This past week our squad had a time of debrief: a time to rest, spend time with the Lord and reflect on this past month.
One morning my pal, Alyson came up to me and told me that she had met a lady at the place we were staying and invited me to go get coffee with them later. She told me her name was Si, that she was from Russia, but currently teaches English at a school in thailand. Alyson and I got coffee with Si later that afternoon and spent time getting to know her and her story.
The conversation shifted from her telling us stories from her time in thailand to what she believed. She shared with us that she was a Buddhist, and we asked her what it meant to her. She told us her beliefs in karma and reincarnation and what it was like to be a Buddhist. Alyson and I began to share with Si about what we believed. What was so beautiful about this time was how simple it was. Three people simply having a conversation about what we put our faith in. We spoke of the similarities between the two religions and how each are based in love and humility. Alyson and I brought up the differences between Christianity and Buddhism. She told us of the condemnation of karma and how everything you do can sway how you end up in life. I began to tell her how I view God. I told Si, “when I mess up in life, I know I can go to God for forgiveness, and he loves me through it all and has already forgiven me.” Si responded with, “like a father?” And my heart completely melted because the simple conversation about what we believed in had started to resonate with her.
On the topic of karma Alyson and I shared stories of Gods goodness through hard times. I shared about my mother, telling Si how my mom is also a teacher just like her, a wonderful lady who loves to teach little children, lives a good life and does good for others. Si understood this to mean that my mom would receive “good karma” rather than “bad karma” because of the good she had done. I told Si that even though my mom was such a good person, when she was 25 years old she got cancer and had to go through such hard times, but God healed her because He is gracious. She saw this as beautiful and related to my mom because of the same work they did. We ended on talking about our adventures in Thailand and how good it’s been to live here for a short time. It was so beautiful to see that by the end we had quickly become friends and she was openly sharing about her life.
What I took away from this experience was that God is so kind to let us into His blessings and to be apart of His glory. He doesn’t have to, but He’s just that sweet.
After our coffee shop date with Si, Alyson and I got in a taxi to head back to get dinner, and all we could do was smile and talk about how cool God is.
I’ve been learning that all I have to do is say yes to God when He asks me to do something and He’ll do the rest. He’s been teaching me to walk in simple faith, depending on Him completely and life is so much better this way.
a photo of me, Alyson and Si!!!
