As many of you know, my squad had the upmost privilege to have ended our race in China. It was not part of our original route but finding out five months in that our route would end in China, many of us were looking forward to seeing how God would show up in such a closed country.
Definition of what a “closed” country is, in particularly China:
China is a communist country therefore no religion is to be followed, practiced or discussed in the country, especially Christianity. Since Christianity welcomes every ethnicity, background, age and culture, the government believes that if the local people hear and follow through with the truth that is preached, they will cause riots and take down the government. However, if a religion is considered a part of a culture like Hindus, Muslims or Buddhists, they will allow it as “it is a part of their identity” and they don’t want to lose a large part of their population. This meant that there were many temples and monasteries all over the country, but it was rare to see a church building anywhere.
Before we arrived in the country, we had an orientation briefing in Hong Kong where we were educated about what we will likely experience when we crossed the border. We were told that you needed to watch what you said because if there was any mention of Jesus, God, bible, prayer or missionary involved, the Government officials will tell you to leave the city, or deport you out of the country. We were also warned that they would follow you if they suspected you to be a Christian missionary, so be on the lookout. In recent years however, we were notified that the new Governor was starting to open up to Christianity due to missionaries volunteering their aid and time when a national disaster occurred in the country. Therefore, a few churches have been built since then, but only foreigners are allowed to attend them. It also needs to be registered with the government so they keep track on what you are preaching and let you know the boundaries in which you can preach. That is why there are a lot of underground churches that still exist for the local people, however many are shut down daily and people are imprisoned when they are found out. Hearing these things prior to entering made me nervous and wonder what would happen and how we would share the love of Jesus to the people when we got there.
My team and another were assigned to do ATL (Ask The Lord) ministry (which means we are following God’s leading in where He wants us to go, what He wants us to do and who He wants us to speak to) in a town that had one of the largest monasteries in Asia. Hundreds of monks resided there and the majority of them were Tibetan. There was one main street that led up to the monastery and often foreigners would come and visit for a day to see this tourist site. We only had two and a half weeks to spend in this town and despite us being unsure of how much we could do in that time, Jesus showed up every single day!
I want to share some of those days with you and encourage you to step out in faith wherever you are, despite the fear of consequences because every time you do, Jesus comes through.
Story One
On our first full day in our little town, we went to try a Western, Chinese & Tibetan restaurant for dinner. We had an amazingly long conversation with a Dutch lady who was one of the owners and got to hear her story about how she came to China. I asked if there was anything we could help out at in the restaurant and she motioned for us to speak to her Tibetan husband as she would be leaving the next day. I met and asked her husband and he said to leave our number and come back the next day.
We came back nearly every night after that and were able to build a relationship with the man and his daughter. A bunch of us were able to have a long conversation with him about his life and his beliefs over a delicious meal he had prepared for us. He shared that he was studying Buddhism and stated that people can’t just believe what their parents believe in but rather, they need to check it out for themselves. I totally agree and shared that we were still studying the bible as well as there are still so many things we need to learn as followers of Christ.
He also mentioned that two Christian missionaries came to stay in his town 16 years ago and always had arguments with him about their beliefs. This news saddens me as many times I’ve heard we, as Christians have a reputation for starting arguments when talking about Jesus, but the truth is, we shouldn’t be! We should definitely have discussions where each party can listen openly with one another, but when it leads to an argument, it’s time to stop talking. Jesus didn’t answer many times throughout the New Testament when He knew it would lead to unhealthy arguments. God’s the only one who can change a person’s heart and mind so when your conversation is leading to an argument, it’s time to stop talking and leave it to God to finish it.
We became friends with this man and three of my teammates were able to help concrete the front porch of his restaurant. Some of us were even able to help teach his waitress English and my team leader also added another item, the “Yam burger” to his menu. His daughter even gave us a tour of their upcoming hotel they were building and we were able to roam around as we pleased. We became a part of their lives and they welcomed us in so openly.
