No, I am here to glorify God through the spreading of his gospel. I am here to do all I can to reach the Dong people or to facilitate others reaching the Dong people. “So,” you might think, “What is the big deal . . . just get to it!”
Point taken, but it is not that simple. There are many different aspects of the Dong ministry (five organizations and several people), and the method I have chosen to move forward to play my role in God’s plan for the Dong is through business, and not just any business, but one that can take me or anyone else involved in the business to any Dong area—something that cannot be done right now without suspicion from the authorities. Business breaks down those boundaries.
In April, it was decided between a couple of friends and me who will own and run the business, Mr. K. He wants to establish and run a business so that others can work as a part of the business as a platform for their own ministry, whether they are Chinese nationals or foreigners. That is the plan.
I will join his business and work on my tung oil ventures. The hope is that the limited time investment a seasonal crop like tung oil requires will free me and any employees up the rest of the year to do God’s work. We would all have a legitimate platform, and the time we would need to work on more eternal things.
Well, that all sounds good, but actually putting it into practice takes a good helping of faith. Nobody has done this in these particular areas, and in many ways it comes down to the provincial and local officials: Will they be willing and able to look the other way when we are not doing a money making business?
I ask you to join me in prayer for these three items:
