“For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
In our last newsletter, I shared with you that CWEF was going through a process of re-registering the organization in China to comply with new laws regulating foreign non-profits in China. I am sorry to report that we are still awaiting approval from the Education Bureau of Yunnan to approve our application so that we can move forward to re-establish a representative office. In late spring, our contact at the Education Bureau had given us verbal confirmation that they would approve our application, but our application is unfortunately still stuck in bureaucracy. So, we continue to wait and pray, confident that God is with us in the waiting and is using this momentary struggle to achieve His purpose in us and in the world.
Recently, I was able to witness a wonderful way that He is working out His purpose, particularly in the life of Summer, the young woman we asked you to pray for in the previous newsletter. Summer was formerly a CWEF High School Scholarship recipient and university intern, and she is now working with a volunteer team of her peers to launch a local non-profit in Guangdong province. Summer has been reading the Bible, exploring Christianity, and asking questions for some time now. Dolphin, our long-time CWEF staff, has been witnessing to and mentoring Summer. In late spring, Josh was able to celebrate together with Summer, along with Dolphin and her family, as she was welcomed into God’s family through the waters of Holy Baptism. What a gift! It is exciting to look forward to the years ahead. Summer will able to influence many peers and young adults connected to this new organization, as she lives out her faith and is a witness to God’s great love in Jesus.
We are also very excited about the launch of ‘Shining Star’, the new organization Summer will be leading. Their main work will be to run the GROW program, which mobilizes volunteers to provide care for left-behind children, whose parent(s) live and work in other cities. CWEF will be supporting Shining Star with start-up funding as they get their feet under them and develop a stronger local donor base. Shining Star will also be working with CWEF to provide trained volunteer resources for other programs.
In the coming weeks and months, we will be…
- …holding our annual Team Meeting for all CWEF staff. (late August)
- …running our annual collaboration with Concordia International School Shanghai – the TrIBES service learning trips, which include volunteer service work at CWEF project sites in rural China. (late September)
In family news, we had a wonderful time in the U.S. in late June and early July as we attended the Lange Family Reunion and connected with friends and family in the Midwest and on the West Coast. Coco and I are really enjoying John as he grows up, especially in recent months as his language skills have developed more rapidly. We get a lot of laughs at his seamless mixing of Chinese and English words into his sentences, such as: “我们do it!” (“Let’s do it!”).
PRAYER REQUESTS
- For CWEF’s organization re-registration process in China.
- For CWEF’s board of directors and regional LCMS leadership – wisdom as they seek out a new permanent executive director for CWEF and potentially other positions as well.
- For LCMS’s new Asia regional leaders, particularly Rev. Charles Ferry and Kendall Cortwright, as they carry out their roles as regional director and interim business manager, respectively.
- For our upcoming CWEF Team Meeting, that God would allow it to be a source of deep blessing, direction, encouragement and energy for everyone involved.
- For the upcoming TrIBES trips together with Concordia Shanghai, that God would allow the connection between team members and local project participants to be filled with meaningful service, learning and witnessing opportunities.
- Thanksgiving for Summer’s faith and baptism.
- For all the people connected to CWEF’s work, that the Spirit would be working in their lives.
Thank you so much for your support!
Josh + Coco + John // lcms.org/lange