At first it looked like they were merely walking in our direction.
Then as they drew near one of them changed their path slightly while fixing his eyes on me.
With mouth open wide he raised his arm and then stretched his finger out toward me, searching for the english words:
“I….I…I think we know each other.”
We starred at eachother in silence for a moment.
I was stunned. It was Nolan.
Two and a half years ago we met here on a number of occasions. Today, on my first day back at this particular campus since last time I was in Asia we met again- and this time in the aftermath of a sand storm.
Meeting in the aftermath of the sand storm was shocking because so few students were outdoors. Temperatures plunged 20 degrees, the wind was strong enough to pull umbrellas inside-out, and the air pollution index went from 86 (beautiful) to 572 (absolute death).
Days earlier Jones and I had planned to meet students by the ping pong tables. However, the sand storm was an unforeseen curveball. We stood next to 20 empty tables in the freezing cold wondering where to go and what to do.
Thats when Nolan walked up with his friend Louis- a philosophy major. Jones and Louis hit it off immediately and began talking about God.
Nolan and I began talking. He shared with me about how he won a government scholarship to study abroad in Canada for a year- but physical and mental issues forced him home after 6 months.
He shared about his stay in Canadian hospitals, praying to Buddha, his uncertainty if praying to Buddha mattered, and how he believes he could work harder to fix himself.
We began talking about faith and Nolan mentioned he thought all religions were the same.
As we talked about man’s true problem (sin) and how different religions approach it, we began talking about the cross, grace, and whether or not we can fix our sin issue or if we need to be saved.
Nolan and I agreed to meet again- as did Jones and Louis. Please be praying that God does a work of salvation in their lives and that Jones and I can be faithful servants to them.
I wish I could write more. English corner that night was also incredible. I was the only native english speaker at a table that wanted to know the meaning of the word “grace.” For much of the night we talked about John Newton- the man who wrote Amazing Grace and what happened in his life that caused him to write the song. I believe everyone at our table plans on returning this week. Please be praying that Dad changes hearts and lives!
Thank you for praying for us, supporting us, and encouraging us!