Many Chinese see Mao Zedong as a hero, while many Westerners see him as anything but. However, to understand China's new era, we must try to understand why the Chinese people continue to honor Mao and his legacy.
In all our discussions on what to sing or study, when and where to meet and for how long, to have snacks or not, who was to teach—there was never a thought of not meeting.
Everyone who has been to China, or met a Christian from China, or read or heard something about Christians in China, has a story to tell. But no one has the whole story.
Re-entering a country that is “home” can be confusing. There is an unlearning—a releasing of some of the strategies that were only needed in a place with different rules and ways of living. We do not return as people who have stayed as we were before we left. There are things to shed; there are things to keep.
Rites of passage are supposed to be passed through—they serve as gateways to the next stage of life. Yet too many of our Hui friends see them as closed doors, barriers to entering new life in Christ.
Having been back in Australia for a few months now, we have well and truly entered the stage of transition that follows the initial happy honeymoon phase—and have plunged down on the reverse culture shock curve.
While insensitive cross-cultural work has often resulted in closed doors or deportation, sensitive and authentic cross-cultural work has time and again won over the hearts of the Chinese people.
How did you feel the first time you visited a “foreigner’s” home? Were you nervous? Did you find yourself wondering what to wear, what food would be served, and whether to bring a gift? Perhaps you are more often the host. How do you help your cross-cultural guests feel at ease?
Partnership is for a limited time as the national church learns to tap into previously unnoticed local resources. A successful partnership takes time and trust.
What is the most important thing I would want someone going to China to know?
The experiences of the few remaining expatriate cross-cultural workers in China suggest that while we are not at the end of Christian development work in China, we are confronted with a substantially different ministry context.
As we stop to listen, as we hear the Chinese people’s stories, as we discover for ourselves Chinese history, as we put ourselves in China’s shoes, the Chinese context and therefore their practices and worldview become more understandable.