Final China Update Email

Dear friends and family,

I will still be writing this email with the knowledge that my updates will be going to some sensitive areas, but feel free to reply candidly, as I am back in the US. Thanks for your understanding!

Thank you so much for bearing with me during this process of writing this final update. It's been a crazy (nearly) 3 weeks since I've moved to New York, and I've just finished my second week of training this past Friday. Now that I have adjusted a bit into my new surroundings, I thought that I would share with all of you some of my thoughts. As I had mentioned in my previous email, my experiences and lessons from working in the short-term m- arena actually were not at all what I had expected or "hoped" to learn going in.

Initial Expectations of What I Would Learn From My Trip
You could say that I originally went to China with the expectations that the Boss would change my heart so that I could love His children like He does, that my heart would be broken for the poor and the lost, that through my contact with the rural farmers via microfinance, I would be able to better understand the depth of the Boss's love and compassion. Especially because my work environment in New York is going to be one that celebrates self-indulgence and self-pleasure, I believed (and still believe) that learning to love others, especially the physically and sp*r*tually poor, was an important one to learn. It's a good expectation or hope to have in preparation for a m- trip, right? To be able to learn a lesson as important as this one?

However, the fact that my expectations for learning were not met during my trip ultimately ended up being the most important lesson of all. To make a long story short, I feel that as I prepared for my m- trip, I had the expectation that during the course of my trip, the Boss would work his wonders in my heart, transforming it from "a heart of stone" to "a heart of flesh" through my experiences. This sounds reasonable, but as I see it now, it was an "unreasonable" expectation, because I expected the Boss to do all the work for me. It was as if I no longer had any responsibility for my own sp*r* tual growth and development anymore, as if learning to love others wasn't a job for me, but a job for the Boss.

The Lessons that The Boss Ultimately Taught Me
But as it happened, my initial expectations weren't "fulfilled," so to speak. I had to search more deeply to find out what the Boss was trying to say to me, since I didn't feel that my heart had been "broken" by my experiences, per se. The lesson I learned in my searching was that I have to actively love others, as He does. I cannot expect Him to change my heart if I do not first demonstrate that my heart truly desires to change. What I learned is that for those like me, (those people for whom Chrst-like compassion does not come naturally), there is no magic solution that leads to loving others like He does. However, because of our love for the Boss, and because we know that He loves us, we must struggle with all our might to love (weak though our efforts may be), and ask that His sheer unaided power fills in for our human failings.

This trip has been a humbling reminder for me, a reminder of how the Boss works in His own ways and in His own timing to achieve His ends for us. As I have learned, these ends may not come in a manner that we expected or at a time that we initially hoped for, through whatever I do and experience, I must look to Him to see what He is trying to teach me.

Pr* yer Requests and Thank You
As I begin a two-year job commitment here in New York, please pr*y that I will continue looking to Him and that I would seek to actively love others and share the good news with them. One of my reasons for going into this job is because even though the Wall Street environment is not one of physical poverty, it is definitely one of sp*r *tual poverty. It is a place in need of good news, just like any other place.

As a result, please ask Him to give me the boldness to witness to others in the workplace, and please also pr* y that I would not give up hope, even when the going gets rough, or when I realize that my own sinful nature makes me a hypocrite as I try to share the good news with others.

Finally, I'd like to thank all of you again for your support and encouragement. Thank you for partnering with me on this trip and sharing in my experiences and lessons, which the Boss is using to continue "refining" me into the person He wants me to become. Maybe my future plans will involve Wall Street. Maybe they will involve more microfinance. Or maybe He will show me once again that my expectations and plans are not what I initially thought they would turn out to be. Regardless, I am grateful that you have been willing to be a part of this process with me. Thank you!

For His glory,
Mark

China Update Email 8

Dear friends and family,

I just wanted to send you a quick update to let you know that I have returned safely to the US! I am now in the process of transitioning back into life in the States and preparing for my move to New York. Currently, I am also still meditating on what the Father is teaching me through this China experience but I will send a final update and summary soon!

For His glory,
Mark

In Hong Kong Again!

Now that I'm in HK, I have blog access again, so I wanted to make a quick update. I was able to meet up with friends from my "club" in Philadelphia for dinner here, which was great, and I'm now sitting at my gate at HKIA before leaving for New York.

Boarding has begun, so I've gotta go, but please keep me, my co-workers in DL, and the villagers we worked with in your p ra yers!

