Apostles Church.

visited my first church in Suzhou and thats the name of the church! i've made up my mind to attend a few church services, one on each of the upcoming sundays, before i decide and settle down in one of them for the remainder of my stay here in Suzhou.

the very first thing that struck me was the church goers' age. looking past the church gates, i was greeted with a sea of white, with random patches of black here and there. white hair that is.
my guess was verified when looked around at my fellow christians whilst seated in the main sanctuary and i dare say that the average age of the entire congregation should be within the range of 55 to 65.

yes. they were that old and yet they still come to church. and though i'm only there for a day, judging from the way they behave, i'm pretty sure that are there every week without fail.

anyone who's been to China will know that the people here have the culture of spitting anywhere, everywhere and this is especially so amongst the older people. and yet right here in the church, i didn't see a single spat of spit anywhere. not even in the courtyard.

why? because they know that they should love and cherish God's property. the pastor reminds them at the start of service; its listed in their church creed =) and thanks to that, the church is one of the cleanest place i've seen in any part of the "un-modernised" Suzhou. to be able to change lives and inborn culture. who else can do it but Him?

as mentioned early, the people here are really old and there was this particular old man who left me with a deep impression.

the service had already begun when he walked in. one glance and you can easily tell how difficult walking was to him. he was literally dragging his feet and shuffling his way into the sanctuary. as he took off his gloves and outer coat, the next thing that jumps out at you is how much his hands are shaking. not so much from the cold, but possible due to a lack of nerve control over them(kinda like parkinson's disease). as he found his seat and sat down to worship God, i couldn't help but continue to stare at him. and be impressed.

at his passion for Christ. at how he comes to church regularly(this is evident from the fact that the ushers know him by name), despite his physical disabilities.

looking at these elders and their passion for Christ really set me thinking today. about my own life, my own walk with God and my behavior. and as i am seated here right now, attempting to crystalise my thoughts into black and white, i find myself at a lost, despite having written the pervious few paragraphs.

all i can say is that i feel really priviledged to be shown such sights today and i hope that i will be able to witness more of these in future.

lastly, Industrial Attachment will officially start tomorrow morning for the entire GIP Suzhou group. here's wishing everyone a fruitful and enjoyable IA experience =)