There Will Be a Day

In light of what happened at Ft. Hood yesterday and what happens in the lives of the homeless everyday and what happens when teenagers are set on fire by their peers and what happens when people can't find work and what happens when countries and nations go to war with one another and what happens when those who live in excess become numb to the needs of those around them and their need for God and what happens when we or our loved ones are plagued with disease and sickness and what happened at the cross..., I was reminded of the hope that is in Jesus. There will be a day when all of this will be behind us. Thank You, Lord.

In the book of Revelation, chapter 21, there is a beautiful picture of what awaits for all those who have put their trust in Jesus...

[Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.]

-Amen.

This morning I found myself singing the words below and they held for me some comfort and peace in the midst of the storms that this life will bring. My prayer is that you may also experience the peace and hope of God today and beyond. These lyrics are from a song by Jeremy Camp...

I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that tries to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
that we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

(Chorus)
There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we'll hold on to you always

I know the journey seems so long
You feel you’re walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you’ve walked out all alone

(Chorus)

Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting

I can’t wait until that day where the very one I’ve lived for always will wipe away the sorrow that I’ve faced
To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery this is why this is why I sing

Praying for the afflicted,
John

Odds and Ends

Not too much has happened since our last update, but we thought we would still communicate a few odds and ends. We love and miss you. Thanks so much for your prayers, support, and encouragement!

ODDS:
Halloween: Ok, so we know it is not popular among Christian circles to celebrate Halloween. We know all of the horrific, pagan things that can be associated with this holiday. Yet, for Susan and I, this has always been one of our favorite holidays. Not because we love witchcraft and wizardry, but because we loved how much fun we had as kids, dressing up in fun (not scary or deranged) costumes and going door-to-door for candy. I mean what kid wouldn’t love that?!? So, we were a bit bummed that Nash was going to have to miss out on the festivities this year since Halloween is barely recognized much less celebrated here. However, we did take Nash trick-or-treating to Katherine Gould's and Gary and Danita Jackson's apartments. Also Gary and Danita told us about a Fall Festival (aka Halloween Party) that a local church for foreigners was hosting. We took Nash and he had a great time. He especially loved the fishing game. He could have stayed there all night. We dressed him up in a Garfield “hoodie” because that is all we could find in the way of a costume. We are so thankful for the River of Grace Church for hosting this event!


Snow: It started snowing early Sunday morning, November 1st and we got to enjoy the white stuff for almost a full day before it stopped falling and eventually melted. Growing up in West Texas, Susan and I saw a few early snows, but thought it was really neat we were able to experience one here in Beijing. Of course, after a couple of days, we were ready and thankful for the warmer temperatures.

(Photo by Katherine Gould)

ENDS:
Language Class: Can it really be possible that we have been in China long enough to have completed our first twenty lessons and first lesson book? On Thursday we began the second book in a two-book series called “301”. After 20 more lessons, we should have learned (or at least practiced) 301 phrases in Chinese. Please continue to pray that we can pick up the language and comprehend what we are studying.

Andrew’s Virus: Our friend and teammate, Andrew Hill, has struggled for about a week now with a virus and other related complications. Please pray that this will soon come to an end and that Andrew can be back to full health serving at the Jinsong Church. He and his wife, Jaime, planted the Jinsong church along with several Chinese believers a few months ago.

Wang Chao Qun: My friend, Wang Chao Qun, sent me a text the other day asking if he could see me because he was leaving Beijing. Tonight, he is going to see his family for a month before heading to South Korea to study international trade for the next three years. Chao Qun helped us to find our apartment and was someone that Susan and I have been praying for and reaching out to ever since we met him. There is just something special about his gentle spirit and we want him to know the Lord. He and I had studied Luke and prayed together before and he had also attended several Bible studies, including our Monday night group, for seekers. Today, when I met him for lunch, I told him to keep searching for God and I pray he will. We gave him a Bible and prayed for him before saying goodbye. We pray that seeds that have been planted will receive nourishment and eventually produce fruit in his life. We ask for you to join us in praying for our friend.

