First off I apologize for not keeping you all updated on my time in Harbin, China. I will try to do a better job while I am here in Thailand because I am doing a disservice to you all if I don't share all these amazing stories with you. So excuse me but before I tell you details on Thailand (to come in the next blog) I want to tell you one more amazing story from ministry in China.
I thought a natural sequel to my last blog, He breaks barriers, is a blog on how great our God is and how much He loves us. In my last blog I talked about a great Chinese friend, Frank, who made persecution real for me. Frank reluctantly overcame his fear to talk about God and Christianity and agreed to a Bible study.
Frank brought his best friend, Fu, to this bible study that we had every morning for our last week in Harbin. Fu had no religion and literally knew nothing of Christianity and God before Kyle and I got to have a Bible study with him for a week. God had such great plans for this week as He moved mountains in Fu's heart to accept God and begin a life with true purpose and fulfillment.
The first morning we walked through the entire Gospel from creation to fall to Jesus' life to crucifixion to resurrection to reconciliation and relationship. As hard as it is to imagine in the United States this was the first time Fu had even remotely heard of these stories. We gave him some time to process and think about all of the life changing information he just heard.
The next morning Fu returned with basic questions about Christianity and why to believe in God and Jesus. The morning after that he brought questions about how Jesus helps us overcome struggles and who we should live for in this life. On the last day Fu brought questions about how living for Jesus is better than living for ourselves. It was so obvious and evident in his questions, in our interactions with him that he was seeking something so much bigger than he could even put words to before the Bible study, our God!
Leaving Frank and Fu Friday morning was hard because I knew Fu was so close to getting it, so close to beginning a relationship with his Heavenly Father. Throughout Friday I continued to hear God tell me "it's on my time Will, rejoice for planting a seed is just as valuable as seeing the results."So on Friday I felt myself truly give it to God realizing that it isn't me working in his life, it is God working through me in his life. I just so desperately wanted my new Chinese friend to get it, but if I believed it was me doing the work that would create a fake faith dependent on me. I wanted Fu to have a genuine faith, a relationship where he depends on the Father alone. Friday was a day for God to teach me and Saturday was the day He blessed me.
Saturday I got to see my Chinese friend Fu run back to his Father. I got to hear him pray to God for the first time to accept him into his life. Better yet his best friend, Frank, prayed the prayer of salvation in Chinese first and Fu repeated. As I held back tears I got to hug my new brother in Christ, a new Christian in China whom I may never see again on this Earth but I will see in heaven! In this moment I realized only God could produce such a beautiful moment as this. God had a plan in this Bible study to orchestrate the fusion of so many things. I learned planting the seeds is just as important as harvesting them to fruition, I learned I can't change people God allows me to change them by working in me, and I learned God has a plan and perfect timing. This Bible study resulted in a new child in His kingdom in Fu. It put two best friends together now united in Christ that have the full capability to change the outlook of their campus, their city, and their country.
God has a plan for me, for them, and for every country. Salvation is only the beginning of that great plan. The last day I got to see Frank and Fu I walked away knowing Frank, a believer full of fear, had a brother in Christ he could grow with and an English Bible I gave him sitting in his dorm room. I walked away knowing Fu was fully aware he made the best decision of his life and in that excitement he was given the opportunity to receive a Chinese Bible and invite a random stranger to church soon after getting the Bible (God has a divine plan in making these "coincidences" happen). Finally I walked away knowing God would take care of Frank, Fu, and the rest of the country and continue to grow them just like He does with me daily. He has a plan for our lives that is so much greater than we can fathom or comprehend. He is just so good!
"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever!"
-Ephesians 3:20-21
AMEN.
