Oh my gosh, what a beautiful city this was!
With a big hint of a Russian feel to mix in with the Chinese culture, it was stunning & super fun! Though we were only here to pass through for the day, staying two nights in this city offered my 5 friends and I a really good place to rest before our 13 hour ride to Krygzstan.
In this short couple days, quite a bit still happened. I had an opportunity to make friends with some of the locals, tried a lemonade miltk tea-ate some lamb kabobs, read alot, caught up with a friend over the phone & had opportunities to share the gospel and my personal testimony to several new friends too.
There was one gal at the hostel who was interning & as I was in line waiting to take a shower-we crossed paths. I simply told her I am a Christian traveling through from America & to her delight she said something along the lines of “Oh good I have so many questions to ask you!”
Here I thought that I would be going to bed shortly, but instead there was something even better awaiting, little did I know.
So right there, while I was in line we started discussing the big theological questions this new friend had. Time started to pass by & pretty soon I noticed my spot in line went away & people were taking showers, haha! But that didn’t really matter to me, I was truly stoked to be chatting with this gal.
About a half hour went by & we decided to meet later at a japanese tea house close by-for she did not want to get into any trouble by her boss seeing that she was talking to a foreigner for too long.
Later that evening, we met & walked to the japanese tea house & engaged in some pretty amazing conversations.
She brought her Taoism book, and I brought my bible. We discussed the differences & similarities of each “religion” & she shared with me what she had been taught her entire life & what she was questioning and searching for in spirituality lately.
I did my very best to share the gospel with her (used the 3 circles drawing thanks Moran! It’s a great tool to help explain the good news in a simple-practical way!)
We talked for over two hours about questions she had & was hungry to know the answer. I told her I would do my best, but the greatest thing she could do is research it by reading the bible for herself too! I also shared with her that God is a good Father, who answers those who seek, that God loves all people & wants a living, close relationship with everyone-she only need to ask him to make it clear to her.
In this time of conversation, this gal said-“Kailey I think you are a gift from God to me today” & this left me quite humbled & honored.
Guys-it’s conversations like this that inspire me to press on & to share in love & boldness. You can be bold, and honoring & respectful at the same time. This is something that I am being challenged to grow in daily.
Other lesson learned: God can move wonders in our honest vulnerability. Lately I have been intentionally trying to work more on challenging myself to be peaceful as a dove & bold as a lion all at once. We are God’s precious lamb, but we are also called to be a lion in boldness too. With that, sometimes when it comes to sharing my faith story or sharing the good news of the gospel-there is going to be challenges within a conversation, or difficult “truth” to wrap ones mind out of-mine included. It’s one thing to believe it for yourself-it’s another thing to discuss it out loud with another person!
After having several deep conversations with new friends regarding this topic, something stirred in me to go on a prayer walk that evening & talk to the Father about all that had taken place. In this time I felt what I believe to be Holy Spirit say “Kailey-a lot of good things can happen through honest vulnerability. When you share these things you can also open up and tell that person, “you say these things not out of a place to be right and win an argument, but because you genuinely care about them like a brother or sister & desire for them to experience the same love & freedom you have experienced too”. With that, I was reminded of something: The moment we are trying to simply win and argument to win an argument is the moment we actually lose. Sharing the good news of the Gospel to me, I do, because I believe from the bottom of my heart it is the greatest gift I can share with others. I do not think it should be anything less than that.
Please join me in prayer for my new friend. She has great destiny ahead for her & is simply a gem. It was hard to say goodbye so soon, neverless I am thankful to have had the opportunity to make a new friend.
We have about another 4 hours in a car ride until we get to our destination in Kyrgzstan. I am super excited to be there! More to come soon.
Much love to you,
Kailey
