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From the Front Lines: Christmas Volunteer Quotables
January 18, 2005

We asked the Christmas in China volunteers what they learned while in the field. Here are some of their responses.

"I didn’t know that the city where I went even existed, and I didn’t know that I would fall in love with it and in love with the people. And I think maybe I have found my home."

"Experiencing all the different kinds of people we met was amazing. One thing that touched me the most was on several occasions was to see how hungry they are for truth and for knowledge about God. They just don’t know. It was so cool to see them sit across from you with tears in their eyes saying please tell me something about God. We are so fortunate in America to be able to learn about Him."

"I had an opportunity to sit with a brother and sister and actually have Bible study and prayer with them. And as they were praying and singing to the Lord, it was in their own language. I couldn’t understand it, but we were both saying the same thing. It made me realize that God is God of China as well as America, and He is just as concerned with China as He is with us."

"I know that coming, I heard stories about persecuted Christians over here and about people being thrown in jail for their faith, but we actually met somebody who went to jail for their faith. It becomes more real to you when you actually meet someone that has been through that."

"I didn’t know how wonderful the Chinese people really are. They really are the kindest people you will ever meet."

"I remember one night we were walking around the mountain side, and we were almost to a small village. I was pretty tired and knew we had to go quite a distance. I started thinking about the people, and I started breaking down. I wanted to stop, but I knew we had to go on. And here’s what I thought: I thought if normal people, everyday people aren’t willing to go, who will go? People need to know that. They need to open their minds to that. Because over here there is a world full of people who are in great darkness and bondage, and who will do it if we won’t do it?"

"I learned that I didn’t want a watered down faith or a faith that was held back. I wanted a faith like they had."

"We have the answers to eternal life, and we have the answer to the greatest gift to mankind. And at home, we don’t take every opportunity that God puts before us. And how selfish are we to keep the answer. So when I go back, I’m going to be sensitive to what God has and to see the opportunities he has put before us. Have an open heart and see through the eyes of Christ and see the hearts of people. What is our excuse for not sharing the gospel? We have the freedom to do so."

"We visited a Buddhist temple, and it was very appealing to the senses and very beautiful. It struck my why people are Buddhist because it is very appealing to the outside, but there is no truth and there’s no depth to it."

"I learned how in control God is in such an out of control world. God just showed me how he uses everything we do: a smile, a handshake, walking down the street with a school girl who just thinks the world of you. You tell her to trust him, and she wonders 'What’s in this person that I don’t have?' Whether we see it or not, God does."

"One young man walked up to me and he said his friends called him 'Hungry' because he was hungry for knowledge, and I thought, 'Hmm, I have some knowledge for him.' I started to tell him about God. And he stopped me and said, 'Who is God?' That scared me. And that’s the reason why I will be back here. Because if there is someone out here who doesn’t know who God is, then we have a duty to come back."

"I’ve led a bunch of people to the Lord, but to see someone who never had heard of Jesus was amazing."

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