China Update Email 7

Dear brothers and sisters,

I'm finishing up my last day of work here in China! It's hard to believe that an entire month has already passed. In a little while I will be presenting my work to my boss, leaving me the weekend to prepare to return to the States. I think it'll be of assistance to the microfinance work being done here, so thank the Boss!

Please keep speaking to the Boss for me, that I would be able to get home safely, and that I can maintain my health as I transition back to a Western environment. Please also ask for my preparation for moving to New York and for full-time work, since I am a bit concerned that I will have a difficult adjusting back as it is.

Finally, as I wrap up, please continue asking for the hearts of the people here, that they would be softened, as well as for my own heart, that I would remember what I have seen and experienced here.

I'll try and post up pictures as soon as I can when I can access my blog again in the States, but I've attached just one for the time being. This is the official church in the Old City part of town. The building has been around for over 100 years, having been established by Hudson Taylor's group back in the day. I hope you like it!

For His glory,
Mark

China Update Email 6

Dear brothers and sisters,

Our trip to the village was extended a little longer than expected, but we are now back in the city as of this (Friday) afternoon. I know all of you have been talking to the boss a lot, because my health was much better than expected. Thanks so much!

This trip was very productive! My boss (XY) and I were able to visit several houses, and in addition to talking with the farmers like last time, I was able to take some pictures of the farmers' living standards for one of the projects that I am working on. For this particular project, I am working on a way for the company to measure these village farmers' advancement in terms of standard of living. In order to gauge our progress, we need to be able to see whether the lives of the people we are reaching out to are actually improving or not, and in what ways. In addition to the "outward" measures, we are also trying to figure out how to measure "inner" change and improvement. This is much more difficult to do, but we trust that the boss will give us guidance!

The lady in the picture that I have attached to this email has indeed seen many outward changes in her life, with her financial condition improving significantly in the past few years. However, she has also seen other changes as well, now that she is part of the family. Please talk to the boss today about her!

For His glory,
Mark

China Update Email 5

Dear brothers and sisters,

As of this week, my stay here is more than half over now, and I wanted to give you a quick update. I am getting ready to begin my second trip down to DT and SZ again, to see a bit more of the farmers' context there and to assist my boss with his house visits.

Please continue asking the Boss on my behalf, that my eyes would continue to be opened and that my heart would be moved as His heart is.

Also, please ask the Boss that I would be able to maintain my health. I was pretty sick during the last time I was in the village, and just today, I've come down with another case of diarrhea. One of my co-workers was telling me today about her experience with the amazing provision of the Boss as a result of her supporters' petitioning, so I'd like to ask you to do the same for me. Thank you to all of those who have already been petitioning in this regard.

I should be able to update you again on Friday, after I come back, so stay tuned!

For His glory,
Mark

China Update Email 4

Dear brothers and sisters,

I've been out in the countryside for the past 4 days but have made it safely back to the city and am now back at work in the office. Being back in the city is definitely a contrast to the farming villages of DT, SZ, and CL where I visited, but I think that the differences in standard of living make it even clearer what needs there are. Now that I have email access again, I wanted to update you on what I have seen!

During my stay in the countryside, the head of the microfinance department (XY) and I stayed in DT village, although we also saw several other villages in process of making house visits with clients who have received loans from our company. Even in a small geographic area, you can also see significant differences in the the standard of living among the different villages. The poorest among those in our area, SZ village, is one that to my American mind reminds me most of frontier living in early American history. The housing conditions remind me more of 1809 than 2009, to be completely honest.

There are a few loan recipients among the farmers of SZ, but with the conditions as impoverished as they are and with education levels as low as they are, it is difficult to imagine a sudden, magical turnaround for them. One thing that has become clear to me is that while some cases of poverty alleviation can be rather rapid and seemingly magical, the context here is such that transformation is something that will likely happen only with the passage of a generation, not with just a single year. Related to that is the realization that having a loan but not the resources or education to use it properly is not of much impact, which is why the education of China's children is so important.

To that end, our company (like I have mentioned previously) does not just give out loans to the farmers here, but also has an education department, as well as a health department and agriculture department. Please request that the people here would not simply have more material goods but that their minds and bodies would also be improved. Most important of all, of course, is that there is inner change, if you know what I mean, so please ask the Boss for that.

Before I go, I want to leave you with a picture of a village woman that our company has reached out to. I took this picture while my department supervisor XY and I visited her house. She has actually just became a part of the family two weeks ago, and in this picture here, you can see XY speaking with her. Amazing! Please ask that she would continue to be learning.

I thank you for your support, and as before, please do not reply to this email until I return home on June 23rd. Thanks for your understanding!

For His glory,
Mark