Prior to the last day, I had been praying constantly for God to open up doors for us to share the gospel with him and show us how we should do it, as we never had another opportunity to discuss it again after that long conversation. On the very last night, Jesus came through and motivated me to write a card to him and his family, and thank them for everything they had allowed us to be a part of during our weeks in their town. While I was writing, I also felt led to encourage him to give Jesus another shot and really find out for himself, who this Jesus guy is in the New Testament. I gave the card with a New Testament bible to him, shook his hand where he held it for a long time and said he wished we could stay longer, and then said our farewells. I don’t know how he reacted to receiving the bible or my card, but I’ve been praying for him since then and know that Jesus is looking out for him and He will be the one that will ultimately change his heart when he’s ready. I also left some notes for future racers so they can continue building the relationship when we’ve gone.
Story Two
Another squad mate and I got a chance to educate that waitress at the restaurant on our very last day. We spent three hours with her and she generously shouted/treated us lunch unexpectedly. It was cool to see her put into practice what we taught her and use the phrases when a German couple walked in. That evening, before we came back to the restaurant for our last meal, God had been stirring my heart to have a conversation with the girl about Jesus, and possibly leave something for her to find out a bit more about him. I found a Bilingual (Chinese-English) book on the gospel of John and took it with me to the restaurant. After we finished dinner and everyone left, I got a chance to have a chat with her about what she believed in. She mentioned that she was Buddhist because she had grown up in that religion through her parents. I think many of us are the same way. I don’t think it is bad for parents to educate their children on a particular religion when they grow up; I actually think it is a great thing, but ultimately, it will be their choice and their personal experience with Jesus (or other gods) that will convict them and cause such a strong belief and desire to follow Him for the rest of their days. The question is: do people give God a chance to personally speak to them when they grow up as adults and can think for themselves?
After finding out what the waitress believed in, she asked me and I was able to share that I was a Christian (though I would have preferred to say a follower of Christ but they didn’t have that in the translation book). I asked her if she knew anything about Christianity and she said no. This opened up the opportunity for me to give her the book and share that I wasn’t asking her to believe in what this book said, but it would give her a bit more insight into what I believed in and a chance for her to also practice her English since it was a bilingual book.
She accepted it with gratefulness and it was such a strange yet amazing feeling to have been used once again by Jesus to share His truth and His good news with someone who had no idea who He was.
Story Three
When we first arrived in the town, our contact introduced us to a monk who was on the crossroads of choosing whether to fully commit to following Jesus or continue to believe in Buddhism and live as a monk. Throughout the weeks, we were able to spend time with him and have conversations with him about his life, how he grew up and the struggles he had with making this decision.
He shared that he had grown up his whole life in the monastery and all his family and friends were Buddhists. During the last couple of years, a converted monk > now Christian introduced our friend (who is the monk we mentioned at the start) to Jesus and the bible, and our contact was able to follow through with his journey. Past racers have helped our friend with reading the bible and shared more about the good news of Jesus with him. One racer however, spent a lot of time with him and believed he got too attached to her therefore stopped making contact with him when she left the town. This hurt our friend a lot and he stopped reading the bible altogether. On top of this, another monk found him reading the bible one day and told him that if he chose to follow Jesus, the WHOLE monastery (i.e. everyone that he knew, grew up with and loved including his family) would disown him and reject him completely. Hence why it was such a hard decision for him to choose Jesus.
When he told me these experiences that he had, it broke my heart. How could a bunch of people that grew up with you, knew you personally and was even related to you by blood just kick you out and forget about you completely? How is that real love? Could people truly be this cold? I was able to encourage him and share that there is a God that loves him unconditionally. A guy named Jesus who wants to be his friend, IS his friend and would ALWAYS be his friend, no matter how much he may hurt Him. I was able to tell him the difference between a church (and I’m not saying that all churches do this well if at all) and his monastery is that we, as a body of Christ welcome everyone. No matter what religion you believe in, what orientation you identify with or what life you have lived or are living, you are most welcomein the church of Jesus. Even if you walk away, decide to come back later if not at all, you will always be welcomed in with open arms. That’s why I love being part of the true body of Christ that Jesus mentions in the bible. You belong and you always will belong with Jesus and He loves YOU, no matter what others think.
He told me that he had written the well-known verses, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…” on his wall at home and he looks to them often. I was able to share John 3:16-17 with him, “For God so loved the world that he gave his own and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him.” and share the good news about the purpose of Jesus’ coming once again to him. He was happy to listen to it again and was encouraged to start reading the bible again.
