Update #2: Amazing

That's the only word I can think of to describe it.

I'm back in Hong Kong at the moment (aka back to freedom of speech). I can type God as many times as I want! It's awesome. Being in China really makes you realize what you have: I couldn't access Facebook, post things on Blogger or Tumblr or watch things on Youtube in China. We couldn't type things like God or bible or pray, we couldn't Google bible verses. It was different.

The missions trip was amazing. I couldn't have asked God to make it better in any way: it was more than I had imagined. We were given a chance to talk to the teachers and believers at other churches and to see how they operate things in China. It was really different and it really showed me how blessed we are in America. They operate on the edge, all the time! They have to be super careful about everything they do - we can do whatever we want, our only limit is our willingness. Regardless of the limits they have, they excel and they never stop trying.

God is really working in China. Isn't that an amazing statement? In a country where religious freedom is proclaimed but controlled, in a country that was not founded in Christianity but rather things like Buddhism and Daoism, in a country where there are still villages without electricity, God is working. Impossible? Nope, impossible doesn't exist here.

There is so much to admire about the churches we served at! The faith that they have, the dedication that they have, the courage that they have - it's all amazing. It's inspiring to see how much they depend on God. They pray about everything and no matter what goes wrong, they just continue praying and trusting. We've heard amazing testimonies about faith here, and it's all so inspiring. God is sooooo good.

The children's program that we helped them put on went really well. All the kids were so cute! If only they spoke Cantonese... The language barrier was really tough but at the second church, we had translators! The program at the second church was even more amazing because they had 5x the amount of kids they had at the first church but they did just as well. Their creativity was awesome and the amount of people they had serving from the church was awesome.

And lastly, the body of Christ. It's amazing to see how God pulls people together, regardless of family background, language, faults or social status. I didn't know a single thing about the people at the churches that we served at and they didn't know a single thing about me except for the fact that we all believed in the same God and that was enough. They were so generous, so kind, sooooo loving. It felt like we were family but we hadn't even known each other for more than a week. I'll never forget what God has taught me here about the body of Christ and I can't wait to see how God is going to continue teaching me about this in the future. Barriers that would have otherwise been obstacles were surpassed as if they were nothing. Show me something/someone else that can do this, I dare you.

I still have a few days left in China (Hong Kong, to be specific). I miss the Bay but I can't wait to see what God does here (: