Sunday in Xiamen

Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, “Let God be magnified.”-Psalm 70:4

I am excited to say that my luggage arrived today, yay! I had to wear the same clothes for a few days so God stretched me in that, haha! It’s all good though. I head in to the orphanage in 6 hours. I can’t wait to see the kids! Yesterday morning I learned that Rocky had flown in around the same time as me, so we met for a wonderful authentic Chinese breakfast. It was delicious! It was so good to see Rocky, I have not seen him since July. I really enjoy spending time with him. We laughed and talked for a long time, conversations flows easily with him. He really has a heart for the kids too. While we were visiting, the orphanage called to share that they would like us to arrive at 9am on Monday. They asked how many kids we would like to see tomorrow and they said we would only have until 5pm, and that we would need to break at nap time. We requested 30 kids, and Rocky said we can try to work with them to possibly stay later if need be.

Rocky and I were both sad to hear the news in China about the flight coming in to Beijing from Malaysia that is missing and they fear all passengers have died, I believe it was 239 people. I am praying for all those involved.

Around 10am, I met our traveling Doctor in the lobby and it was so nice to finally meet her in person. She is a very kind and loving woman and I so appreciate her coming to help. We were picked up by the directors of the team from America that is here and working in three orphanages nearby. It was amazing to get to know them today and hear about their work in this province. We went to an international church for foreign passport holders in Xiamen that is government approved. Everyone that attends must wear a name tag and have passport in hand or be married to a foreign passport holder. There was worship by African drums, piano and guitar, and the pastor was from Mexico. The service blew my mind since I am in China J We had a great time of worship and we sang many songs, but the song “Lord Most High” stirred my heart and brought tears to my eyes as I prepared to go in the orphanage. Part of the lyrics were:

“Throughout the endless ages
You will be crowned with praises
Lord most high
Exalted in every nation
You’re sovereign of all creation
Lord most high
Be magnified”

I am so excited to be here and want the Lord to be magnified in everything we are doing here. There were about 200 people present, and they had visitors get up and share about why we were here so it was neat to share. The sermon was on “Persistence in Prayer” from Luke 11. I was challenged in the verses of asking, seeking, and knocking, as we work to help the kids here and build a relationship with the staff. Something that the pastor said that I walked away with was, “Be consistent in your convictions.” It was a great reminder to be steadfast in prayer for our work here. It is such a privilege to serve here in this way and I can’t wait to see what God will do! After church we went to a nice lunch and then went and got my luggage at the airport. That night we had a nice dinner and did some last minute plans for this week. We are excited to hit the floor running tomorrow and do as much as we can! Thank you for your prayers and support!