On The Train To China

SEND International has a ministry in Russia to the Chinese population here. Many of these people don't speak much Russian (or English!) so it is difficult to reach out to them. Last week, a group of Chinese Christians (who live in Russia) along with two westerners, took the train from Moscow to Ulan Ude to share Jesus (in Mandarin) with the Chinese passengers. They booked tickets all the way to Bejing (even though they got off before) so that they could be in the same train cars as those who were heading to Bejing. This was a strategic time, as the Chinese New Year begins next week, and many travel home to be with their families.

There were 50-60 Chinese passengers on board, and after 4 days and nights of traveling and sharing with them, 15 made decisions to follow Christ with their lives (many in the last hours of the trip). It is hard to follow-up with these people, as the nature of the ministry is while traveling, but the exciting thing is that many people who've made decisions for Christ from past train trips are still strong in their faith. In just a few years, a Chinese church in Krasniarsk grew from 5 to 70... plus many of the believers have since gone back to China.

And then, after they arrived in Ulan-Ude, this group met with some of the Chinese population here, and 4 more made decisions for Christ! Many Chinese people are hungry to hear the good news of Jesus and respond readily. It is neat to think of how they are being reached in Russia!

The picture is of three of these Chinese Chistians singing a song at church on Sunday. The picture behind them is one of the chalk drawings from the VTI team that was here a few weeks ago.