This morning, for the first time since arriving in Zhengzhou over a year ago, I went to church! On the third Sunday of each month, foreigners from all over Zhengzhou gather for a non-denominational praise and worship meeting, officially called ZZIF (Zhengzhou International Fellowship), at the Sofitel Luxury Hotel. It is limited to non-Chinese people only. In fact, passports have to be presented at the door before entry. This is a government requirement. (Cant have all these Christian foreigners corrupting the minds of the good Chinese people with ideas about loving one another, peace and a positive future!) I went there today with Kari Alisa Kling, from Pennsylvania, who lives in the neighbouring apartment building to mine. Today there were about 100 people in attendance, foreigners from all over the world, including various African nations, India, Bangladesh, UK, Jamaica, South America, Italy, and of course the USA. Alas, I dont think any other Aussies were in attendance. I felt very welcomed, but I wasnt the only new attendee. All newbies were invited to stand at the start of the service and introduce themselves, saying where they were from. It was a very typical contemporary Christian service, very similar in many ways to my Australian church family, Heritage College Church. The praise/worship portion of the service, the singing, was led by a group of mostly Indian singers, with a few others who may have been American or African, accompanied by guitars and a keyboard. There were only three songs, and I knew one of them and soon caught on to the others. There were a few announcements, prayer, an offering, and a Bible-based, inspirational sermon about spiritual gifts by a young Pentecostal pastor from the USA. After that we divided up into 5 groups, with a group leader, to share with each other a little about our own gifts and how we feel called to use our gift for God. A paper was sent around each group for attendees to write down their names and contact details and their spiritual gift, if they wished - no compulsion of course. The group leader of the group I was in was an American man who resembled a real-life Father Christmas, with a long, snowy white beard. He would have probably been about 70, and he is the founder and manager of three baby orphanages in Zhengzhou, called Swallows Nest. They take in orphaned or abandoned babies and care for them until they are old enough for adoption. Im not sure of the rest of the details, but I have his business card, and may see if I can organize some time to do a little volunteering there, perhaps on a Saturday before I go to the kids club class I teach. His office is at an orphanage in the west of Zhengzhou, some distance from where I live. I understand there is also the excellent government-run orphanage for older children in central Zhengzhou, with about 700 children living there! I felt a little embarrassed to get up and take photos during the service today, but I did take one at the conclusion of the service, when people were still gathered in the groups. The other photos are of the interior of the Sofitel. Very modern and luxurious!
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 06:58:59 +0000
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