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Our team logo has three worlds with Europe and the Middle East visible. The three colors represent the three worlds of Eastern Europe, Western Europe and the Middle East. They also represent how we divide our three areas of ministry. Most importantly, they represent the three worlds of Christianity: Traditional, Post-Christendom, and Non-Western. Visit our website www.three-worlds.com to learn more about "the Three Worlds of Christianity."
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Nov/December 2019
volume 19 issue 5
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A Wonderful Return Visit to Hong Kong CHOG
As most of you know, we started our missionary career in Hong Kong and China, where we lived and worked for just under 10 years. Marco was born there and we worked closely with the very young and fast-growing Hong Kong Church of God. It was a magical time filled with tremendous memories, wonderful friendships, and great ministry. We loved Hong Kong and our friends there and have missed it greatly. As a family, we made a commitment - that we would return to Hong Kong before Marco graduates from high school. So this December, we packed our bags and returned to see our old friends and our old home.
We were all thrilled to be back on Hong Kong soil, listening to and speaking Cantonese, eating the food and drinks we love, and visiting our wonderful friends scattered throughout the city. We had a wonderful reunion with the Hong Kong Church of God brothers and sisters. So many of them were teenagers or in their early twenties when we first arrived. It was amazing to see them now, married and with children of their own. We are so impressed with how they have grown up and matured. Their children are precious and delightful.
The church's strength is still reaching young people for Christ. There's a whole new generation of teens and twenty-somethings who are actively involved in ministry and cell groups. Pastor Edmund is still leading the congregation, and Grace, who was our 19-year-old church secretary, is still the wonderful person who keeps everything together and organized our reunion party.
We also joined the Christmas morning evangelism service out on the streets of our old neighborhood. It was wonderful to see the children of "our children" singing Christmas songs to the passersby.
Another highlight was visiting our old favorite restaurants, places to sightsee, and the apartments were Marco spent the first half of his life. We even visited the hospital where he was born and his pre-school and elementary school. None of us wanted to leave when it was time to go, and we hope to return many more times. Sadly, Hong Kong is undergoing difficult times as China puts more pressure on Hong Kong people to give up their desires for democracy. Every single friend we met was very concerned about the future, the escalating violence, the economy, and their children. We are so proud of our brothers and sisters in Hong Kong and will be praying for their safety and the security and freedom of this beautiful city.
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CHINA TAKES TWO STEPS BACK
On the journey to Hong Kong, we had a brief lay-over in Beijing. As everyone knows, China has made incredible progress and has gone from an underdeveloped country to a very futuristic advanced society in record time. When we lived there, China was always changing rapidly, but it is increasingly becoming unrecognizable.
Unfortunately, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China is taking many steps backward. Freedoms are being curtailed, Xi is creating a cult of personality, foreign things are being shunned, and China's human rights record is worsening. It didn't take long for us to see how cameras, fingerprinting, and eye-scanners are turning the whole country into a surveillance state where the government can monitor everything.
During our years in China, the Chinese were very open and curious about foreign things. This enabled us to do a lot of ministry and travel. Today, many Christian workers are being kicked out of the country. Sometimes they are not even given one day to get their things and leave the country. There were about 7,000 foreign non-profit organizations working in China when we were there. Now, only about 300 remain. It is very sad to see how China is becoming more closed to the world - but this follows a predictable pattern that can be seen throughout Chinese history.
We especially pray for the Christians in China who experienced a lot of growth and increasing freedom over past years. Now many churches are being closed, persecuted, and even razed to the ground. We pray that this new time of persecution fuels even further growth for the Christian movement in China.
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THE CHURCH OF GOD IN AN EASTERN CONTEXT
In November, Regional Coordinator Patrick Nachtigall and Kelley Philips (3W-Germany) were joined by Church of God Ministries General Director Jim Lyon on a trip to Tbilisi, Georgia. They were also joined by five pastors from the Russian Church of God and together they visited the Georgian congregation of one of our 3W Leadership Network pastors.
Georgia is a predominantly Orthodox Christian nation, but evangelical churches do have some freedom to operate there. Georgia was formerly a republic of the Soviet Union, although it is an ancient country with its own language and script. It was wonderful for our group to have this time of fellowship and connection and to learn about the situation of the evangelical church in that context.
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n this region, we constantly strive for opportunities to partner in ministry and fend off loneliness and isolation. As we always say at 3W: "You are not alone."
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MARCO'S WORLD
Marco has wanted to return to Hong Kong for a long time. The fact that Hong Kong is having protests only made him more curious and excited about the trip. Marco, who loves politics and international relations, wanted to hear from Hong Kong people about what is actually going on with the conflict.
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he most important part of the trip for him was visiting his old schools and childhood friends. He was able to reconnect with friends from his elementary school as well as the children and adults who took care of him in church. Marco really enjoyed Hong Kong and its vibrancy. Now that he has been going to high school in rural Germany, the crowds and noise of Hong Kong were quite a shock.
It was not always easy being the only non-Chinese person in his schools, so there were some unpleasant memories that Marco has had for many years. One of his goals was to confront those places that were difficult and find some victory and closure. We are very happy that this did happen for him. He hopes to return and has now reconnected with so many friends who will gladly welcome him.
Photo above
: Our family overlooking the city that we love the most in the world.
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