BMS Summer Team (China) 2007
Connie, a member of our church, is to go on a 4-week trip to teach English to English teachers in China in July. This mission is to offer teachers in the more rural parts of China a chance to have the kind of English learning opportunities which are rare and where subsequently many schoolchildren are disadvantaged.
- BMS World Mission has selected a team of 5 and Connie is one of them.
- The team will be sent to Xingtang, at the foot of a great mountain in the southwest of Hebei province
Connie asks for prayer support:
- That this mission experience will be a benefit to our love within my family as well as an aid to growth in the church
- For good health in the family and for our close relatives
- That this call for mission can be a positive witness at work
£2000 needs to be raised to support Connie to pay for the cost of this trip. Your generous donation and your participation would certainly play an important part in realising this short term mission
For donations and more details, contact the minister.
Mission is about stepping out of one's comfort zone as a response to God’s calling. It is also about ‘seeking first the kingdom of God’ and having trust in God’s provision.
Becoming a Christian in a non-Christian world and non-Christian family was my first experience of stepping out of my comfort zone and trusting in God’s gracious provision; subsequently I have experienced more steps throughout my Christian journey.
And now, needing to raise £2000 by 15th June is somehow a foretaste of the above in this forthcoming journey. |
The Recent Update (2nd May 2007)
Confirmation received as far
When to go?
The team will set off at London Heathrow Airport on 2nd July and leave China on 30th July. (The team is entering China with a restricted permit. Please pray for smoothness in passing through Immigration and Emigration.)
Where to go?
The BMS team (5 of us) is one of 13 teams sent by different agencies from different countries. All teams are then sent by Amity Foundation, the co-ordinating agent in China, into different locations in 11 provinces after debriefing in Nanjing. Our team will be in Xingtang, Hebei province, a province near to Beijing. Please pray for the adjustment of the team members in this new living environment.
Ready to go?
I have had my standard health check and CBA check passed and I have not heard of any problem with my visa. I have also received a pack of teaching materials. Therefore, other than co-ordinating activities to raise funds, I should find time to sit down to make preparation, which is the more important job to do, I suppose. (Ha, a good excuse for any imperfections in co-ordination!)
Since I have volunteered to be the first aider in the team, I shall attend full day training in London on 14th June.
The team shall meet at the International Mission Training Centre, with the other 4 summer mission teams, on 15th – 16th June.
Oh, the injection! – something I have been trying to avoid thinking about it…
Encouragement received so far
Support and encouragement have been received from different churches and individuals, inside and outside Newthorpe church. At the ‘Excited About Mission’ event, for example, I felt so nurtured and supported, especially when Tom who had come back from the Extreme mission in Brazil shared his reflection on the impact of going on mission on his Christian faith.
Every donation, big or small, has been logged down carefully. I shall give a simple financial update after the walk on May 7th.
A few have faithfully attended the calligraphy session. I am pleased with the progression we have made so far and, the most important of all, we had good time together and a positive experience of this Chinese cultural art.
Cultural exchange is one of the major goals in the Summer English Program. Your first hand experience of learning about a totally different culture is a good resemblance of how our students (the middle/ secondary schools English teachers) in Xingtang would feel like. I deeply appreciate your participation in this experience.
So much for now.
Love in Christ
Connie Chapman :)
My Testimony
by Connie Chapman
I am a member of Newthorpe Baptist Church, married to the minister, with a six-year-old son, and am a part-time librarian by profession. As a Chinese person from Hong Kong, it has been quite an experience to leave my homeplace and live a life in a foreign land.
I became a Chrisian when I was studying A-Levels. The evening I came to know the abundant life that Jesus is giving me, I could hardly keep my feet on the ground while I was walking home! Throughout my Christian life, I have always wondered why God had brought so many wonderful people and experiences in my life. It has never been smooth but God always surprises me by His gracious and awesome love.
Born to be an ordinary, shy and quiet person (basically an introvert), I was easily tempted to lead an anonymous life. Somehow, it is still my heart’s desire to search for God’s purpose in me. During my most recent retreat, I looked at the subject of the love of God and revisited my very first commitment I made to God over 20 years ago. There is unfinished business between God and me, I began to admit. When I saw the information about this trip on the BMS website, I simply felt God has equipped me for this, and the way to clarify God’s calling is to explore it further. So, here I am!
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