The Lantern

Thanksgiving, Especially Now


It would be easy in this year of COVID-19 to be anxious, stressed and even bitter about the problems, obstacles and losses we have experienced, rather than to count our blessings. Yet, I hope you’ll join me in thanking and praising the Lamb upon the throne. Jesus is our king for all eternity and he promised to be with us through every storm.

The ChinaSource team has grown together through this season of turmoil. In a recent thanksgiving and praise meeting, one of our team members said he felt the Lord was forming us into a true spiritual community; something more than simply Christian colleagues working together and meeting goals.

The process of seeking his will together has stretched us at times, but the result is a deepening friendships, camaraderie, and fruit that remains. Thank you for praying for the ChinaSource team, board of directors, and our amazing network of volunteers to grow closer to our Lord and to each other as we follow his will and purpose for ChinaSource.

Throughout the course of 2020, we have enjoyed introducing various members of the ChinaSource team; this month we want to feature someone many of you know well. Emerald Lam, one of our longest serving teammates, is our Hong Kong administrator. We are thankful for Emerald’s friendship and constant commitment to excellence. Here’s part of her story:

I was born and raised in Hong Kong, the youngest of two children in an ordinary Hong Kong family with no religion other than that my mom would go to the Tin Hau Temple every Chinese New Year. I didn’t know God until I was a student at a Christian secondary school. One of my teachers led me to believe in Jesus, but my mom disagreed strongly with my faith while I was teenager. Later I left God for many years. I got married and had two daughters. When my younger daughter was small, I took her to a Christian playgroup where I had another opportunity to believe in God.

For many years I worked in the printing business as a secretary.  Just prior to joining ChinaSource, I was a full-time mom for almost three years.  When my oldest daughter started primary school in 2010, one of my friends introduced me to ChinaSource and I started working with Brent Fulton on a part-time basis. 

There is a lot of variety to what I do—administrative duties, accounting, and coordinating meetings and events. I am grateful for this opportunity to rejoin the workplace in a way that allows me to have a good balance between work and family.    

We know from church history, God’s word, and our own experience, that when a shaking season comes, God is mightily at work. We find ourselves in the midst of a great gospel moment, when the dark is getting darker, but the transforming light is getting brighter and Jesus is on the move for the nations. We are humbled in the knowledge that God has graciously placed ChinaSource in a position to be a bridge of unity between the Chinese and global church, and we are thankful to serve with you in this harvest season!

Kerry Schottelkorb
President

Ways to Pray

  • Praise God with us that he has been powerfully guiding the team and quickening the ministry of ChinaSource through what has been a perilous year on many levels.
  • Thank our Heavenly Father with us for graciously positioning ChinaSource to serve the church in China in this crisis season.
  • We are grateful to have some qualified and enthusiastic candidates for the ChinaSource Donor Relations Manager position. Pray the Lord will call his choice for this position and we will be able to discern his leading.
  • Pray that ChinaSource will grow in interaction and engagement with mainland believers—both in China and overseas—in ways that facilitate their speaking more directly to and with the global church.
  • Pray that ChinaSource publications and posts will continue to be a blessing and encouragement to those who read them in China and throughout the world.

News and Notes

Online Event

The Role of Confucian and Christian Dialogue in the China Puzzle

Join us for the third lecture in our ongoing joint series this coming Sunday, November 22 at 4:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time). This lecture, titled “The Role of Confucian and Christian Dialogue in the China Puzzle” and organized by the China Academic Consortium, focuses on the family as the core of both Confucian and Christian civilization. The presenter, Dr. Diane Obenchain, is an expert on Confucian tradition and the director of the China Initiative at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California. For more information and to register go here.

ChinaSource Team News

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Image credit: Mike via Flickr.
ChinaSource Team

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Written, translated, or edited by members of the ChinaSource staff.          View Full Bio


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