Green Vine

We do a lot of ministry with students. It is what we are suited to, and also, students in China are comparatively receptive. But...we still like to branch out in our ministry and keep planting seeds and considering possibilities among other age groups. for example, in a previous post, we mentioned going with Maggie's family to pick grapes. We just added a couple photos to that September post, titled "Vineyard Talk". A while back, we also decided to spend a bit of time talking with a local poet who has taken the initiative to be friendly and get to know us. We asked him if he would like to go with us to a local very minor tourist attraction called Green Vine Study. This place is famous because it was the studio of a very legendary painter in the 1600's in China, a man named Xu Wei. Xu Wei was great because he had some ideas about how to do things in a radically different way from others. He was willing to present his ideas on the canvas and in writing, even if it was in contrast to what society appreciated or wanted to hear. This gave us some food for discussion with the poet An Rong that day as we hung out together. Our approach to life as Chrisitans is also radically different and fresh in comparison with society's typical standard for how to do things, so this concept is something we often think about. It was also refreshing to get a more mature, thoughtful perspective about some of the trends we see in this society, and how one mustn't yield to societal pressure, even if there is personal cost involved. It was a meaningful day at Green Vine Study.