A few days ago, I found myself craving time worshiping through song. Being a Christian in China adds extra precautions and therefore, it’s hard to find a safe place to worship freely for foreigners.
I’ve been with Christ Community Church’s college team and we’ve been doing English camps with college students, focusing on conversational English. It’s far from the city and lies at the foot of the mountains. Every time I go out there, I’m amazed at the beauty of the Lord’s creation.
After a few games and activities on Saturday evening, we wrapped up the English camp for the day. A few of my American friends decided we could use some time worshiping our God. My friend grabbed his guitar and we met outside to worship. Although he messed up a few times and our voices weren’t harmonized, God was glorified as we sang from our hearts under a sky full of stars. I was grateful for God’s beautiful creation and amazed by His sovereignty. I went to sleep joyful with the Lord on my mind.
Five hours later, I heard my phone vibrate for my alarm I had set for 4:15am. Our team had planned to watch the sunrise from the nearby mountain. After I laid in bed for a few moments, I sat up, knowing the loss of sleep would be worth the gorgeous sunrise ahead.
The two American girls were with me, and I received a call from the guys saying they weren’t coming because they had already missed the sunrise. I was bummed because that meant no guitar and no singing.
It was a chilly morning and shorts and a T-shirt didn’t keep one of my friends warm. She left shortly after we found out the boys weren’t coming. Now, there was two of us sitting on rocks on a mountain in Beijing, China. There was a wall built on the mountain so we weren’t able to see the horizon. Twenty minutes later, the sun crept over the wall and shone in its radiance.
Moments later, my other friend left. I was excited for this time in solitude with my Lord Jesus. I desired to pray aloud and reflect on His beauty. I prayed for a while and encountered the Lord. It was only 5:45am, so I thought I’d head back to our room and catch a few more hours of sleep.
As I went back down the mountain, I marveled at God’s handiwork. The mountains and blue sky covered most of my peripheral vision. Rooster crows and dog barks filled my ears as I felt the wind brush against my face. It was beautiful.
As I walked by the main building to the entrance, I heard singing. I knew the place was a Bible school, but in America, it would be rare to find a church meeting before 6am. I followed the music and heard them worshiping. My brothers and sisters were singing loudly and passionately, all to the Lord. I sat outside of the door until I decided to peek in, when I saw around 30 adults gathered in a small room to learn more about Him.
It was probably around 6am at that time. My guess is that a early morning gathering isn’t uncommon for these passionate followers of Christ. Church service, prayer, fellowship and sharing… I bet something goes on almost every morning around that time. Then, it hit me.
When I woke up at 4:15am, I didn’t want to get out from under my warm comforter. I didn’t want to make that short journey up the mountain. I was tired. I like to sleep… In America, we all do. I was convicted. My brothers didn’t join us for one morning to worship together. It’s nothing against them, but as I viewed the Chinese and heard their voices singing out to the Lord, I was reminded of the difference of believers in both America and China.
The Chinese finished their singing around 6, which means they probably started around 5:30am, if not earlier. I can’t remember the last time I got up before 7am to simply worship and be with my Savior. My brothers and sisters here are willing to sacrifice literally anything: their families, their friends, their reputation, their jobs, their money, success and careers, and their sleep. Most days, when I’m sleeping, there are many around China worshiping, because they know the value of experiencing and being with the Lord.
Why am I not consumed with passion like that? These believers here are radical. They pray fervently. They really believe and trust in the Lord with all their hearts, minds, souls and strength. God has blessed them and protected them, however, the battle isn’t always easy. They can be persecuted, imprisoned, and even killed for their faith in Jesus, yet they don’t care. They’re willing to abandon everything for the sake of knowing Jesus.
They convict me and challenge me each and every day. I want to be a radical believer, one who is willing to get up early each morning just to be with my Savior. I want to pray fervently for big things and believe in God’s power! I want to be willing to abandon literally everything in this world!
Pray for these brothers and sisters who are madly in love with our God. Pray for their safety and for their ministries as they further the gospel!!
stories from China 