This blog is one in a series of blogs from the CBFVA Mission Immersion Experience to China with CBF field personnel Larry and Sarah Ballew. The following reflection was written by Alice Cates, serves as minister to youth at Chester Baptist Church in Chester, VA.

It wasn’t until about three days before our team left for China that the magnitude of the trip really hit me. For months and months I had been talking about the trip, praying about the trip, telling others about the trip, answering the question “are you excited about your trip?” with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.  But the truth was, until it was time to start packing my bags, the trip to China felt a long way away, almost surreal. Something we would talk about but may or may not ever actually happen.

Then suddenly, we were there.

Our mission was to immerse ourselves in the culture of Macau, China, to share in the ministry of CBF field personnel Sarah and Larry Ballew and to build relationships with the people to whom they were ministering.  What actually happened was in fact much bigger than anything I could have expected.

It turns out, I had a sweet reunion with the Holy Spirit in China. I thought that I would bring her with me- share her with the people I met along the way- but it turns out she had been there all along.

She didn’t whisper, and she didn’t yell. She didn’t necessarily speak at all. But we heard her nonetheless.

She enveloped us in hospitality and welcomed us to a new land with warmth and kindness. She introduced us to new people and new foods and new traditions.

She told stories of faith journeys- some similar to our own, others amazingly different.

And she sang. Oh how she sang. She sang traditional hymns- pillars of the church from ages past. She sang joyful praise choruses, and she even sang silly children’s songs about a sticky Moose named Fred. Her music was beautiful- transcendent. She sang in Mandarin, in Cantonese, in English and in a language not meant for earthly ears. Her music stirred up the cloud of witness who have gone before us and joined all of our voices into one Holy offering.

She united us: 10 Virginias, countless Chinese men and women, young and old, working and retired; ministers, lay leaders, new believers and questioning seekers.

She was not always visible but she was so very present.

In Winnie’s passion for her church. In Yuki, faithfully joining our daily expeditions, patiently explaining things we did not understand. In Sarah and Larry, opening their home and their lives to our group of weary travelers. In Cherry’s hunger for connection. In Cory and Jenny’s sincere faith that God would take care of them despite the uncertainty of having their future plans hanging in the balance of someone else’s decisions. In Lena’s joyful spirit and warm hospitality. In 17-year old Gary’s humble gratitude to God for giving him the gift of music and in the joy that emanated from his person as he played the piano for his church. In a team of 10 foreigners, exhausted, but bound together by something much greater than our own willpower.

I reunited with The Holy Spirit in China because she was unavoidable. Speaking when our words were muddled, giving us ears to hear and understand words spoken in a strange tongue.

So what did I do in China? I experienced a taste of the kingdom to come. I received a vision of a church buzzing with energy and growing exponentially; of a people passionate about their faith and eager to share it with others. I was showered with hospitality by my brothers and sisters on the other side of the globe. Again and again and again I was blessed. Because the Holy Spirit is alive and well at home and abroad, unavoidable, moving, singing, and uniting our hearts beyond borders and beyond our understanding.