Female Group Singing: the Song of Manger

Jesus was born in a manger,

What a miracle thing!

A king humbled Himself,

Born in such a simple place.

Dance: Love the Lord from my heart

Love the Lord from my heart,

I am willing to surrender,

For He loved me first.

Miao Minority Dancing

Hunan province has 40 minorities. Han, the majority has 90% population. Minorities include Tujia, Miao, Yao, Dong, Bai, Hui, Weiwuer, etc. Most minority people live in mountain area of west, east and south of Hunan province.

Drama: Holy Baby Was Born

There was no place for Him.

Fan Dancing: Seekers of Life

Do they like Butterflies?

Four Emcee

They were from each of three grades. The right two were from grade one.

Silent Night (Grade One Students)

2008 HBI Christmas Eve Party began with the song of Silent Night, by grade one student chior.

A Chinese official lady

“I work 2 days then rest 4 days. I have a lot of spare time. I learned to drive car recently. I am also learning playing the cucurbit flute (played by minority people in Yunnan province). Tonight I will go to Hong Kong with my friends for tour. Could you recommend a church for me in Hong Kong to visit?”

Carrying baby in my arm, thinking of my huge workload and I had to work day and night after going back office, talking with this lady around 40 at lunch in a sunny day at a very relaxed teahouse in my hometown Chenzhou (a south city in Hunan province), it was like I were facing a nearly retired old person. Her life styles, in my thoughts only old people could have the right to enjoy.

She was a beautiful lady, longhair under her waist, dressed in a dark purple maxi skit; a pink flower long scarf winded around her neck and casually went down. She worked for the government in police system. I got to know her when I applied for my passport. She was one of the officials there dealing with the application procedures. She noticed that I worked in a church then she showed great interest in my faith. She began to ask about church activities and started to make friends with me. She told me when she was in university, she used to go to church in Christmas season. This summer she moved to a new unit within the police system. I had her give me a favor when I went to apply for my son's visa to Hong Kong this Friday afternoon. The officials there were “having Political Study”, which meant no application could be taken until next Monday. After giving her a call, my son's application got through that afternoon. For this reason I treated her in the teahouse. She recalled many of her memories of how she brought up her son with a lot of moved moments and events. “Once my son was seriously ill and the doctor suspected that he got blood cancer. My son was always healthy and it's first time he's sent to hospital. Blood cancer? I couldn't believe.” The next day, his son was quite ok and the first diagnose proved to be wrong.

Friendship with her helped me change my perspective of government officials. They are changing, from the image of far, cold and serious to the image of close, warm and dear. Their spirit is freer. It seems the Communist Party just like air in her life, existing but can’t be seen. She boldly seeks to her own faith, and she chose Christianity.
Some Chinese people like this friend of mine, have lived a relaxed and high quality life. They work and have time enjoying family, music, nature, etc. But they are rare. I hope these people will find more meaning in serving other people in stead of living in their own circles only.

father and son walk

Two days before Christmas, we had a sunny day and the wheather didn't like in winter but like in summer.

We took a walk in our local park. I was the professional photographer of our family.

Cool son of mine

Acctually my son is just out of hospital. He caught a serious cold. We dressed him up like this--warm and cool!

HBI Greetings Card DIY

Inside: centual picture-6 fishes. Fish has abundant Christian meanings. 6, this number in Chinese has a meaning of "every success".

Back cover: a pair of foot print with the verse from Romans 10:15

Front Cover: Next year of 2009 is the Year of Ox according to Chinese tradition.

All the pictures we used are from Chinese paper-cut. We also used Chinese Knot. It has the function to unit inside page and outside cover, also to make this card more Chinese. It is a pity that we can't mail the Chinese Knot together with the greetings card, the post office had us take it off!

Good friends

Taken By Gloria Wu

An old man's heart

"10.25, 2.16 by Lunar Calendar. Never ever forget."

My brother text me the short message, reminding me those two crucial dates: the first one is my father's birthday and the second, my mother's.

