessed he was wrong, since he now knew drunkenness is a sin(Rom 13:13). He no more wanted to tell lie, just wanted to be honest. He confessed his negligence of his kids and wanted to be a better father. Those were the things we confessed as we met in the LTG. And I told him that we should confess to each other and asked God's forgiveness. But at the same time, we should ask forgiveness from those with whom we had wronged.

The next day, after he had left for China, his wife told me that Master Xu had apologized to her and asked for forgiveness. He never apologized before.  Amd she was touched. They used to pointing finger towards each other, seeing logs in other's eyes. Now they were submitted to Jesus' teaching and confessing their logs in their own eyes (Mat.7:3-5).

I didn't induce them to say a sinner's prayer and became a believer. I no more a fans of it. I now challenged people to follow, to obey, to have an obedience-based faith.  When they follow Christ, they are His follower. When they obey Christ, they are God's obedient children (1Peter 1:14). A sinner's prayer won't bring you into his Kingdom, only the faith in obedience will do.  

There he was, he "Got it." He's following Jesus. And "Passed on" now...

 He shared Jesus teaching and his own experience to friends. People listened to him and wanting to study Bible with us. 2 weeks before he left, he brought Alan to our Bible Study, 6 of us including Alan's wife. We studied Bible.

Now Alan learnt to drink Grande Dark from Xu. Now Alan joined our LTG.  Both of us would connect with Master Xu in China through Skype to do LTG together every Friday. 

This is our journey in making disciples for Jesus. This is what we do in convincing them that everything we do, they can do, they should do.  His charge and his dream " to make disciples OF ALL NATIONS" (that is, of all people groups, of all languages, culture, subculture in this world) can only make senses when all believers all do it.

And do it with all focus. 
 

A LISU Christian was praying


A same disciple-making journey. In April, I would go to Yunnan to further disciple Master Xu. We were kind of connected by James O Fraser ("Mountain Rain"). I felt something divine in the minority groups out there in Yunnan, out there for us to discover, out there God's plan for us.  It is another journey.  We would walk along the missional path of James O Fraser, visiting cities he preached, staying in the Lisu minority people village... to hear, to see, to discover what God has prepared for us there. 

If you are inspired by what we are doing, and want to support my journey to Lisu in April. You can team up with us by donation - this will relieve our ministry's financial burden, and by prayer support, in our "LISU & Minorities 101 Journey." (Email me for detail)

See coffee is more than a coffee... 

So whether we are in a remote village in the Lisu community, or in a packed Starbuck corner in Vancouver. Be it face to face. Be it via Facebook.

 

We have one vision, one heart and one focus. To grow and reproduce faithful disciples, leaders, Christ communities. Love Jesus in our hearts. Love people with our deeds. Glorifing our Father here and forever.

Come and join me with a coffee!

This time with..."Two Grande Dark"