PRASIA IN CHINA

1. PRASIA IN CHINA The 25-hour ride from Hong Kong to Beijing gave us time to pray and to prepare our hearts for the ministry ahead of us. This was PRASIA’s first time to visit mainland China… Click here to read more The Earth is the Lord’s by Cindy de Tablan When PRASIA left for our China Missions Tour last November 15, we only had 50 percent of our needed funds. But with five international tours behind us, I was more excited than scared… Click here to read more PRASIA in China by Daniel de Tablan My Purpose in Beijing by Cindy de Tablan I had a clear purpose for going on this China mission tour – to identify the needs of our overseas Filipino missionary workers and to challenge the rest of the Body of Christ to respond to those needs. In Beijing I met a group of them… Click here to read more

2. PRASIA in Chinaby Daniel de Tablan The 25-hour ride from Hong Kong to Beijing gave us time to pray and to prepare our hearts for the ministry ahead of us. This was PRASIA’s first time to visit mainland China. And because we have been told that we cannot openly preach Jesus Christ in China, we had great concerns. How can we reach them with the gospel of Jesus when it is illegal to do so? How can we minister and not get ourselves and others into trouble? We also prayed for the many Overseas Filipino Workers in Beijing working mostly as English teachers. We have come to sing for them as well. We know that Filipinos are more open to receive the gospel when they are away from home. We pray that they will also find Jesus. The twelve days that we spent in Beijing proved to be a wonderful time of ministry. All in all we were able to minister in fifteen different occasions and for very different groups of people.

3. November 19 Harvest Congregation – a Beijing International Christian Fellowship (BICF) church service attended by foreigners working and visiting Beijing. Filipino Congregation – a BICF church service for the Filipinos in Beijing. It is the largest Filipino evangelical fellowship in the city. Many of the newcomers received the Lord during the challenge. Filipino Home Group Lunch Fellowship – PRASIA got better acquainted with the Filipino OFWs. Sound Technician Training – Joemar gave an international crowd a lecture on being an effective sound technician.

4. November 20 Despedida for OFWs We ministered to a group of Filipinos who were illegally recruited to China. Three were going back to the Philippines November 22 International Academy of Beijing IAB is the only International Christian elementary school in Beijing. PRASIA sang for their chapel time. The organizers wanted to the kids to see Rafael, an example of a child music missionary. November 23 Filipino Home Group Prayer Meeting PRASIA led the bible study through testimony and singing. We spent time in prayer with the members.

5. November 24 Cell Group Home Bible Study We attended a bible study with a group of Filipino English teachers. We also had dinner and “Magic Sing” fellowship with them. November 25 Nursing Homes in Beijing. This was our time to reach the Chinese locals. Some of the elderly were former members of the Communist party. A number of them including one of the staff responded and received the Lord!

6. November 26 Bilingual Service BICF congregation made up of Foreign Chinese living and working in Beijing BICF English Service This is the largest evangelical expat fellowship in Beijing. Attendance average around two thousand each week. Voice Training Daniel gave a lecture on basic vocal techniques to a multi-national group of church music ministers. Sound Technician Training 2 Jing gave a lecture for the Filipino sound technicians. Jamming with PRASIA Our farewell program for the Filipino congregation. It was a fun time of sharing and ministering to them.

7. In all these times of ministry, we felt very free to share Christ with the people. Many responded to the gospel. Many received Christ. We also gained many wonderful friends. Certainly all of our prayers were answered beyond what we can even think or imagine. One Chinese nursing home resident said of PRASIA, “When you sing, we feel the presence of God.” It is an affirmation of Jesus’ promise – “And lo I will be with you, even to the end of the age.” On our train ride back to Hong Kong, our group’s prayer time became a prayer of thanksgiving for all that He has done. We Praise God for allowing PRASIA to minister in China. We thank him for all the people that has prayed and has supported us in this project. Plans are already being drawn up for our return to Beijing in 2008 during the Olympics. Pray that the Lord will make a way for us to fulfill this future project.  Back to main page

8. The Earth is the Lord’sby Cindy de Tablan When PRASIA left for our China Missions Tour last November 15, we only had 50 percent of our needed funds. But with five international tours behind us, I was more excited than scared. I have seen God work miracles in the past, and this time around, I was sure that God will also see us through. After our first weekend in Beijing, the group sat down together to talk about the state of our finances. We realized that even if we sold all the cds we brought on the trip, we would still be short about 10,000 RMB (US$1,200). We would not be able to cover all our basic travel expenses. This also meant that we would only be getting 100 RMB (P600) each for personal allowance and we might not have any money to spend for sightseeing. Being made aware of the concerns, we did what we had to do – we prayed. We know that the Lord heard our prayers because the following day, God provided for all our needs.

