In China we as Americans are like celebrities! When we go anywhere the Chinese people take out their cell phones and take pictures or videos of us. They point or come up to us and begin asking us questions in Chinese. Little children look at us like they have never seen an American before and the truth is even many adults here in Harbin have never seen an American. They enjoy when we smile or say “Ni hao” or hello.
This month are doing evangelism specifically college outreach ministries. At first the thought of evangelism is scary. The word evangelism in itself to many people is intimidating because we may not know what to say, may be worried about rejection, or may not feel equipped enough to lead someone to salvation. At Launch we learned that evangelism is nothing more than making friends and sharing with them the most exciting part of our lives. We also learned that when evangelizing we should not be worried or intimidated by the responsibility of their salvation. We are just a vessel and their salvation is the responsibility of Christ alone. Working with college students in China is not scary at all especially because the college students automatically like us because we are foreign! They have lots of questions and want to know everything about us. Thankfully for us the college students are learning English and desperately want to speak the language well.
My team, Teleios, and the team Fearless Unity will be working together this month. We are going out into unreached college campuses, building relationships, and talking to them about Jesus. Our contact here in China said that our goal is to be like a single guy in a bar; we want to meet as many people as possible and get their digits. We as Christian Americans have a witness and position like no locals do. So we make the first connections and plant seeds and the ministry here will follow up and continue to make disciples for years to come. One of our Chinese leaders here is named Andy. He is in his early twenties and is a very out going guy. He has been a Christian for two years now as a result of the last World Race team. A previous racer here in Harbin met Andy while doing outreach ministry and got his phone number. The church here followed up with Andy and taught him about the Bible. Andy became a Christian, has been working for the church, and is now studying to become a pastor.
The first day we arrived in Harbin after getting of off the train we were given a chance to rest and shower. However, our contacts had a ministry opportunity and asked for volunteers. Honestly, I didn’t want to go. But there was a need and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. About 6 of us went with our Chinese leaders to a local coffee shop at a college campus for English Corner; a time for students learning English to gather and practice their speaking. There were about 25 Chinese students who were so excited when we arrived. We all sat in a circle and introduced ourselves. Then we broke into small groups and each led a conversation in English. I was with three individuals, Hank, Henry, and Debbie. Most people in China have a name in English that was either given to them or chosen by them. I spoke with them for about an hour. It was such a cool experience to see how fascinated they were about every word I was saying. I was so jet lag and my head was spinning while I was trying by hardest to understand them and speak clearly enough for them to understand me. And lets be real, for those of you that know me, verbal communication in general, without a language barrier, is SUCH a weakness of mine! But God is graceful and his power is made strong when we are week. By the end of the conversation I had all of their phone numbers!
Can I just say that I have never gotten so many phone numbers before in my life! It is so crazy and fun. If I was a single male in a bar I would be good at it! Haha. I met James, the guy in the photo, on a city bus after accidentally hitting him in the head while I was trying grab a handle bar. My team has been meeting so many people and getting their phone numbers and emails very easily. We have begun to set up times to meet with the individuals for meals or coffee. We have been blessed with many new relationships and friendships but following up with them is so hard. Setting up time to meet with individuals is quite the challenge because we don’t have much access to phone usage and Internet for emailing is hard to find.
Please be in prayer that we will have divine appointments and that follow up communication with our new friends will be easy and fruitful!
