by ‘A’, a former Antioch School of Missions Student from Singapore

I praise God for the privilege of spending two years in evangelistic and discipleship ministry amongst university students on one of the premier campuses in the most influential city in China. It was an incredible journey of growth in my faith in God and His heart for the lost.
 

One of the things that I love best about China is that it is one of the few remaining places, in this day and age, where many are still open, willing, and hungry to hear the Gospel. God, in His Divine Sovereignty, has prepared the people of China, through the historical and political upheavals, revolutions and the current restrictions on religious freedom. They have hearts that are hungry for Truth in the person of Jesus Christ.

A typical day in my life in China began with spending time in prayer and in God’s Word. As I attended language classes or went shopping for groceries, the prayer of my heart would be for God to grant me divine opportunities to share with people whose hearts He had prepared for the Gospel. On many occasions, as I was prayer walking on campus, God encouraged me by granting me the boldness to approach strangers and strike up a conversation. I know that being a foreigner helped, as the students were always eager to befriend foreign students. I thank God that being ethnic Chinese and being able to converse in Mandarin made it easier for me to relate to the students. A large number of the people approached were also willing to hear my testimony of how God revealed Himself to me and my family, and to hear a short presentation of the Gospel. It always amazed and encouraged me that a number of these strangers had hearts that were prepared by God. Our conversations would reveal that they already had an interest in knowing more about the Bible and Jesus Christ, or that they had family members, friends or teachers who were already Christians.

The relationships grew as I invited these new friends to my home for a meal (and to watch the Jesus film) or to evangelistic parties, organized by the team I was working with, during Easter and Christmas. Over time, as these students had a fuller understanding of the Gospel and the light of God’s revelation shone into their hearts, they made decisions to believe and follow Jesus. By God’s grace, a number of the girls continued to meet with me for weekly Bible studies in small discipleship groups, and also attended church and our weekly student fellowship.

One time, as I was walking home from campus, I happened to look to my right and my eyes lingered on an alley. I was in a rush as I had a team meeting to attend in an hour, but my eyes fell on a female

figure sitting on a bench in the alley. I could not hear her, but from the way her body was heaving, it was evident that she was sobbing her heart out. I stood about 30 meters away and prayed, asking God for wisdom as to how I should react. After a couple of minutes of praying for her from a distance, I felt led to go and sit next to her. I approached the bench hesitantly, and when I was close enough, I introduced myself and told her that I was a Christian and felt led by God to sit by her and comfort her and that I did not mean her any harm. She hardly glanced up at me through her sobs, but she did not tell me to go away. I gingerly placed my arm around her shoulders and prayed for her in the Spirit, as she spent the next 15 - 20 minutes sobbing. When she finally calmed down, she looked up at me, and said she was alright. I gave her my name, address and mobile number, and asked her if she minded giving me her contact details. Amazingly, she agreed, and as I was going to be late for my meeting, I told her I had to go but would contact her later in the week.
When I called her a few days later, she agreed to come to my apartment for dinner. I found out that she was a Law Masters student at the university, and that the day I found her crying, she was overcome by depression and was contemplating taking her life. I had been praying that semester for God to connect me with law students, as I had read law myself at university! That evening, I shared my testimony with her and played her a Praise and Worship CD based on Psalm 139. After I shared with her a booklet about the four spiritual laws, she made a decision to invite Jesus to be her Saviour and Lord!
After two years in China, I returned home. When I went back to China for a visit some time later, I made a point of trying to contact as many as possible of the students God had connected me with during my time there. I was very encouraged that the girl from the bench still had the same mobile number.

When I met up with her, she updated me on her news. Since she graduated, she had been working in the equivalent of the Public Prosecutor’s Department. She told me that she still reads her Bible, but does not attend church because there is not one close to her place of residence or work. She later emailed me to say that she eagerly devoured the two Christian books I gave her when we met up.
It was encouraging to also see how God has grown the faith of a number of the students, who have since been baptized, have led other members of their family to Jesus, and actively serve or lead small groups, fellowships and house churches. However, there are also a good number whose hearts are distracted by the instant gratification and opportunities offered by the world. My prayer is that in God’s grace and mercy, His Holy Spirit will continue to chip away at their hearts and minds, pulling down strongholds, and that these prodigals will return home to our Heavenly Father, and walk with Him consistently.
However, in the two years since I lived long-term in China, the impact of China’s burgeoning success economically on the hearts of the people is very evident. My team mates who are still labouring on the university campus have shared with me an increasing number of incidents of the authorities clamping down on their activities and, more heart achingly, that the hearts of the students are growing colder and less interested in the Gospel. However, through much listening prayer, there are also encouraging reports of God leading them to the students whose hearts are warm towards Him.
My desire is to return to China long-term to work again in God’s harvest field when God opens the door for me to do so. In the meantime, I thank Him for opportunities to support and encourage those whose hearts are all for His Glory and advancing His Kingdom.