(Wang Chao Qun, Photo by Katherine Gould)

Well, that is about all for now. Please let us know what is new with you. We always love to hear from our friends and family back home.

Love,
John, Susan, and Nash Cooper

Early Thanksgiving!

It has been a couple of weeks since our last update, so we thought we would take a moment to catch you up with has been going on with us.

Nash Walking
First of all, Nash is now 15 months and he is up and running! Sometimes he forgets that he is still new to walking and takes a tumble. We went to the hospital twice last week because he fell on his face on two different occasions, busting his lip and chipping his two upper-front teeth. Both times we were sent away as overreacting, first-time parents, but a baby with a mouth full of blood is a scary thing! This week has been much better and Nash has avoided additional face-plants.

Not only is Nash walking, he is learning to say a few new words in Chinese and in English, which is a great deal of fun for us. We just wish he would use his words more often than the mini-fits that he has started to throw when he doesn’t get his way or when he is not receiving as much attention as he would like (which is almost never in China). Also, Nash’s first animal sound that he likes to repeat is the elephant. Susan taught him well and he will repeat it almost anytime we make the noise. If you ever wondered what an Elephant sounds like, just ask Susan or Nash!

English Corners
Our English Corners have had mixed results. Two times in the past month they have gone well. One of those times only a few people talked with us, but we had really good conversations and invited some people to join us for a movie in English… Faith Like Potatoes. (By the way we had a small crowd at the movie, but the ones who came seemed to enjoy it and it provoked further discussion about the nature of God.

Two other occasions, English Corner was not as successful. Once we had to cancel because the winds from West Texas arrived in Beijing and almost blew us away. Another time, last Friday night, was the second time Nash fell and hit his face. He was bleeding so bad that we decided to take him to a local Western hospital. As you can imagine that cut our night short. Thankfully, Nash is ok. He just has a few broken teeth to show off!

Monday Nights
Our Monday night group has been going really well and our apartment has been full the last couple of weeks. Each week it seems like someone new comes to practice his or her English with us and to learn more about Jesus. We are studying the Gospel of John and have great discussion each week. Last Monday, Iris stayed and asked some great questions about how one could tell if they were following God’s will or just their own standards. We were able to pray with her before she left and thank God for her seeking spirit! Please join us in praying for her.

Lavender
Ayi (Eye-ee) is a term that literally means Aunt, but is also used to describe someone who we would call a Nanny. She comes Monday through Friday for three hours a day to watch Nash and do some light housecleaning while we are in class (we are getting really spoiled and are humbled by her service). Anyway, we have been praying that we would have an opportunity to minister to our Ayi. About two weeks ago, Susan received a text from her daughter, Lavender, asking if we would be willing to practice English with her. Susan has now met with her twice and is using Let’s Start Talking’s Luke workbook. Please pray that seeds will be planted and that we can continue to look for was to minister to Ayi and her family.

Language School
Language school has proved to be one of our biggest challenges since we arrived. Once we even tried to get the school to put the Americans (Katherine Gould, Susan and I) in a separate class that would take a slower approach. The school said they could not accommodate us, so we have just had to buckle down to try to keep up with the Korean students, who have a much better grasp of reading and writing characters. God has really given us a sense of peace about the language, though. We are doing our best and are not going to keep stressing about how we compare to other students.

Early Thanksgiving
This Monday we went at Gary and Danita Jackson’s house for our Team Meeting. Since they are going to be in the U.S. during Thanksgiving, Danita prepared a full Thanksgiving dinner including pumpkin pie! The food was so wonderful and we got to experience a bit of home as we ate traditional American dishes together. We are so thankful for the Jacksons’ gift of hospitality and getting to share this meal with our team here!

Well that is about all for now. Watch for our Newsletter in the coming weeks. We are working on getting it put together. We send you our love.

