A Conversation~ October 3rd

It’s about two in the afternoon on a beautifully grey rainy Sunday and I am walking down the wet streets of Dalian, China. On one side of me is a Chinese woman I met at a gathering last Thursday, and on the other side is a friend she introduced me to at lunch this afternoon. Neither of these two can possibly weigh more than one hundred pounds or be much over five feet tall. Then there’s me, a Midwesterner oozing Scandinavian blood, towering at five feet nine inches and sporting the Kelly green rain coat I picked up from a Savers thrift store sometime last year. It is safe to say I stand out. But, interestingly enough it isn’t this contrast in appearances setting this time apart, but rather the conversation.

As we walk towards Xinghai Park, a notable tourist hot spot in this city, they are casually sharing about their spiritual backgrounds. Both of these women are Christians, their parent’s believers before them, meaning they grew up under Christian influence. I didn’t even know that was a possibility, which sounds extremely naive and I am aware of that. What would life look like growing up Christian in an openly Communist nation? I can’t even begin to imagine it. I am ashamed to admit I don’t know much about Chinese history, or the details about the progression of Christianity, but I do know it has not been, and still isn’t really, the most welcomed religious practice. The blood of martyrs marks the land of this nation in ways I will never be able to fully comprehend, and the impact of sacrifices made by those who came before me will carry on long after I leave. It is so far from my own American experience.

It’s a bit difficult to explain, but tonight I carry a special sense of privilege. Just one week ago my team and I set foot in China and I keep thinking, “God what are you doing? Who are we to come here so effortlessly, and yet be able to experience the fruits of those who gave their lives for these people? So many turned in their ‘normal’ lives and took on the vision of advancing the Kingdom, but never got to see the depth of impact they made. But here I am a person who, three months ago, didn’t have China on the radar, or want to put it on the radar, listening to people share about their personal journey to meeting Jesus.”

It’s been a few hours since I parted ways from those two ladies and squeezed into an extremely crowded bus, waving goodbye with one hand and maintaining a death grip on the roasted sweet potato they bought me off the street with the other. I still can’t fully comprehend, or believe, the richness of what I experienced today. Who would have ever thought that I would be in China walking in public with two Chinese believers as they talk freely and openly about their faith? Definitely not me....