Welcome to China Compass on the Fight Laugh Feast Network! I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben, back in OKC, but packing for our move to Malaysia this week! 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

After reintroducing myself and giving my China bonafides (0:40), I talk all about why Chinese students should or shouldn’t study in the USA (5:15). Next, we look at the Pray for China cities of the week (31:34), followed by a listener letter about possibly visiting China (44:25).

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

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 Chinese Too, But Won’t)

https://chinacall.substack.com/p/how-i-taught-myself-mandarin

New Visa Policies Put America First, Not China (May 28)

https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/05/new-visa-policies-put-america-first-not-china/

Trump: CHINESE STUDENTS [HAVE] ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH ME! (June 11)

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114664632971715644

Pray for China (June 15-21)

https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-june-15-21-2025

China Visa Free Transit

https://www.china-briefing.com/news/china-resumes-144-hour-visa-free-transit-policy-for-foreigners-who-can-apply

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!