What is the state of pool and billiards in China? An on-the-spot reporter tells us. (GTS RACK visit to Shenyang, China courtesy of Wayne Parker)

From the 2012 WPA World Class Artistic Pool Master Cup held in Shenyang China (13 - 15 July)

Several days ago I had the opportunity of visiting China for the very first time in my life, and I can only say that it has been an unforgettable experience for me.


Firstly I would like to thank brother Steve Lillis for all his dedicated support and continual prayers for the GTS RACK team who were in China.

We had many breakthroughs because of the prayer and the fellowship times we had in China. I believe that much more prayer is needed for the nation of China as my report will reveal.

I arrived in China in the very early hours of Thursday morning (12/07/2012), and checked into my room to rest from my 30 hours of travel from Johannesburg, South Africa.

That morning I made my way down to the breakfast room on the 6th floor and while dishing up breakfast, I happened to turn around and to my surprise I found Brother Tom Rossman standing right in front of me. We greeted with a loving brotherly hug and sat down for breakfast and arranged to get together for morning fellowship times.

Soon we made our way up to Tom's room where I met up with Sister Marty and we sat down and shared all that the Lord had put on our hearts. "To Value the Presence of the Lord" was the Word on my heart that morning.

We were able to spend some time in Worship and in Prayer, and ultimately this ushered us into the loving presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. We were refreshed in presence of the Lord.

That day we had our players meeting, and were introduced to the media. Then was the opening ceremony where I was able to meet up, and spend some time with Brother Mike Massey. I also met up with Brother Jason Lynch that night and we agreed to meet in Brother Mike's room on the 12th floor in the morning for some fellowship time again.

The next morning Brothers Mike, Tom, Jason, Rick and I gathered together in Mike's room, where Tom shared a devotional reading on the following:

Proverbs 6:6-8 - "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no captain, overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest."

I then shared regarding a revelation I had received a few days prior from the following portion of scripture: Job 39:26 "Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, and spread its wings toward the south?"

From these scriptures we learned that it is important to know and to understand the season in which we find ourselves, so that we can do what we ought to do, and be where we ought to be. An ant knows and understands her season, to gather in the summer for the winter, and a hawk flies by God's Wisdom and not ours, knowing that she needs to spread her wings towards the south for the winter. So we also ought to understand the season we are in regarding the Gospel Trick-shot ministry which God has for the world, so that we can know where we ought to be and what we ought to be doing just like the ant and the hawk.

We are in a fruitful season where trick shots is now accepted and embraced by the Chinese nation and all over the world such the Philippines and many other nations. This should compel us to step out in faith and move with God's Spirit. Trick-shots as we know, is merely a platform for the work of the ministry of bringing the Good news of Jesus Christ to the world, and we need to understand that God's season has arrived, and people's hearts are open like never before. We can experience God's Power, Presence and Provision in this season in which we find ourselves in.

I remember bringing a ripe peach up from the breakfast room, and shared an illustration of how naturally a tree is able to bear fruit. I have never seen a peach tree struggle with agonizing screams to bear a single fruit, but on the contrary, fruit bearing is a natural phenomenon that occurs when a tree find itself within its fruitful season.

Therefore we can rest assured that the Lord's burden is light and His yoke is easy, and we will find bearing fruit will be a natural process for the season we are in regarding Gospel Trick Shots. People will be drawn to the ministry of Gospel Trick Shots like a moth to a flame, and all we will have to do is pick the fruit off the tree and place them into the basket.

Well, that day we played the first 3 rounds of the Masters Cup event and we decided to meet up again the next day in Brother Mike's room for more fellowship time.

The next day I woke up with a burning Word from the Lord in my heart. It was to share the importance of the Holy Spirit and the key of abiding in Him. We read a portion of scripture from 1 Corinthians 2:1-12. "It was about how we cannot understand the things of the Spirit with our natural mind and abilities; however we have received God's Spirit that we might know the things of God that we might freely know the things which God has freely given us. The key was to walk and to abide in the Holy Spirit."

Our next portion of scripture was taken from John 15 and 16. Abiding in God is when we become most fruitful. Abiding in His presence is when we find ourselves in purpose and in the season we are meant to be in. This is where we discover where we ought to be, and what we ought to do. I then shared another illustration from John 16:13-16. Brother Jason also had this scripture on his heart that morning when he shared, which was an amazing confirmation.

"When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you."

From this we see that the Son is fully submitted to the Father and does not live for Himself. Likewise the Holy Spirit is fully submitted to the Son and does not live for Himself. So also we ought to be fully submitted to the Holy Spirit and not live for ourselves, so that when the Father reveals something through the Son, and through the Spirit to us, we may receive it, so that we can take it to the world. So the key is for us to abide in God by walking according to the Spirit.

