We were stunned by the question. Mary Kay and I teach conversational English classes to about 10 students four times a week. We showed a travel video about Boston, and one new student said she was very interested in the historical church that was mentioned there, because she wanted to get a Bible. We don’t normally talk about spiritual matters, as this is a Virginia Tech class. But I thought quickly, and said “If you want to get a Bible, you can ask Tina, the student next to you, as she has an easy to read Bible.” Tina was reading the Bible privately with Mary Kay, a Bible that we had given her.
Afterwards we talked with her, and her husband and herself are new believers, and they wanted to be discipled by reading the English Bible! What joy! Now we are discipling them too!
So pray for Ting and husband Yu, new Christians who are thirsty for the word of God! Never having read Genesis!
Can we talk? That was the text message from an international friend that returned to her home in Sri Lanka, about 5% Christian. She has had a number of health problems, and Mary Kay so wanted to help her. Previously she wasn’t interested in Jesus. But now she really wants someone to talk with, who can share the burden.
So we will send her some Internet resources, and videos. What she really needs is Jesus, Mary Kay told her. Then the friend told her how another friend recently gave her a “Jesus book” ! Wow!
And after Mary Kay prayed for her, over the phone, the friend said that the next time that they talk she wants to learn how to pray, since her religion doesn’t really do that. She wants to pray so that she can pray for Mary Kay!
Until she learns to pray, can you pray for her, and us too?
This way you can reach across the world, where in Sri Lanka “Christians were regularly subject to very violent attacks” yet now “the outlook is ominous for Sri Lanka’s Christians.” See Christian Today.
We had not seen our former student for a couple of years. He had graduated and was doing well. He got married and got a job.
He had met his wife at our yard sale!
Every year we try to host a yard sale for internationals, as a way of serving them by helping them to get all of the new items they need after they have left their homes. Danny was one of those students, and he attended a Bible study with us a couple of years. He even volunteered to help with the yard sale, and he asked to come to our church!
And that is how he met his wife, while helping Christians do their thing! Previously we wrote how one student met Mary Kay at the yard sale and she started a Bible study, and became a Christian after a year.
Now pray for Danny, that now that he has met his wife, pray that he will really meet the Lord of his life.
“I got to shake Jesus’ hand!” my friend excitedly told me. “Me too!” his college friend chimed in.
hands of Jesus
We took them to their first ever Easter Passion Play at a local church, and it was well done. It was packed, but God provided practically the last seats in the house for us!
After the performance, the cast walked out and met the audience, and our friends, all new believers except for one, got to meet him. “I hope you enjoyed the play” he said, and they almost didn’t recognize him, out of context. Similar to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
May we also be so anxious and excited to meet Jesus someday too!
You have heard about “Just Do It” and “Just Say No.” Now we have a new one “Just Ask!”
We eat pizza each week with our new VT Student Church, and usually the guys go out and bring it back, and they never have enough plates! As students, they usually only have two plates in an apartment!
Never mind, we have had fun making do with cutting up the pizza boxes into make-shift plates. Rather large and clumsy, but doable.
Finally a female student went with the guys, and this time, after getting the pizza, she asked “Can we have some plates and cups?”
“Sure!” was the answer, and we got a bunch! And they were free!
We could have gotten plates every time, but we had never asked before!
Len, a new Christian, said he learned from that, that we just need to ask God for what we need! So many times we just try to make-do, but God has so many riches for us that He is just dying to give to us!
Just like Papa John’s has plates for you, but you have to ask!
So let’s ask Papa for so many of the new students at Virginia Tech, that they would want to read the Bible, and that these new Christians would share, and know how to share their faith, and that we would be courageous in sharing, and that we would be given wisdom to share. We know of Susan, Linda, and Wesley who are so close, and Al and Joey who are just starting to begin. And there’s Charlie and York who have recently turned aside. (Not their real names.)
Could you ask for them? Just pick one or two.
Ask, and you will get it, look, and you will find it, and knock, and the door will open! Matthew 7:7
Tis the Season to Celebrate the birth of Jesus. Would you pray for the celebration of several more births into the Kingdom of God?
