Today I'm sharing a lightly edited version of a conversation I first had with my two daughters exactly one year ago this week, on Father's Day. I personally enjoyed listening to it again, and even learned a few things that I had forgotten (lol), even though I am one of the actors in the story. Thank you for listening and please join our family in praying for China!

I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben. Follow me on X (@chinaadventures) where I post daily reminders to pray for China. X is also the best way to contact me. Just follow and send a DM. You can also email me @ bfwesten at gmail dot com

The China Compass Podcast is brought to you by Pray for China (PrayforChina.us):

Sat, June 20 - Pray for Mangshi City in western Yunnan’s picturesque and peak-filled Dehong Prefecture, along the Myanmar border: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangshi

Home to myriad mountains and minorities, Yunnan is paired with Arkansas and Louisiana for prayer. For more info: https://prayforchina.us/index.php/yunnan/

*Remember that today in China, thousands of pastors will be detained/harassed/persecuted for faithfully leading their flocks. (Heb. 13:3)*

Sun, June 21 - Pray for Changxing County in northern Zhejiang’s Huzhou Prefecture, on the south shore of Lake Tai: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changxing_County

Zhejiang Province is aptly paired with North Carolina for prayer. Learn more about both Zhejiang and Hudson Taylor here: https://prayforchina.us/index.php/zhejiang/

Mon, June 22 - Pray for Tingri County in Tibet’s most populous prefecture, Shigatse, in central Tibet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tingri_County

Tibet is paired for prayer with the mountain states of MT, ID, WY, (northern) UT & (northern) CO. Visits by Westerners are mostly forbidden and the vast majority have never heard the Gospel: https://prayforchina.us/index.php/tibet/

If you want to join us all this week, here are all the Chinese cities to pray for from now til June 28... 

https://open.substack.com/pub/chinacall/p/pray-for-china-june-22-28-2026

Who is Missionary Ben?

I haven’t done this in a long time, but every now and then I am reminded I should probably give a little bit more of my background (and my China bonafides). Now I can’t divulge very much, for security reasons, but here are the basics: moved to China at the age of 19, in the early 2000s, taught myself to speak (and read) Chinese. Lived there w/ my family til I was deported in 2018. 

Unbeaten: The Story of My Arrest, Interrogation, and Deportation from China (Unbeaten.vip)

Over those nearly 15 years, I set foot in every province, and visited hundreds of cities, towns, and villages. Alongside our evangelistic work, I helped manage a leather factory in a Muslim town, opened a yak burger/pizza restaurant on the Tibetan Plateau, served as a guide and Tibetan taxi driver, and taught English to elementary kids, high schoolers, and young adults. 

How I Taught Myself Mandarin (And How You Can Learn Too, But Won’t) https://chinacall.substack.com/p/how-i-taught-myself-mandarin 

Follow or subscribe to China Compass and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Don’t forget: Follow @chinaadventures on X, and find everything else @ PrayGiveGo.us. Luke 10, verse 2, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few!

This week’s episode of the Prison Pulpit once again gives us the opportunity to talk about Wang Yi’s Early Rain Church in Sichuan, China. The church was forcibly closed down in December of 2018, which is when Wang Yi went to Prison. The remaining congregation has continued to be harassed all these years.

I'm your China travel guide in exile, Missionary Ben. Follow me on Twitter/X (@chinaadventures) where I share a new Chinese city to pray for every single day. Feel free to email anytime: chinacompass @ privacyport.com. Check out PrayGiveGo.us for everything else, incl. Patreon, Substack & books…

Unbeaten: My Arrest, Interrogation + Deportation from China (Unbeaten.vip)

Orthodox Christians killed and historic church destroyed in Ethiopia

https://www.opendoorsuk.org/news/latest-news/ethiopia-attack-orthodox-christians-killed/

Boko Haram Hostages Released

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8j0jn4xjgo

China detains two leaders of Early Rain, an influential underground church

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9582vlm83o

Follow China Compass

Thank you for listening! Subscribe & leave a review on your preferred podcast platform! And don’t forget to visit PrayGiveGo.us for books + Heb. 13:3: Remember those who are in prison, “as bound with them”!

