I am in China. I have the potential to get kicked out of
this country. Why? Because Jesus is like a convict here. Christian churches are
not allowed, or commonly accepted in Chinese society. Churches are banned by
the government, and if one is found, punishment can be as severe as
imprisonment, or if you’re a foreigner like myself, getting kicked out of the
country; for good.
So, what am I doing
here? We have a small house church, that is held in an elementary school.
Thankfully, the pastor we are working with isn’t scared. He is from Ohio, and
his wife is from D.C. They are two of the most laid back people I have ever
met, and are willing to do whatever it takes to share the love of Christ, even
if that means getting kicked out of the country; and thanks to their
confidence, they have empower us to do the same.
The first day that we got here was a long day. We had just
gotten off of a 36 hour train ride. This
wasn’t your average train ride, either. Every spot on the train was occupied,
including the isles, due to all of the people who purchased the ‘standing room
only’ tickets to save money. The second you got up to use the bathroom, your
seat was swiped by one of the standers. We could hardly see the end of the train
cart we were in because about 95% of the passengers smoked, and believe me,
there were times I thought I was going to suffocate. After inhaling smoke constantly
for 2 days straight, we all left the train with sore throats.
The only thing I wanted to do after leaving that train was
nap for an entire day, but our contact had different plans for us. Our job for
the day was to visit the nearest Universities “English Corner” Where they
practice speaking English to one another. I went into it with a negative
attitude. Small talk is probably my least favorite thing to do. I get nervous
and awkward. Sometimes my brain freezes and I can’t think of any conversation
starters. If I could make an up-front agreement with every new person that I
meet to cut past the boring introductory conversations, and skip to the fun,
meaningful ones, I would do it in a heartbeat, but unfortunately that’s not how
it works.
So, I sat there in between two Chinese girls. I prayed that
God would use me, despite my attitude. They began the dreaded small talk
questions, such as “How are you? Where are you from? What’s your favorite
music? Do you have siblings?” and this went on for about two hours. Right as
things were wrapping up, the girl on my left named Mei Jou asked me If I was a
missionary. The question caught me off guard, because it was so random. How did
she know? I didn’t say anything about Jesus yet and the only white people that
come around Harbin are usually those studying abroad. Hesitantly, I told her
that I was a missionary, with hopes that she wouldn’t call the police or
something (ha).
Instantly, the biggest smile grew on Mei Jou’s face, and she
proceeded to ask if I was part of a “house church” (the illegal kind) or a
government officiated church. I told her it was a house church, and her
excitement only grew stronger. She told me that she became a Christian when she
studied abroad in America. She has been back from America for about a year, and
has not been able to find a church. She said that she has been very discouraged
in her faith, because she hasn’t had a church, or other Christ-followers to
encourage her. I invited her to come to church on Sunday, and she literally jumped
at the chance. She was so excited that she gave me a hug. The girl on the other
side of me, Emma, heard our conversation, and began to ask questions about the
church as well. She was not a Christian, but was very interested. Emma didn’t speak the best English, so Mei
Jou began to tell Emma all about the church in their own Mandarin language, and
also invited her to come with us. Both of them came on Sunday. It’s not ironic that God placed me next to
them in that class, out of all the people I could have sat by.
It was funny, because I had two Chinese girls sitting on
both sides of me, talking back and forth in Chinese about Jesus, while I just
sat there in the middle and said nothing. Right at that moment I knew that I
had nothing to do with this conversation. It wasn’t me who initiated it, it was
God. The only thing I did was make myself available, and God did the rest of
the work. Three Chinese Buddhist girls came to know Christ later that week as
well, because we made ourselves available to spread the word. Its not about
your ability to do works for God, it’s about your availability. How often do we
put ourselves out there to be available for people who are in need for truth?
My answer is not enough. There’s always more to be done, and that’s the joy and
motivation in living for Christ.
