2013 is a milestone year in the history of Antioch Missions - Chinese Church Support Ministries (AM-CCSM). At one second past midnight on April 30th 2013, I shall step down as international director of this ministry. Obviously, as the founder of this work, that is an important moment for me personally and for the ministry.
My name is Murray Cameron and I am the New Zealand Director of CCSM.
2012 was a wonderful year for our all-Chinese teams. We sent a total of 16 Chinese-speaking short-term teams to minister in China.
Impact! Cycle China teams are about seeking God in our own lives and seeing how He moves us to have a heart and a vision for the work that He is accomplishing in China. Participants have a chance to experience the thrill of seeing rural China in a way few foreigners get to - from the vantage point of a bicycle seat!
China has more than 20 million students who are a ripe harvest field for the Gospel. "Why am I here?" and "What should I do with my life?" are the kind of questions that students around the world ask. Living away from home for the first time, young Chinese students too are often searching for meaning in life and are very open to new ideas.
"But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease'" (Mark 5:33-34).
"I found it really is the support from back home that keeps you going. It makes a tremendous difference knowing that people who love and care for you are fighting your corner; both in prayer; for practical needs back at home, and just simply by staying involved in your life. It is hard to describe how you cope living in a foreign culture, where nothing is easy and straightforward, and you can find yourself so often misunderstood. Just by having a few people who know you inside out, and who you can totally be yourself with for those few minutes you are in contact, it is really invaluable."
AM-CCSM is making a difference in China through the China School of Missions.
In April 2012, an intrepid team of 14 New Zealanders set out for China.
How can I summarize five years in China? It's certainly not easy to do! Yet what I've seen God do here, in me and through me, has been so amazing that it's definitely worth the attempt to distil it onto the written page.