For most of Becky's believing life, she has struggled with the battle of discernment. In reality, she is the one who makes discernment a “battle”. She tries so hard to make the “right” decision, the choice that the Father wants her to choose. Lately, He has shown her that there is not always necessarily a “right” decision. For example, we were faced with making the decision between Chris beginning his first semester online at Golden Gate or traveling up north to visit two of our closest students’ homes to meet their families and share. We're sure that both of these decisions would have worked out. If we decided to stay back and have Chris begin his online studies, Father would have led him in that and blessed him for continuing his studies in m-work. It wasn’t a “right” decision, or a “wrong” one for that matter. It probably would have even been a “good” decision. However, we know that we made the “best” decision by postponing his schooling for a semester to meet the boys’ families. We knew it was “best” to take the opportunity to visit the north and live life with them with the hopes of sharing the message and expanding His kingdom.
The visit itself was unforgettable. We traveled 14 hours by bus and plane to reach the northeast. Temperatures ranged from below -15 degrees F to the 20’s and we were blessed to stay warm the entire time. The first 5 days were spent out in the country in a village with our student and 22 members of his family.
Spring Festival/Chinese New Year lasts about 15 days and it is custom to spend each day together as a family. It was an honor to be invited to share this special time with him and his family. We had meals together and ate interesting foods such as wild rabbit, goose, sheep, chicken head, and pigeon. Everything was absolutely delicious! Each meal was full of warmth and laughter, and we took turns raising our cups and toasting to one another. We expressed our thankfulness to his family for raising such an outstanding young man. We shared with them how much we love their son and how we enjoy having him in our home each week. We told them how proud of him we are and that we are looking forward to growing closer. Everyone had joyful tears and smiles.
Their entire family takes up half of their village. One family owns a medicine shop while the other runs a small grocery store. Family members spent the entire day in their home cooking the meal in preparation for dinner that night. Our student sleeps in a small room with a heated wooden platform as a bed with his parents.
We played together on frozen ponds, stood in cages of beautiful cranes at a bird sanctuary, and visited a Buddhist temple. Most of the idol worship that takes place is done out of respect of cultural heritage. They do it because their family does it. Our student told us he does it because his father does and that is all. We were thankful to take part in this experience with him and his father. As we stood outside each temple and watched, they bowed three times to each idol while lighting incense. Our specific pryer for this family and others in this country is that they let go of these false idols and false hopes and put their entire faith in the One who can save them and be the light in their lives.
It is very important to the younger generation to have an English name. This was a unique moment in our trip because Chris was able to share about the meaning of his name “Christopher = bearer of Chrst”, and our student’s name comes from the book of Job. It was so cool to share the story of Job and tell him where his name comes from. He was deeply touched after hearing the story, and expressed to us that he wants to work on becoming stronger not only physically, but also in his heart and mind. He also expressed interest in wanting to read the good book with Chris more this semester. PTL! On the night of Valentines Day, the whole country was celebrating their “Lantern Festival”. He asked us to pry together, so in the midst of a large crowd, we held hands and pryed. It was a very meaningful experience. We ended the night watching fireworks with his family. Becky was full of tears as her heart was bursting for the hopes of salvation for this family. The ooo’s and ahhh’s and joyful smiles each family member had while watching the fireworks is insurmountable compared to the joy they could experience from the King. We left this family with a clear call to pry for their salvation.
Our visit with the second student was different, shorter, but just as meaningful. He is an only child and has a close relationship with his aunt and uncle. We had a blast meeting his friends from his childhood and practicing our Chinese with them. His town was covered in snow and we all played together like children. They took us to a ski hill the size of a football field where Chris was able to teach them how to ski! We weren’t expecting to ski, mainly because it is not too popular in this country, but it was a nice surprise! None of them had skied before, so it was quite interesting to watch them ski down the mountain for the first time. Becky spent time with the girls talking about college life and getting to know each other. They had the cutest English names, Sirius and Souvenir. Chris taught the boys how to go off a ramp they built and then pulled out the GoPro causing the boys to act like pro’s.
We spent two nights in their home learning and playing games that are special to the northeast. While our heads were spinning with confusion, we all had fun laughing and playing together. His uncle has taught himself English over the past year and works for the gvt. He was one of the most humble people we have met. It was so neat to sit on the floor together while drinking tea and sharing stories about our adventures.
We were asked to pry for the family, and we were able to pry a blessing over his uncle as a gvt official. He respected our beliefs and continued to engage us. It was great to love on the student’s parents and just thank them for all they have done for this boy.
We left the northeast feeling even closer to these two boys than before. We now have a better insight in what to specifically ask Father for in their lives. Our desire is for these boys to accept the truth of the message and then continues to share with their families back home. We thank Father for using us up north and we ask Him to continue to use us wherever we go.
The beauty of it all is that He will never forsake us. Even when we make the not so “best” decision, He is there to rescue us. He is the ultimate Rescuer and will never leave our side or abandon us. Our pryer is that we all take a moment and revel in this truth whenever we are tempted to stress over discernment.