Prayer Letter about Short-term mission to Shanxi, China.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
  This Summer, I will be going to Shanxi (山西), China for a short-term mission trip. We will have two short-term mission teams from DCCC (Davis Chinese Christian Church) . One will be serving at Taigu (太谷) , and the other will be serving at Yuci(榆次). Both cities are located in Shanxi province. I will be serving in Taigu.

From July 5 to 22, the Taigu STM team will be serving at Taigu Christian Church. The first week at the church, we will be helping the Christian Youth Camp held by Taigu Christian Church. Youths from junior high to senior high (maybe some college students) from different local churches around Taigu will come to the camp and learn more about church life. We'll be leading worship for the camp. We'll also have Ethical teaching, English Corner (teaching English), games, and story telling for the youths. The second week, we will hold an English camp at the church, and some of the students from the youth camp will stay and participate. There will be three levels of English classes: Beginner class, intermediate class, and advance class.

The main goal of our trip is to build relationships with the youth, learn more about their faith and their backgrounds, and hopefully help them grow in faith. Some youths may have complicated backgrounds, so our team has been training to assist them when they need help with dealing things such as families, career, etc. We also use this opportunity to share more about Christ love to help the youths grow spiritually. Some of them could also be new believers, seekers, or non-believers.

Pray for the team that we may receive wisdom and strength from God. May the Holy Spirit guide us as we serve at the youth camp and the English Camp. There will be about a hundred youths at the youth camp, so definitely pray for the STM team. Pray also for the students' hearts, that they can be open so that we can build relationship.

I, personally, will need prayers, as well. I will be leading worship, games, and teaching the advance English. I have to say that without God and your prayers, it will be a hard time for me to plan and lead all these things.

Growing up in Taiwan and coming to the U.S., I was blessed to know both English and Chinese, and this summer, God opens a door for me to use the gift of being bilingual to serve His kingdom, to love His people and to learn more about His calling.

Thank you all for your prayers.

In Christ,
Joseph