The day before was my father's 66th birthday. And I made a terrible mistake--didn't give him a call. Immediately I called my father’s cell phone wanted to say a late "Happy Birthday", but he would not answer it. I didn't know what happened until I called my parent's home that night. My mother answered phone,
"He waited for your call that whole day, morning and afternoon" she said "In the evening I saw he became very unhappy. You would not know how much he wished to receive your call and knew you still remembered his birthday!" The worst thing happened. My father's heart was hurt, by me. "I might remind you his birthday that day, but I thought, better let him face the truth. You forgot this time, but won't next time, even won't forever." My Mom, I could never be as cool in the way she was. Anyway, I had to face my own mistake.
"Mom, tell you a good news! I decided to go home tomorrow morning, bringing Haozi (my three-month old baby) with me. Dad hasn’t seen Haozi, right?" I made this decision right away. "Please have Dad listen to the phone."I asked excitedly believing my Dad would also be very happy of my decision, as I heard my mother calling my farther.
"He is in bed ready to sleep; He says he has nothing to say to you... And ...he says if you come home, he will go to visit his friend in another city. He says... you have no need to come back on New Year holidays either." (My husband and I had planned to visit my parents in January 1-3.) I was there listening and feeling my heart turned colder and colder. My farther has successfully extended his feeling of hurt onto me. Fortunately I had good friends around me at that moment; we were eating a late super in a restaurant together. I told them what happened. They wisely suggested me, "Just go. Your farther sent you a very strong message--he wants to see you and Haozi as soon as possible."

I went and spent Thanksgiving Day with my parents the next day.

My farther had long face in the first half hour. Then he turned happier and happier. He had I and my brother invite him eating outside that night to make up his birthday celebration, but he paid for the meal. He enjoyed being with Haozi, my son. He carried him around the house and took pictures of him.

Recently my uncle got cancer and actually my father spent his birthday morning with him. He felt that the most important thing in his life was the relationship with his family members; he would not lose any of it.
On my way back, my heart was not lighter...my father is old, how could I take good care of him, putting him under my wings just as he took me under his wings when I was a child?

Did you call your parents on their birthdays?

Loving Hunan---HBI Mission Training

Hunan Map is Like a person's head

Recently, for 2 weeks, HBI students were excited in the activity of Loving Hunan. To prepare for it, students have done their assignment of interviewing local government Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB)as well as prefectual church leaders in last summer holidays. From the government they were to understand how the whole government departments'--not only religious department's administration work were. They needed to list all the departments of the local government and describe their duties. From the RAB, they got the information on the religions' situation in that area, including Buddhist, Taoism, Islam and Catholic church. They also did investigation on the folk religion's influence in that area. Each student was required to serve in local church in summer holidays, and received comments for their performance. From the prefecture church leaders they got to know the whole prefecture's five year plan ahead.

One representative was seclected from each 14 prefectures and he or she should give the prefecture report. The report had to be short but catch people's heart. After all the reports were given, students would vote to say, "If I were recruited to be a missionary in one of the 14 prefectures, which one I choose to go and why."

Students spent two Wednesday afternoons on this activity. They were excited. After a report, students asked questions to the prefecture representative to clarify the local situation and to increase knowledge of that area.

Do you want to know the result? Xiangxi recruited the most. 18 "missionaries" wanted to work there, for that area was poor, coworkers their were a few, natural evironment was very stiff, people's heart was very hard and there were many minority people there. An interesting thing about Zhangjiajie prefecture was they recuited 10 "missionaries" but 12 tourists---many students wanted to go to Zhangjiajie just to enjoy the beautiful nature scenery there!

New pastor performing the duty right away

Gloria is a pastor

I was ordained as a pastor last December on 23rd.
Right after the ordination ceremony, I baptized about 40 believers. Well, is that too quick for a pastor to perform the duty? I felt so.

My son-smiling

Hello!

My son-sleeping

He is so beautiful!

My son on his 100th day

A Chinese family has the habit of celebrating a child's 100th day.
That day for my son was just as usual. His father went to Yiyang to help a new church put up the sound system. Nanny and I stayed at home. I took many pictures of my son. This is one of them.

