Dear friends,
I hope you are doing well!
This was my third year in a row of not being able to celebrate the Spring Festival with my family, which was a little sad! I like to call the Lunar New Year as the Spring Festival even it doesn’t really happen in the spring. After the Spring Festival, farmers often begin to prepare the soil and plant seeds for rice and new crops as the weather warms up in March. For a farmer, spring is perfectly depicted in the following Bible verse: “in the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.” (Ecclesiastes 11:6) Doing ministry often reminds me of my farming experience. Planting can be both exciting and exhausting, but God never asks us to stop sowing seeds. In the past month, God has been telling me that I shouldn’t become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
I really appreciate for the Spring Festival as it often unites the family together. In the Spring Festival, I got to share the gospel with my two older sisters. My oldest sister started to read the Bible that my brother gave her during the Lunar New Year holiday. I invited her to join the Bible study with me and my brother last Saturday. After reading Genesis 1, 2, 3 and John 3, my sister told me and my brother decided to follow Jesus!!! Nothing is more beautiful than seeing my brother leading my sister to say the prayer and helping her to understand the Scripture. Praise God that my brother got plugged in a local community. Also, he is mentored by an American friend who has been living in China for 8 years.
Last Friday, my online BS was canceled because my Chinese friends were still at work. God didn’t let me take a break. He asked me to call my neighbor’s daughter (in my village) who I hadn’t talked to for 2 years. She is studying in China for her Ph.D. degree in biology. I was a little concerned that it would be weird to skype with her. For almost one and a half hours, we talked about God and people. She was very open to the gospel and wanted to have more conversations.
Our proclamation team has been going out on campus almost every day despite the bad weather. It’s very interesting that God has been using me to reach out to Japanese students and Muslims a lot more than Chinese students. Last week, I talked to a Muslim girl at the union. She asked me a lot of questions about Christianity when we talked about God. She was very curious about how I became a follower of Christ. I shared my testimony to her as well as some other miracles that God had done in my life. She was very honest with me that she didn’t have peace in her heart. I have been praying that I would see her again. God answered my prayer! I saw her this Tuesday when I walked around the campus with a new Chinese visiting student.
Let’s keep up the good work!
In Christ,
Theresa