I recently sat down with the Campus Preacher, Keith Darrell, to discuss a variety of topics, including his "favorite" bar in Butte, Montana, Chinese racists and feminists, and getting heckled (and shut down) while preaching Down Under. 

Campus Preacher Podcast: https://pubtv.flfnetwork.com/tabs/audio/podcasts/8304

Campus Preacher Website: https://www.campuspreacher.com/

Campus Preacher Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KeithDarrell

Campus Preacher Instagram: @campuspreacher

Pray for China Weekly (6/15-21): https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-june-15-21-2026

Subscribe to China Compass and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

Follow me on X (@chinaadventures) where I post new China city prayer profiles every day.

Email me anytime with notes, questions, or comments: chinacompass at privacyport dot com.

Learn more about our ministry, including my missionary biographies, at PrayGiveGo.us!

Welcome to the weekly “Prison Pulpit” series on the China Compass podcast! I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben. You can follow me on X (@chinaadventures) where I post daily reminders to pray for China (PrayforChina.us). To learn more about our ministry endeavors or get one of my missionary biographies, visit www.PrayGiveGo.us!

Why the Prison Pulpit?

I record this weekly Prison Pulpit series to encourage you to pray for Pastor Wang Yi (and others like him) as Hebrews 13:3 teaches, by sharing his own words and sermons, as well as many stories and sermons from within prison walls by the late Richard Wurmbrand, which is where we will focus today… 

For more info: 

Wurmbrand's Current Ministry: HelpforRefugees.com

Free Books and More: RichardWurmbrandFoundation.org

Follow China Compass

Follow or subscribe to China Compass wherever you are listening. You can also send any questions or comments via comment or DM on X: @chinaadventures. Hebrews 13:3

I was blessed to sit down once again with Pastor Doug Wilson in his Idaho office to discuss a variety of China-related topics, including Trump's China tactics and whether or not Doug thinks he'll ever stand on the Great Wall of China. We also spent quite a few minutes discussing his early years in Japan, which was sort of unplanned. The conversation was fascinating and fun and we only stopped because of time restraints. I have a few more questions that I had to leave for a future conversation. 

Here's the link to our previous conversation back in the Fall of 2025, of which I wrote the following...

In our 30+ minute conversation, we touched on many topics including the Great Leap Forward, Mao’s Great Famine, Doug’s Submarine Adventures with a Taiwanese crew, the China Legacies of Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, the Tiananmen Square massacre (and revival), China’s modern-day revival, C.S. Lewis’s 1946 China optimism vs. Doug’s (short-term) pessimism, Hebrews 13:3 and how to pray for the persecuted, and PrayforChina.us’s helpful strategy!

https://pubtv.flfnetwork.com/tabs/audio/podcasts/30293/episodes/133

We would welcome donations to help us equip pastors in the Chinese house church network I mentioned in my conversation with Doug.

Here is the website to the ministry I lead, Mission Catalyst: MCI3.org

Welcome to another special episode in the weekly “Prison Pulpit” series on the China Compass podcast! I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben, currently returning (overland) to Oklahoma from Moscow, Idaho. You can follow me on X (@chinaadventures) where I post daily reminders to pray for China (PrayforChina.us). To learn more about our ministry endeavors or get one of my missionary biographies, visit www.PrayGiveGo.us!

Why the Prison Pulpit?

I want to remind you once again why I do this weekly Prison Pulpit series: to encourage you to pray for Pastor Wang Yi (and others like him) as Hebrews 13:3 teaches us, by sharing from his own words and sermons, as well as many stories and sermons from the late Richard Wurmbrand. 

Pastor Wang Yi’s Prayer for the (Chinese) Nation

https://www.wangyilibrary.org/en/post/a-prayer-for-the-nation

Bonus: If Xi Jinping Does Not Repent, He Will Perish!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWuv55YgKjY

Follow China Compass

Follow or subscribe to China Compass wherever you are listening. You can also send any questions or comments via comment or DM on X: @chinaadventures. Hebrews 13:3

Today’s podcast was recorded on the highway en route to Moscow, ID. I discuss a few things I forgot to mention from Vanuatu, a big prayer request from China, a few thoughts on Iran, and more. 

