2010!

真冷 zhēn lěng
It has been really cold the past few weeks in Beijing. Many days the highs have been in the mid- to upper-teens and the lows have dipped into negative temps. We would say that the winds reminiscent of the West Texas variety only make it feel colder, but at a certain point it is difficult to discriminate between really cold and really really cold! To further the point, though, snow that fell over a week ago remains on the ground. However, it is certainly not as pretty after a week of dirt and foot and other traffic. Growing up in Texas, the few times we were fortunate enough to see the white stuff, it didn't stick around long. How could it with temperatures that often rose from the upper 20's on the day of a snowfall to the mid fifties the following day? At any rate, we are thankful for our warm apartment and thermal underwear!

Lets Start Talking Team
Just over a week ago the most recent Let's Start Talking Team returned from their two-week mission trip to Beijing. John, Brandy, and Zane Sloan and Paul Reding were such a blessing to work with. They read the Gospel with over 35 individuals and made several new contacts for us to follow up with. The Sloans are some of our best friends and came from our sending congregation, Garden RIdge Church of Christ, so were especially thrilled to see them. Getting to know Paul was also a tremendous blessing. This team came during the Christmas and New Year holidays and we are thankful for their service. if you are interested in coming to Beijing for two weeks or longer to share the Gospel by helping the Chinese to practice English, then check out www.lst.org.

Susan's Studies
Susan has stayed busy recently with several individual studies and one group study with women she has met. For the past few weeks on Sunday afternoons, Susan has been meeting with Jessie, who Rebecca Thompson (a Garden RIdge member) has been studying online with though the World English Institute. Small world, huh. She also started meting with Zhang Xui Jie, who is one of the young ladies who works in our building as an elevator attendant. We found out that she was practicing English on her own, so God opened a door. Last week Susan also started studying with our Chinese teacher, Bai Laoshi. She has been to two Christmas parties with the church, has met other Christians, and even owns five Bibles that she might read on a rainy day, but this is the first time she has ever studied the Bible with anyone!

Lastly, Susan has been continuing the Wednesday morning study with a group of women that her and Katherine have been involved in for several months. Last week the ladies studied Luke 5:27-32 and 6:46-49 and they were very interested in the stories of Jesus associating with sinners and of the wise and foolish builders. The women seem to really enjoy the studies and spending time with Susan and Kat.

Monday Nights
Our Monday night studies continue to go really well. We average 10-12 in attendance and we have a lot of in depth conversations about the Gospel of John. In addition to reading the text in English, we have believers from the Church who read it and discuss it in Chinese, so that the points aren't lost in translation. We also pray with our group each week and are excited to see how God is revealing Himself to our seeking friends. This week our text was the death and resurrection of Lazarus. It was one of the best groups we have had in some time, though the text was one of the most challenging to date.

Fresh Start
Beginning January 4th, Susan and I started over in our language studies. We decided that it was important to repeat the first class because we realize we missed a bunch and we want to grasp the basics more fully. Already, we are feeling more confident and are picking up things that will really help us!

2010
We rang in the New Year by watching a celebration on Chinese television. A countdown is a countdown, right. The cool things is we understood it... yes, I know numbers are some of the easiest and most basic things we learned, but it was still cool to us. We asked you a few weeks ago to be praying for us as we prepared to make a decision about what we will do at the end of our one-year missions internship. Thanks so much for praying! We want to let you know that after much prayer and waiting, we have decided to return to the U.S. sometime in July. We have rediscovered our passion for working with teens and their families in the past few months and plan to pursue an opportunity to serve together again in youth ministry. We ask for you to continue praying as we seek to discover the when's and where's of God's leading.

in His love,
John, Susan, and Nash Cooper

Seasons Greetings from China

It has been a couple of weeks since our last update, so here's the latest...

Family
Susan has been struggling with Bronchitis on and off for about three weeks. She has been to a doctor, taken medicine, tried to get some rest, etc, but the healing has just been slow. I am sure that the pollution and cold weather are not helping. We ask for your prayers that Susan will soon experience a full recovery. Nash is doing well. He has grown so much and is slowly beginning to speak more and more words in Chinese and English. It is really fun to watch him grow and to see his personality develop. Please continue to pray for us as we pray about our lives beyond this year. We are pleading for God's wisdom and direction for our family following our one-year missions internship here in Beijing and are confident that He will reveal it to us in time. This Sunday, we were blessed with a suitcase full of gifts and much needed items from the U.S. We are so thankful for the love and generosity of our friends and family.

Monday Nights
Our Monday night group continues to go really well. Each week we have ten to twelve guests in our home. We have a few Christians who come because they want to help us lead the group and translate deeper discussion points in Chinese, but the majority of the participants come because they are interested in Christianity and enjoy the opportunity to practice their English. We love it when the group takes off on a question or thought in Chinese. Although we might not understand, we know that the message is more powerful for the listener when heard in a native tongue.

