First Trip to China (2012)

7 December 2012

Dear All,

I would like to share with you some of my experiences from my trip and visit to some believers in China, in the city of Harbin (whoever wants to know something about this city: see Wikipedia).

Let me say in advance that I am very grateful for all the prayers for this visit; I hope I can show some of the effects they had. It is not possible to give words to all I experienced, but I trust that you will understand me and with me will thank the Lord for what He has shown and done and that you will go on to pray for the believers there.

With this visit a long cherished wish was fulfilled that the Lord allowed me some time to visit the believers there. I looked so forward to it, sometimes thinking it could only bring disappointment – the contrary was the fact. It was a visit in which the Lord did above asking and thinking. It started with praying for this trip on the Sunday of my departure after the meeting in Vrouwenpolder by the brothers and sisters. That I experienced as a great encouragement and goodness of the Lord. I had to think of the words: “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:19).

After a good trip I arrived Monday evening at 19:00 local time in Harbin. It was already dark. Thomas was waiting for me, with two sisters and a driver of a van with which we drove to Harbin.

Outside it was cold, but not bitterly cold. It was snowing lightly – beautiful winter weather with some snow on the trees. In January to March, as I was told, it is really cold here. The temperature then reaches values down to -25°. In November, the temperature drops gradually to about -10°.

From the airport it was a good hour’s drive to Harbin. In Harbin we first, as a good Chinese custom, had a meal in a restaurant. It is eaten with chopsticks, but I got a knife and fork. In the meantime I adapted to the national habit and can now handle with chopsticks. After dinner I went not to a hotel, as I had first understood, but to an apartment of a young brother, who didn’t need his apartment for this time. I could be in a hotel if I preferred – of course not. The apartment has two bedrooms, one for Thomas and one for me. The two sisters prepared everything and then left. Every morning and in the afternoon there were some sisters who prepared breakfast and lunch for us.

Tuesday morning we went to the place of the Bible study. The Bible studies were every morning from 8:30-11:30 with a break of fifteen minutes and every afternoon from 14:00-17:00, also with a break of fifteen minutes. The evenings I could use for the preparation of the next day.

The studies were held in a classroom on the third floor of an apartment, at a distance of only ten minutes’ walk from the apartment. The classroom was filled with about 40 believers with an average age of between 30 and 40 years.

When I asked Thomas who they were and where they came from, I got the answer that they came from various house churches from all around the area. I understood from a radius of over 100 km. That turned out to be not very well understood. There was a sister Li who traveled eleven hours by train to visit these studies. She lives on the border of North Korea. They are all believers who have a particular task in the house churches they visit. They want to be taught by the Word to be built up in faith, to commit it to others, as is written in 2Ti 2:2, or, if they do not have the task as a teacher, to pass it through to others in a more general sense. Therefore, the number is also limited to a maximum of 40.

First Thomas read the letter of recommendation that local brothers and sisters of Vrouwenpolder had given me. It was quite a challenge for him to pronounce that name in a somewhat recognizable way (as it is for many who are not Dutch speaking people). He said this letter was to them a good example of recommendation for a service. During the studies, they all listened very carefully and diligently made notes on paper or on the laptop. Some used a recording device. During the explanation of the Word there sounded regularly an approvingly ‘Amen’. Also nice, was that when I asked Thomas to read a verse or a few verses he let them read all at once aloud these verses. That ended often again with a loud and heartfelt ‘Amen!’ It was heartwarming to experience the love to the Word.

The book of Isaiah is very rich in subjects. Time and again the Lord gave other aspects and applications, so afterwards I am amazed how everything has gone and how many sides of the truth we have seen, which I couldn’t have imagined in advance. The glory of the Lord Jesus is the great subject. He and His work are central, as it is with any topic of the Bible. We have seen that, when it comes to the future of Israel, the church and the world, and also when it comes to the past and present of them. This also applies to the practice of the faith in its many facets, such as marriage and family, dealing as believers among themselves and the relationship with the Government and the world in general. The errors of Calvinism, the wrong use of the law, the charismatic delusions, various other errors and heresies and contemporary idolatry have been discussed in the light of Scripture.

