a hodge podge

Have you heard this song? Right now, this is my song.

Man. Singing it in worship is so…right. The song lyrics and our singing it acknowledges that God is God and HE is mighty to save. It seems that when we focus on Him and how great He is that He is pleased. (NayJ, not how grey He is! he he) Last night I could not not sing it as a prayer for nations, for my brother who is battling with Chrons, for the 17 month old daughter of a friend of a friend who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, for people I love that need healing in their hearts…He is mighty to save.

Everyone needs compassion
Love thats never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Saviour
The hope of nations

Saviour He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave…

So take me as you find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I Surrender
I Surrender…

I stopped and asked, “Mom…do you smell that?”

“Smell what?” she questioned as I stood still.

I took a deep breath and replied, “Africa”.

We were unloading the car for the photo shoot this morning at my aunt’s studio out in the “country”. Some combination in the morning air was familiar to me. It was morning, the sky was bright and sunny and birds were chirping but it was cold. I smelled a combination of fire, dirt and crisp air. Still not moving, I closed my eyes, breathed deeply and could have fooled myself into thinking I was somewhere in the Kalahari getting ready to have a quiet time. It made me smile and sad all at the same time.

RELEASED, CHARGES DROPPED!
On January 4, Christian bookstore owner, Shi Weihan along with two dozen others associated with his case, were released on bail. Chinese officials have decided against a formal trial for Shi, and criminal charges against the accused have been dismissed. Eyewitnesses told CAA that Shi was in good spirits and relatively stable physical condition. Shi’s family members asked CAA to thank the tireless efforts of the international community for his release. Shi, and the others, have been detained for the past 37 days under charges of illegal printing and distribution of Christian literature. According to Chinese law after 37 days of administrative detention, a formal arrest warrant must be issued or the accused must be released. Sources state that the Beijing Haidian District prosecution office assigned to Shi’s case determined that they were unable to proceed with formal charges due to “insufficient evidence”. Regardless of the reasoning for Shi’s unconditional release, it is evident that international attention and pressure on the case were instrumental in influencing the court’s decision.”The Chinese government has made a positive step in the right direction regarding this case”, CAA’s President Bob Fu was quoted as saying. “This is a clear victory of rule of law and international intervention.”The Government’s decision to release Shi and the others is a virtuous development following the Communist party’s conference on the collective study of Religion and Religious policy on December 18, 2007. During the conference President Hu Jintao, reiterated the Government’s stance on the “implementation of free religious policy”, stressing law-abiding management on religious affairs and support to self-governance of religious groups.While the Government’s decision in the Shi Weihan case should be lauded, hundreds of prisoners persecuted for their beliefs, still remain in custody. As is the case of Xinjiang church leader Zhou Heng, who was arrested in August of 2007, for receiving “illegally printed” Bibles. Zhou, who was arraigned on the same charges as Shi Weihan, continues to serve an unjust sentence behind bars. These accounts, and others, are examples of the Chinese Government’s failure to remain consistent in cases receiving less international attention.CAA encourages the Chinese Government to follow the example set in the Shi Weihan case, and maintain consistency in its policies and rhetoric on religious freedom.Issued by CAA on January 7, 2008.

7-Year Old American Girl Forced into Hiding in China

Beijing Police Refuse Justice and Medicine to Her Diabetic Father
Tulsa, OK - December 8, 2007 -

In the shadow of gleaming new towers built for the Olympic Games, just outside of Beijing’s city center, one case highlights the religious persecution and corruption of justice that can still happen to ordinary Chinese citizens.

Just months before China is put on the world stage hosting the Olympics, Grace (EnMei) Shi, a 7-year old American girl, has been forced into hiding with her Chinese mother and 11-year old sister. They fear for their own safety and for that of EnMei’s father–Weihan Shi–a 37-year old businessman who was informally detained by the police and is being held in an unknown location.

Contrary to Chinese law, officers at the Haidian District Substation of the Beijing Public Security Bureau not only refused to tell the family where Shi is being held, they also would not tell them what he is being charged with, essentially denying him any possibility of legal defense.

He has become a victim of “enforced disappearance” placing him outside of the protection of law–a violation of “The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance”–a U.N. convention of which China is a signatory.

Mr. Shi, a life-long resident of Beijing, and a travel agent active in promoting foreign travel in China during the Olympics, was arrested in his Christian literature bookstore in a high-class business tower near the Olympics Village, along with some of his employees, his younger brother and his wife–Mrs. Jing Zhang–who have since been released after questioning. After 20 police raided their home at 5 AM on November 28th, the Beijing Public Security Bureau (PSB) detained Shi’s wife, more than once, to question her in connection with Christian literature confiscated from Shi’s home, office and bookstore.

Mr. Shi is now in the eighth day of his detention by the Beijing PSB. The family is concerned that he may be quite ill. As a diabetic, going without his medicine for several days, Shi may already be facing the danger of diabetic shock. The Haidian officers have also refused to allow the family to take Mr. Shi’s diabetic medicine to him. There has been no proof or assurance to the family regarding his medical condition. Deprivation and torture tactics are often used by the PSB in their notorious detention centers to force those being held to reveal information about others.

