Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade-kept in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:3-4 

Hello Everyone! Once again I apologize for not writing to you all sooner! 

The end of last month was the Chinese New Year. We welcomed in the year of the Snake and said farewell to the year of the Dragon (which was my birth year). We wrapped up the first semester with a party for the Chinese New Year at CSSE. There were also a lot festivities that accompanied the celebration. A lot of traditions were observed including firecrackers lit up every few seconds somewhere in Macau. The firecrackers are supposedly suppose to scare off the evil spirits according to some old Chinese beliefs. Aside from worshipping various gods and ancestors during that time, it’s hard to know whether some of the traditions the Chinese uphold have something to do with Buddhism, plain old traditions, or a little of both. If you ask some of the younger Chinese people why they do some of the things they do, they will usually reply with a shrug of their shoulders and say that is what they were taught to do when they were young. 

Aside from all the Chinese New Year celebrations, Concordia School for Special Education (CSSE) had our own celebration. On Feb. 6th we had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our new school. The theme of the ceremony was "Thanksgiving", thanking God for all of His Blessings and gifts to our new school. The ceremony was a success despite some of the last minute preparations that went along with getting everything ready. We had over a 100 people present including the Governor of Macau and the Chairperson of the Macau’s Education department at the celebration. Rev. Mike Paul had the opportunity to say a few words about God’s Love and Blessings to many non-believers present. We know for sure that the Governor of Macau is a strict Buddhist. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was a very good and positive way to share the Gospel with many people. 

That same week CSSE had its annual parent/teacher meeting. The parents found out what their students had been learning. In return the students also got their report card for first term. Many of the students are not happy with their report cards, especially their math grades. The two teachers who teach math have no sign language skills, hence the students can’t understand what is being taught. They guess their way through a problem hoping that they are guessing right. I help out when I can, but when the problems are in Chinese, it’s hard to help out. If anyone has any ideas on how to help the students learn math better let me know. 

This coming month there are many things happening. First and foremost, we will have a short-term volunteer for one month. Her name is Barbara Markwordt. She will be assisting me in various student activities and helping us prepare for the upcoming Easter play. I am very excited about meeting her! Iwill tell you all more about it in my next newsletter. Thank the Lord for her willingness to help out here in Macau for a month. 

Secondly, the girls and I are planning a sleepover at my home. We will use the time to talk about different things affecting their lives and how to better handle them, and also to prepare for their upcoming trip to America in July. The girls are very excited about the trip and are counting down the days. In May we have to go to Hong Kong together to apply for their Visas so they can enter America. Please pray for everything to work out for them. If any of you are interested in helping out financially for our trip, please contact me personally and I will be happy to give you more information. 

The boys and I are planning some kind of activities we can all do together as well. Most of them will be outings, like renting bikes out on one of the Islands and going biking together, or hiking in Coloane on the mountain, etc. Please continue praying that some of the boys will be interested in learning more about the Gospel. The boys also want to learn to play basketball better. The current gym teacher doesn’t know all the rules to basketball and it gets the boys frustrated. If anyone would like to volunteer their time and come out here to work with the boys on basketball. The boys would all appreciate that. 

That’s what’s happening in the next month. Thank you all for your continuing support and prayers. 

Love in Christ, 

Sara Ann McKinney 

 If you would like to contribute to my mission work, you may do so by sending a check to: 

First Ev. Lutheran Church 
735 NE 1st Ave. 
Grand Rapids, MN 55744 
memo: Macau Mission 

Prayer Requests/Praises: 

*CSSE’s ribbon-cutting was a success! Thank the Lord for the opportunity to share the gospel with many non-believers. 

*Pray that the parents and students will be able to communicate better. 

*Pray that we will be able to figure out how to improve the Deaf Students education system. 

*Thank God for bringing Barbara Markwordt here to help out for one month. Pray that her flight here will be comfortable. 

*Thank God for Nelda’s wonderful service and Blessings here in Macau. Nelda Peterson was a Volunteer Missionary for a year. She just returned to the states. 

*Sunny (our new Deaconess) is here. Thank the Lord for her safe arrival. Pray that she will be a blessing to many Chinese people and bring the Gospel to them. 

*Dr. Herman Holste is here again. Dr. Holste is a retired Audiologist who has served here in Macau for many years. He will be doing some hearing testing on some students. and Thank God for his safe arrival and bless his three weeks here as he teaches people about working with the Deaf and does tests on the students. 

*Pray that the girls faith will continue to grow and learn to completely lean and trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus. 

*Pray that some of the boys will continue to be willing to hear the Gospel. 

*Pray that my work continues to bless those around me and that whatever I do is through His will.

****************

Please stop all you are doing right now, and pray for the needs in this country.   Pray for God to provide everything they need and pray for His guidance, wisdom and protection over these missionaries.   Pray that the people here will understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, and have an opportunity to say "Yes" to Him, and be saved.