CHINA IN HOUSTON

What does God do when He sees 445 unreached people groups among 1.4 billion people in China? He finds a willing Taiwanese couple and sends them to Houston, Texas. This is William Chen and Rachel Teng’s story.

“Our goal has always been to take the Gospel to the Chinese,” explain William and Rachel. “After a short time at Andrews University, we enrolled in the Reach the World Next Door (RWND) cross-cultural missionary training program. We discovered that Houston is home to more than 200,000 Chinese-speaking people, but not a single Chinese-language Seventh-day Adventist church.”

William and Rachel determined to plant a church. “We were excited to discover that the Houston International Seventh-day Adventist Church hosted a small Chinese Sabbath School group,” they recall. “We started attending and encouraging them. We found out some members had not attended for years, so we hosted a Chinese New Year celebration. Former members, real izing their brothers and sisters in Christ still loved them, started coming back to church.”

During the week, William and Rachel were busy with mission classes, gardening, and helping Buddhists and Muslims at multiple Houston outreach sites. “Our English is not perfect,”

they admit. “But God gave us an opportunity to make friendships with unreached people by teaching English. A mission family visited RWND and shared about their work in China with the Uyghur, a persecuted Muslim people group. By searching online for Uyghur restaurants, we discovered members of this people group living in Houston. During one visit to an Uyghur restaurant, the manager asked us to help her workers learn better English. God sent local church members, Pastor John and Phyllis MacFarland, to help us. One friendship is leading to others throughout the Uyghur community in Houston.”

Though William and Rachel’s focus is on reaching the Chinese, they eagerly share Christ’s love with everyone, no matter their ethnicity. Cambodians who were hit by Hurricane Harvey opened their hearts to them as they saw their concern and helpfulness. One mother, Kim, was distraught after learnWould you like to be a missionary to the unreached? The first step may be closer than you think! Watch “Come to Houston!” or visit reachtheworldnextdoor.com to learn more.

“Thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand angels are waiting to cooperate with members of our churches in communicating the light that God has generously given, that a people may be prepared for the coming of Christ….Let every family seek the Lord in earnest prayer for help to do the work of God” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 129).

ing that her 25-year old daughter has cancer. Immediately Rachel began sharing fresh vegetables and teaching the mother about juicing and gaining the most nutrients from healthy foods. Rachel prayed for Kim, and the mother’s face visibly softened into peace.

They earnestly prayed to find people from China who have never had a chance to know Jesus. “One of our friends told us about the Chinese Cultural Center,” they report. “We asked if we could help serve the Chinese community by presenting a health seminar. The center leaders gave us a trial run. Afterwards, they asked us to come back once every month. We usually have 25-30 guests who want to learn more about health and nutrition.”

William and Rachel were looking for an apartment complex that was home to many Chinese, and a church member from the Bellaire Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church suggested her own apartment complex with a Chinese manager and many Chinese residents. “We visited the manager to ask if we could provide health education and children’s programs. She was very friendly and allowed us to post flyers and invite residents to a health expo. “That’s when things got really exciting. We asked our Chinese Sabbath School members to help us. Some thought they were too old, and others were unsure about what to say. But they came! Young people from the Houston GYC conference also volunteered. After the expo, the manager was so happy that she gave us keys to the gates, saying we could visit and host com munity services any time. God literally gave us the key to this apartment complex! We now hold community service programs at least once a month, and visit residents at least once a week.” It didn’t stop there. Residents began bringing their friends from another complex that has many Chinese families. The Chinese Sabbath School members were so excited to see how fun outreach can be that they asked if they could help with future community service projects. Wil liam and Rachel are now training them for leadership roles as new Chinese begin attending the small group and home church that meet in various Chinese church members’ homes. These developments have stirred the members to study the Bible. They are growing in confidence.

“We are just two individuals. The harvest is ripe, but workers are needed. Funds are needed, students who can help us are needed, and church members’ prayers from around the world are needed,” William and Rachel urge. “It’s ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts’ (Zechariah 4:6).”