My hope is to communicate all that God showed me and transformed in me while I was in China. I don’t know if I can but I will attempt with a series of blogs about the trip. It was an awesome experience and the last few trips I have been on have really impacted me. The trip I took to Acuna, MX with college students from Countryside last summer impacted my heart for people in a humanitarian way. God showed me what “poor and hungry” really is. He showed me the growth in our students. He grew my compassion for those in physical and material need. All for the sake of communicating God’s love for them and looking to persuade them to trust in the Provider, Jesus Christ who gives hope in this life and the life to come.
This trip to China with college students from Kingsland was a little different. God showed me totally different things. I will blog about the fun touristy things we did thoughout this series of blogs (climbing the great wall was awesome) but I need to share about a few things in the first few blogs that really impacted me spiritually. God hit me with some eternal realities that have grown my compassion for people’s spiritual lives, both practically and eternally.
Our group went to minister on a university campus in China. We joined up with long term people living there and joined in their work. We went to teach about how American’s celebrate the tradition of Christmas. Through this we were able to communicate God’s love to them. We hosted apartment parties, on campus lectures, and met students one-on-one to build relationships. I can’t wait to tell you about some of the people I met and the opportunities God gave us.
Connecting with the Heart of God
From the time I got on the plan to Beijing I could tell things were different. Our group sat in the back of the plan in the middle rows. As I put my bag in the overhead I noticed the people, the smell, the sound…it was different. The time this hit me hardest is 
when we were taking a break for lunch on our third day in China and some of our students were shopping at a local market. I decided to walk down the strip a little bit by myself. As I got to the end I looked back and just paused to soak in my environment. Everyone was Chinese! I know this is silly but I was overwhelmed with the number of people in the market and the fact that they were all Chinese. Everyone. Everyone was Chinese. Then it hit me to consider how many of them have never heard of God’s love for them and how He demonstrated that love by giving His Son, Jesus (Jn. 3:16). I asked myself, How many of these people are unsaved? How many of them live apart from the love and grace of God? Then I realized a sad thing…Hell is going to be filled with lost Asian people. I also realized that this breaks the heart of God and it began to break mine as well.God challenged me. Do you really believe in heaven and hell? Do
you really believe in the reality of afterlife? Do you really believe this? As I thought about this I reassured myself of the trustworthiness of the scripture and how this was a clear truth (2 Tim. 3:16). People who do not receive life (relationship with God - Jn. 17:3) remain dead (separated from God – Eph. 2:1-10). Then I wondered if I have the same love for people that God does (1 Tim. 2:3-7; 2 Peter 3:8-9; 1 Tim. 2:3-4). Does my heart for the lost match the heart of God? I know God was changing my heart right there.Then, if I have the same heart as God am I willing to demonstrate the same love in the same
way (Mt. 16:24). Am I willing to lay down my life for the lost? Am I willing to do whatever that looks like in my life? I don’t think this is limited to physical death but is a broader concept. Am I willing to have less money? Am I willing to have less selfish time? Am I willing to make sacrifices that reflect a real concern for the lost in an effort to demonstrate and communicate the love of God to them? Not only for their benefit in this life and in eternity, but also for the glory and pleasure of God. To be a person who is living out the heart of God.
If my heart matches the heart of God and I have the willingness to sacrifice to live that out, what does this look like in my life? How do I live this out in and from Katy, TX. How do I stay connected with the heart and work of God, not only on a trip like this but every day?
I don’t know the answers to these questions yet. But God has given me a fresh realization of heaven and hell. He has given me a new perspective that there
are millions of people who are living apart from the love and grace of God, and who may exist that way in eternity. He is transforming my heart to match His heart for those people. He is challenging me to imitate Him in response. He is challenging me to check my purpose, my priorities, and my focus on comfort rather selfless sacrifice for the ones He loves.