Mary Kay uses her baking ability to get to know some Korean and Chinese women at Virginia Tech. Fred is meeting with one guy who is going back to China at the end of the month, who has just read Genesis and Matthew for the first time. Another graduate student is finishing up reading Matthew for the first time.
We also just showed the Nativity movie to several people who had not really heard the story of the first Christmas. They had so many questions!
Our friends are so close to the kingdom of God, would you pray for them this season? And for opportunities for us to share, with courage and boldness, being led by the Holy Spirit and not by ourselves?
May all of us be not so much “bakers for Christmas” but bakers for Jesus!
What a joy to see the long awaited baptism of our brothers! It was held in a horse trough, outside a house of one of our house church members. We had filled it up with warm house water that morning (it was only 45 outside!), but when we got ready to get it, the tub was empty! Such a struggle to get them baptized!
Celebrating their Zeroth birthday!
(Once filled the water hose was disconnected, and the water was siphoned off and drained slowly into the neighbor’s yard! But fortunately 30 minutes later we had enough not quite cold water!)
Hearing their testimonies were the best. One student broke up with his girl friend of seven years, partly or mostly due to his new direction in life. He shared that he had been on the fence for a while, wondering about making the decision. He asked God for a sign to help him one night. The next day he had Chinese food and the fortune cookie said
“To affirm is to make firm.”
He took that to mean that if he affirmed his decision for Jesus, then God would make him firm in His faith!
Another difficulty was 4 days before when their friend told them that if they got baptized, then they would not be eligible for the best academic jobs in China, since the communist party constitution forbid Christians from being members. The two who were communists said
they would rather trust God for their future jobs than trusting the Communist Party!
Another blessing was that five other students, non-Christians, who have been reading the Bible with us, also attended the baptism. They got many of their questions answered that day and afterwards.
Please pray for the next harvest which could still be this year!
Have you ever shopped for Jesus? We do this every summer.
We buy yard sale items for international students, that we give out in August when they arrive. That is how we met one woman, at our yard sale.
And she became a Christian through it! Here is her testimony she recently gave:
Hi everyone, my name is Xiaoping Zhuang. Many of you know me as Sunny (or Shopping). I come from China. I am a part-time student studying accounting at Virginia Tech. I’m here to share my experiences of knowing Jesus, our Lord.
I was born in a Christian family. However, because of many reasons, I didn’t REALLY know who Jesus is. I believed there is only one God and he sent his only son to this world. And this son died on a cross and came back to life. And he is a perfect man. If I want something, I should pray for it. That’s basically all I knew or what I understood about Jesus for the past 25 years. I didn’t go to church every Sunday and I didn’t read Bible. I didn’t really know Jesus.
Two years ago, I married my husband, who was a student at Virginia Tech. I quitted my job, left my family and friends, and came to Blacksburg to take care of him. I used to think that getting married is the ultimate goal of my life. “The prince and princess end up marrying and then live happily ever after.” That’s what I believed. As you may imagine, a marriage without the guidance of our Lord didn’t go very well. Sometimes when we had a fight and I was so upset, I had nowhere to go, no people to talk, but just stay depressed in that little apartment. Miserable! Many of you may know that my visa status doesn’t allow me to study in a degree-program, nor to work with payment. Before coming to Blacksburg, I had a well-paid and well-respected job. But here, it seemed I lost my identity. I found my useless; I felt anxious because of the unknown future. So, this is first part of my life in Blacksburg.
However, Jesus comes to people in need. August 2016, the Eichelman’s held a yard sale near my apartment. IT IS THAT YARD SALE THAT CHANGED MY LIFE. It was a normal day, I took my new roommate to buy something that she needed. I remember they asked me, “We have bible classes, would you like to sign up?” Why not? So I began an 1-on-1 bible class with Mary Kay every Thursday. And through Mary Kay, I went to Across Fridays and got to know Jay and Grace. So I began attending ICF, where I met Sandra. So I began attending women’s bible study group every Tuesday. And Grace took me to the Chinese Church and I joined their bible studies, too. You can see my social connections being built up. So if I have a fight with my husband again, I can finally slam the door and go to my friends! But believe me, I never had a fight with him that makes me depressed ever since I know Jesus.