Welcome to China Compass on the Fight Laugh Feast network! I'm your China travel guide in exile, Missionary Ben. Follow me on X (@chinaadventures) where I share a new Chinese city or county to pray for every single day.  Feel free to write anytime: [email protected]. All my books, substack, patreon, and everything else can be easily found at PrayGiveGo.us!

Don’t Miss these Classic Missionary Biographies I’ve edited and helped to publish:

Borden of Yale: The Millionaire Missionary (BordenofYale.com)

The Autobiography of John G. Paton: Part I (JohnGPaton.com)

The Memoirs of William Milne: First Missionary to Malaysia (PrayGiveGo.us)

Unbeaten: Arrested, Interrogated, and Deported from China (Unbeaten.vip)

Thank you for listening! Subscribe + leave a review on your preferred podcast platform! If you’d like to support our China ministry, that, and everything else can be found @ PrayGiveGo.us. Luke 10, vs 2: the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, so let's ask the Lord for more!

On my final day in Vanuatu, as I continue my work on Part II of John G. Paton’s autobiography, I read a portion from the forthcoming book that includes both George Mueller and C.H. Spurgeon. Then I discuss the growth of the Chinese church in the capital city of Vanuatu, Port Vila, before looking at the Chinese cities to pray for this week (PrayforChina.us).

I'm your China travel guide in exile, Missionary Ben. Follow me on Twitter/X (@chinaadventures) where I share a new Chinese city to pray for every single day. Feel free to email anytime: chinacompass @ privacyport.com. Check out PrayGiveGo.us for everything else, incl. Patreon, Substack & books…

The Autobiography of John G. Paton (JohnGPaton.com)

Pray for China (May 24-31): https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-may-24-31-2026

Follow China Compass

Thank you for listening! Subscribe & leave a review on your preferred podcast platform! And don’t forget to visit PrayGiveGo.us for books + Heb. 13:3: Remember those who are in prison, “as bound with them”!

As Americans celebrate Memorial Day, I'm busy traveling the South Seas (Vanuatu), so today's show (#200!) is a mashup of two shorter bonus episodes I recorded exactly two years ago, when the podcast was just getting started.

The first discusses John G. Paton on his birthday (May 24, 1824), as well as a little bit about his contemporary Hudson Taylor.

In the second, I spill the beans about the day I was deported from NW China in 2018. 

Note, these have been lightly edited from the old originals, but some 2024 or otherwise time-bound references are sure to remain. My apologies in advance.

Part I: The Autobiography of John G. Paton - JohnGPaton.com

Part II: Deportation Day - Unbeaten.vip

Here's the link to the full text version of Chapter Seven from my book, which I also mentioned:

https://chinacall.substack.com/p/deportation-day-may-25-2018

Unbeaten: Confronting the Lies (and Laughter) of the Chinese Communist Police

This is the story of my arrest, interrogation, and deportation from China in 2018: Unbeaten.vip

Please follow/subscribe to China Compass and leave a review on your favorite platform. Also check out my books and everything else we’re involved in @ PrayGiveGo.us. Luke 10, Verse 2!

My Australian friend Brett Lee-Price recently published a timely article about China’s need for solid theology, and what some Australians are doing about it. I’ve been meaning to share this for a few months now, and today felt like the time after meeting with Brett on Monday during a whirlwind week down under. 

I'm your China travel guide in exile, Missionary Ben. Follow me on Twitter/X (@chinaadventures) where I share a new Chinese city to pray for every single day. Feel free to email anytime: chinacompass @ privacyport.com. Check out PrayGiveGo.us for everything else, incl. Patreon, Substack & books…

The Memoirs of William Milne (PrayGiveGo.us)

The Autobiography of John G. Paton (JohnGPaton.com)

Borden of Yale: The Millionaire Missionary (BordenofYale.com)

Unbeaten: My Arrest, Interrogation, and Deportation from China (Unbeaten.vip)

Tulip Publishing

https://tulippublishing.com.au/

The Word is Not Bound: Guarding the Church in China

https://reformata.org.au/2026/02/12/the-word-is-not-bound-guarding-the-church-in-china/

Follow China Compass

Thank you for listening! Subscribe & leave a review on your preferred podcast platform! And don’t forget to visit PrayGiveGo.us for books + Heb. 13:3: Remember those who are in prison, “as bound with them”!