Tuesday in the break I asked Thomas how he actually had come to ask me for these studies. He said that is was due to my short contribution in the meeting in Hong Kong in November last year (when my wife Willy and I spent two days in Hong Kong, on our way back home from a visit to New Zealand). The Lord gave him in his heart to ask me. There is great need for sound Biblical teaching and a great hunger for the Word and its explanation. It is a practical example of how the Lord makes a little into much: first a brief comment, then many hours of Bible study, then for 40 in their own environment to pass on, where it also continued its development in other hearts and lives.

God is truly a God of abundance and multiplication. It is a remarkable illustration of two Scriptures which come to my mind as I write this report: “That the word of the Lord may run [swiftly] and be glorified” (2Thes 3:1) and “His word runs very swiftly” (Ps 147:15). The Word is in motion and sets in motion, it is a dynamic word "Which also effectively works in you who believe" (1Th 2:13). If our faith in the Word for us is what we confess, we will experience this.

Wednesday I met Alley, a student of economics, who speaks good English. She said she once had translated for an American preacher. I took the opportunity and asked her if she would like to translate my commentary on Galatians from English into Chinese. She said she really wanted to try. She is in the fourth year of her studies and has some time.

Friday was a day full of surprises. It began when Thomas told me that there would only be a Bible study in the morning. Why so, I asked, but I got a vague answer. They had something else to do this afternoon. It would have to do with the unfathomable contacts all those believers have with each other. I’m beginning to understand a little that you do not need to understand. A moment later he said he was going to ask what the Bible study group wanted. The response was that everyone, without exception, wanted Bible study that afternoon. How that ‘consultation’ had taken place, is beyond me. It had to end a bit earlier, but because of that we would start earlier.

When we went to go out the door on Friday morning, Thomas suddenly stepped back inside and closed the door quickly. He said nothing, but walked to the balcony and looked cautiously from the balcony on all sides. After that we left. Underway I asked him if danger threatened. That indeed he thought, because he had seen someone in the stairwell that aroused suspicion at him. You can never be too careful.

I had recently asked him if he had ever been arrested. That he was, twice. Especially one time was a great and memorable experience, he said. He can remember the face of the ‘Judas’ very well. He and a brother gave a Bible study to students. This ‘Judas’ came in later, and drew his attention by being always busy on his mobile phone. At a certain time he left the room. Moments later, police raided and took Thomas and the other brother along. It was strange, he said, to see how suddenly a great peace came into my heart, there was absolutely no fear.

They especially wanted to know the names of people with whom he had contact. Every time he said: "I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you the names. I will not betray my friends." He was interrogated for three hours, by different people: people from the police, people from the Government who were responsible for religious affairs and people of the security. All this time there was great peace in his heart, and he prayed that the Lord would give him the words to answer. After three hours, he was released. When he got in the car, the fear came. And whenever he thinks on that occasion, he becomes frightened again, but he is very grateful for this experience.

With the believers in Harbin, he came into contact in a special way three years ago. When on his way three years ago by train, he got a message to not get off at the station where he wanted to get out, but to remain seated until the end station. At the station where he first wanted to get out, the police was waiting for him to arrest him. At the end station, he came into contact with sister Wang, the sister who has organized the Bible studies. She is one of the sisters who picked me up at the airport. Since that time he has been here several times to minister the Word. Sister Wang wants that sound teaching of God's Word given to those who have a particular responsibility in their local church.

Thomas also had contact with a church he would visit that Sunday afternoon and had asked them if I could come along. They would like to, but the situation there now is not safe, so this time not. The situation is different from place to place and also from time to time.

He told how, a while ago, a visitor from the West came to Harbin, where it is still pretty safe, and gave a boy a tract. That boy went immediately to the police, and some local believers were taken in for questioning. There is no physical torture, but there is spiritual pressure – it is not a pleasant experience. Therefore we have to act with the utmost caution and not needlessly draw attention to yourself; you will probably not bother yourself, but when you are gone, your conduct can lead to difficulties for the local believers.

