"The skeptic" 04/21/12 & 04/22/12
"I really like this song," I said, pointing at the mp3 file playing on my phone. "It's called 'When Death Dies'" For the next minute or so, on our way to the train station, we struggled through the grammar and pronunciation of the phrase "when death dies" and when he understood he looked a bit puzzled and said: "But this will mean live forewer." I was surprised by his astuteness and hearing it from my dear friend's lips made me smile : "Yes, exactly!" He followed: "But I think this is impossible," as he laughed to himself. I tried to explain that we know that everyone dies but our bodies contain our souls and how our souls will live forever after they have been released through death [in one place or another].
You can imagine how difficult it is to explain these deeper concepts in a second language to a college student who has grown up in a vacuum of naturalism and pseudo-science. (You can also see why my desire to study the heart language full-time in 2013 is growing with every conversation I have)
Just a few weeks before, somehow unclean spirits came up in conversation (shortly after my own experience), and he conceded that he was afraid of them and did believe in them. I could almost hear the fear in his voice while thanking my Father that he felt comfortable enough with me for such an admission. He asked me if I was afraid and I explained that for the believer, we have the Spirit of the Son, and that He will protect us from bad things that want to hurt us, so even though sometimes I am afraid, I know that I am protected. China can be a strange blend of naturalism and tradition. On one hand, they can be very superstitious and on the other, very naturalist and skeptical of supernatural things (Note that this is not dissimilar from the US)
"The seeker" 04/22/12
"I think that reading more can help me to believe," a student who attends the local fellowship regularly told me with a heavy Chinese accent. "I agree. I always try to read a little bit everyday," I said, trying to encourage him to continue reading and discovering Truth. He and I met one day as my teammate Tony and I all went on a trek with some brothers (two) and sisters to the local park, walking along the beach and city sidewalks in the cold. Being quite burdened to share the Good News in a place that desperately needs it, I decided I needed to initiate the conversation. Sometimes the fish may jump in my boat but not very often. More often, I have to cast out the net. I used my newly acquired (and still developing) indirectness skills to ask if he still kept in contact with the girls from this day (the two brothers are currently working in Dubai for a two-year program). Essentially, I was asking him if he was still attending the group on Sundays on a regular basis (he is). It was from this point that we transitioned into talking about the importance of reading, albeit briefly. I sent the same young man a text later that Saturday night: "I am happy to see you tonight. I hope that we can hang out another time. I hope you have a good time and learn some new things tomorrow morning." He responded: "I'm happy to see you too. thank [the Father] ! I'd like to talk more with you. could you [ask] for me to help me get close to [the Father]? thanks!"
"The seeker" 04/22/12
"I think that reading more can help me to believe," a student who attends the local fellowship regularly told me with a heavy Chinese accent. "I agree. I always try to read a little bit everyday," I said, trying to encourage him to continue reading and discovering Truth. He and I met one day as my teammate Tony and I all went on a trek with some brothers (two) and sisters to the local park, walking along the beach and city sidewalks in the cold. Being quite burdened to share the Good News in a place that desperately needs it, I decided I needed to initiate the conversation. Sometimes the fish may jump in my boat but not very often. More often, I have to cast out the net. I used my newly acquired (and still developing) indirectness skills to ask if he still kept in contact with the girls from this day (the two brothers are currently working in Dubai for a two-year program). Essentially, I was asking him if he was still attending the group on Sundays on a regular basis (he is). It was from this point that we transitioned into talking about the importance of reading, albeit briefly. I sent the same young man a text later that Saturday night: "I am happy to see you tonight. I hope that we can hang out another time. I hope you have a good time and learn some new things tomorrow morning." He responded: "I'm happy to see you too. thank [the Father] ! I'd like to talk more with you. could you [ask] for me to help me get close to [the Father]? thanks!"
What a great opportunity! I really hope to be able to invest more into this student (although the language barrier may be a struggle as he is a bit lower-level). He really seems to genuinely be seeking the Father's face. And in the meantime, I can certainly be interceding on his behalf!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As I've been reading Francis Chan's new book on the life hereafter and meditating on the fate of those who don't know Him through listening to some old messages from my fellowship back home, my heart has grown heavier. I practically begged for an opportunity to speak to my other two friends (who I was eating dinner with later, including the pool skeptic) and the boldness to do so. It was only by happenstance (or providence I should say) that we ran into this other seeking student. It's amazing how He orquestrates meetings and conversations sometimes. After the four of us said goodbye for the night and walked away, a loud crack set off several car alarms on campus. Fireworks for the grand opening for a new pool hall on campus exploded over the “Field of Barrenness”. So, after the boys came back out to see what was going on, they told me about the new pool hall, and we walked over to check it out. It was there, between games, that the one student and I had this brief conversation about reading. These two examples are separate but distinct illustrations of two different "soils" and of my journey through boldness and encountering communication and language barriers here in China.
As I've been reading Francis Chan's new book on the life hereafter and meditating on the fate of those who don't know Him through listening to some old messages from my fellowship back home, my heart has grown heavier. I practically begged for an opportunity to speak to my other two friends (who I was eating dinner with later, including the pool skeptic) and the boldness to do so. It was only by happenstance (or providence I should say) that we ran into this other seeking student. It's amazing how He orquestrates meetings and conversations sometimes. After the four of us said goodbye for the night and walked away, a loud crack set off several car alarms on campus. Fireworks for the grand opening for a new pool hall on campus exploded over the “Field of Barrenness”. So, after the boys came back out to see what was going on, they told me about the new pool hall, and we walked over to check it out. It was there, between games, that the one student and I had this brief conversation about reading. These two examples are separate but distinct illustrations of two different "soils" and of my journey through boldness and encountering communication and language barriers here in China.
No comments:
Post a Comment