“When God leads, Follow”
🌱Host: Hello everyone! I'm Livia. I'm so happy to have the opportunity to chat with Pastor Rain and Bosco today. I know your team went to California to visit churches in January. When did you start planning this trip?
🍄Rain: We’ve visited California annually for vision sharing and ministry reports since 2016. Due to the pandemic starting in early 2020, we were unable to travel for the past two years. We felt the time was right to visit the pastors and brothers and sisters who’ve been faithfully supporting us.
🌱Host: What was the goal of this journey?
🍄Bosco: We had 18 visually impaired college students and children with autism in urgent need of financial assistance. We hoped to find sponsors for them in California. The total amount of financial assistance needed was about $20,000.
🌱Host: January happened to be the peak period of Omicron. What pressure or impact did this have on you?
🍄Rain: When we were ready, the Omicron was here! It was so aggressive we were urged to postpone the trip! But we felt God’s clear leading, and I had already agreed to preach and share in Sunday worship services and gatherings at many churches, so by faith we moved forward.
🌱Host: The pandemic has been severe, what emergency response did the churches in California take? How did you guys deal with it?
🍄Bosco: Some churches temporarily canceled physical gatherings and changed to online meetings. We adjust accordingly. We shared online and asked supporters to call us directly to sponsor students. Thank the Lord! Six or seven students were funded over the phone.
🌱Host: Did this journey achieve your goals?
🍄Rain: Thank God! The good work that He started will be accomplished. Not only were all 18 children with special needs funded, but we also received donations to support both our ministry in the field and at our headquarters. God’s grace and provisions are abundant--far beyond what we can imagine or request!
🌱Host: How can churches and friends continue to support RM’s work in China?
🍄Bosco: Prayer support is crucially important as policies in the field keep changing. Only God can enable our work to be carried forward. We also encourage everyone to provide financial support. You may call us and donate with a credit card. Or you can use Zelle or mail a check to us.
🌱Host: Can you share some of your unforgettable experiences during this journey or something you learned?
🍄Rain: I remember one Sunday, there were not many people attending the worship service. Our volunteers were disappointed. I always believe that we should do our best and God will take care of the rest. After preaching and sharing the needs of the children, I went to the RM booth to see if I could help with anything. I was very surprised and excited to find brothers and sisters lining up, waiting to sponsor children. In less than an hour, several children received sponsors, and the total donation that day exceeded $10,000. There were also many who took the initiative to email or call us directly to financially assist the children. I was greatly touched by the grace of God and the love and enthusiasm of brothers and sisters!
🍄Bosco: In addition, I also particularly appreciate the importance of teamwork. Thank the Lord for preparing a good team for our trip to California, whether it was the diligent preparation work of the Seattle staff before departure, or the loving support of our California representatives. We all tried our best to help--uniting in prayer, cooperating and supporting each other in serving, and experiencing God’s grace and blessings together!
🌱Host: Wow! Very inspiring! I hope I’ll have the opportunity to join you guys in the future. I invite you to join the RM team and bless children with special needs in China! Thank you in advance for your participation and support! We hope to see you at this year's fundraiser!