The Seedling Development Project
Progress Report

Lillian Chen

In April 2005, we visited rural churches in China, and realized the economic gap between the villages and the cities. From home visits, we saw the level of poverty among the village Christians. We also saw the reality from the Sunday offering of 1.5 RMB in one church. In view of such poverty, the Chinese government started to eliminate taxes from the poor villages. But this policy did not benefit these villages. When we asked the ministers of their families' situation, most of them were reluctantly to share. Once we knew that some ministers could not afford to support the education of their children, we were very moved and sadden. Ironically, most of the time we sang: "We toil together, we suffer together, the dearest are the people walking together; we cry together, we rejoice together, and the most loyal are the people walking together." But when we saw our faithful brothers and sisters in
Christ in suffering and shortage, God touched us tremendously. Thus, the Seedling Development Project (SDP) was formed.

Thanks to God that our CCI co-worker has the relevant technical experiences. In the first stage, a Home Visit training program was started in June, 300 poor children were selected by August, the first education subsidizng program was completed in September, a winter camp and a Christmas celebration were organized in November and December respectively. The total expense for this stage was more than US$25,000. To build a solid foundation and system for the SDP, we primarily focus on the training of helpers in the areas of home visitations, activities organizing, and financial management.

To promote, the update progress of the SDP had been published in "Pray for China" (refer Issue No. 52). Also, a 10-minutes DVD on "Cultivate Seedlings Together" was produced in English and Mandarin with the help from volunteers. This DVD is free upon request. By the end of 2005, we thank God that we had pledges to support 187 elementary students and 161 middle school students, for a total of 348.

Now, we plan to support 100 more students in the poorest area of the Chinese minority group, for a total of 400 children and their families. Pray that God expands our territory to support more needy churches and their families, and to spread the love of God beyond the Churches in 2006. We invite you to partner with us for the next generation of the Chinese Churches with your prayers and action.

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