In Him,
John, Susan, and Nash Cooper

The Latest

Retreat and Mid-Autumn Holiday

September 30th through October 1st, we went with the church and two sister congregations to the mountains near the Great Wall for a retreat. The theme of the retreat was “Where there is God, there is a way!” Gary Jackson preached the lessons and we had wonderful small group times. Our small group consisted of other American missionaries and a family from Russia. We really enjoyed growing closer through the sharing in our group.

The reason we were able to take a three-day retreat was because of the annual Mid-Autumn holiday, during which China celebrates the anniversary of the PRC. This year was the 60th anniversary, so there was a major celebration and parade. We watched some of the parade from the retreat center. Each year during the Mid-Autumn holiday many Chinese take a week off from work to go visit their families in their hometowns. As a result, Beijing was much quieter and more peaceful last week. We really enjoyed the break from our language school and other responsibilities too!

English Corner

On Friday, October 9th, we went to a local mall and held an “English Corner” in their open courtyard area. Usually this is a high-traffic area and we are often able to talk to many people. This Friday, however, was much slower. We are not sure if it was because the weather is changing and it is beginning to be much cooler at night or because many had yet to return from their holiday travels. Still, we had some good conversations and invited a few people to join us for an English movie-watching party that we are hosting next Sunday. We plan to go back on Friday.

By the way, during English Corner, we simply hold up signs that read, “English Corner” or “Do you speak English?” We then talk to as many people as we can about anything that they want to discuss. Sometimes, crowds gather around to listen and talk. It is a wonderful experience!

Preaching

Today, Sunday, October 11th, I had the opportunity to preach at our local congregation. It was the first time I have ever preached with an interpreter. My lesson covered the first five Chapters of 2 Corinthians and I spoke primarily about three R’s that Paul addresses in the text… Relationships, Reconciliation, and Responsibility. I am especially thankful for Alicia Yan and her willingness to interpret for me.

Seekers’ Study

Tomorrow night we resume the Seeker’s Study in our apartment after a week off for the holiday. We are excited to meet with our friends who are asking questions about God and what it means to be in relationship with Him. Please pray for this weekly meeting.

Language Study

We are still going to class Monday through Friday for an hour and a half each day to learn Chinese. Our teacher is really great and we are learning a great deal. We try to practice what we have learned often. Also, one of the men from the Church, Wang Qi (Chee), is coming to our apartment on Tuesdays and Thursdays for one to two hours at a time to tutor us. He is focusing on helping us learn how to write the characters. We are thankful for and humbled by his sacrifice of time and his servant spirit.

Friends and Teammates

We also wanted to let you know that God has really blessed us with a great team, here. We are developing friendships and feel a strong sense of community because of them. Please add them to your prayer lists. They are Gary and Danita Jackson, Katherine Gould, Marcus Riley, Alex (Yi Yue), Andrew and Jamie Hill, Ma Rui, & Marcus and Julia Rodriguez.

Thanks so much for your love, the encouraging emails, the Facebook comments, etc, and for your continued prayers on our behalves. When you are ready to come visit and to share the Word of God with the Chinese, visit www.lst.org and get the ball rolling! We love you and miss you and we pray God’s blessings on you and your family.

In His love,
John, Susan, and Nash Cooper


The Team


Wang Qi and his wife with Nash!

For more awesome photography visit www.marcus2137.smugmug.com!

Let’s Keep Talking!

Tonight, we just returned from Michael Qiao’s baptism. I (John) first met Michael when we came to Beijing on our Let’s Start Talking campaign in March of this year. Michael had heard about Jesus about two years ago, but never studied the Bible prior to our meeting in March. We read from the Gospel of Luke several times during our two-week stay in China, but I had not heard from him since we left. After returning to Beijing in August, I invited Michael to our Monday night “Seeker’s Study” only to learn that he had continued to read with other LST teams (including several from Garden Ridge!), and was asking serious questions about baptism. Six months after first meeting him, it was a true joy to witness the beginning of Michael’s new life tonight. Praise God!

