I spend most of May in Shanghai, and had a very, very good stay. I had a friend from my school come and join me over one weekend, and then one of our members from Woodlands and 2 members from League City with me for the final week. Having them all there was amazingly beneficial. When the 3 were with me during the last week of my stay, I especially noticed a difference for F., the youngest of the group members in Shanghai. She hasn’t spent much time with Christians around her own age, but is mostly with those of us in the group, all of whom are about 15 years older than her. I can see that the time with the younger Christians especially did her a lot of good. I am excited to see what fruit will be borne down the road.

I am hoping to spend more time in Shanghai in the upcoming months, and not let such a long lapse happen between trips again (it was almost 4 months between these 2 trips). The group is doing well, and I was pleased to see their faithfulness while I was away. But at the same time, it is obviously a struggle for them, and the added encouragement of my, or other Christians’, presence is helpful to them. I am giving serious thought to how I might manage to spend more of my time there next year, either through traveling even more frequently than I do now, or through staying for an extended period — perhaps several months during which I take up some language courses. I will appreciate your prayers as I continue to consider the options available to me.

When I returned to Singapore, the 3 who spent the last week in Shanghai returned with me. We had nearly a week to get things ready for the arrival of the rest of the campaign group, who came in yesterday. With them, my two nephews also traveled over, and they will be spending the whole summer with me.

I am excited about this group. They are hard working, they are flexible, and they have a real heart for the members here. Today, we managed to get some doorknocking done in the neighbourhood. At night, despite weary bodies, all of the group members were actively engaging with various members from Woodlands for more than an hour after our Bible class ended. It was good to see the warmth and enthusiasm with this group.

We will have our VBS next week. Do keep us in your prayers.