By now, the dragon has come to life and danced its way down hundreds of streets in hundreds of cities.

Dragons are spiritual symbols of power, immortality, happiness and fertility. They are thought to bring good luck. Many Christians in Asia associate dragons with the devil.

Believers pray that the Chinese who received Bibles this Chinese New Year in Southeast Asia will learn how to simulate Jesus’ movements and will accept the new life He offers.

Pray for the thousands of Chinese who now have a personal copy of the Bible. Instead of looking at dragons as symbols of immortality, pray Chinese would look to Christ for eternal life.

Join us in prayer. Click on “read more” and leave your prayer in the comments section.

His ears flicking back and forth, the dragon’s face stops only inches away from the prostitute holding money. She waves the bill back-and-forth, the dragon’s head bobbing along, never losing sight of the green bill. The dancer inside the dragon darts a hand through the mouth, snatching the bill. The prostitute laughs heartily, and reaches for a drink as the dragon moves on. Gongs and drums pound, clashing with the club’s techno beats, as the colorful dragon goes from table to table, receiving monetary gifts from patrons and prostitutes alike, an offering for a good new year.

Only five minutes from the strip clubs partying it up for Chinese New Year, a different, more peaceful, way of celebrating gathers a crowd of its own. The clear tones of two trumpets, played by Southern Cross volunteers from Taiwan, resonate from the Southern Cross Project Bible distribution point, causing many tourists to stop and listen.

A lone boy sat by himself and stared off into the distance. All around him children ran, screaming and playing. He felt lost and lonely. A woman sat next to him, conveying love through a hug, never saying a word …

… The former Buddhist monk stood among thousands of tourists, yet he felt lost and lonely. A woman sought him out, handing the young man a Bible. Sensing that he was searching for the meaning of life, she suggested he read that book to find the answers …

A mother’s love can break through language and culture barriers. There’s just something about a mother’s touch and listening ear that makes a boy feel special.

Tennessee volunteer Tiffany Inglewood* used her experience as a mother to touch the lives of two Southeast Asian boys. God knew a 24-year-old tour guide and a newly abandoned 14-year-old needed a “Mom” this week.

Happy New Year!

Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, as it’s known in China, is the most important holiday for the Chinese.

It marks the beginning of a New Year and falls on a different day every year based on the lunar and solar calendar. Each year has a corresponding animal based on a 12-year cycle known as the Chinese Zodiac. 2011 is the year of the rabbit.

As the hostess seated the tour group in the restaurant, one young Chinese woman kept looking outside. She knew she couldn’t sit down to enjoy the buffet until she got something off her mind and heart.

“Can I pray for you?” Felicity Wong,* a Chinese Malaysian university student, asked Southern Cross volunteers from First Baptist Church, Thomasville, Ga. “I felt the Spirit leading me to come back.”

Wong introduced herself as a fellow Christ-follower and thanked the volunteers for coming on her way into the restaurant, but that wasn’t enough interaction. She needed to encourage them to continue distributing Bibles to her fellow Chinese on vacation.

The Chinese man leans against the pier railing, pouring over the Bible he just received.

He ignores his wife’s entreaties to hurry. He slowly turns toward the boat, reading and savoring the words as he walks. He’s so engrossed, however, that he misses the departure of his dinner boat cruise.

It’s Chinese New Year and this man is spending his vacation in Southeast Asia with thousands of other Chinese tourists.