It’s the same week as the yard sale, I got admitted to a part-time program at Virginia Tech with the help of a professor, who, I later found out, is a Christian! That’s another story. But I mean, God has his plan for me. He sent Christians into my life when I was desperate for him.
As I knew more and more Christians, I was amazed and still are being amazed by their aroma of the knowledge of Christ, the unique fragrance that comes from the followers of Jesus. Can you imagine a person having surgeries almost once a month, but you can hear her loud laughter even before she comes into the room? Can you imagine a couple who got married for decades, having three grown-up children, but when you see the couple, you see love in their eyes as if they are newly-married? Can you imagine an international student who got a phone call out of blue asking her to leave this country in one week when she was about to settle down, but you see her pack up peacefully, without a word of complaining? There are so many Christians who amazed me. Thank you! Thank you for spreading this amazing aroma everywhere! That’s testimonies! As a witness, I see God’s glory reflected from you! I believe the strength, the love and the peace come from our Lord, Jesus!
By attending these activities, I get to know more and more about Jesus. He is God. He came to this world and he was crucified. He is the sacrifice. Through him our sins are forgiven and forgotten. He is the Christ. He came back to life, so everyone who believes in him can have the hope of eternal life. I used to think that I have to be perfect to be a Christian. If I am not good enough, then I don’t deserve Christ’s salvation. This is one of the reasons why I didn’t become a Christian even when I was born in a Christian family. But No! That’s not true. You don’t have to be perfect! Acts 2:38 says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of Holy Spirit.” Repent and be baptized. It’s not “repent and be perfect.” Our God knows that you are not perfect. But he still loves you. As long as you believe in him, your sins are forgiven. I will be baptized two weeks from today, before I leave Blacksburg. I’ll let Jesus be my savior. Let the Lord lead my everyday life, my marriage and my future.
Not only is she sharing Jesus, but also she is returning her yard sale items for the new students to have.
To every one of you who are not believers, I encourage you to attend bible studies and to make friends with Christians. You can’t imagine how your life will be different after you know Jesus. To Christians in Blacksburg, I am grateful for your help, your love and your testimonies! Coming to Blacksburg is the luckiest thing I have ever done in my life! Thank you!
This happened at our marriage retreat last weekend. We spent a year with four couples in pre-Christian marriage teaching seminars using Family Life and CPREP materials. Only one couple were Christians besides us, but after spending the weekend together, one woman said she wanted to learn more. Her husband is already learning about God through reading Genesis with Fred. And now she wants to learn from another Chinese Christian. Pray for the young Christian couple to boldly share!
These international student couples are so eager to better their young marriages. And for the first time they see their need for a savior as they struggle in their marriages. Don’t we all!
We also showed the Fireproof movie that one couple will be buying for their nonChristian friends.
Keep praying for these students and the so many others that are in need, and that we will have the opportunity to share and that we will have courage to share (Acts 4:29) !
It all began with pumpkin carving back in October. (We don’t really do Halloween.) I spied a student that needed a partner and oh I am so glad that the relationship began…. Later on I (Mary Kay) learned that Fran was going through some very difficult times and she really needed someone to talk to. So we began meeting together on a weekly basis to talk, and to later study the Bible. She came to Bible study one day and said, “I want to be a Christian as I finally understand
the difference between Buddhism and Christianity.
In Buddhism we have to do good things so that maybe we will get good things back but in Christianity it is all the opposite. God gives us the good things through Jesus freely.”
Then for Easter we watched the Matthew Visual Bible and read the last words of Jesus about the great commission and it spoke of baptism. So we did a study on that next. In the middle of that week she texted me and said she wanted to see if we could get together another time that week but she didn’t say why. Here she wanted to express to me that she wanted to get baptized! So what a joyous time we had last Sunday, celebrating with her in the decision to follow Jesus!
And it all began with carving a pumpkin, and then listening. Oh may we listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to reach out and be bold!
So we will send her some Internet resources, and videos. What she really needs is Jesus, Mary Kay told her. Then the friend told her how another friend recently gave her a “Jesus book” ! Wow!
Mary Kay uses her baking ability to get to know some Korean and Chinese women at Virginia Tech. Fred is meeting with one guy who is going back to China at the end of the month, who has just read Genesis and Matthew for the first time. Another graduate student is finishing up reading Matthew for the first time.