9. As we were being toured by Filipino friends around the city, Daniel got a text message from our host asking him how much we still needed to cover our travel costs. A few minutes after Daniel gave the amount, he texted back that the Beijing International Christian Fellowship (BICF), who was our inviting organization in China, decided to give us the 10,000 RMB that we needed. It was truly God’s work because we were later informed that BICF have never given money to any visiting groups. But because our Filipino organizers told them about the nature of our ministry and having seen us sing and minister, they decided to help. That same day, we saved another 1,600 RMB on the apartment we were renting in Beijing. One of our organizers sent an e-mail to the owner of the apartment about our China mission and they decided to bill us for only three out of the seven days that we stayed in the apartment. We also saved a lot on food because Filipinos in Beijing started to take the group out for lunches and dinners. We experienced some of the best cuisines in Beijing for free! All the savings gave us enough money to visit Great Wall of China and to give more allowances to each of the members.

10. When we went back to Hong Kong, the Lord gave us another favor. The Filipino Welseyan Church there not only allowed us to stay at half the price than that of the cheapest hostel rates, they also only made us pay for two days stay instead of three. To top it all off, we were able to contact Egay Caole, a Filipino church mate from GCF Ortigas who is currently working in HK Disney. He and another co-worker gave the group six free tickets to the park. We got to spend a wonderful day at Hong Kong Disneyland. God has not only given us enough money for all our needs in China tour, He also gave us bonuses to visit the Great Wall of China and to experience Hong Kong Disneyland. Truly, the earth is the Lord’s!  Back to main page

11. My Purpose in Beijingby Cindy de Tablan I had a clear purpose for going on this China mission tour – to identify the needs of our overseas Filipino missionary workers and to challenge the rest of the Body of Christ to respond to those needs. In Beijing I met a group of them. This Filipino leadership group faces many challenges in their ministry. Because of visa restrictions, many OFWs only stay for a short time, therefore their ministry programs to OFWs must be short-termed. They must approach their discipleship program quite differently. They must also deal with constantly changing laws regarding foreigners and religious activities in China. To the world press, China tries to portray itself as a modern open country, but in reality, religious freedoms are still being closely monitored and controlled. Ministering to OFWs or to fellow foreigners is much more tolerated which makes their mission somewhat easier. As I see it, they have three important ministries to OFWs:

12. One is to evangelize the OFWs. Many Filipinos come to know Jesus when they are out of their comfort zones. Being in China gives them a totally different perspective in life. Being stripped of all familiar things that a person holds on to makes him finally see who he really is and makes him realize that he needs God. I am glad to see that the Filipino leadership group reaches out to them to help them find God. Second is to reach out and counsel OFWs who are hurting. One late evening, we met with Filipino workers who were victims of illegal recruitment. Some have had to find odd jobs just to survive; they also live in crammed apartments just to save money. We even heard stories of 20 people all living in a small three bedroom apartment! The group that we met was just raided by government police and those that were caught in violation of their visas were given ten days to leave China. Some escaped by hiding in cabinets for several hours. Having gone through such difficult experiences I felt the need to help them. That night I ended up doing a short debriefing for them. Many OFWs are faced with many family problems back in the Philippines with some end up entering into extra marital affairs. Some deal with depression; some deal with interpersonal conflicts. Many are overly burdened by the need to earn a lot of money because their family’s needs and financial debt. Our host told me that they are so many needing counseling but they do not have enough time to meet with all of them because of their own workload. The ministry is too much for just a handful of workers.

13. Third is their responsibility to provide a model of Christ-likeness to the OFWs. Each day these leaders fulfill the great commission of Jesus Christ. In China there is more of a challenge to live a life that represents Jesus well and make people see the difference. With ministry demands and government restrictions to consider, these leaders must display a credible witness. Everyday is a struggle to live out your faith in a setting that does not value that faith. Personally, I am blessed to see such wonderful Christian examples in this leadership group. Their ministry of these leaders opened my eyes to many things. They made me realize that serving as a missionary overseas is difficult. It is very comforting for them to know that people back home are praying for them. We can also show our support through material gifts. We may not have brought them money but they really appreciated the pasalubongs that we did bring. It is amazing how much happiness Chippy, Boy Bawang and Chocnut can give! I’ve also realized that they need practical help – they need training and materials to be adequately prepared for their ministry. A number of leadership group have not had Bible School or seminary training. Since they lead Bible studies and conduct discipleship programs, they need Christian leadership training. They also need to be equipped to become more effective counselors. They must not only have the skills that would allow them to thrive in their difficult situation, they must also have the capacity to help others cope as well.

14. One tent maker missionary couples that we met told me that PRASIA’s visit to China really meant so much to them. This comment made me truly appreciate the value of our trip to China. It’s not about us but it is really about them. Their work is extremely hard and a visit from us would be like a breath of fresh air. We would like to encourage more people to go and minister to them. Maybe now it’s your turn to go to China. Back to main page

15. Thank you to MEANS-USA MEANS-USA PO Box 8434, Bartlett, IL 60103 Website: www.meansusa.org Email: info@meansusa.org Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability United States Donations in support of the PRASIA China Missions Tour 2006 were processed by MEANS USA. We thank them for their faithful partnership through the years. Please visit the MEANS website to know more about their ministry to Filipino missionaries around the world. 