The Saints Are The Same :)

Welp! The church is true :) haha. (Oh I forgot to tell you, my two beautiful roommates decided that for their situations home was the right place to be, so they’ve headed back to the states, and I got a new one named Sabrina!). Sabrina is an inactive member who has so graciously agreed to come to church with me once a month (though I know she’ll be coming more ;D). We tried mapping it out, and it was going to take about an hour and a half to get to church on the bus, or a 30 minute taxi drive. Once a week round trip, that was gonna be a bit pricy (280 Yuan which is about $45 a month) so we decided bus was the best way :) However, I was really confused at how to use the bus routes, so we decided to take the taxi the first time so we actually knew what building we were supposed to be at haha. We got there on time and walked in to a big conference center. It’s so crazy though, at the beginning of every meeting, whoever is presiding has to announce this:

“The Chinese government requires that all religious activities in China comply with relevant laws and regulations. Our church’s twelfth article of faith states: ‘We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.’ With that in mind, please note that: 1) our church’s international member group religious activities in China are limited to FOREIGN PASSPORT HOLDERS and their immediate family members ONLY; 2) our international members do not proselyte in any way among Chinese nationals in China; and 3) our international members do not disseminate religious materials to Chinese nationals in China Your strict observance of these policies is essential for us to build a long term foundation of trust with the government authorities in China.”

And the saddest story you’ll ever hear? There was a Chinese girl dressed very western who just moved in from Scotland. She was telling the branch president that she joined the church 3 years ago while going to school in Scotland, so he asked if that was where her passport was from. She said no, she’s Chinese. He said he knew that, but he needed to know what type of visa she had. She said once again, “chinese”. Because it wasn’t a foreign passport, he had to tell her that she couldn’t come to church. She protested and said that she moved to this area so she could be close to the branch! But he couldn’t let her stay L It made me want to cry! Luckily, they do have a few Chinese branches, but they aren’t related in any way to the English branches, so he had to find a member who’s mother-in-law was attending the Chinese branch so they could talk. He’s actually not allowed to know where it is. I can’t wait until the laws of the land change…

But on a happier note, Branch President Larkin and his wife, Monique, are angels! They apparently live only 10 minutes away from us! (Which is AMAZING for Chinese branches). The said that they would have their driver, Mr. Pan, pick us up every Sunday for church so we wouldn’t have to 1) wake up at 5:30 to get ready, and 2) pay for a bus or taxi! They brought us home and had dinner ready for us, then got two huge grocery bags and filled it with tons of food they didn’t need, drove us around the area we live in so we would know what was accessible to us. They also gave us bus routes to get to those places! They were so wonderful I wanted to cry with thanks. Plus, Sabrina loved the spirit that she felt at church, she said she would come more often! "It makes you feel good, such positive energy" hahaha. Where there’s a will to go to church, the Lord always provides away…and dumps a bucket full of other blessings as well :)