June 22, 2000

Dear friends,

First, I want to apologize for the impersonal nature of this letter. I had wanted to write each of you individually because I truly appreciate your support, whether in prayer, finances, or both. However, the weeks following our end-of-year retreat (what an extraordinary blessing that was--ask me about it if you have not heard already!) proved to be busier than I had expected and I was unable to do so. I look forward to getting in touch with each of you at the end of the summer, though, to share about what God has done and will do this summer.

In a few days I will be flying to Los Angeles to meet with Grace and Steve, the directors of our Global Project. In a few more days the rest of the team will arrive in L.A. for our initial training. And just a few days after that we will be on our way to China! I am even excited about the training where I will not only get to meet my team for the first time, but I will see both Grace Eng and Collin Tomikawa (former staffworkers with HRAACF) who will be leading parts of the training. But I am also nervous because it is so soon!

But praise God as He is helping in preparation! There were a couple of things that we needed to bring (such as a guitar and a songbook) and I think we have everything we need now. I was also stressing a little because there were some things that I forgot to get while in Boston, but David Shim is getting a pair of Harvard notebooks and Francis Chen is sending a water bottle. Praise God for partners!

However, there remains so much to be done. I am still reading about the people of Xinjiang in the hopes of better understanding and loving them. My teaching partner and I are unready to present our two cultural lessons. Perhaps most importantly, I am in charge of coordinating ten evening activities and I am not sure yet what we will do. These activities will be in place of Narnia Theater (a dramatic production which the Xinjiang trip has done in previous summers) which we will not do this year despite the blessing it has been in the past. It is our hope that these activities will require less preparation and will allow our team more time to interact with the Chinese students. On the other hand, it will probably be harder to connect these activities with the spiritual themes that Narnia Theater naturally raised.

Please be praying for my heart. I have been distracted for the past few weeks and am finding it difficult to listen to God. I know I need to have a vital connection with Him if I am going to be of any use. Pray that I would listen, trust, and obey. Pray that I will surrender my heart, mind, and soul to Him and be His ready and willing vessel. "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me."--Galatians 2:20

Please pray for our team. Pray for our health as we encounter new microorganisms bent on wreaking havoc on our weak North American immune systems. Pray for our interpersonal relationships as we learn to love one another as Christ loved us. Pray for our Chinese counterparts in Xinjiang, and our relationships with them.

Did you get lost in the nooks and crannies of this letter? Here is a small list of prayer requests:

1) Pray for my heart, that I would listen and obey.
2) Pray for the evening sessions, that they would inspire thought.
3) Pray for team dynamics, that we would love one another.
4) Pray for health, that we would have it. ;)

In Christ, His love, and His hope,
Jonathan

P.S. While I am in China, I will try to update you occasionally on how it is going. I will be using the account <name deleted for security reasons> so please write there if you want to contact me this summer.

P.P.S. This letter (and previous ones) can be found at http://www.law.stanford.edu/~jliu/heart/