Written by a Cafe 1040 Student
The staff here told me within my first week that they were assigning me a "local buddy" to show me around town. Shortly afterwards, I started getting messages from a total stranger named James* asking, in semi-broken English, when we could get together to hang out.
So, we set a date, and a few days later I found myself zipping around town on the back of a motorbike behind a young, talkative Southeast Asian guy who consistently tried to hold a conversation with me while I death-gripped his backseat on our way to places I couldn't (and still can't) pronounce.
Despite the terror, that day was by far the best day I've had over here so far, and James is now quickly becoming my closest friend on this side of the globe as we continue to hang out at least once a week.
With him, I have experienced both promising and heart-wrenching moments as I have attempted to communicate the gospel. Already, simply out of the sake of his mild curiosity and understanding of U.S. culture, he has asked me very pointedly, “Who is Jesus Christ and why did he die?” I was only able to give him a brief answer at the time, but I’m praying for continued opportunities to share with him as our relationship grows deeper.
Unfortunately, he, like most others in this culture, has been a follower of ancestor worship his entire life. Especially in the last two weeks, during a major annual holiday and celebration, families like his have been gathering together to burn offerings and prepare meals for their deceased relatives with the hopes that they will be protected from harm and receive blessings by pleasing them.
They have no idea they are calling out to deaf ears.
This really hit home for me when I joined James at his home for a Lunar New Year dinner and witnessed the same futile rituals I had observed many times before, but this time by someone who I call my friend. He proudly showed me the multiple family altars set up around his house alongside various other household gods and depictions of Buddha, explaining to me in detail the importance of each one for things like luck, prosperity, and safety. I smiled and nodded along with everything he said, but inwardly I longed so deeply for him to see the emptiness in what he believed and come to know the truth.
I definitely didn't expect to find someone to call a friend so quickly, but I was also not prepared for the depth of the lostness I would find in him and some of the other local guys I have met here so far.
There is a desperate need for the Good News here, and I am both excited and challenged to be coming alongside this ministry as they work toward making it known. Would you join me in praying for James and so many others like him that they would have hearts open to the truth?
*the real names of local friends have been changed for their safety