Winter is coming

Last winter Hunan suffered ice damage. Many south citys of China also had big snow, which was very unusual. South people even didn't know how to clear the thick ice off from the street. Local government had to invite north people to help deal with the thick ice. Military troops came out on streets helping clear off the ice and even tanks were put into use. Many people couldn't go back home to have family reunion at traditional Chinese New Year time. Airports and railway stations were full of people...
I was not in Hunan during the coldest time. I had a ministry trip. I flied to Yunnan, enjoyed warm wheather there. In fact, because it was a little bit too warm there, we had to use airconditioner to cool down in the car. Then I flied to Nanjing. The picture was taken in Nanjing by Burt Reed, our partner. When I wanted to come back from Nanjing to Changsha, there was no flights to Changsha. I couldn't come back home! Then I flied to Hainan by myself to meet our coworkers there and worked with them for several days. Hainan was also cold during those days! No sun and I dressed thick like a bear.
As this winter is coming. I do wish we have a warmer winter this year.

a walk with Mr. Zhangjian

Mr. Zhangjian, vice-director of the fourth Division of State Administration for Religious Affairs of P.R.C., came to have a meeting in Hunan. Forturnately, I got a chance to have a walk with him on the afternoon of December 1st, discussing with him about nowadays Christianity situation in China.
Together we visited the First Normal University in Changsha City, in which Chairman Mao spent his youth. We had a walk in the campus, and our talk touched upon several sensitive areas in Christianity situation in China.
We talked about underground church. Mr. Zhangjian said he had some friends who were in underground churches. They had invited him to join their worship, but he felt it was not convenient for him to be there, so he never went. But he understood many things of underground church from his friends. "Christian church should openly give their testimonies to the whole society. They should have their vioce heard in the public." Zhangjian said. He expressed that it's a pity underground church couldn't have their voice in China's public society, and support from overseas churches to underground church sometimes had just a short-term effectiveness. In the long run, it would not do good to strengthen Chinese church. "Underground church emphesis on salvation, neglecting the ethic hand of Christianity." I shared with him how I transfered from underground church into public church; the strength that underground church had and the strength that the public church had. My experience told me, only Chinese can sherpherd Chinese church and make it stronger.
We also talked about mission. Chinese church had many Christians, while the influence they made couldn't match their number. One day, Chinese church should grow into a missionaries sending church, I said. Mr. Zhangjian knew very well about Gospel-back-to-Jerusalem Movement, and he also knew some underground church had already prepared for that. In his opinion, this is a religious thing and he had nothing to say about it.
We shared our impressions on nowadays world and compared other countries with China. Mr. Zhangjian visited many countries. He shared with me some of his impression, "British people are interesting, when we were there, during Saturdays and Sundays, they would just put us aside. They told us, these two days were their legal holidays. They would really go away to spend their holidays and let we, the guests do whatever we want!" "Russia, the atmosphere is dignified, the pace of people's life is slow." Both Mr. Zhang and I visited the United States. We all felt that China's atmosphere was more exciting. "We are a developing country, not advanced yet" said Mr. Zhangjian, "But you can feel that it is going forward everyday."
We also shared our hobbies. Mr. Zhangjian likes playing football and swimming. As a middle-aged person, he plays football everyweek. And he likes swimming in the sea, especiall in big wind day when the sea is proud.
We spent a great time together. Our conversation continued in the dinner table that day, and my husband also joined...

2008 Christmas party is expectful

We are not professional in performing on stage. But we like watching our school fellows whatever they perform. Every Christmas party for us is a time to enjoy our own "star".
Students now are praticing their programms: dancing, skit, choir and so on. Each year we will have some jokes in the party. I recalled one Christmas party, in a skit, a student came up to the stage, he acted as a policeman. He found a thief there. He should have shouted out "Stay still! I am police!". But for some reason, he shouted out "Stay still! I am a thief!" all of us laughed and laughed. But he was on the stage, totally not conscious of what happened.
Believers of our HBI church will always invite some unbelievers to join our party.
As we all know, the true star of our Christmas Party is Christ Jesus.