Off the Beaten Path

I had an interesting conversation today with some of my believing Chinese friends. Back in the early 2020's, the government here purged as many of the believing workers from the west that they could identify. People I knew and labored beside are now gone. I asked how many have been able to come back, and the answer was "none." That brought me to the realization that our group is one of the few coming in under the radar and sharing the Word in the country. Sure, people are working here, but not nearly so many as there were a few years ago. Because of our demographic (teens) and our itinerary, we look like a school group traveling in Asia.  I have been thanked for being here, and for the impact it has in furthering Kingdom work.

In a sense, we are some of the new pioneers for the Good News in this country.

And though the circumstances are different in the Philippines, and we can openly communicate the Truth, we were thanked many times for being willing to go where Westerners simply don't go. The islands and villages we went to are poor and isolated. That's why our presence created such a fuss, and we were treated like rock stars! They felt honored that we were willing to put in the grueling travel and hard living to bring them the Word.

But it comes with a cost. After two full days of travel to get here, the team is tired. They are doing well, encouraging and supporting one another. They are enthusiastic, focused, and bring all they have each day of the program. But I can see it in their eyes at the end of the day.

I wish you could have the opportunity to see them as I get to; you would be so very proud! You might even ask, "Is that MY son or daughter?" On top of that, they have been resilient, and have risen to the many challenges thrown their way.  They have been strong, off-road warriors for the King.

Today was the second day of our program. We probably have 35 participants, beginning with age 5 and going up to 18 years old. It tips towards the older end, with the 16-18 year olds making up the largest of 5 groups.

Here is what a typical morning program looks like:

• We begin at 8:30 with two interactive songs. Today's were Washed in the Water, and Follow the Leader
• Each team goes on stage to give their group's team cheer. We have an A/C (America/China) team, The Warrior Chickens,
• Every other day, we add a verse, and are beginning with 1 Cor 13:4. We review it from the stage each morning
• Then we have a skit (today was Abraham/Sarah) related to the day's topic. Today's was Patience; yesterday's was. The skit is followed by one of the Nehemiah students teaching on the topic. Yesterday, Wilks taught, and today it was Kiley.
• Then we have a testimony from our team. Today, Lemlem shared her testimony and was a huge hit when she shared that her family has 2 dogs, 2 horses, and  chickens. That is hard for the Chinese students, who are crammed in a city of 8 million, to conceive!
• The they break into groups for games, followed by a small group discussion, and then crafts
• We all come back together around 11:20 to review the day's verse and for everyone to do the Cha Cha Slide (It's been a tradition since Holly and I first started working here in 2010).

Then we are finished and head back to the ranch for lunch, devotions, and rest, etc). It's a full day. However, every other day (like today), the Chinese take our students out and about for the afternoon, showing he team the sights of the city. The day often includes hge quantities of amazing food.

Going out every other day is a strategic decision - it deepens cross-cultural relationships and develops trust, all the while having fun together! And within that time, Nehemiah is looking for natural, organic opportunities to talk about the Son. We have seen the Father use the time to produce lots of fruit in previous years.

Living Conditions: The rooms here are clean-ish and basic. But we came from living outside in the elements, cleaning up with cold bucket showers and sleeping in a small tent, and wearing moist, stinky clothes. We are now staying in a university's dorm rooms with four compartment-like bunks to a room, and a squatty potty in the bathroom. However! We have a/c so cold that it could be used to produce snow, hot showers, and washing machines on each balcony. And instead of making each meal ourselves (basically Spam, Spam, and spam), we now eat out at least one meal per day.  So life is good!

The Father will give each student what they need each day. I know this from experience. And just like the Israelites depending on the Father to provide the manna each day, so many of the Nehemiah students will need to lean on Him each time they enter the program. So I would appreciate it if you would lift up the team for daily strength, patience, and perspective.

For The Nehemiah Family

Tom

PS: This morning, we were in the middle of breakfast when someone asked where Clara was. It was then that we noticed she was missing. So Josie went upstairs (most of us are on the 4th floor. No elevator) to see if she could find her. You remember the balcony I mentioned, each room has one? Apparently, Clara was on the balcony, and Nina locked the balcony door by habit, and went down to breakfast. The balcony is fully caged in metal bars, and there was no way out, so Clara just had to wait it out! Thankfully, it was only 20 minutes!

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