by Amanda Goodroe
I grew up hearing stories of persecution in China. Stories of underground churches and believers longing for just one page of the Bible filled my mind as my train pulled into Harbin, China this month. When I heard we were working with a missionary who plants churches in the area, I was really excited. But, my team and I were still not sure what the rules were about sharing our faith in Harbin.
For two days we went around Harbin not praying over our food, avoided reading our Bibles in public, and told anyone who asked that we were simply tourists. We were surprised when the missionary, Jake, told us we were free to tell people why we were there. Jake said he too has heard the horror stories of persecution in China, but Harbin is relatively safe with few incidents. Jake encouraged us to be bold about our faith and tell anyone who asked the real reason we were in China, to share Christ’s love.
Our task this month was to go throughout the city of Harbin and meet as many people as possible. We met many students at the universities who befriended us because they wanted to improve their English. When we made friends with the students, we could then ask them if they were interested in studying the Bible with us. The ultimate goal was to connect people to one of the local churches before we left. This task seemed simple enough, but it was not easy. Some people did not understand the English words Jesus, God, or the Bible. Some students were Buddhist or Atheist and were only interested in hearing about Christianity from an academic standpoint.
As I look back over my time in China, there are so many small moments that stand out to me. One of those moments was meeting John. John, who is a Chinese Christian we met at a university while helping our friends advertise their English club. John said his whole family believes in Jesus and he was so excited to meet other believers. As my teammate Vallory and I were talking to John, I felt led to ask him if we could pray from him. John’s face lit up and he said yes. He began to tell us how he feels called to go and preach the Gospel in Pakistan. He said he was praying and walking on the Great Wall of China when God called him to go.
Another small moment came when I was talking to Andy. Andy is a student at the university in Harbin, but he is also studying to be a pastor. He said within the next two years he will be planting a church, and he is only 23. One night Andy went around with paper and pen asking us all to write down things he can be praying for us. I told him I would be praying for him too and asked him what his favorite passage in the Bible is, because I often write down the names of friends in my Bible so I remember to pray for them. Andy began to tell me about Steven in the book of Acts and how he seems like such a small character in the Bible, but Steven’s life had such a big impact on his own life. Andy is praying for his own parents to become Christians as he is preparing to give his life to the spreading of the Gospel.
There is something I have come to love about sharing a meal with friends. It feels so much closer than going to a restaurant. Another new friend, Calvin, cooked us dinner one night. Memories were made while we laughed and tried all of the delicious Chinese food Calvin cooked for us.
There are many other small moments I will treasure from my time in China. Like sharing a smile with a woman on a crowded bus and discovering through our translator that she too is a Christian. Shopping with our new Chinese friends in a hot, crowded clothing market and buying cool blue bracelets. Bringing clothes to a slum and playing with kids who, despite their extreme poverty, were full of joy.
These are the moments I love most about life, the small seemingly insignificant moments that are really what memories are made of. God is working in the hearts and lives of the people in China and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of God’s work there, even for just a short time.
Amanda Goodroe is a regular contributor to Inspire a Fire. To read more about her and find inspiration in more of her posts, click here.