In the Friday afternoon break we went out for dinner. We were invited by an older brother who has also attended the Bible studies. Thomas said he is an elder in a house church (of nearly thousand persons) only 100km from the Russian border. It is clear that I have no idea of the distances here, because I didn’t realize at that moment what I heard later, that the place is about 900 km north of Harbin.

When I took leave of the Bible study group, it was a really touching moment to me. All waved and asked me to come back please, to be taught further out of the Word. For a long time I've had a deep love for the believers in China, so therefore right from the beginning there was a special bond with this group. That bond had become very attached having had four days studying God's Word so intensely together. Even though I understand not a word of what they say, the bond is so tangibly present. A sister who speaks a few words of English, cried as a goodbye: Welcome to China! It made me think of the man who Paul saw in a vision and begged him: "Come over to Macedonia and help us" (Acts 16:9). We will pray for what the Lord wants and makes possible. The hunger is great and there are occasions, but there must also be caution – the Lord will again show the way.

Saturday morning I have been to a house church where Thomas has ministered the Word. When we arrived, there was singing. I saw on the stage a sister behind the mike harmonizing the singing. I recognized her as the other sister who picked me up from the airport and made a meal for us in the apartment a few times. I'm not musically constructed, but the purity of her voice struck me. The songs were projected on a beamer on a screen. Then sister Wang prayed. I did not understand what she said, but I heard her voice and recognized her as a fervent intercessor, accustomed to call on the Name of the Lord.

Then Thomas ministered the Word. Nice to see him in preaching and to notice the attention with which the audience listened. In between, he told me in English the verses he had read, so I knew what it was about.

In Harbin, there are about two thousand house churches. The house church where we were was started in 2000 by Sister Wang. She has been imprisoned several times. Officially there is religious freedom in China, but some Government-approved churches complain about these house churches to the police. They at once take action and put pressure on those who are responsible to persuade them to stop coming together. Whenever it happened it was always sister Wang they arrested. But she never succumbed to the pressure. Now they let her and the saints alone.

Sister Wang asks brothers to bring the Word. After Thomas had ministered the Word, I asked him if maybe sister Wang is a 'Deborah'. That's right, he said. Men must learn to assume their responsibilities. Women have more responsibilities because the men (still) fail. That’s also a matter why teaching is needed. He said he just had a message from the meeting where he would be in the next days that the service there should be done by brothers. So the Lord works, very quietly. He said that the women would like to step back if only the men would take their place. That's a bit different than in the West, where men give women leadership and / or women take the lead.

After the service we went out for dinner. Jake came also and I got a lot of help from him – truly a gift from the Lord. Jake, sister Li, brother Yen and I went to the motel to check in. How grateful I was that Jake was present – nobody at the reception spoke English, but they were very nice. I had to pay a deposit which I knew and thought I could do with my credit card, but unfortunately they couldn’t do anything with it. Because I had no cash, sister Li wanted to pay the deposit, but they said that was not necessary, so I could go to my room. After that Jake proposed to visit the Russian Orthodox Sofia Cathedral in downtown Harbin and then get something to eat.

But first I wanted to go to a bank to get some cash. We visited two banks but no bank could do anything with my credit. I thought: Now I have a problem, because if I can draw no money, I cannot pay a taxi to take me to the airport Thursday morning, and that to me was a priority. Sister Li helped again with what I needed. I asked Jake and mentioned an amount. She frowned and I thought: That is definitely too much. But no, she thought it was too little. It was not enough for the days I should be here. I mentioned a slightly higher amount. That also was too little and she gave me some more. At least I now had some cash. I said I would refund or transfer as soon as possible. It must be my lack of understanding and communication, but it went different.

