Editor's Note: This is only best understood with part 1 having been read first. You can read that here.
So I walked out of that embassy with a tidal wave of emotions wanting to rush over me. I just wanted to cry. Really, that was my first overwhelming reaction. It was like I had slammed smack-dab into a cement wall. I just wanted to let out all of that which was welling up within me. The fear and the doubt needed to express themselves in the form of anxious tears.
I found my way to the river-side park in town where I could walk around to sort through what was happening. I plugged in my iPod and played music from a playlist so adequately entitled, Jesus hold me. Tears came but so did Truth. After what felt like an hour of calming down, I started to finally enjoy the scenery. Well, to be honest, it wasn't gorgeous. It was actually far from that. The river seperating Laos and Thailand was practically dried up. You don't get many breath taking moments in third-world countries like Laos. But what happened next stole my breath away unexpectedly, leaving me baffled by just how good He really is.
I found my way to the river-side park in town where I could walk around to sort through what was happening. I plugged in my iPod and played music from a playlist so adequately entitled, Jesus hold me. Tears came but so did Truth. After what felt like an hour of calming down, I started to finally enjoy the scenery. Well, to be honest, it wasn't gorgeous. It was actually far from that. The river seperating Laos and Thailand was practically dried up. You don't get many breath taking moments in third-world countries like Laos. But what happened next stole my breath away unexpectedly, leaving me baffled by just how good He really is.
I started to find my way out of the park as I wanted to head back to my hotel or to a near-by restaurant for lunch. Before I reached the street to leave, a young, college-aged, Lao guy stopped me. Both in Thailand and in Laos, I get stopped a lot by people. 98% of the time it is harmless so I am learning to not pre-judge the moment but to let it play itself out as I use discernment and caution. He was harmlessly just wanting to practice his English with me. So, being an English teacher, I obliged telling him that I had a few minutes to spare.
We found a tree with shade to sit under while we conversed. These scenarios are simply. Just ask a lot of questions. What's your name? Where are you from? How old are you? What are you studying? It's simple really but this conversation quickly made a beautiful turn for the better.
He told me about how he was from another large city in Laos but he was here in the capital city studying at university for the past two years. Somehow we got on the topic of how he studied as Buddhism at the temple in his hometown for two years when he was younger. It's common for young men to take some time off and to devote themselves to learning the ways of Buddha at the local temple. I call them "baby monks", because all the "full-time/real monks" are much older (late 40's +) while most of these "baby monks" are between the ages of 12 - 25 years old. It's no laughing matter, but the little ones always interest me.
For the past nine years of my life, as I have said yes to the unfailing Love of God, I have been taught countless methods about "evangelism". But I am currently smack dab in the middle of the what I feel like is the Lord's way of stripping me of everything I have learned and pointing out the good from the bad. Of course, to expand on that process would be a few blogs worth alone but that's for another day and another time. The point is, though, that even my thoughts about evangelism are in that process of being purified - for the lack of better words.
Everything that I had been taught up till now was to find the "turning point" in a conversation and use it as a way to start talking about the Lord.
Like for instance, take this silly example...
The Person I Feel Sorry For: Oh, hey! Do you have a paper clip that I could borrow? I have a lot of paperwork in minds that are falling all over the place without a paperclip.
Just-Doing-What-I've-Been-Told Believer: Oh so you need a paperclip, huh? Things are falling apart in your life? I have just the thing that you need. Have you ever heard of Jesus Christ?
Obviously that example is full of satire and sarcasm but you get the point. Most of the time, people use this method in such an un-natural way that it reeks of its lack of authenticity of actually talking with someone and not at them. That's why I am not usually a fan of it. But this time, it fit my scenario perfectly! That's the problem with looking for "equations" in Christianity. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. I'm thankful that God's remedy for every scenario in our lives isn't man-made equations of just do this and it'll work hoopla but it is the gentle, yet sure guidance of the Holy Spirit. Oh, you know, the very Spirit of the God Man living INSIDE of us as believers! How refreshing is that?! How much more empowering is that Reality?!
This is what I'm learning to lean more into these days. Yes, a lot of what I have been taught has been good and helpful. But they are still just methods. Truth is permanent and unchanging. Methods are, at best, meant for scenarios. Realizing this has been life-changing to say the least.
the actual park that I'm sharing about (located in Vientiane, Laos)
So here I am with Kittiphong talking about how he studied Buddhism. It only felt right to tell him about how I studied about Christianity for three years in a different town from my family. The point wasn't to one-up him or to even have him understand the Christian internship that I did. I simply just wanted to relate. Isn't that the nature of friendship? Relating over common interests? And when his eyes perked up as I mentioned my years studying Christianity, I took that as a cue to probe a little bit.
I asked him if he knew what Christianity was about. He said that he had heard some things but really had no idea. Does that shock you to hear? Can you fathom someone not knowing the story of Jesus? Here is a 21-year-old, college student who is studying in the capital city of his nation that is filled with Westerners who visit during their backpacking escapades. Yet he knows little to nothing about Christianity.
This is the reality of the 10-40 window. This is my new reality that I face on a daily basis. I'm not in America any more. You see, Laos is what you would call a closed country, which is simply a country that limits or prevents Christian ministry. This explains why my friend had no idea about the life of Jesus. But what happened next should fuel the missions fire within us to keep going, sending and believing for laborers to be sent to the ready harvest fields of these nations!
As I began asking questions to get a feel for what he knew about the life of Jesus, I realized that I was one of the only Christians that he had ever met! He began to tell me that he had always been interested in learning about the life of Jesus. Although, he had only heard few things about him, he was interested enough to learn more. At first, he told me that he was going to start studying the history of Christianity after we finished our conversation. But instead I suggested that he study the root and central point of Christianity in the life of Jesus displayed in the four Gospel books in the Bible.
I explained who Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were and why their detailed accounts of the life of Jesus were so fascinating. Quickly, he pulled out a pen and paper and had me write these book names down so that he could google them later! He wanted to learn! He wanted to know the story of Jesus! Of course, I shared some of it with him, but the fact that he could access the whole story was amazing to him. Oh how I wish that I had a Lao Bible or even a New Testament on me that day! I would have given him it in a heartbeat!
What was intended to only be a few minutes of practicing English ended up as a two hour conversation about the life of Jesus. Breath taking, right? As we parted ways, I knew right then and there that Kittiphong was the reason that the Lord had me in Laos, even if my visa was going to be rejected.
My heart was instantly overwhelmed with what I realized that the Lord had done.
So meet my new friend Kittiphong. Below is a small video where he is introducing himself and talking a little bit about our conversation together. Here is a face to a name. Also, don't mind his inability to pronounce my name or the city in Thailand which I live in. It's both hysterical and common. Enjoy!
Today, I am praying for him again. Hoping for Peace to flood his soul as his searches for Truth. I'm thankful for everything that happened to me that hot, February day in Laos. God was up to something that day, as I suppose He is every day, and it was beautiful to see it unfold fo.
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