Deeper Conversation

After my previous post last week, I emailed "S" and told her that I was really encouraged by our conversation in class and that I was happy she had decided to join us. I also expressed to her that I was a Christian and that the freedom and happiness she longed for, I found in Christ. Then I asked if we could continue to meet to practice her English. She emailed me back on Wednesday and said that she was not a Christian but she would love for us meet and talk more. I was overjoyed that she would be returning to my class yet again.

Throughout the week, I began praying for my class and the girls who would be attending. I prayed that God would allow for deeper conversation and that through teaching I would find a way to incorporate the idea of Christianity. So in class today I was to give them mock IELTS speaking exam practice. Basically I would be asking them personal or abstract issue questions and mark their ability to express their ideas. Only two of the girls showed today and it happened to be "S" and "H" (the two from mainland China). I began by asking each girl a question and they would respond. Topics included everything from their families, hometown, to abortion and marriage, to traveling and the one child policy. 45 minutes had passed and we were so engrossed in our conversation that we didn't even pay attention to time. "H" was next and although it wasn't one of the "typical" questions used during the exam, I asked her about religion. "Does you family practice any religion or have any spiritual practices?" After a bit of clarification, she simply answered, "No, not really." I decided to ask "S" the same question. Then came the answer to my prayer.

"My grandmother is a Christian." BINGO! How rare is this? To find a girl from China who has a close family member who is Christian, what a gateway to deeper conversation! She continued... "My grandfather passed away about 10 years ago and my grandmother was very sad. She found faith through her friends and she will attend the church very regularly, each Sunday. Only one time there was a snow storm and she got hurt and couldn't go for sometime."

I smiled because in my heart I knew God was shaping more conversations to come. It was time for them to go to their next class and unfortunately I was sad to know that "S" and "H" would both be leaving this next week to return home to China for a couple of weeks, which means I will not get another chance to meet with them until after I return from the US toward the end of May.

We all traded contact information and the girls have added me on FB so I will surely keep in contact with them and we have plans to go shopping together when we're all back together in Hong Kong. Please continue to pray for "S", "H", "L" and "J" and our new friendship. Pray that God will continue to open the doors that lead to Him.

I'll leave you with a group photo from our Project 180 outreach last weekend. We ended up with 20 people, youth and parents included and we fed 200 people. It was a great start for KIBC and I'm definitely eager to see what's in store for our congregation and this city.