If you have ever been on a LST campaign or other mission trip, hopefully you will be encouraged by this example of its potential fruit. If you have not yet done so, repent (typed with love and intended to communicate humor and truth) and come to China! You never know what God might do in the lives of those you meet and in your life! We certainly never expected our trip to China to impact us to the depth that has. I guess if I have been reminded of anything tonight it is this… Let’s Keep Talking!

Love,
John, Susan, and Nash Cooper

Love the Satire!

My friend's Andrew and Jaime Hill shared this with us and I thought it was too good not to pass on...

http://www.sinosplice.com/china/pictguide/

If you don't find this as funny as I did, then you definitely need to come visit us!

Love,
John

Chinglish

According to Wikipedia:

Chinglish, at the most fundamental level, is bad English printed or spoken by Chinese people. There is no connection between Pidgin English and Chinglish: 19th century Chinese Pidgin English was a language that could be learned, and enabled Chinese and Westerners to communicate.

In Beijing, in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, the city authorities attempted to eliminate bad English on public signs and replaced it with better and correct English. Signs that previously read: "To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty" were changed to read "Caution - slippery path". Other notable examples include: "confirming distance" (keep space when driving,), and so on.

Yet, Chinglish is well and alive. LOL! This Friday we had to go to a presentation by the Chinese Police for about 200 students in various branches of our language school, New Bridge. I thought I would share some highlights from the "Improving the Self-Prevention Consciousness" section.

-Do not addict in the alcohol.

-Watch out the theft.

-Do not count money in public and watch out.

-Do not hang the digital equipment on the neck.

-Do not let stranger come into the apartment alone.

-Do not smoke in your bed and do not use the high power electronic devices.

-Good sanitary habit can prevent the H1N1 Flu.

Of course, this is all excellent advice and well worth the thirty minute bus ride each way and hour long presentation. Needless to say, we are doing our best to not addict in the alcohol, watch out for theft..., and prevent the H1N1 flu. I was talking with my good buddy, Ed, this week and we thought it might be funny to post a "Chinglish Pic of the Week". So I will do my best to capture the funny signs, advertisements, etc and post them here for you to enjoy.

Goodnight,
John

Lights Out!

Good Morning from Beautiful Beijing! It really is amazing how nice the weather and how clear the skies have been the past few days. We have been spoiled and will be more than happy to keep the trend going.

Last night we hosted our first seekers' study for those interested in learning more about Christianity and improving their conversational English. We had eight guests join Susan, Katherine, Nash, and myself. Only one of our guests was a Christian. His name is LoiYi and he is from the local church. He came to help us with any translation needs and to witness as a Chinese national who has come to faith... it is one thing for a Westerner to share his or her faith, but an entirely different thing altogether for a native to do so. We are so thankful for his willingness to help us in this way! Last night our guests asked questions like, "Why would anyone want to kill Jesus, especially some of those who had followed him previous to his crucifixion?" and "What is the basis for God's standard of good and bad?". Each week we are going to have open dialog about these and many other questions with the goal of pointing them to the truth of Scripture so they can discern for themselves the implications for their lives.

Also, two more sisters have been added to the family of God as they were baptized on Sunday at Gary and Danita's apartment. It was an awesome time of celebration of new life!

On another note, we ran out of electricity last night. Yes, we ran out. You prepurchase units of electricity here at a bank and insert an electricity card into your meter to reload. Well, I had two thoughts yesterday to check the meter to see if we were running low and ignored both of them. So last night about 2 a.m. our electricity ran out. There is a 24-hour location at which to purchase more, but I didn't know the location. This morning Gary went with me and we are now back up and running. We'll definitely watch it more closely in the future.

Thanks so much for all of your prayers. We love you.

in Him,
John, Susan, and Nash

Let's Get Physicals... Physicals!

Hi,

Week two has been just as busy if not more so than the first. In fact, we are actually in our third week now as I write this. It is Tuesday at 2:38 p.m. for me, but most of you are tucked soundly in your beds getting a good night's sleep at this hour. That is still so strange to think about. We did get to Skype for a moment with Mom and John Campbell this morning. It is amazing to me that we have this free technology that allows us to keep in touch with them and get some virtual face to face time. If you Skype, our account name is CooperCorner.