The fellowship times we had in the mornings really helped me to play in peace during the day which helped me to shoot a 54 out of 60 points in my final session. This inevitably resulted in me finishing off in the top 4 to which I give God all the Glory! His peace made me to play so much better that I could have done alone. The precious Peace of Jesus makes a huge difference.

After the day's sessions Brother Jason and I had an opportunity to just sit and bond like never before. We spoke about how God has helped us, and opened doors through the Gospel trick-shot ministry for us to be a part of. We recognized that we were sons in the Gospel trick-shot house where Brothers Tom, Mike and Steve were our spiritual fathers. We recognized our responsibility to keep the GTS RACK members in prayer and to be faithful sons as Isaac was to Abraham in carrying the wood up onto the mountain where the Lord provided. Gen 22. Even though we are still young and strong, we need to remain humble and have a servant heart to run with the vision of the Lord regarding sharing the Gospel through Trick-Shots. We still have much to learn.

After our time of fellowship, I had received a Word from the Lord in the form of a vision. I saw an academy or a school of some sort where ministries would send missionaries and people from all over the world to be trained up and taught in the art and skill of trick shots and the sharing of the Gospel through it. I saw curriculums and material and many people being equipped and disciple trained for the work of the ministry through Gospel Trick Shot. I knew in my heart that this shall surly come to pass, a "Gospel Trick Shot Academy".

I shared this Word I had received with Brothers Jason, Mike and then Brother Tom. Tom and Mike informed me that this was a topic of discussion already when they were in the Philippines. I believe that this is confirmation of God's plans to forward His kingdom of Gospel Trick Shots for the equipping of the saints for the work of the Gospel Trick Shot ministry.

That night I decided to get something to eat in town and walked the streets of Shenyang and found several Pool halls where many people were playing until the early hours of the morning. One particular pool hall I walked into I found 4 locals playing some pool and I asked if I could challenge a game. They said it was fine. The one guy was an Asian looking guy but spoke with a fluent English accent. He was from London and was visiting China on holiday. His name is Gary.

I played pretty well and soon I was approached by somebody who said that his boss wanted me to play him. His boss was the owner of the pool hall. I played him and also played well and done a few trick shots afterwards to which they were all amazed. All the games in the pool hall stopped as people came crowing around to watch the trick shots. I invited them to the venue where the Masters Cup was being held and to come watch trick shots at its best. They brought out a Masters Cup poster with Gabi Visiou from Romania on the front of the poster, and asked if this was the same event. I told them that Gabi was my room-mate and that they should come.

They mentioned that there was a fee of 100RMB (+ - $15). I said that I will arrange for them to attend for free if they came. They agreed to come. I then handed out my personal business card to everyone, and told them that God loved them as I gave each of them a warm loving hug. On the back of my card is the following: Psalms 33:3 - "Play skillfully with a shout of Joy".

Well the next morning I met all 4 of them again and introduced them to Brother Tom and Mike and Jason. They were amazed and blown away by all the great performances of all the players who were doing their freestyle showman side of the game. Then Brother Mike called up Gary to play the butterfly shot in front of all the Chinese cameras. Gary made the shot perfectly first time and he had his 5 min of fame. After my performance that day, Gary called me aside and presented me with a glass trophy of friendship award as a token of their appreciation for everything that happened to them that day through me inviting them. I was really touched by this.

Later on Brother Jason was showing me a few Gospel Trick Shots on the practice table and so I invited Gary to come sit in and listen to Jason. Well, Jason done what he does best and shot away at his Gospel Trick Shot presentation he does so well.

After that I took Gary aside and asked him what his stand regarding believing in God was. He told me that he did not believe in God and that he was an Agnostic. This gave me the opportunity to share my testimony, and a brief Gospel presentation. I then asked Gary if he wanted to receive Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior. Gary said "Yes", and so we slipped into one of the back passages of the Hotel and I laid my hands on him and lead him through the sinner's prayer. Gary told me that he was glad to do what he did, and thanked me so much for everything.

Then I took him back to Jason where Jason then showed Gary how to play some Gospel Trick Shots. Gary was eager to go back to England and get involved with trick shots back home. Gary and I will be in contact with each other via email, and will be given some more material on Gospel Trick Shots and hopefully become a part of the GTS RACK team one day in England.

That night after supper, Brother Jason came knocking on my bedroom door being deeply disturbed. There had been a cultural misunderstanding that happened between some of the Chinese organizers and Brother Tom and Sister Marty. We did not know the full story, but however we knew that we had to pray.

