It’s not easy to be in a country of a completely different dialect than your own. This was the first country in which pretty much no one spoke English and we didn’t have translators. Granted, we had hosts that spoke Mandarin, but we were not always around them. So what do you do? How do you reach out to the community when you can not verbalize anything to them? I know for many of us, we were transformed by the smiles we exchanged and the tea we were offered.
Walking throughout the small towns we visited I was often asked to take someone’s photo. Sometimes we were invited into homes for tea or a traditional Tibetan meal. One day we took fruit to an independent village that survives solely on what they grow or raise themselves— primarily potatoes; little to no meat and fruits. We didn’t think they would receive the fruit easily because they are not used to accepting gifts. However, they took it eagerly with smiles.
For me, this month was not about the pain and the suffering of his people; it was not about programs or orphanages; it wasn’t even about bible studies or Sunday schools. It was about being the face of Jesus. 
It was really crucial that we demonstrated the love of Christ among our team because people were watching how we interacted even more. It was important that we smiled at the people to let them know we cared. We needed to pray over places, objects, even directly for the people as we roamed. One of my teammates pointed out that many of these people may have never been prayed for before. The area we visited was primarily Muslim, and there were mosques and monks everywhere.
We were briefed pretty heavily before entering the country—absolutely no “Christianese” language in public. At some point we were released from that by our hosts, and we were able to speak pretty freely. They explained that in some areas, it is important to follow that rule, but as long as we used some discretion, this area was very open to hearing about Christ. Sometimes we sang worship songs together on the train (we spent over 80 hours on trains). We proclaimed the Holy Spirit’s presence over the places, objects, and people we came in contact with. We tried to represent Christ as best as we could while words were unavailable. Many of us saw this month as a glimpse into future possible ministries. There is so much potential for spiritual growth here, and there is certainly a need for more disciples to come.
