One of the ways God redeems this physical battle I face is that it forces me to slow down and watch, rather than the hurry-up-and-do mantra that was the norm in my younger days.  It gives me a chance to see past words and gestures, and it helps me understand there may be many factors unrelated to the issue or topic at hand that might be introducing the emotion of their response at the moment.  I've also noticed that when I slow down to see the people rushing through the crowded streets of Hong Kong at breakneck speed in swarming fashion, I'm able to pick out individuals, to be reminded that this island of humanity that is China is a gathering of individual humans with hopes and disappointments, wants and needs, and loves and losses. 

     Then I'm struck by the nearly complete absence of any overt signs of Christianity.  No crosses on steeples, or very few.  No Bibles in bookstores, or very few.  No churches on street corners, or very few.  And yet, there are few places in the world where God is more active than here.   I want to be comforted by familiar signs of Christianity's ubiquitous presence in the U.S., but I realize that the flood of faith opportunities in America may well be encouraging us to take for granted those opportunities. 

     So my prayer today is this: "Lord, let us be islands of faith in this sea of humanity.  Let us use this time as guests in another place to be seen as humble followers of a loving Jesus and a powerful and compassionate God.  Let Your strength be evident in our frail bodies, and grant us words and body language and actions which honor you and invite people to you.  Give us Your heart for these people, and then send us home with a renewed commitment to look past the symbols of faith so prevalent in our home country so we may see people who need You we might otherwise overlook.  Grant us, too, the chance to tell so many of our friends, family and coworkers who share our work and love for the Lord just what a comfort it is to be able to walk and work in their presence.  Thank you for their prayers. Amen!"

     Please pray for our work today.  We're joined this morning by representatives from the Lausanne Marketplace Ministry team, the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, and the international team for Ravi Zacharias ministries, among others, and our prayer is to find ways to share best practices, lessons learned and ideas and resources in ways that are collaborative and encouraging.