I shared with Brother Jason that it is better for us to pray a God prayer versus praying a good prayer, and that we need to pray in the Spirit together to hear what God is saying concerning the situation. Brother Jason mentioned that he had not prayed in the Spirit before, and so I shared a few Scriptures regarding the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Jason agreed that he wanted to be filled with the Spirit and Power and so we prayed together, and so I laid my hands on him and Jason was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues.

We prayed together for about an hour for Brother Tom and Sister Marty. I received a Word from the Spirit that the relationship between the east and west will not be hindered, but that the east will humbly learn to respect the God of Tom and Marty. This manifold wisdom of God was made known by us to the principalities and powers through prophecy that night (Eph 3:10). God's peace was in our hearts.

We then visited Brother Mike's room and I was able to spend some good quality time with Brother Mike. We have such similar backgrounds and experiences that we come from, and spent some time in prayer and good fellowship.

Another awesome breakthrough we had in China was one morning when Brother Jason and I were having some coffee in the lobby lounge downstairs. We were sharing concerning finances the Kingdom of God way, when Gabi Visiou from Romania joined us at the table. He wanted to know what I was speaking about. This gave me an opportunity to start sharing with him, which led me into sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him and the Love of the Father.

Soon there was a prophetic anointing available to flow in and shared a very personal prophetic word with Gabi which touched him deeply. God always knows what to say. I shared the love of the Father with Gabi, and wanted to lead him into a prayer to make God his Father through Jesus Christ. Gabi said that he wanted to pray the prayer, but wanted to do it in his own words privately so that it would be meaningful from his heart. I was overjoyed at this.

After checking out of the hotel, our dedicated interpreter lady named Jenny, escorted Sebastian Gumelli and I to the airport via taxi. This was another moment where God was able to use me to share His love. Jenny and I sat in the back together on our way the airport, when I was able to start a meaningful conversation with her. I had noticed earlier that day that while Jenny, Jason and myself were together, that after Jason had sneezed, that Jenny said "God bless you".

Well in the taxi I thought that this was a good place to start. I told Jenny that I noticed she said "God bless you" and not just "bless you", and inquired why she mentioned God as I thought that China was mainly a Buddhist nation. She told me that China was mainly a Buddhist nation but she has learned to respect everybody's God. I told her that it meant a lot to me that she also respected my God who is Jesus Christ.

I then asked her what her belief was regarding God. She told me that she does not believe in God. I then told her that I know that it is illegal in China for me to try and persuade her to believe in my God. She agreed with me. I then told her that I don't think that it was illegal for me to tell her what my God (Jesus Christ) thought about her. She also agreed.

I then was able to share the love of Jesus with her, and once again a prophetic anointing was available for me to flow in. Very personal and deep secrets of her hearts were laid bare as the Spirit revealed things concerning her childhood and father. It was such an amazing experience that Jenny and I were weeping in the back seat of that taxi together. I then told her that if she ever needed my God to be there for her, that all she had to do was just call on His name and He will be there for her. I said that His name is Jesus. She smiled and thanked me for everything. I knew that an amazing seed had been planted. Jenny and I will be in contact with each other via email.

My visit to China was truly an unforgettable experience and I give Jesus all the glory for everything that happened. I also know that I am still very young in the international arena of competitive Artistic Pool and Gospel Trick Shots and still have a lot to learn. My prayer is that God will further open doors for me to bring God's love to the world He died for. The Love of Jesus is so powerful!

Brothers Tom, Mike, Steve, Jason and Rick, I want to say thank you to all of you. You are all so dear to me and I look forward to serving you all again as the Lord wills.

May we all stay the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and continue in prayer for the work of the ministry of life through Gospel Trick Shots. In His Love, Brother Wayne
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Pro Skill Drill 2: Finishing Points - The Long Rail
Pro Skill Drill 3: The Tip Kick System - Off One Rail
Pro Skill Drill 4: The Double Kick System
Pro Skill Drill 5: Clutch Safeties For 8- And 9-Balls
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Visit The Drill Instructor's Website

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Part VI: Mosconi's Madness, The Fire Down Below
Part VII: The Old Man's Three Rules Of Great Pool
Part VIII: The Men In Town To Clash
Part IX: Stand And Fight
Part X: Showdown On Cloth
Part XI: Cue Ball Killing It
Part XII: Willie's Best Bank Shot
Part XIII: Crushed, Snookered, Busted
Part XIV: Rolling Loose
Part XV: Swing And A Miss