Serving the Poor and Needy

David R. Posted on 25 January 2012.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27

As we look back on 25 years of the ministry of Antioch Missions - Chinese Church Support Ministries, we honour and thank the hundreds who have come and served in our mercy teams. We truly could not have seen this ministry built without you. Each team member has faced emotionally stretching moments and we have all been broken at some point; but God is good. He has always led us, supported us, cried with us and provided for the children's care. We may go home at the end of the team; but He remains.

The heart of the mercy work is to serve the poor, needy and orphaned. We find a scriptural basis for this in James 1:27 and as we serve from this point our passion is to let the children clearly know that they are loved and special, because as they grow up this is often so far from their reality.

The mercy ministry, like the children we serve, has grown from small beginnings as God opened the doors to help a few children in ‘this area' and a few children in ‘that area'. This care was much needed and had impact as one child was helped with expenses for medical care and another child helped with living and family issues.

In 1994, Ross and one of his daughters were making a personal visit to a city in central China. An official asked them if they would like to visit anywhere in particular and his daughter asked to visit the orphanage. I imagine much cleaning was done that night in preparation, but that visit started a relationship that is ongoing today.

The orphanage was in great need. Conditions were extremely poor and we were really moved to begin taking teams to help care for the children. Access by volunteer western teams was unusual; in fact the first few teams were only granted a very small amount of access. But relationships grew and the orphanage officials came to see we were not intending to confront but to serve.

A difficult season came when our co-workers could not continue the ministry but one past team member sensed God's call to birth something that has continued to grow. Under our new mercy ministry leadership we continued to take teams there for many years and supported the orphanage and the new group. We honour them in all that they have achieved over the years.

The teams we took into the orphanage did amazing things. Team members would daily go into the building to serve the children and the carers (ayis). They would take some craft ideas, drawing pads and toys, and do whatever was needed that day to let the children know they were loved and special. We served the ayis, many of whom loved the children. We served in an area known as the courtyards; this was for the intellectually and physically challenged and there were just two or three carers for around forty children and adults. These were tough yet rewarding days for the team members.

We also helped improve the physical conditions for the children by providing toys, playground equipment, clothes, shoes, mattresses and many other things. We had good relationships with the orphanage leadership and even though we have not been able to take teams there for a few years, our friendships remain.

Around 2005, our mercy ministry began to broaden. While continuing our orphanage ministry, we also started offering care to children living in very poor rural environments. These children were sometimes orphans, but not always. They were sometimes living with a parent, but often with a grandparent or a friend who had taken them in after a crisis.

There were so many stories of parents who had died, gone to gaol or faced divorce and remarried but did not want the burden of a child in the new marriage. We began serving these children with a priority on helping them stay in school and gain an education that often their parents did not have.

The number of children and their families grew...

One day we stood in a cold farmhouse with cracked windows and only a very small heater and wept as an elderly man told how his two sons had died leaving three children. This very poor grandfather found himself caring for these teenage children. As he related his story, the children cried as they remembered their fathers and, I imagine, their mothers who were no longer living with them. The tears flowed in our eyes as we wondered how he would continue to care for them through the winter. We prayed for them and helped them face the burden financially. Who can hear the Gospel while they have an empty stomach?

And the number of children continued to grow...

We began serving more and more children in various counties. Relationships grew with officials as we helped rebuild some medical centres and roads, joining families after the earthquake of 2008. Through the relationships of some of our China-based co-workers in other areas we helped rebuild family homes and clothe survivors being cared for in hospitals. We continue today to help a few young people keep on with their education following that traumatic event.

In 2010 we opened our first foster apartment. Our vision is that these will grow and that each will be a small family home with around six babies cared for by local ayis, where we continue to let children know that they are indeed loved and special. As they face the trauma of their abandonment, they are coming to know and trust that we will not walk away from them like others may have.

A day care centre was also opened to provide teaching for physically and intellectually challenged children, and their parents. Our team in that city are also helping in the local orphanage, providing live-in care for another group of challenged children. The ministry there has faced its challenges but on a recent visit I saw growth in the children's abilities and a team of caring teachers hard at work.

We are employing local Chinese staff as administrators, teachers, ayis, cleaners and cooks. Some of our staff are gifted in sharing the gospel and we encourage them to do this, as well as provide spiritual support.

Our passion is that the mercy work is not only about babies and orphans. We have a heart to care and support where God calls us to people who have needs. A couple in our team are serving in what we call ‘boot camp'. That is a live-in camp run by local Chinese to help young people facing crisis in the family or school relationships, problems with schoolwork, Internet or computer addictions, etc. Our team members spend time teaching English and culture classes and of course this opens the door for them to build relationships with the children.

It's about the people...

At the time of writing, our mercy ministry includes three foster apartments, ‘boot camp', two centres caring for the intellectually and physically challenged, around 25 local Chinese staff, eight co-workers from overseas, many individual volunteers coming from various countries to help in our homes and mercy teams, and around 125 children in our mercy ministry family (75% of whom have regular child sponsors).

And the people we serve continue to grow...

"My heart had really gone out to the orphans. Although I couldn't help all of the orphans, I could help the ones God brought to my attention. It was exciting; I had never stepped out like this before. But it was also scary and heart-wrenching. I rented the apartment, prepared it for the children and employed carers to look after the babies. I would love to see several similar foster homes dotted around the area, providing love and good quality care to young children from local orphanages and preparing them to be adopted by loving families." - Foster Home Coordinator

"The whole trip was an amazing experience. It was a privilege to be able to serve on such a wonderful team. God showed me and confirmed to me that there is such a great need to reach out to the unloved and abandoned children of China. I was overwhelmed, yet humbled, to be part of and to experience how God brought together a group of willing people from many nations who were ready to serve Him, to bring and minister His love to these beautiful, special children, to shine for Him and to bring some joy and fun into their lives." - Mercy Team Member

"Twelve-year-old Mei Mei had been abandoned on the street as a baby. In spite of his low income as a manual odd-job labourer, Mei Mei's adopted father, a Christian believer with a heart full of mercy and compassion, has raised her as his own daughter. During our visit he proudly showed us photographs of the two of them together. They live together in a tiny cave dwelling. The walls of their three-square-metre home are covered with school awards that Mei Mei has earned. AM-CCSM's sponsorship has enabled this bright student to continue with her schooling." - Mercy Ministry Co-worker

"We have had the wonderful privilege of building some meaningful relationships with the students. It is encouraging to see their eyes light up and smiles beaming when we come to teach, breaking the monotony of their day. Usually our lessons are light-hearted, encouraging students to speak out and have fun. We do pray that from the joy and love we have brought into the school, they will get to know God, the true source of it all!" - ‘Boot Camp' Teacher

"The other week I was involved in helping a student with tuberculosis to obtain the correct investigations to confirm this diagnosis and then receive treatment. For people to come to Christ, they must see His love in action! We are to be His hands, His feet and His mouthpiece to those around us. We are not to turn our backs on those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, and sick or in prison. We are His love letters to a desperate and dying world. How can our message of His love ring true unless we also minister to the desperate physical needs of the poor." - China-based Co-worker