We had a small, specialized role in several short-term trips supporting Christian workers from the U.S., Canada, Australia, South Korea, and Europe doing business in China. These professionals were a Christian influence on their co-workers, Chinese staff members, and neighbors in the high-rise apartments where they lived.
Some had lived in China for many years, spoke the language, and knew their Chinese neighbors well. Others were newly arrived and finding their way in a new job and new country. Our role was to offer counseling support to the foreign and national staff, Al as a psychologist, and June as a pastoral counselor.
Living in a foreign country always brings stress; those living in China long-term while raising their families encounter many. They wanted to share their Christian faith. Yet, they had to do it in quiet, relational ways, one person at a time, so they drew no attention. Chinese staff who sought us out wanted counseling about marriages, families, and workplace relationships—the same concerns we all face. They often spoke about how they had become Christians, their house churches, the risk they felt, and how family members had come to faith. One told us harrowing stories of the experiences of her grandparents during the Cultural Revolution.
Most Sunday mornings, we went to an approved international church where police stood outside the doors checking passports so that only foreigners could enter. Therefore, we were unable to worship with Chinese believers on Sunday mornings. But one Sunday, we were in a hotel, waiting for a flight home that evening. Two colleagues were with us, one of them Chinese. She suggested we share an informal worship service in the hotel lobby. First, we separated for 30 minutes of private Bible reading. Then, as we sat together at a table for four, we shared our reading and reflections. Finally, we prayed together with no indication of a bowed head or that we were in prayer. We will never forget the sweetness of that worship time together.
Our abiding sense of our travels to China and time with Chinese Christian brothers and sisters is twofold: They are just like us, with the same joys and troubles. They are unlike us in that their faith is
held so determinedly despite risks we do not face. They inspired us then and still do.
by Dr. Al Barrow and Pastor June Barrow
