Finding God in China

2011 was a good year for the Smiths

2011 has had a lot of bad press lately. Most of the TV people are saying "good riddance", but 2011 was a good year for our ministry and our family. We finished the year with an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) Family Camp in Baguio, Philippines. We had over 100 in attendance, and the couples in attendance went through a "I still say 'I do'" seminar. We ended the camp with a real wedding (a couple who had been together for 10 years and had a 9 year old son) and a renewal of vows for the other couples there. Parents and siblings of OFWs accepted Christ, marriages were restored, and the camp was great success. Thank you for praying! We are grateful to our US Churches who gave special offerings to support the Family Camp. God used you to touch the lives of these OFW families. 

OFW Family Camp topped off a good year for the Smiths and our ministry, Arrow Employment Services. I've created a collage (below) to show a few of the highlights of our year. I hope you can match the event to the pictures.

• we conducted numerous "pre employment seminars" in the Philippines, at which many ladies not only found work, they also found the Lord.
• our church, Jubilee Int'l Filipino Fellowship (JIFF) was officially accepted into CBAP (Conservative Baptist Association Philippines) as a member church. We'll apply to HKCBA this year.
• Allan and Ione went to Thailand for some meetings and stayed over for a couple of days to do some fun activities like elephant riding and zip-lining.
• Ethan went to China with his school, and in September, was admitted to International Christian School (a huge answer to prayer for our family, since he has struggled in the Chinese schools)
• Colleen spent a month + in China to work on her Mandarin and is returning for another 2 months tomorrow.
• Jennifer and Ethan moved out of our home into a village house about 45 minutes from here. Ethan spends most weekends with us, and we treasure the time with him, and also the time apart! (Grandparents, you know what I mean).
• We opened Arrow, Philippines, rented a house there, and now have our trainer, Nely, living there full time, training ladies and ministering to their needs.
• Arrow celebrated 5 years of operation with a party, and lots of food. Around 200 people attended the worship celebration and party.
• Ione and I visited the US, visited my parents and celebrated dad's 90th birthday! We spoke in a few churches, attended meetings in Denver, and took a day trip to Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods.

Thanks so much for praying for us and supporting our ministry.

Allan and Ione, Hong Kong

Has it been 5 years already?

We've been doing business as mission (BAM) for a bit more than 5 years now. As a result there is a vibrant Filipino church and this December we're sponsoring a family camp (Dec. 27-30) to reach out to the families of overseas workers. Pastor Jorge made a short video of our 5th Anniversary celebration.

 

Family News: Our oldest daughter Jennifer and our grandson Ethan moved out into their own place this month. They are living in a village about an hour from our home. Its a few degrees of separation, but it is still a huge change for all of us. Please pray for them and us. Below is a picture we took at Jen's house as we celebrated her birthday last week. (pictured: Ione, Colleen and Jen) Thanks for praying!  Allan and Ione

 

News from Jubilee International Fellowship

 

When Ione and I returned from the States on October 11, we were pleased to see that a baptism had been scheduled for the next Sunday. (video above)  A typhoon signal had been hoisted and the surf was really heavy. At Jubilee International Filipino Fellowship we ask the sisters to do the baptism, but in this case I helped to prevent anyone from washing out to sea.

The ladies who are doing the baptism are called the "godmothers", and according to Filipino culture they know that they also have the responsibility to do as much as possible to help the new disciple get well established as a follower of Jesus. 

For all of October our church is focusing on missions. It is so exciting to see these new Christians begin to have a burden for the nations. Most of them have not been Christians more than 2 years but already they are thinking of themselves as missionaries, who God has placed in the homes of Hong Kong employers. They want to be salt and light, and hope that they can demonstrate the love and power of God to their employers. 

Please pray for Pastor Jorge and Bolen as they lead the church. Pray for Beverly and Shy who work with new arrivals and new believers. 

Thank you for praying!

Allan and Ione, Hong Kong

You are closely connected to China whether you know it or not

This post is strictly informational. It's not about church or mission, but about some things happening in China that are going to touch your pocketbook, and the US economy in big ways. I'm writing this in an effort to inform, not influence. I love China, but I think its important for people in the US to understand how inter-connected we are, and how much moves by the Chinese government can effect us. With these recent moves, it seems unlikely that US manufactoring will be able to make a comeback. Read on, to learn why. 

This article is about China's grip on "rare earth minerals" (they control 95% of these minerals), and what that means for us. The Chinese government has decided to essentially nationalize this industry and restrict the export of them to other countries, so that is going to force the rest of the world to move their high tech and green industries to China. It is also sending the cost of goods made with "rare earth' minerals through the roof. 

China Consolidates Grip on Rare Earths
New York Times
By KEITH BRADSHER BEIJING — In the name of fighting pollution, China has sent the price of compact fluorescent light bulbs soaring in the United States. Matt Rourke/Associated Press The price of compact fluorescent light bulbs has risen drastically in ...
See all stories on this topic »

Let me know what you think.  

WorldVenture is Awesome

Ione and I are currently at WorldVenture's home office for a time of debriefing. While we are here we are also learning about some of their new ministries. Wow! WorldVenture is doing some very innovative and effective things around the world. If your family or your church has members under 30, check out Journey Corps. Its an awesome way for young people to learn culture, language and develop a heart for missions. Transformational Ventures is also very cool and is related to what we are doing in Hong Kong. Here's a short video from the myjourneycorps.com website:

Beautiful Things from Journey Corps on Vimeo.

