post-mission part 2

so after we were done with the first camp on the mountain, we went back to city part of chengdu where our hotel was. we walked around the streets close to our hotels, got some crossing-bridge noodles for dinner, and of course super cheap ice cream! we rested for the rest of the night because of the tour we would be joining next day morning. we went to many places for the tour, though most of them were ancient tourist sites, where there are bunches of history behind it, and for those who dont understand chinese, it was pretty boring of course. after the tour, we decided to watch sichuan opera, along with some other traditional chinese performance, i.e. traditional chinese instruments. it was pretty interesting, though it was really hard to understand exactly what they were talking about during the opera.

early in the morning next day, we went to the family church that some of the staff members go to. it was in an apartment, not too big, only about 30ish people including us. we sang hymn together, the same one for a while, and they only have a keyboard for accompaniment. yet one can tell that they are truly devoted to God, because they were praising God with inner voice, fearing that others might report them to the government. it reminds of one of the messages that i heard earlier this year, where the pastor was talking about how people from places with great persecution have more faith than those who have freedom in their practice of religion. i think we have been taking for grant of our freedom in the US, our praise teams, our pastorals, our mentors, our church buildings. seeing them worshiping God wholeheartedly despite that they couldnt even praise from the top of their lungs, how much more should we be glorifying God with His blessings!

pastor hii gave a sermon that morning, it was about absolute value as opposed to relative values. absolute values are things that will last forever, that will never change, their values are unchangeable from anyone's perspective, such as the truth, while relative values are things that will differ in the domain of time, might change depending on situation and people, such as one's hobbies. what i gotten out of it is that relative values are what make us unique, make us special and different from others, yet also separate us from others, forming different interest groups. people who like to play tennis, for example, would tend to have more conversations with those know about that, would tend to spend more time together because they share similar interests. they value tennis more than those who know little or nothing about it, thats their relative value. on the other hand, the word from God has absolute value, it doesnt change over time. it has the same value among people, though some might not treat it that way, it wouldnt diminish its value because it is the truth from God, who is not constrained by space or time.

as for application, i guess its about relationship with God and with others. if we are building relationships based on relative values, they are not likely to last that long, though there are some cases where people are very passionate about what they like. but if we are building relationships based on absolute values, they will last forever. i think thats how Christians from Acts could come together and worship God despite of their backgrounds, their social status, their wealth, their burdens, even in the mist of persecution! looking back at my relationships with some people, i didnt really understand why they have turned out the way they are, but i guess its because they were built on something that can change easily, whether they were hobbies, passions, or feelings. relationships can easily break as soon as there is a dissonance in relative values. it is really easy to be drawn to those who share same relative values, but we should be careful that those are not the foundation of relationship, for the only solid foundation that will last is the corner stone, Jesus Christ. this is something i should pray more about.

and the second camp began later that afternoon.

to be continued in part 3....