The little American citizen–”Grace”–born during the family’s visit to the U.S. in 2000, and her older sister–”Lily”–are reportedly terrified for their mother and father’s safety after witnessing the raid on their home. The mother and two girls have gone into hiding, fearing the possibility that threatened reprisals against Shi’s wife and two children would be used as an interrogation tactic against him before legal representation can be arranged.

Staffers at the U.S. Embassy have been provided information about the case and are reportedly concerned for the welfare of the young American girl.

For more information, please contact:

Ray Sharpe
President
Bethel Energy Group, Inc, (a client of Weihan Shi’s Beijing travel service)
(61 780-2742

U.S. Embassy Beijing
Political Section
Mr. Gregory C. May
Tel: (86-10) 6532-3831 x. 6742
Fax: (86-10) 6532-6423
MayGC@state.gov

Beijing Public Security Bureau
Haidian District Substation
Director Zhang Weigang (86-10) 8251-9110, (86-10) 8251-9350

China Foreign Affairs Office
Foreign Spokespersons Office
(86-10) 6559-2311 or cellphone (86) 1391-086-9861

U.S. State Department
Office of Religious Freedoms
Assistant to Mr. John Hanford, Ambassador at Large
Joanella Morales
(202) 647-4359
(202) 647-3209 (fax)
moralesjx@state.gov
PriorityPR GroupPO Box 700515
Tulsa, OK 74170
918.760.5178

i bought some lemon pepper today. aftewards i saw it was a product of south africa.

that made me smile.

(colorado part 2 will come eventually)

ok - sarah and natalie are the two girls in the middle of the back row. natalie is sportin’ the backwards hat. sarah is to her left. i am in the first row second from the right.

and go ahead and mock me but… i kept all my teen mania shirts to make into a quilt of my beloved teen mission years.

I taught on missions tonight. I was very excited while I was studying, looking at the Joshua, Caleb projects, Wycliffe and all. This keeps coming up. But what do I do? I’ve looked at two jobs online, overseas, but of course we arent gonna do anything without knowing.

I know this is in me, God put it there. And I dont think I’m impatient… Right now, its mostly “what about… Emma? money? Daniel’s job? more babies? where? how long? that’s scary!” I dont even know if long / short term

I’m not really as confused as it sounds. I’m excited to be stirred and just wonder what it all means. I am confident that Jesus will tell us when it is time to be told. I just hope that we are brave enough to hear what He says. Both extremes are kind of scary - going and staying. As long as it’s with Him, and these two, we’ll be okay!

(and readers, i’m not hinting anything, so dont get too worked up)

I cannot think of anything to “blog” about. I know it’s been a while and I get anxious when my friends don’t post - I like to read blogs, and here I am with nothing to say. Maybe if I type long enough something will come out.

When I first started blogging all day long I would think of things or events that I could blog on.

Oh, ok…how bout this…. AFRICA.

I want to go there. I want to take my family but I’m not sure how to do that. My good friend that lives in South Africa is now visiting…sigh… Botswana (without me!) I have dreams about Africa and how excited I am that I finally get to go there (in my dream I’m going, not in real life) probably at least once a week.

It takes a lot of money to go. When I am in a stadium watching a baseball game or when we were at church in Tulsa I would ALWAYS think, “If every person gave me $1, just $1, I could go on missions and pay all my bills and take my family…and go to Africa. It’s only $1, I’d give it to someone if they needed it. I should do it”.

When do I get to go? I know that God has put it all in my heart and in His timing it will be PERFECT and in the meantime I will be curious as to what happens next and keep dreaming.

OK, so when will I get to go? http://p80z.2.pollhost.com/ let me know what you think (and try to be encouraging )

ps. It’s not letting me post pictures today :(, I had some good ones!

How amazing is this?…

Mary Rumsey was baptized in the Holy Spirit in 1907 at the Azusa Street revival. She felt called to Japan and Korea. She did not land in Korea until 1928. (So she kept her dream alive for 21 years). She planted eight churches before she was forced to leave the country.

The Assemblies of God then took leadership of these churches and started a Bible school in Seoul. One of the first students to enroll was Paul Yonggi Cho. His church today now has (at least) 730,000 members.

Wow. What a legacy.

If we want to get really technical and look back further…Azusa St. started with William Seymour who heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit after Charles Parham preached this to a small group of Bible school students. Among them was Agnes Ozman, a young woman, who recieved the baptism of the Holy Spirit and began speaking in tongues January 1, 1901. She was the first pentecostal of the 20th century. A young lady responded to the Word of God….

What is the difference between those who are doing great things for God vs. people like me who have big destinies in my heart and seem to be taking the back roads to get there? Am I less obedient? Less willing to sacrafice? I would hope not. Maybe the last few seasons of my life have been “those” times when…well, I dont know what, but when things aren’t like you thought they’d be (not that they are unhappy times just different).

My pastor preached a message back in the summer called “Life Lessons from the Life of Joseph”. Joseph had a dream, a big dream yet it took years and prision and slavery before he “arrived”. I would like to think I am somewhere along this Jospeh route. If not, I pray God will show me. And in the meantime… I guess we’ll see!