I arrived in Charlottesville, a few days after
Christmas 1986. The next morning Dr. Bob
Finley[1], founder
and then president of Christian Aid, whisked me off to Washington, DC where I would
serve as the representative for the mission at a conference of Chinese
Christians. The vast majority of the
attendees were ABC—American Born Chinese—with a substantial delegation from
Taiwan. While manning the Christian Aid
booth, I was approach by the one and only mainland Chinese believer in
attendance. John Cao[2] had
become a Christ follower through Christian tourists in his home town in Hunan
province. He had recently come to the
States to further his education and grow in his faith. He was then a foreign student at the
University of North Carolina. I convinced John that he should pay us a visit in
Charlottesville after the conference. He
could stay at the Guest House for a couple days before he made his way back to
Chapel Hill. During this visit, John
told me about the many Chinese students who were now able to come to study in
the United States. Many of them, he
informed me, were studying at the University of Virginia, right there in
Charlottesville. I vividly remember walking around the grounds of UVA with John
and his imparting the vision of what God could do to reach China through these
international students.
A few weeks later, I found myself at a Chinese New
Year party sponsored but the Chinese Student Association. My new friend Cynthia Hays[3] knew one
of the students who had invited her to the party and I tagged along. For some reason, Cynthia had to leave early
so I became the only outsider in a room of about 50-75 Chinese students and
scholars. One woman, who was a visiting
professor from the University of Beijing, felt sorry for me and began
translating and explaining the festivities. So my lack of language skills
became a bridge to friendship and the beginning of the Chinese Student ministry
at UVA.
Not long after this, John Cao made a return trip to
Charlottesville bringing with him Dorothy Sun, an amazing woman of faith. Dorothy had spent 20 years in Chinese labor
camps and night parole prison because of her commitment to Jesus Christ. In
1980, when China was liberalizing a bit after the Mao years, Dorothy was
released from prison and since she not be been found guilty of any crime, had
never been put on trial or even formally indicted, she was released and
officially “rehabilitated” by the Chinese government.[4] Four years later, she had come to the
University of North Carolina for a year as a visiting scholar. Having just got the immigration status that allowed her to work, Dorothy came to join us at Christian Aid and jumped right into ministering to the Chinese
students. She started a Bible study in
her kitchen and when it quickly outgrew the space, I became her assistant for
the study. She also connected me with
many of the student’s wives whose English was rather rudimentary. We started a weekly English class with a
dozen or so of these women. Students and
scholars who were party members or who had been part of the Red Guard in the
Cultural Revolution were now turning to Christ.
Within a year or so, Dorothy’s husband, Freddie and
their two sons were able to leave China and join Dorothy in
Charlottesville. Together Dorothy and
Freddie founded the China Division of Christian Aid which God has used to help
establish and fund Bible Schools to train church leaders throughout China.
In 1989, the massive demonstrations and crackdown in Tiananmen Square caused many Chinese students and scholars to become disillusioned with human solutions to the problems of their country and the world. There was a great interest in a spiritual answers to life’s problems. Many of theses seekers found their way to the Chinese Bible Study, heard the good news of Jesus Christ, became His followers and were baptized. The Bible Study group grew exponentially and eventually became a church.
I had thought the best way to reach the Chinese would be for me to go to China. But waiting for God’s way was well worth it. He brought the Chinese to me. I must say, I did not do much except be at the right place in God’s time so He could use me as a small link in the chain to set this ministry in motion. I never learned more than a few words of Chinese but God connected me with Chinese believers who had a heart to reach their people. What a joy and privilege I had for four and a half years to see what God could do when I did not get in the way.
I had thought the best way to reach the Chinese would be for me to go to China. But waiting for God’s way was well worth it. He brought the Chinese to me. I must say, I did not do much except be at the right place in God’s time so He could use me as a small link in the chain to set this ministry in motion. I never learned more than a few words of Chinese but God connected me with Chinese believers who had a heart to reach their people. What a joy and privilege I had for four and a half years to see what God could do when I did not get in the way.
Learning the Lesson:
We often ask God to do something for
us and we think it will happen right away.
But waiting is frequently necessary to make us ready to receive and
participate in the answer to our prayers.
Sometimes life just gets in the way.
For instance, I had the idea for this book in 2000 but I am just now
able to finish writing it and hope to publish it in 2020. Unless God specifically tells you No,
don’t give up on your dreams. Just
realize that God’s answer may be much bigger than you anticipate and therefore
it may take a while. Take some time
today to meditate on this:
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than
all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to
Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for
ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV)
[1]
Dr. Finley recently went to be with the Lord.
You can read about his wonderful legacy here: https://www.christianaid.org/in-memory-3/
[2] As of June 2019, John Cao is in prison in China because of his ministry to the poor on the China/Myanmar border. See: Associated Press. (2018, April 18). Jailed Chinese pastor's U.S. family seeks mercy: The Rev. John Sanqiang Cao was sentenced last month to seven years in prison for "organizing others to illegally cross the border." Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/jailed-chinese-pastor-s-u-s-family-seeks-mercy-n866371
[3] Cynthia had worked for Christian Aid for a number of
years but when I met her she was working as a local church secretary. About a year and a half later, she and Dr.
Finley got married and she once again worked for Christian Aid. She served as the mission president for a
number of years after ill health forced her husband to retire.
[4] Dorothy’s amazing life story is contained in her books: Sun, D. (2006). Clay in the potter’s hands and Sun, D., & Taylor, P. S. (2015). He alone. Both books are available through Amazon.com.
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