Let's see, last week we attended two Bible studies... one on Wednesday and one on Thursday evening. We didn't understand much of anything that was going on at either study, but were encouraged by what we witnessed. The Wednesday night study is for believers who want to learn more. They are studying through the Old Testament and are now in Exodus. The Thursday night study is for seekers (two of which were baptized after the study!). They watch a video that is mostly in Chinese, but the speaker did say one phrase in English that caught my attention... "In order to understand God, you must stand under God". I thought that was cool and true and was thankful for words in my native tongue. We will be hosting our own seeker's group that will be a combination of Chinese and English speaking in our apartment beginning Monday, September 14th and ask you to join us in prayer that it will be successful.

We are busy with language school every day from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Already it has been very beneficial as we have begun to learn some basic phrases useful for everyday communication. Additionally, we feel like we are receiving a solid base on which to continue to build our comprehension and retention of this difficult language! Our teacher is very good and a lot of fun. Please pray that we will pick it up and that it will be a tool that will help us get to know the Chinese better and share the Gospel in their language.

What else? Oh, we are close to getting our Visas for six months. We just have to go to the U.S. Embassy tomorrow morning and get a copy of our marriage license and Nash's birth certificate stamped in order to verify that we all are in fact related. Before that Susan and I had to get physicals. That was quite the experience! First of all we took an hour taxi ride (both ways) to what is apparently the only clinic in Beijing that does physicals for foreigners only to realize that we didn't have enough money to pay for the physicals and that we shouldn't have eaten the delicious donuts from New York Donuts for breakfast. So, we returned Monday hungry, but financially prepared and took care of that. The process was streamlined, but strangely invasive considering the language barrier. We had to undergo a battery of tests that included having our blood pressure, height, and weight measured, taking a vision test, opening our mouths wide for some kind of crude ent test, enduring an Electrocardiogram (ok, so it wasn't as bad for me), receiving a chest x-ray, and having blood drawn. Whew! At least that is behind us. We are hoping that we don't have to repeat in six months when our visas are up for renewal!

Well, I think that is probably enough for this week. We miss you all and keep you in our prayers.

in His Love,
John, Susan, and Nash

Weekly Snapshot

Our first week in Beijing was very busy and exciting. We thought we would share a few of the highlights.

After three days of apartment shopping we found a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in Wangjing Xincheng. This is the same neighborhood that Gary and Danita Jackson live in and is in the same building as the apartment rented for Let's Start Talking teams! Our address is:

John and Susan Cooper
Wangjing Xincheng
Building 411, Apartment 2606
Chaoyang District
Beijing, China 100102

We have registered with the police twice... Once when we arrived and again when we moved into our apartment.

We signed up with a language school called New Bridge (same as Jacksons attend). It is in our neighborhood and very close to our apartment! They are going to help us get our extended student Visas. We begin the "301" beginners class on September 3rd and will be in class every weekday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Susan and I both suffered through minor stomach bugs (as did Kat), but we are feeling better now. Also, we have finally adjusted from the jetlag. This is especially true for Nash who struggled more this time with the adjustment than he did in March.

We have gathered for worship on two Sundays now and actually got to hear a sermon in english this Sunday, which was translated for the Chinese. The current LST team from California seems to be doing a great job and we had a fun party yesterday with them and their readers.

Last night we witnessed the baptism of "Sophie". She had been studying with LST teams and attending church services. We will witness two more baptisms tonight. Perhaps the best part of this experience was how we all sat around after the baptism and shared Scriptures and words or encouragement with Sophie.

Prayer Requests: Language development, adjustment to new culture, balance in our schedules, opportunities to share Christ.

There is probably much more I could write, but we want to try to keep these notes short while still communicating what God is doing in our lives and in Beijing.

In His Love,
John, Susan, and Nash