Written from a Cafe 1040 Student

This last week I had the opportunity to participate in a homestay, which is where you spend time living with a local family. It allows you to get to know the language and culture of a place on a deeper level. I stayed with two local guys – Jay and his friend, Peter.

The first night I was there, we were relaxing and watching a special on Discovery HD, featuring an art piece showing Buddha and Jesus beside each other. The Buddhist artist explained why Buddha was the right choice to worship. This program swung the door wide open for conversation. I was able to dig into his core beliefs in Buddha and understand why he had initially started following them.

Much like the rest of this country, religion is largely connected with what your parents believe and the expectation that a person will honor their family by continuing tradition. After just one night with Jay, we talked into the wee hours of the night about the origins of the earth, the state of humanity, and how I believe we have the opportunity to be saved.    

Over the next two nights we continued conversation. He started reading the Bible in his language and read about Creation, Noah, and the Great Flood. I could see the excitement and enthusiasm growing in his eyes. It was clear that only God could do this in his heart. Just last week he attended his first church service.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that he has made the decision to follow Jesus Christ. Years of tradition in this culture have hardened the hearts of these people. Yet to see that much progress in such a short time was truly a blessing and a blatant work from our heavenly Father.

Every day that I wake up here I am reminded of the task that is at hand and filled with joy to know that I have been included in fulfilling it. The lessons I am learning go beyond school and that which I can learn from this world. Our Father is filling me with a desire and a need to see those around me come to a saving knowledge of Him. I am overjoyed to see how I can use this new excitement for pouring into those around me when I return home and for the rest of my life!

Names have been changed in this story to protect the work across Asia.