Geoff Chan

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It has been an emotionally charged week. First, it was Hurricane Irene, a menace that caused wide-spread power outage.  Because of Irene, we had to cancel the “Welcome New Students” activity scheduled for Saturday evening.  It was a huge disappointment and a heart-wrenching decision.  After all, a lot of work had been put into the event, and rescheduling to a later date just seems to have lost the impact of having the event at the beginning of the school year.  But the Lord knows best.  Had we proceeded with the event, we would have been in total darkness when the church lost power that evening.

Then it was the Baptismal service on Sunday evening.  Four ladies from the Chinese Ministry, including seven-year old-Eileen, were baptized that evening.  Each of the three other ladies gave a clear testimony about their faith.  Each one spoke of their commitment to walk a new life in Christ.  It was exciting standing side-by-side with them in the baptistery, hearing how God worked in each of their lives to bring them to the place of receiving Jesus Christ as their Savior.

But we also had to say goodbye to Eric and Wen that evening as they are moving to Texas this week.  Many at Immanuel will remember that on December 5, 1999 when we started the first Chinese worship service at the Mizpah Room, Brian P., who was on security duty that morning, waved at and invited a Chinese family into the Chinese service.  Liang, Lihua and their daughter, Wenshu, were walking down the other side of Thompson Street on the way to look at an apartment on Stuart Avenue, having just arrived in Richmond a few days before.  They came into the service but left before it ended, and nobody knew who they were.  But they came back the next week, and were among the first group of Chinese believers baptized in April 2000. It was a clear indication from the Lord that we were in the right place at the right time.

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As I walked out of the sanctuary last Sunday after the evening service, my cell phone rang. “Uh oh.... I forgot to turn it off again,” I said to myself.  “Good thing it didn’t ring during the service.”  It was an unfamiliar number from out of state.

“Hello, Geoffrey. This is DF.  I just wanted to call you to let you know that I was baptized today at church!”  It was a jubilant voice from the other end.

DF found employment in Richmond several years ago after receiving his PhD from an in-state university.  He met some Christian friends and soon joined the Friday night Bible study at Immanuel.  For the next two years, he actively participated in the Bible study and the Sunday worship service.  He even joined us for a retreat at Lynchburg in 2006.

DF clearly understood the gospel message, and the cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Even though we all believed that God had touched his heart, he did not make the firm commitment to call Jesus his Lord.  In his words, he said, “I had already believed in Jesus Christ while I was in Richmond.  I just could not make myself come out and admit it.”

In 2007 DF left Richmond to start a new job in KS.  The Chinese congregation continued to pray for him, and many like him that had moved away.  DF and I kept in touch from time to time.  I knew that he was attending a Chinese church and Bible study in KS.  And after nearly three years, DF is now a child of God.

He said, “There was something that I really wanted in my life, and I was afraid that I would not get what I wanted if I became a Christian.  But now I realized that God is sovereign, and if God does not want me to have it, I will not get it whether I am a Christian or not.  So I decided that I am not going to let that ‘something’ stop me from calling Jesus Lord.”

“(Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6)

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” (Jim Elliot)

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Last Saturday, I officiated my first church wedding ceremony at Immanuel.  It was a particularly special occasion because the groom was the first person I led to the Lord, and now his wedding was the first one I’ve officiated.

The bride’s parents came all the way from China to celebrate the marriage of their daughter; and Eunice and I had the privilege of representing the groom’s parents because they were unable to come to the States for the ceremony.

Caren C. did an excellent job of coordinating the ceremony. Everything was organized and every move was precisely orchestrated.  She actually made the ceremony seem so effortless, and it would have been if I had not been so nervous. I mispronounced the word “Ecclesiastes” -- I should have chosen a passage from John or Luke, at least that way I would not have mangled the name of a Biblical book.

Becky P. decorated the Fellowship Hall for the reception with lots of flowers, and it was beautiful. Barbara S. and Peiling Z. coordinated all the food, and what a delicious treat that was.  And the pictures that Al C. took, they are beautiful.

This wedding celebration was really a testimony of God’s love in the church family. Becky and Jon were involved in the planning from the start, and the other three ladies, along with their husbands, put together the whole event. And then there was everyone in the Chinese Ministry and other Christian friends who helped with the food.

It reminded me of our own wedding while we were students at the University of Michigan.  Our parents could not attend our wedding, but it was the Christian friends from the Chinese Bible Study Group at UM who helped us with all the preparations -- and that was even before we became believers. What a demonstration of God’s love.

It is my prayer that the love of God, as demonstrated by His people, will open the hearts of the bride’s parents to the Lord.