Many foreigners working or studying inside PRC left the country as CoVid-19 was gaining traction. Many others stayed. Some who fled China to Europe or USA now wish they had stayed put, for various reasons. Here is some input from an Operation World team associate who is serving/studying inside China:
“In China, official numbers state that there are only 2052 Coronavirus patients currently. 1378 of them have come from other countries, which includes both Chinese nationals and foreigners who have returned from abroad. This reduces the chance for foreigners to interact with locals, as some locals are more skeptical about having contact with foreigners these days <as evidenced by the banning of black people from a Guangzhou McDonalds recently, an incident now apologised for>. Together with the fact that people still mostly work from home, this makes it tough for foreigners who are staying alone because they get very isolated. Still, my impression is that most foreigners have been feeling safe and God has even surprised some who expected that the isolation should be hard by letting them enjoy this solitary time working from home. International students who live on campuses have not been able to go out of campus for weeks as only staff have been allowed to enter or exit campuses. However, the situation is improving and it is expected that universities will gradually allow students to return from the beginning of May. Another positive thing is that international churches, who previously were not accessible to local Chinese because only foreign passport holders can enter are currently accessible for streaming online without the need for VPN, which makes it open for local believers as well.”
Pray for:
– Expats who are suffering from loneliness/isolation, or from racism/xenophobia. May they find the God of all comfort amidst their trials.
– There are people from all over the world in China, many of them followers of Jesus. May they find new opportunities to grow in their faith and especially to share it with others.
– For Chinese Christians to be a blessing to foreigners who don’t know Jesus. Amidst some troubling reports of how some foreigners are treated, may Chinese who follow Jesus show His love to others.
– For unbelieving Chinese to tune in to the online services of international churches. May the Holy Spirit draw many to Jesus via this unique window of opportunity.
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