I was also able to question his belief about reincarnation and compare it with my belief in Jesus once again. I read a book the night before our conversation that explained what Buddhists believe about reincarnation. It said that when you die, you will reincarnate by a scale system (e.g. lowest form – a minuscule organism (e.g. ant) to the highest form – a god), depending on how many “good” things you have done while you were on earth. However, if you commit a wrongdoing (e.g. lie, steal or murder etc.), you will need to make up for it. In the book it asked, “How could someone ever make up for killing another? Could they bring them back to life? Could a life, taken by another ever be repaid?” I ask my friend whether he knew where he would go after he died and my friend did not know. I told him the difference between believing in Jesus is that we always have the assurance that we will be with Jesus after we die here on earth. We will live eternally with Him and be in heaven where there is no evil and we will finally be able to live in harmony with one another. He surprisingly responded with an agreement that he never really believed in the concept of reincarnation.
We continued our crazy long conversation and I was even able to share my testimony about how Jesus has really proved His trustworthiness in my life with him. We ended with him personally making a Tibetan dessert for me at the restaurant, walking with me to the main street where I could catch a taxi and encouraging me by telling me that he has really appreciated us being here and he will start reading the bible. He also mentioned that despite us not being able to contact him regularly or if at all, after we leave, he knows that we are thinking of him and praying for him. It was so great to hear that especially what had previously happened with him and the other racer. He said that maybe, just maybe when I return to that town, there would be more Christians there and I encouraged him that maybe, just maybe, HE would be the start of that movement! It was SO cool to hear that from him and I pray for him every time I remember and hope that future racers will continue to pursue him with the truth about Jesus.
Story Four
During our stay, it happened to be budda’s birthday, memorial day, and a day where Dali Lama would make a huge speech to everyone. Lots of monks flocked to our town to celebrate this momentous occasion and one of the mountains that overlooked the monastery where we had hiked on a previous day was swarmed with monks in red. My team decided to hike this mountain on this particular day and bring our musical instruments (guitar and djembe) with us. When we got to the top and before we could even sit down or play anything, groups of monks flocked towards us to see what we had brought up. They wanted to play the instruments and converse with us foreigners. Luckily I bought up a few Chinese phrase books and was able to pass them around to my team so we could start conversations with them. My team mates and I were able to talk with a few teenagers and were able to exchange some songs that were familiar to both our cultures (e.g. Justin Bieber). We had a lot of fun hanging out with them and at one point, Mary (with the djembe) and I (with the guitar) started jamming together and a crowd of monks encircled us. We started playing worship music and singing along, mentioning Jesus and ‘Our God is greater’ and crazy enough, no government official came to arrest us! We sang a few more songs and one monk even started singing along with us. They all filmed us with this phones and iPads and WOW! We never thought we could openly worship God IN China and SURROUNDED by people who believed so strongly in another religion. It was SUPER cool and totally Jesus, and I have never felt more alive and confident to share His name in a country that does not know him until that day!
The same situation happened again at a local park/sitting area in town and Jesus was so present again.
Story Five
Refer to my previous blog about beggars and how Jesus gave me the idea and opportunity to serve them, love them and spread His name while doing it.
http://sarahcheung.theworldrace.org/?filename=i-see-a-homeless-beggar-seriously-wwjd
Story Six
Refer to my team mates blog about another missionary that we met during our week in town. He had been living in China for the past 20 years and gave us some really insightful life advice.
http://daveandkelseyroberts.theworldrace.org/?filename=alonzos-not-his-real-name-china
Overall, Jesus was SO alive and present in China and IS STILL so alive and present that it’s super funny how the government is still trying to disclose His existence. I sometimes believe God shows up more radically in countries where His name is not preached and when people try to cover Him up. It was such an amazing blessing to of had this ministry for our last month on the race. Every morning to early afternoon, we were able to spend hours with the Lord before heading out into town where Jesus would meet us. This has definitely helped prepare me for what life will be like when the race is over because I know that Jesus is present wherever I am and that He is doing life with me. So no matter where I am or who Jesus leads me to encounter, He will always show up if I actively look for Him.
I hope you are experiencing the same things wherever you are right now, or get to experience this for yourself for the first time one day!
