China Mission Update - July 14, 2013

China Blog - 2013, Sun., July 14, 2013
We are at the SLC airport, finally! Despite our preparations and diligence, some things
did not get done. Now it is time to let it go, trust God, and focus on task ahead of us.
We could not have reached this point without the support of a loving community. Truly,
we go with a "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrew 12:1).

A member of the church gave us $100 for the trip and literally took the watch off his
wrist and placed it on mine. It is an INVICTA brand. He said it is worth a $1000. He
asked me to give it away to a person in China, to whom The Lord would reveal to me.
Wow! I've never worn anything that expensive.

Can you imagine being given a gift like that to give away with such instructions? What a
visual parable! The gift of the gospel of Jesus Christ is much more priceless than the
watch. We have a treasure to share the message of forgiveness of sins and life in the
name of Jesus with those whom The Lord reveals. I forget that the Holy Spirit indwells
me, a priceless gift of immeasurable worth. I will be living each day with watchful eyes
and a listening heart. Is this the one, Lord, with whom you want me to share?

Recently, our daughter described our family's motto as: "Adventure Every Day!" At first,
I had thought she misspoke and had meant to say, "every day is an adventure." But,
she meant it the first way. She really blessed us. We live with the command to
adventure in The Lord every day. It takes some courage, involves a measure of risk,
and promises great joy! I will be reflecting on her words during the trip.

We will miss everyone. We already look forward to our return to share the joy. We love
you and hold you dear in our hearts and prayers. We hope you feel the same about us.
Adventure in Christ!
Jeff & Mim

Background
We are traveling to Lijiazhai Middle School (about 60 miles south of Xinyang, Henan
Province, China) to help conduct three youth summer camps for middle school and high
school students, 45 campers each, as part of a larger, international team recruited from
the U.S., Hong Kong, and China, to provide a caring and gracious Christian community
experience that respects the limitations set by the Chinese government.

These students are part of the “Bo Ai” (i.e., “boundless love”) program that makes it
possible for rural students to attend school. Without the financial support offered
through China Service Ventures many of these children would not be able to attend
school, since their families are too poor to pay costs for their room and board.

Jeff and Mim will introduce sports activities into the camp curriculum. Thanks to the generous support of many people, we are able to serve these children in this way. It takes about 2 days of travel to arrive at our destination, which is 14 time zones away from Utah We left July 14th and return August 15th.

Camp Schedule
Sun., July 14-15 ! ! Travel to Beijing
Mon., July 15! ! Travel to Xinyang, Henan Province by Train
Tue., July 16!! ! Travel to Lijaizhai Middle School - Join Team
Wed., July 17! ! Children’s Camp
Thur., July 18! ! Children’s Camp
Fri-Sat., July 19-20! ! Orientation for High School Bo Ai Camp #1
Sun., July 21!! ! Church/Rest/Wash Day
Mon-Fri., July 22-26! High School Bo Ai - Camp #1
Sat-Sun., July 27-28! Rest/Church/Wash
Mon-Fri., July 29-Aug 2! High School Bo Ai - Camp #2
Sat-Sun., Aug 3-4! ! Church/Rest/Wash/Orientation
Mon-Fri., Aug 5-9! ! Middle School Bo Ai - Camp #3
Sat-Sun., Aug 10-11! Team Debrief/Night Train to Beijing
Mon-Tue., Aug 12-13! Jeff & Mim in Beijing
Wed., Aug 14! ! Travel home to Salt Lake City

Camp Focus
We will be focusing on the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24), but due to the unique
nature of government restrictions, we will present them as the “9 Marks of Excellence”
Tuesdays and Thursdays will be sports days, morning and late afternoon, for which we
(Jeff & Mim) will be directly responsible to lead.

Prayer Requests
• Favor with the Chinese team members and children
• Favor with the Chinese government, local & provincial
• Favor with the Chinese school officials
• Health, Safety, and Unity for the entire international team
• Quick recovery from jet lag for Jeff & Mim
• Wisdom (we aren’t 20 year olds anymore) for activities
• Opportunities, within government restrictions, to talk openly, one-to-one with Chinese
students about our hope in Christ
• Blessings for Good Shepherd people (we will miss them) and blessings for us (that we
are freshened in our faith and marriage.
• Safe travel for us and our ministry bags
Thanks for your prayers and support. We expect great things to happen in, through,
and among us in China!