 

Money Talks

At JIFF (Jubilee International Filipino Fellowship) we've just started a month long emphasis on money.  The members of our church earn less than US $500/month. They have left their families to work in HK because of poverty. Learning to manage money in a godly way is essential. Last Sunday when we started the series, I gave them a pop quiz. One of the questions was:

  "I have a broken relationship (family or friend) because of money issues. (T/F).

I think almost everyone there answered yes. This week our homework is simply to track our income and expenses, a fairly simple thing, right? After the service one of our members, Rosie, came up to me and showed me her notebook. Here is the essence of what she said:

"Pastor, is this what you mean?" Her notebook had a detailed record of all of her spending. "I was so happy when you passed out the expense record sheet," she went on. "My employer taught me to do this." (We encourage HK Chinese employers to teach their helpers about money, because they are fantastic manager's of money. This employer took my request seriously.) "My employer taught me how to save money by finding bargains, avoiding name brands, etc. and then she had me save the savings in the bank." Here's the kicker. Rosie went on, "My savings saved the life of my brother." Her brother had acute appendicitis. In the Philippines the hospitals will let you die rather than treat you if you don't have money. Because Rosie had saved up money, she was able to wire it immediately to the hospital, who then took out her brother's ruptured appendix. They told her, "a delay of one day and your brother would have been dead." 

This is the reality of the lives of most of our church members. Many of them have had family members die of preventable illnesses because they have no money. When an American suffers a stroke, we often recover because we get immediate and adequate health care. In the Philippines stroke victims spend the rest of their lives without the use of half of their bodies, being cared for by family members. 

One of the big questions people have is "Does God care about me and my family?" "Does He have anything to say about money? 

Our church and ministry is highly gospel centric. We are seeing many people come to Christ and become dedicated followers of Jesus. We will not move "off center", but our members desperately need to learn what the Bible says about how to view and handle money. I hope you'll pray for us this month.

---------------------

Ione and I are travelling to the States on Aug 11th. We'll be in the Washington, Oregon area until the end of September. We are planning to visit a few churches, go the home office for some debriefing, and get some much need R & R with our family.  Before we leave in 10 days we have around 3 weeks worth of work to do! Please pray for us. Our stress level is through the roof.

A NOTE OF PRAISE: Our grandson, Ethan, age 10, was admitted to International Christian School here in HK. It is difficult to get in, with long waiting lists, and we are grateful to God for this answered prayer.

Help! We lost our car!

Ione and I are booked to fly back to Portland, OR. on Aug 11,2011 and will be staying until October 14. We booked the WorldVenture NW Office loaner car to use during our stay.  The NW Office has just informed us that we can't have the car. The family using the car now, has had a medical problem, and they are not going to leave according to their previous plan, so we can't have the car. Yipes!

We need to borrow or lease a car. If we lease it will be expensive, so we want to check with you all to see if anyone has access to a car that we could borrow/rent for 6 weeks.  If you can help us out, please drop us an email at worldventurer@gmail.com or smithione@hotmail.com. 

And even if you don't have a car to loan us, would you please ask God to provide one for us? Thanks for praying!

Allan and Ione Smith, Hong Kong

Help! We lost our car!

Ione and I are booked to fly back to Portland, OR. on Aug 11,2011 and will be staying until October 14. We booked the WorldVenture NW Office loaner car to use during our stay.  The NW Office has just informed us that we can't have the car. The family using the car now, has had a medical problem, and they are not going to leave according to their previous plan, so we can't have the car. Yipes!

We need to borrow or lease a car. If we lease it will be expensive, so we want to check with you all to see if anyone has access to a car that we could borrow/rent for 6 weeks.  If you can help us out, please drop us an email at worldventurer@gmail.com or smithione@hotmail.com. 

And even if you don't have a car to loan us, would you please ask God to provide one for us? Thanks for praying!

Allan and Ione Smith, Hong Kong

Help! We lost our car!

Ione and I are booked to fly back to Portland, OR. on Aug 11,2011 and will be staying until October 14. We booked the WorldVenture NW Office loaner car to use during our stay.  The NW Office has just informed us that we can't have the car. The family using the car now, has had a medical problem, and they are not going to leave according to their previous plan, so we can't have the car. Yipes!

We need to borrow or lease a car. If we lease it will be expensive, so we want to check with you all to see if anyone has access to a car that we could borrow/rent for 6 weeks.  If you can help us out, please drop us an email at worldventurer@gmail.com or smithione@hotmail.com. 

And even if you don't have a car to loan us, would you please ask God to provide one for us? Thanks for praying!

Allan and Ione Smith, Hong Kong

New Arrivals Class

We've started a "New Arrivals Class" on Sundays. This 4 week class is designed to help Filipinos who have just arrived in Hong Kong to deal with the culture, to overcome homesickness, and adjust to the demands of their new jobs. We've asked some of our emerging young leaders to also attend, so that they can make friends with the new arrivals, pray for and encourage them. We hope that after the 4 week class, new small groups will naturally form around our emerging leaders.

Please pray for our new arrivals, and the young leaders who are eager to care for them. Ask God to give these new arrivals a good transition to Hong Kong, and a growing faith in Christ. Ask God to help the leaders be "good big sisters" in the Lord. Thank you for praying.

Allan and Ione , Hong Kong

Travel Plans: We'll be in the States during Aug and Sep. Allan flies Aug 11 - Sep 30. Ione's flights are not yet nailed down.