Two weeks ago we had some of the best discussion thus far. One of the ladies asked, "If Jesus lived so many years ago, how can we hear the message of God today?" It was a great opportunity to point back to the Word of God and to highlight the responsibility of every believer in Jesus to share the Gospel with his or her friends and neighbors! Also, we continue to explore the idea of grace and forgiveness verses revenge and punishment. These kinds of discussions are such a blessing and cause us to continually rely on the message of Scripture for truth and understanding. We are sharpened each week as we share with our friends.

Lets Start Talking
Paul Reding (from Tennessee) arrived along with some of our best friends in the world, John, Brandy, and Zane Sloan from Lewisville. They were our next door neighbors for a while and are members at our sending congregation, Garden Ridge Church of Christ. We are thrilled that they are here. They signed up to read with about 30 readers on Sunday and are hoping to add even more in the next two weeks. However many individuals they connect with, we know for certain that they will be sharing the love of Jesus and planting seeds! Please pray for this team. They will be here until January 3rd and are celebrating Christmas with us instead of their families this year. We are grateful for this sacrifice.

Christmas Time in the City
Last Sunday the Wangjing Church hosted its annual Christmas Service and Party. It was a wonderful day in which over 100 individuals heard the Gospel message that is often overlooked in China's minimal acknowledgement of Christmas. There was also great food, fellowship, and fun. There were many visitors (including our Chinese Teacher, Bai Laoshi) and it is our prayer that many of them will return and come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Beijing is busy and bustling with the commercialism of Christmas. While many of the stores decorate with Christmas trees, lights, etc and we hear holiday tunes in Chinese everywhere we go, we pray that Jesus will be revealed and glorified in the midst of a season that so often exploits Him.

This Monday night we hosted our group as usual, but took a break from the games to share pizza, cookies, and tea. We played Uno for two hours and had a great night enjoying the company of one another.

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

With love from Beijing,
John, Susan, and Nash Cooper

Update

Hello,

It has been a couple of weeks since our last update, so we thought we would share what has been going on with us lately. We pray that you and your family are doing well and that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Language School
Language school continues to go well. We are moving through the material quickly and will be half way through our second textbook early next week. Because we are going through the lessons so fast, we have thought about repeating the beginners’ course when we complete the second of two books that it covers. Just the other day I met a young man who told me that when a foreigner learns their language the Chinese think of him more as a brother. It reminded me of how important our language studies are, so please continue to pray for us in this area.

Monday Nights
Our Monday night group continues to go well. Each week we have about ten people in attendance and many are asking questions and seeking to understand the truth of Scripture. This Monday we talked about how God helps us to have faith to know Jesus based on a teaching from John chapter six. At the end of our meeting, we prayed that God would help each one present to know Jesus.

Our teammates, Katherine Gould, Marcus Riley, and Yi Yue (Alex), also started a study on Saturday nights a couple of weeks ago. Please lift them up in prayer as well. Several of the seekers we know are so thirsty to learn more that they actually attend both groups!

Individual Studies
Susan and I are still trying to meet and study with individuals and couples who have either read with LST before or though other connections. For example, last week Susan met Jessie, one of Rebecca Thompson’s students from World Bible School’s online classes. She really enjoyed getting to know her a little and plans to follow-up with her in the coming weeks. Please pray that God will continue to open up opportunities for us to share God’s Word in a more personal manner.

Holiday Season
We are excited about the Holiday season, but will miss getting to spend it with our families. We were blessed, however, by getting to celebrate an early Christmas party at the Jackson’s apartment before they left for the U.S. All of our teammates were able to gather, eat some good food, and exchange Christmas ornaments. It was a wonderful evening!

On Friday, our team is meeting at our apartment to share a Thanksgiving meal. Everyone is bringing several dishes and it looks like we are going to have quite a feast. Katherine is planning to record the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the football games on her SlingBox, so we should be able to watch those together, as well!

Help is on the Way
John, Brandy, and Zane Sloan and Paul Reding are scheduled to arrive in Beijing on December 19th for their two-week Let’s Start Talking campaign. We are so excited to see the Sloans (some of our very best friends) and to meet Paul. Please pray for them and those that they will meet during their stay. I am confident all will be blessed!

Decisions
We are not really setting a time limit on it, but are growing closer to making a decision about our plans beyond our internship year in Beijing. We would really appreciate you praying with us, as we look for God’s will and leading in our lives. We will keep you informed and will share our plans, as they become clearer to us.

Thanks for keeping up with us and for being our partners in ministry. We love you and miss you and pray the best for you and your family.

In His Love,
John, Susan, and Nash Cooper