August ACCTS Newsletter

ACCTS in action August

O ur M ission :

2010

To assist in the development of Christian leaders in the armed forces of the world and in the establishment and growth of military Christian fellowships.

Opening Windows to God in China

In addition to speaking to the graduate students, the ACCTS group networked with several organizations in China (including Cypress Leadership Institute and Evergreen) concerning future joint service projects; visited the Nanjing Aviation Association’s new continued on page 2

Former MiG pilot Col. Song & Cal Dunlap

Two U.S. military cadets, five ACCTS staff and board members (Cal and Linda Dunlap, Jodie Wang, and Ward and Jody Bursley), and the Dunlaps’ 13-year-old granddaughter Anna participated in this annual friendship-building trip to China.

Cal Dunlap delivering books to village school

“You opened the window to God for me, and last night I opened the window to God to the students,” a Chinese professor told ACCTS’ director, Cal Dunlap, in June after a meeting with 20 Chinese graduate students. Earlier that night the professor had explained ACCTS’ work in China and introduced the students to Cal and Linda.

The Dunlaps then talked about faith’s role in their daily lives, the importance of China-U.S. relations, and the future of the world in this century.

Opening Windows Continued from page 1

museum, which Cal has been involved with as an international committee member and advisor; and toured historical sites. Cal also met with the Chinese country coordinator for his church’s denomination.

Cadets MacLeish-Sinclair & Hood

New ACCTS staff members Ed and Sally Ward also joined Cal in Beijing for two days (prior to the arrival of the rest of the ACCTS team).

“The purpose of this trip was to develop guanxi – which is a Chinese term for building a network of contacts with people so you can conduct your work,” Ed Ward explains.

“In China the quality of your guanxi is very important and determines how effective you are. Cal has a very large, very impressive guanxi network in China.”

An important part of this trip was visiting the rural village which ACCTS has helped through the years. During this trip, ACCTS donated textbooks and books for the school library, which ACCTS helped start, and began a project to link up the village school with an American school.

The village provided a unique cultural experience for the group, as Jody Bursley points out: “I was surprised by the dichotomy of China: that people who lived just an hour away from each other seemingly

lived in different centuries – the 19th and the 21st .

We found people threshing wheat by hand, and we saw so much manufacturing, and old buildings being replaced by huge skyscrapers. Shanghai is so modern, and Beijing is getting modern -- and yet in other areas people worked without mechanical tractors and had no other way of doing things except in the traditional way. Sometimes you could see the modern and ancient worlds together in one place.”

Village school which ACCTS helps

“Meeting Colonel Y. and Colonel S. and seeing how those two interacted with the cadets was interesting.

Colonel S. was a MiG pilot and the cadets were very interested in hearing about his military career history.

We also met Shaun, who is a direct descendent of the last emperor, and the cadets were very interested in his lineage. The cadets were open to new experiences and were interested in absorbing and learning.”

ACCTS IN ACTION • Page 2 • August 2010

“It’s all about relationships,” Jody Bursley concludes. “Anyone can sign up to ‘tour’ this country, but we got to meet and hear from the Chinese people themselves.”

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From Atheism to Belief in Mongolia ACCTS staff members Ed and Sally Ward were in Mongolia in June, where Ed gave leadership presentations to Mongolian army and internal forces units (in support of the ministry of the Mongolian military Christian fellowship and Campus Crusade for Christ Military Ministry). A highlight of their time in Mongolia was Sally’s opportunity to discuss spiritual matters with a lieutenant colonel in Mongolia’s army. The colonel, whose deceased husband was also in the military, was an atheist when the Wards met her two years ago, but during this trip she decided to follow Christ. Ed states, “Sally was talking to her [the colonel] in the parking lot before lunch – horns were honking, buses were driving by, it was total chaos. But Sally and the lieutenant colonel stopped to pray and the lady received Christ. Immediately after she prayed she exclaimed, ‘I’m so happy!’ and began crying. We’ve been getting reports that she is still very happy and excited about being a new Christian.”

Wards with Mongolian Lt. Col.

ACCTS IN ACTION • Page 3 •August 2010

O ur C ore V alues

In May ACCTS staff member Dick Barnes participated in a Lithuanian military Christian conference that helped cadets and young officers understand the Christian’s role in military service, examine aspects of Christian leadership, and share experiences with cadets from other countries. Dick and others made presentations, led small-group sessions and workshops, and participated in informal discussions.

- Biblically-based - Spirit-led - Prayer-centered - People-focused

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