The last months for us in China were a time
of many blessings. Even though we had experienced some pressure, on Pentecost
morning we went to the swimming pool to baptize and formally bring six friends
into the Household of Faith. After some
thought and prayer the steering group had agreed to proceed with the scheduled ceremony,
even though the public pool was almost across the street from the place where
our neighbor had been forced to leave the day before.
Two of those baptized were H and E. H is a
grade one student and daughter of our deacon. Her family had recently come
through terrible hardships, but her mother (M) had remained strong in Christ,
and she had diligently taught her daughter concerning the Gospel. After the
baptism of baby Anna, M asked us about baptism for H, so we had ‘a little talk’
with her. I was so happy to hear her calm and sincere answers to the questions,
and we had no doubt that it was right to have her baptized. Her close friend E, daughter of D and H, is
about one year older. Although she used to be fairly mischievous and apparently
disinterested, over the last couple of years we saw how she also matured and
grew in her relationship with Christ. We were thankful that several Sisters had
taken on responsibility to build a good Sunday school program, and we see these
baptisms also as a fruit of this ministry.
It was a wonderful celebration, and after
the worship service we enjoyed an amazing dinner with the whole
fellowship. As no new troubles were
experienced, our friends began to relax about potential troubles. So, the
steering group suggested we attend (and teach) more regularly during the
remaining weeks. We gladly did so. During the weeks of our absence, I had
continued to write the Sunday messages. I would send them to Brother Paul and
our evangelist, and they would then teach the message in English and in
Mandarin Chinese.
For several reasons Marioka and I had
decided to leave China by way of container ship. Unfortunately, sailing
schedules are more liable to change (than schedules for airlines), so two
months before the planned departure date, we had to switch to another vessel,
which would leave Shanghai two weeks earlier.
So, all activities had to be accelerated: packing up books and clothes
in boxes to be sent to Holland. Cleaning out our apartment and classrooms, and
organizing many things to make sure that everything would work out on time.
The last week in Guangzhou was a time without
a break. It included farewell dinners with colleagues and with our fellowship.
Perhaps the most memorable of these was the potluck celebration during the last
Sunday night at the house (ground floor apartment) of our evangelist.
In the morning service we had installed two
more deacons for the service of the fellowship. Over the years, Brothers D and
T had shown diligence and commitment, and during the previous months (while we
were withdrawing), they had immediately increased their involvement in service.
So, it was a blessing to have their calling confirmed for the strengthening of
the work. Although we had always been hesitant and cautious to have women
elders or pastors, we reminded them that we had confidence in the gifts of our
evangelist and in her understanding of the Scriptures, so if the steering group
would –at some point- reach a consensus on this point, we would not be opposed
to her teaching, even in the Sunday services. (The male deacons do not nearly
have the same level of spiritual maturity and biblical insight.)
During the evening celebration, we were
presented with a commemorative book with photos from our last five years with
the Vineyard congregation. Brother D had also been busy and created a DVD with
pictures and video clips of our years together, including brief “Good bye &
Thank you” comments from all regular attendees.
Finally, the steering group decided to have two of them “see us off” in
Shanghai, and they had arranged airline tickets and hotel bookings for this.
So, we had one more farewell near the bus station before we would take the
airport shuttle bus. A few more Sisters joined us to the airport (from where we
would fly to Shanghai), and then we were on our first leg of our journey back
to Canada. It was a privilege to have our evangelist and Sister H join us for
the next few days in Shanghai, until –after another delay of a couple of days-
we got picked up by a van to head to Shanghai harbor. Early the next day we sailed to Busan, Korea,
and from there across the Bering Sea to Prince Rupert, Canada. The sailing time was twelve days, and we
arrived at Canada’s west coast while they had perfect weather. After one day in
town, we flew via Vancouver to Ontario.
Praise the Lord.
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