Mandy

This story is from a couple weeks ago with my Sunday afternoon Bible study with Mandy and Sherry. Mandy is on the left and Sherry is on the right.

Sherry asked the question "What do Christians think about luck?"

I said Christians don't believe in luck. Or they shouldn't. They believe everything is God's plan. Whether it is good or bad. Some people might say that Bryant and I meeting was lucky; being in the right place at the right time. But I believe it was God's plan that we should meet each other.

Then Mandy asked if she could share a personal story. I said of course.

But before I tell you a story she told I should give you a little background. There are more than 55 people groups in China. Meaning they're all Chinese, but there of a different ethnic backgrounds. Their language, culture, customs festivals, and traditions all differ a little bit. There are two groups that seemingly always are having conflict. Xinjiang people and Han people. Xinjiang people are closer to Muslim culture than Chinese culture. Han Chinese people are the majority in China.

On to Mandy. She told us about how she was traveling to another city with her father. They were in the train station. Literally the next day there was a riot where Xinjiang people killed many Han. In that exact same train station at the exact same place that her and her father where the previous day. She also told Sherry and I that every time she travels she prays that Father would keep her safe. She went on to explain and express that she doesn't think it's just luck that they weren't killed. She doesn't think it's just luck that they were there the day before not the day of this riot. She is sure and confident that that was the Lord's providence that they were kept safe.

It is always fun and such a tremendous joy to see fellow sisters share their own life experiences with non-believers!

Keep praying for Sherry. When I asked her this week, "If there is a scale of 1 to 10. One is you don't believe there is a god. And Jesus wasn't real. Ten is you believe fully in the Bible. Where are you?"

She said, "Five. I think I am a five. I don't know what I think yet."

Faith Like Potatoes

I’m not really a big fan of cheesy Christian movies. I have friends who JUST love Faith Like Potatoes, that marriage movie, Courageous and oh yeah, that football one…Don’t get me wrong, they are good, wholesome movies, but I like to be on the edge of my seat, wondering "What going to happen next!?!?" And those movies are just too predictable. FYI: I also like movies with some kind of sacrificial love. But having seen said movies, I am reminded of them because of the past week.

Several new friends came to visit from Kentucky. It was SOOOO much fun to see them fall in love with a people that are so close to my own heart. They loved the food, which is always a plus and actively pursued students in bringing them closer to the One, True God. Now, stay with me. It might get messy.

Sufi is a sophomore in my Oral English class. I was immediately pulled towards her because of her sweet smile and disposition. Our friendship was effortless and we could talk for hours. We, of course had several conversation about God, the spiritual realm, Buddhism, her family, etc.

Sufi had told me about so much. About how disappointed her father was when her older sister was born. About how he was not interested in her life. About more disappointment when she was born. In Asia, especially China, boys are valued higher than girls. This just broke my heart. Her whole childhood she had tried so hard to gain her father's approval. But had never succeeded. She said her relationship with her father was a cold and very distant. However, it was a contrast with her relationship with her mother. She her and her mother were very close.

Back to KY friends. Savannah and Logan met Sufi their second day here. And they feel in love with her just like I did. They had great conversations. And previous to their meeting, Sufi had told me her one big hang up was believing that there was ONLY ONE God. She wanted to believe everyone was free to believe whatever they wanted. But I told her, they could, but only one thing can be TRUE. She understood, but didn't want to commit. But during the week with Logan and Savannah, her heart changed. And that's only by the power of Father and the Holy Spirit. Savannah told her about having to just take a "leap of faith" sometimes. And so she did!!! It was a great end to a great week.

I meet with her the following week and we talked about navigating through the Good Book, meeting with other believers, prayer, sharing with other people. She seemed just as excited as when Savannah and Logan told me about her commitment to become a Christian.

But as I expected, she seemed most hesitant about meeting with others. Chinese people are all about the groups. People don't share opinions too freely or openly because it might go against the group. As a communication major, I would call this GroupThink. It's not really a good thing. But that's how they do it. ANYWAY, she felt weird going to this group of believers all alone and not knowing anyone there. I told her she had to try it at least three times before she gave up.

Back to cheesy Christian movies. Faith Like Potatoes is about this this farmer who is trying to grow potatoes in Africa. All these people say it can't be done. But he has faith because he has to. There's no way to know it works until it's harvest time. And then you dig and see if you got a potato or not. And of course, he does in the movie.

So, my life here, sharing with people is a lot like that movie. I share about Jesus. I listen to their hearts. I serve the people. I love people. I hug people. But in the end, I can only have faith. I don't know what's happening inside. But God does. And every once in a while, He digs and pulls out a potato :)