When we walked into the city, I suddenly saw a bank. I told Jake that I wanted to try to get some money there, and yes, I could withdraw money from a machine. I gave sister Li the money back but her face clouded. She told me that she wanted to give me the money as a gift from her heart because of the ministry I had done and which she had so greatly enjoyed. After a new misunderstanding from me, it became clear to me that I simply had to accept this gift from her heart as from the Lord.

I said that in my service for the Lord I would like to have nothing to do with money in relation to my personal needs, but if the Lord works in the heart, I am pleased to receive. She was so happy. Jake, who had to translate everything, found it all very special and beautiful. That it was. On the way I told him that everyone who wants to work for the Lord should watch for three major pitfalls: money, women and power.

This happened when we were on our way to a kind of pizzeria. There we ate together again. I ordered a pizza (to eat once again some European food) and the others something else. Li got what she ordered. She said to me to take some of her food. The others took some of it, but I said out of politeness that I was waiting on my pizza. This made them laugh, for it is the custom that what everyone orders, is shared with all, so also my pizza.

While eating, Li talked a long time with Yen and Jake. I understood nothing of course, but saw that she was emotional and sometimes tears came. I suspected she told her life story. Thomas had already told me that she has an eventful past. She has a child (now fifteen years old, if I remember correctly) and is abandoned by her husband. After we had brought Yen and Li back to their hotel, Jake brought me to my room and there I asked him about it. She said that she had twice had an accident and both times narrowly escaped death and that an attempt to commit suicide failed. She also was once robbed of all her money and possessions. Through these and other experiences, she has come to know God as someone Who takes care of her. As a result she is now, as Thomas called her, a special, God-fearing sister. In retrospect, she also struck me during Bible studies because of her unobtrusive intense listening and making notes.

Sunday I had planned to go with Thomas to a house church where he would bring the Word. He called me on Saturday evening to say that he had to leave immediately after the meeting. I could come to the meeting and there should be some who would take of me, but there was no one who spoke English, so that's a problem. Then I decided to stay on in the room at the motel. It would be strange not go to a meeting on Sunday, but if it is, the Lord will approve it. Moments later Xin called; she asked if I wanted Sunday at an English speaking service. That is also beautiful again, because it is much better, if possible, to go somewhere on the day of Lord to be with children of God.

They picked me up at half past nine at the motel. We went by taxi through Harbin, a special experience – what a chaos and hooting. After three quarters of an hour’s drive we arrived at the church. The service had already begun. To my surprise Jake stood in the doorway to welcome visitors and show them a place. It was the church where he was going and of which I had agreed with him that I would try to visit on Tuesday evening. The church was packed. I estimated there were between 150 and 200 people present, mostly young people. There was a small choir on stage and some musical accompaniment. A young sister welcomed all, especially those who were visiting for the first time and then led in prayer. There were some songs sung, including Amazing Grace. The singing sounded quite nice, was not beaten. The sermon of the American pastor was also a good one. Then, led by the young sister, the Church said together the Apostles' Creed and the Our Father. With this the service ended.

There were some announcements. One was about the Lord Supper that would soon be celebrated, wherefore everyone had to be prepared. She also said that in participating you shared Christ. It may not be meant, but it sounded to me a bit Roman Catholic. What I've missed is the need of repentance and confession of sins and the realization of God's judgment on this. The invitation was that you only need to receive God. Of course I have only visited one service. I can only tell my impression of this service. That impression is that the message was that only love is important. In the final song, which is sung after each service as an invitation to newcomers, was this way: ‘All you need is love’. Love is all you need. If that is indeed the only thing, it is an unbiblical invitation. You first need repentance. This church is recognized by the state, called ‘Three Self Church’. I told Jake after that now I have experienced this service, I do not need come Tuesday. Along the way I thought: This is not what I'm looking for. It is good that I have been there and am grateful for the good that is there. As for myself, I see the task that the Lord gives me, to further use me with the believers with whom I shared the last days in all simplicity and intensively God's Word. I have the impression that the Lord helped me to find among them some of the Chinese believers who I was looking for.

In Him Ger de Koning