Jesus in China (Part II)

Not long ago I made a post entitled "Jesus in China" (dated February 24th) and promised to give a follow-up, Part II if you will, of the story. So that's what this post is about. In case you've forgotten and would like to be refreshed, I've added a link (below) to the previous post so that you don't have to scroll down to find it.

http://willowsway1.blogspot.com/2010/02/jesus-in-china.html

Remember that our paradigms about followers of Jesus in China were obliterated on this last trip to Asia, and it started when Xiao Qian showed us her photo albums of western looking people described as "Bible teachers", in addition to her Bible that she pulled from her backpack that was written in Chinese characters. That all happened on the very first day we met Xiao Qian, right after we returned to our hotel room from the Civil Affairs Office in Guangzhou. Those two events in and of themselves were quite unusual, but what was even more unusual, what really blew us away was when Xiao Qian pulled an envelop out of her backpack that was addressed to her new mother and father. Inside of it was a typed letter, a few paragraphs long. And here's (certain details redacted to protect our brothers and sisters in Jesus) what was typed inside (we do not believe Xiao Qian had read the letter, nor are we sure she could have since it was in English):

"Hello Tom & Victoria,

My name is ___________. I am a (westerner) and live in _________, China. I have known your daughter for almost 4 years now. For the past 2-3 months I have tried to track you guys down to let you know there is a (westerner) here who knows your daughter. Unfortunately, she only had your first names and the state of California! And the orphanage does not give out any information, even to her.

I would LOVE to meet you guys in person! Xiao Qian has my phone # and my email address. I would LOVE to have you come to (our city in China) and have dinner in our home. I could arrange a driver to pick you up and bring you here. We live about __ hour(s) from Guangzhou. There are soooo many things I would love to share with you about your precious girl! She IS a sweetheart... which you will KNOW instantly when you meet her!

Her English is not very good at all, but I think mostly she is shy about using what she does know. I was quite surprised that she understood everything I said to her on the phone the other day. She is a little nervous about the adoption, again, I think mainly because of the language barrier. She is quite proud of you guys and your children! She has shown me both rounds of letters and pictures of the family.

I am soooo sad for her to leave but soooo happy that she is going... to a family that will love her! That is obvious through your letters. You will be blessed beyond measure with this precious girl. She lives to smile! She is beautiful... inside AND out! She has one of the sweetest dispositions of anyone I've ever met. She is one of __ orphan girls that we claim as 'ours'. I have MANY MANY pictures of your daughter that you might enjoy.

Please call me if you are interested in meeting us or her 'best' friends. The other girls will be with us most of the next few weeks as they are out of school on break. I don't mean to overwhelm you while you cherish these initial moments of getting to know your daughter, so I understand if you prefer 'not to' meet us.

________(Name)

(Address)

(Telephone Number)"

While I looked over Victoria's shoulder as she read this letter out loud in the presence of Xiao Qian, Victoria began to cry while approaching the end of it. I, too, held back tears while Xiao Qian just stood there with a sweet smile on her face. Re-typing that letter right now almost brings me to tears again, especially as I remember that special moment in our hotel room that seems almost surreal to me now.

Folding the letter and gently placing it back into the white envelop it came in, I wondered to myself (as did Victoria), "Could these people possibly be Christians? Could Xiao Qian have been exposed to the best news anyone could ever hear, that Jesus died that we might live? Could she have heard this truth all the way over here in China? " We were astonished that this person knew our names, knew our now new daughter, personally, knew her friends, knew her orphanage, knew her personality (which is spot-on), and knew of her pride to actually become a member of a family (but was a little off on Xiao Qian's English language skills, which were/are much stronger than known). Imagine our amazement as all of this began to unfold in those nascent moments of our "birth" of 13-year old Xiao Qian. It was almost as if God decided to say to us, "Tom & Victoria, I know you don't expect this, but I'm going to give you just a little glimpse into Me, My power and My love for you. You will not be able to see My face, just as Moses could not see My face but only a glimpse of My back (cf. Exodus 33:23), but I will show you a part of Myself, which is about all you'll be able to handle right now. And I will show you that I have gone before you in ways incomprehensible so that you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this I ordained for you and for My glory. You are about to get blown away."

Victoria then looked at me and asked me while staring directly into my eyes, "Do you think we should call these people?" I didn't hesitate and answered, "Yes, right away!" And so we did, and the response we received on the telephone was yet another blow away, which I will post about at another time.

(Trust me when I type that I'm not trying to "tease" any of you readers. There's just only so much time and energy in a day, so I'm trying to squeeze as much into these free moments as possible. Another post with "the rest of the story" will follow.)

Still blown away,